“Tomorrow night, you will go with me to start the summit push,” said Nims with his gentle but affirmative voice. After 3 days of rest and 21 days on the mountain, I can try for the summit. The line-fixing team and the icefall doctors have done a great job despite the losses and the not-as-ideal weather this season. My body is as good as it’s going to be; no need to drag it any further.
Summit push on high-altitude mountains often consists of many days. For me, this time, ideally, 5 days to summit both Everest and Lhotse. To do so, I WILL need a lot of luck in terms of the weather. This season has been a really windy season. The line fixing team couldn’t get the line up till the 13th due to high winds. Since I wasn’t planning to do Everest and Lhotse in a single day, it’s looking like I will need to take a not-so-ideal weather day for one of the summits.
And it looks like the weather wasn’t playing nice at all this season. Our plan is to directly push to camp 2 on the 12th, skipping camp 1. Ten minutes after departure, Nims’ radio is lit with messages from Sherpa guides higher up the mountain. Amidst the chaotic voices, one could hear the noticeable wind noises in the background; the wind picked up again. On Everest and Lhotse, winds could easily reach up to 50-60mph and above. It turns out that winds picked up so much that no one could leave camp 3; a Sherpa from another team even had to be rescued by our guides. We will need our guides from camp 2 onwards. To not deplete the team resources, Nims decided to stay out at base camp one more night to wait out the weather. Such is mountaineering; the mountain always has the final say.
We set off again on the night of 12th and 13th night reaching camp 2 during the day. The weather seems to have improved only just a bit. During this route of the journey, we experienced both extremes. The Khumbu Icefall seems especially low in temperature. The extreme heat of the upper Western Cwn warmed me up again. The silver lining is that I arrived at camp with just the right body temperature. ? Days like this make me realize there is no such thing as over-preparation on Everest. Days are much longer than I expected, and each long day is followed by another. On other mountains, it’s 4 to 7 hours on approach days; it’s 7-12 hours on Everest.
After this first longer day to camp 2, I wondered if I really should take a rest day. Nims busted into the tent as I contemplated; “everyone here is going up to camp 3 tomorrow,” said the expedition leader. Oh here goes any thought of kicking back and relaxing for a day. It’s hard not to doubt oneself during these low and tired moments. Nims for sure is right about it one thing: it is hard to recover at the altitude of camp 2(6400m, 21000feet). After a very good night of surprisingly restful sleep, I woke up to my usual timer of an hour-and-a-half before breakfast to get ready for the day.
The route up to camp 3 from camp 2 covers the last stretch of the Western Cwn and lower end of the Lhotse face. This portion of the route is prone to falling objects which included 3 oxygen cans from our team! We encountered a bit of a queue which slowed us down for an hour or so. Upon arriving in camp 3, we quickly get ready for the next day; Nims mandated a 5am start to ensure everyone had enough rest before the summit push. Though I think he forgot to say that tomorrow is probably going to be the longest ascending day, even including the summit days!
Camp 3 to camp 4 is also where we try using our oxygen mask for the first time on this trip. Even though I used oxygen before, it sure takes some time to get used to wearing it again. Taking it on and off, I struggled with my new kit for nearly two hours. The physical discomfort of having an oxygen mask and the mental obstacle of having an object in front of my face while breathing hard made the first half of the day miserable. I ended up taking my hat and buff off to ease my feeling of physical constraints. The climb itself is steep and long due to needing to tracer from the right side of Lhotse face all the way to the South Col. By the time we arrived in camp, the weather decided to add on our travails as well. The winds were hitting 60mph. Amidst the winds was a certain amount of chaos: I had no tents, some tents were overcrowded with 7 people in them, and one of the tents was even rumored to have an unfortunate victim of the mountain. Some tents were getting ripped apart by the strong winds.
After some struggle, a Nepali climber, me, and our guides finally managed to settle down in a tent that fit us snuggly. No one knew if we could set off tonight. Listening to the strong winds, I make mental preparation for the worst. Is Chomulangma once again asking for more patience and more perseverance out of me? Will we head down to camp 3 and then come back up again? I fell asleep with all the doubt in my head still swirling.
Suddenly our tent was violently shaken, accompanied by yelling of Nepalese words. The Nepali climber and his guide sprang into action. I understood, we are pushing for the summit. I shook awake Pasang, my guide, and started preparing.
The weather sure is still cold, with some winds still blowing through. This may not be the best weather, but if I were to summit both Everest and Lhotse, I need to take a not-so-good weather day; I have to trust Nims on this call. Pasang and I set off just before 2am following a few small streams of light.
Everest summit sure is steep. The first 1400 to 1500 feet is about 45 to 50 degrees which surely woke me up from my sleepy state. Sunrise is usually a big moment on summit days on the mountains. It’s the point where many realized the beauty all around them, when one can temporarily ignore all the physical pain. For some, it’s an epiphany moment where one is most at peace, most understanding of why one’s life and hope.
My sunrise moment is a bit after the sunrise when I reached “the balcony,” when I saw Tibet for the first time from above, when we walked in the sunshine for the first time this summit night, the first time we could see everything from both sides. A swarm of emotions rushed through me. Suddenly every step feels like a reward, a privilege, a step toward triumph. With the sun now shining above us, I feel that all of my family and friends here or gone could feel my presence and are with me on this final stretch of this journey. I smiled and cried as I embraced the sunshine and the extraordinary views.
(view from the “balcony”)
Looking up I could see some of my teammates who departed ahead of me. They are just working their way up the South Summit. I took a brief water and snack break to savor the moment some more before continuing.
The route to the balcony continued to be steep for the most part. The wind started to pick up badly the higher up we went. I lowered my gaze and continued to work through the steps. Suddenly, a yellow downsuit cam into my peripheral vision, seldomly moving. Why is this person sitting down here? Moving closer, I can see some frost on his face, indistinguishable murmurs coming out of his mouth. He tried to rub his face repeatedly but to no avail, the frost wasn’t going anywhere. Out of habit, I asked: “are you okay?” But all I heard was: “dai, dai…” He was not okay. For the first time on this trip, I ran into a climber who was injured and abandoned. Who is he? What am I supposed to do 8750 meters up in the sky? I’m not equipped nor knowledgeable enough for the rescue of any sort. So what now?
I took a step towards him to assess the situation further. He is wearing an Elite Exped oxygen mask, yet I don’t recognize him at all. By now, I have met every client and guide who walked above the base camp on our team, yet he is not one of them. Nimsdai is leading the team himself, so there is no way that he will ever abandon anyone on the mountain. I took a second to think through this. Finally, I figured out: my teammates, the majority of them set off before I did, must have found him already and given him oxygen, hence our oxygen mask but unknown face. My speculation was correct. Nimsdai indeed gave him oxygen to keep him alive long enough for Nimsdai to guide his clients to the summit and then assist this injured climber in coming down. With the help is several other guides of our team, Nimsdai was able to rescue him all the way down to camp four from the South Summit. Thankfully, this climber was able to make it to Kathmandu and make it alive. This was to go down as the highest altitude rescue in recorded history.
As for myself, my guide and I met shortly with the team ahead of us, who were on their way to bring the injured climber down to camp 4. Seeing them also meant we weren’t far from the summit now. It also means we are entering the most accident-prone portion of this summit climb: the Hillary Step.
Many may have seen the picture posted a few years back by Nimsdai regarding the queue on Hillary Step. In reality, queues don’t happen until several different conditions need to be met. If one tries, it’s not too hard to avoid the serious queue on the summit push. Today my guide Pasang and I were alone on the Hillary Step, but the seriousness of this portion of the climb could never leave one’s mind. From the Hillary Step and the traverse to the summit, one could see all the way down to camp 2, an 8000-feet straight drop. A simple mistake could be fatal. In fact, a few days later, a Chinese climber fell to his death right at this section.
Pasang and I carefully traversed this section. With the mix of snow and rock, you can see the scratches by crampons on some of the rocks due to the lack of any good foot holds. After a while, a weather station appeared, and we are now close to the summit!
Prayer flags, statues, anchors, and other flags. We are at the summit!! After years of preparation and training, trials and tribulations, I have achieved my dream of being on top of the world. I couldn’t believe it. I am finally here. What was once a distant dream is now a reality. I carefully looked around me: Lhotse, Nuptse, Cho Oyo, Pumori, Tibet, I could see everything. Tears streamed down my cheeks. Still, now, words are hard to describe my feelings. Tears bursted out as the feeling of sheer happiness washed through me.
The wind has gathered up to 40-50 mph now. With the wind chill, the temperature dropped around -40 to -60 Celsius. This was not the most optimal weather. I could only expose my hands for about 20 seconds at a time to take pictures or videos(working e-tip gloves are crucial here!). Even then, I ended up picking up a bit of numbness on my left index finger after the climb. Time to wrap up and go.
Pasang and I start working our way down. The mummified bodies on the side close to the summit reminded me of my own mortality and the need to be extra careful on my descent; after all, this is where the ninety-plus percent of people perish. The strong wind brought back the clouds and snow. I could feel my face stinging from the constant exposure to the wind.
Luckily, there weren’t too many people on the mountain so I was able to rappel many sections to speed up the descent in scent by areas. After a leisurely three hours of descend, we got back to camp 4. I felt great throughout.
Quite a lot of teams are making their way down to camp 2, leaving just a few of us holding down the fort at camp 4. Some chose not to pursue Lhotse after summiting Everest, changing their initial plans. However, to me, this climb marks a certain level of achievement in my climbing career. One summit is not enough. I’m mentally ready and physically capable even after the Everest summit. I told Pasang with certainty that I WILL go to Lhotse summit.
Another alpine start, another early call. Time to go for Lhotse. This time the famed adventurer Aldo Kane, Pasang Dorji, Pasang Nima, and I made up the small summit push team. The climb towards Lhotse summit is rather straightforward. And by straightforward I meant it’s literally straight upward through the Lhotse couloir. It certainly is a good way to find out if there are any hot spots in your boots.
As we climbed through the first few hours of the summit night, a faint red and yellow color started to appear on Pumori and Cho Oyo behind us. It’s close to sunrise. The north side of Everest is quickly painted with warm colors as well. The headlights on Everest were soon turned off as if to allow Everest to shine by herself in this grandest of backdrops.
A few hours later, winds started to bring the fog around Lhotse as we closed in on some other figures with red and black downsuits, our teammates who set off ahead of us. A round of congratulation ensued. The Lhotse summit is a small outcrop on top of the Lhotse couloir, just enough for two to three people.
We didn’t need that much space anyways, as the four of us were the only ones on the Lhotse summit. We each took turns taking pictures on the summit. The weather was much calmer this time. The Pasangs and I took some time to enjoy the victory as I embraced my third 8000-meter summit. This time the fourth highest mountain in the world, Lhotse.
I looked down at my watch: 9:45am. Less than 24 hours after, we summited Everest. I smiled with intense satisfaction. Everest-Lhotse-traverse less than 24 hours, was an achievement I dreamed about doing but was never sure I could achieve it till the moment I saw the Lhotse summit. I wanted this trip to be a mark of triumph of my climbing journey. I wanted to be somewhat deserving of my summits. With the full traverse of Everest and Lhotse, I think I have achieved what I set out to do.
(Insert combined pics)
Before we set off rappelling all the way down Lhotse(you can do that on Lhotse since we were the only ones on it that day). I took one last look at Everest and all the mountains surrounding Lhotse. I wanted to engrain this image in my mind forever.
We spend the next 28 hours descending the rest of the mountain back to the base camp through the Khumbu icefall. I was happy to see our second summit team made it to camp 2 despite many having personal difficulties(most later summited as well.)
Then, it’s time to leave for home. Goodbyes are hard. Expedition goodbyes are never a guarantee as climbers often come and go on different days depending on a number of factors. Fortunately, I was able to meet up with the rest my Everest summit team in Kathmandu to end the trip with good dinners, memories, and parties.
