For this spring 2002 season, a group run by a controversial figure was awarded the contract and the maintenance effort has been very short on supplies, manpower, tools, and perhaps the experience necessary to properly do this job. This has created some dangerous conditions for climbers traversing the Icefall, and most expeditions here this season have drafted letters to the SPCC logging their complaints regarding this situation. There has even been some discussion regarding next season as many regulars here are refusing to pay the SPCC and simply going back to the old cooperative way of doing things.
The route farther up the mountain also is prepared, or "fixed," in places with fixed line for safety as well, but this work is done by separate expedition Sherpa staff in cooperation with each other. All expeditions here share the same goal of summitting and doing so safely, so, with this in mind, it makes a great deal of sense to cooperate with each other and share in the work of preparing the route.
About two weeks ago, all expedition leaders and sirdars (a sirdar is the chief of Sherpa staff for an expedition) met and decided upon a work and materials schedule so that all expeditions could share in this preparation work on the upper mountain. This has generally worked quite well, and the route is currently ready as far as the South Col, at almost 26,000 feet, or 8,000 meters.
Within the next week, the plan is to have portions of the route fixed for security with rope above the South Col via a cooperative effort between expeditions such as Alpine Ascents, Adventure Consultants, International Mountain Guides, National Geographic, etc.
From Camp I just above the Khumbu Icefall, the route enters the Western Cwm, which is a very large and steep-sided valley partly filled with the upper Khumbu Glacier. This "valley of silence" was first traversed by the Swiss expedition of 1952, which in fact pioneered most of the route on the upper mountain and came very close to the summit the year before the British success in 1953.
It is a hauntingly beautiful place, but not without its dangers also. While it often is a place of ear-ringing silence, it also occasionally thunders with rockfall raking the steep faces of Mt. Everest to one side and Nuptse to the other side, or just as frequently ice or snow avalanches roar down for thousands of feet to the glacier.
These things are quite easily avoidable simply by staying away from the sides of the valley. Less easily avoidable hazards are the many deep fissures called crevasses. These crevasses are caused by the stress of glacier movement (take a warm Snicker's candy bar and bend it in the middle and note the "crevasses" formed on the surface, and you get the idea).
Many of these crevasses are bridged over by snow and not visible to a climber on the glacier's surface. These "hidden crevasses" can constitute a serious threat especially after times of fresh snowfall, and are usually dealt with by climbers roping up to other climbers with adequate rope between so that the climber's skills with a technique known as "self-arrest" are adequate to stop a fall into a crevasse should someone break through one of these snow bridges.
Near the end of this gently sloping valley lies Camp II, and the Lhotse Face looms above. Camp II, at over 21,000 feet, or over 6,400 meters, is the staging camp for starting up this face formed by the western side of neighboring mountain, Lhotse. This face constitutes a serious threat as over 3,000 feet, or 1,000 meters, of 35-degree to 45-plus-degree ice must be climbed with Camp III perched in the middle of this awesomely steep and long face. So here too thousands of feet of fixed ropes are placed, if used properly, for the safety of climbers to safeguard against falling.
The last stop on the way to the summit is Camp IV, or High Camp, at the pass between Lhotse and Everest known as the South Col. To arrive at this camp, requires traversing much steep ground also, and such features as the "Yellow Band" (a steep, golden, sandstone cliff which splits part of the upper Lhotse Face), the "Geneva Spur" (an enormous buttress or ridge-like feature of rock which must be climbed) must be overcome with the safety of fixed ropes.
Many early expeditions here used seven or eight camps instead of the currently accepted four camps. This big reason for this change has been the huge increase in skill and ability of the high altitude Sherpa hired by most expeditions to assist. Originally, in the 1950s, the foreign climbers were looked to to help train Sherpas as most were not skilled in climbing techniques. Their main assets were their strong work ethic and their genetic adaptation to altitude.
Nowadays, Sherpas still have their genetic adaptation to altitude and their strong work ethic, but they are often also much more skilled climbers than the foreign climbers who hire them to help. This means it is much easier and faster for them to go up and down the mountain preparing and stocking camps than in earlier times, and so fewer camps are needed. I must also stress here that I do not believe many climbing expeditions give their Sherpa staff enough credit for the success of an expedition.
Without the hard work of Sherpas and their high skill levels, there wouldn't be 10% of the current numbers of successful Everest sumitters. Everyone has perhaps heard of "Hillary" packs, but has anyone ever seen a "Chewang" sleeping bag? Chewang has summitted nine times on 12 different Mt. Everest expeditions. Why isn't he famous in America or Europe? Or how about Apa who has summitted 13 times?
Above High Camp still lies much steep ground before the summit at 29,035 feet, or 8,850 meters, is reached. Such features as the Triangular Face, The Balcony, the Southeast Ridge, the South Summit, the Traverse, and the Hillary Step all guard the world's "third pole" well and ensure that a climber will work for his or her reward and need a minimum level of hard-earned skills to get there.
A sufficient level of safety and security can be maintained in this hostile territory only through the judicious use of fixed ropes, individual skills, and a high level of teamwork on both the Sherpas and the foreign climbers' parts. The exercise of good judgement is also vitally important. "Never give up" or "just do it" can and have proved fatal many times on the world's highest mountain, and perhaps a "those who climb and run away live to climb another day" is a more appropriate attitude for climbers who dare to challenge themselves on the slopes of Chomolungma in an environment more suited to jet airliners.
— Willi Prittie, Alpine Ascents International Guide and MountainZone.com Correspondent
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