This is Dave Hahn with RMI's Everest Expedition. This morning, early this morning we got up from Camp 1, five climbers Jeff Justman, Chhering Dorji and myself. We completed a good circuit, climbing up to 21,300 feet Advance Base Camp and back to Camp 1. We were here about 11:30, 11:15 this morning. And then shortly after that, at about noon, there was a major earthquake and resulted in avalanches off of all the mountains around us. Our camp was in a good place we got dusted but here at Camp 1 we were just fine. Our concern then shifted to Base Camp. We are hearing reports of some pretty destructive action down there, injuries and loss of life. Our entire team is ok. We have talked with our Sherpa team down below and with Mark Tucker [at Base Camp]. And so our team is okay. About the same time as the earthquake a pretty good snowstorm commenced up here in the Western Cwm and down at Base Camp. We're sitting things out safely at Camp One. But we don't have the ability to travel right now, good mountaineering sense dictates that we stay put and ride this storm out. This may take a little time to ride the storm out and that's what we'll do. It may take this a little time but we are okay. We are self sufficient up here and our concern is with our friends at Base Camp. We're hearing the strenuous efforts that our Sherpa team and Mark Tucker are going through down there trying to help with the injured and those who haven't fared so well. We'll try to be in touch. We obviously are in a situation where we won't have great communication. It's likely that the earthquake destroyed any cell service around the Base Camp area. We are calling you on a satellite telephone, we got some batteries and we will nurse those batteries to make them last.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
RMI Guide Dave Hahn calls from Camp One with update on the RMI team.
Our family has been praying for Mark and all of you since the news broke. Mark, you guided us up Kili in 2012 and I have no doubt were one of the best to deal with the tragedy you faced. Continued prayers for your safe return. Dennis
Posted by: Dennis Mulherin on 4/28/2015 at 4:42 am
JJ, glad to hear you are safe! Worried when we heard the news. We’re sad to hear about all the casualties, and our hearts are with everyone in Nepal!
Just a quick note to you that everyone here at Annapurna is safe. Yesterday everyone came down off the mountain to wait out some heavy storms. It had been snowing steadily all day today when the large earthquake struck just before noon. It was so forceful! It felt as if we were inside a snow globe being shaken by God. The storm kept us from seeing much but we could hear avalanches ripping down the mountains all around us. The roar was so loud I thought we'd surely be hit. Annapurna Base Camp is situated on a muddy ridge clinging to an adjacent mountain. During the earthquake large sections peeled off and cascaded down some 800ft to the glacier below. Totally insane, but nothing made it to us, and everyone is safe here.
My thoughts go out to everyone in Nepal, especially my friends in Kathmandu and over on Everest.
Climbing Update:
The 24th of April I descend all the way from Camp 4 at 7000m on Annapurna to base camp.
But before I get into why I descended without attempting the summit I'll talk about the earthquake. It had been snowing steadily all morning today when, at around noon, a large earthquake struck. The earthquake was so forceful, it felt as if we were inside a snow globe being shaken by God. The storm kept us from seeing much but we could hear avalanches ripping down everywhere. The roar was so loud I thought we'd surely be hit. Annapurna Base Camp is situated on a muddy ridge clinging to a adjacent mountain. During the earthquake large sections peeled off and cascaded down some 800ft to the glacier below. Totally insane.
As I write this another roar of what sounds to be a massive avalanche rips down Annapurna.
On the 23rd I made my way up from Camp 3 to Camp 4. The route is straight-forward. It starts with a low angle section of ice up a serac out of camp 3. To a traversing section of steep snow then a long ramp to C4. The ramp connects the German Rib with the summit area of Annapurna. The ramp is a slope of 30 to 45 degrees and it was covered in fresh deep snow up to waist deep.
That afternoon myself and another team set up camp underneath a serac at 7000m. Their plan was to start out that same night with their 4 Sherpa guides to leave at 8pm to break the route and the 4 members of their group to follow at 9pm.
I decided not to attempt the summit because:
- Too cold of a night to climb without supplemental oxygen
- Retreat would be difficult at night as the wind was blowing too much snow and covering the track.
- no previous time spent above 18,000', so I was not properly acclimatized.
- too much technical ground below us - with forecasted storm by Noon the next day.
- high risk of avalanche if caught above camp 2 after the storm.
I descended from C4 the morning of the 23rd. As I was leaving, the members of the team that had attempted to summit started straggling in from their failed summit attempt. They were too tired to descend from C4. I re-broke the route to C3 in sketchy and quite heavy deep snow. As I dropped down a final steep descent before Camp 3 on an arm wrap rappel, I plunged into a concealed crevasse. I was already feeling quite sick from overheating in my down suit. The sun had come out and started slowly deep frying me in the down suit. But luckily I was stable enough that I could wriggle out of the suit without falling any further. Half way in a hole, about to vomit from overheating and my arm wrap biting into my forearm, I comically rolled down into C3. I was moaning in discomfort, dry heaved a few times, and laid there motionless for a time.
I had to get moving again though, because the weather was coming in fast. I cached a few things at Camp 3 and started rappelling off the serac whose top forms the flat surface of camp 3. The route down the German Rib is steep and riddled with crevasses and alpine ice. But large areas of the route had deep snow blown in from the night prior.
... Another large avalanche is ripping down Annapurna... this place is quite unstable since the earthquake.
Soon after completing my descent from the serac I, twice, stuck a leg into a concealed crevasse while rappelling down the further slope. I shouted to a Sherpa named Pemba from the summit team that we'd better employ the buddy system and re-break the route together. As we started down the visibility went to zero and a heavy fall of snow started.
About midway down we lost our rappel lines and started carefully climbing down without the safety of the lines. Searching the snow with our ice tools for the rappel lines while slowly inching our way down. We were In a couloir with seracs all around and above us, my mind kept telling me we were in a very dangerous place to be moving so slowly. A few minutes before finding the lines again we set off a small slab slide 3 ft to our right. Things were getting spooky!
Finally, we made the last rappel onto the glacier below the German Rib. Now the last hurdle was finding camp 2 in a whiteout. An island of safety in the insanely dangerous glacial field below the crosshairs couloir and sickle ice cliffs. In the reduced visibility we wove through large ice blocks of avalanche debris by GPS. We moved with baited breath - hoping not to hear that tell tale rumble that has become such a familiar sound to me here at Annapurna.
The Korean team a day earlier had had a near miss right in this area.
After having been on the move on a very scary mountain, in terrible weather, for 11 hours I finally arrived at Base Camp at 8:40pm that night. Descending through deep snow and limited visibility all day. At Base Camp I found out that an avalanche had hit the team at camp 4 earlier that night. No one was hurt but they had to cut their way out of their tents. They were also all exhausted from their summit attempt. Including one climber who had frostbite on his hands and one suffering from HAPE. They would later be rescued via helicopter. Three of the 5 teams here at Base Camp are leaving, The team that attempted the summit blew their oxygen supply. Another team's Sherpas bailed because of concerns that Annapurna wasn't to be climbed this year. The mountain is angry. Yet another small team's permit has run out.
I was planning to stay until mid-May as now I am acclimatized and my equipment is cached. However, with recent events I'm not sure what will happen, there's a lot of hearsay... and Annapurna sounds extremely unstable right now. I've heard at least three avalanches while I was writing this.
-RMI Guide Alex Barber
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Posted by: John Andrew on 12/18/2023 at 1:40 am
seems like a good decision … move on the task apparently assigned to you
Hey, this is Dave Hahn calling from Camp 1 on Mount Everest. A good day for us up here. We got up this morning at about 6:00 in the morning and set out at 8:00 to explore the last couple of ladder crossings in the Western Cwm, they go about halfway to Camp 2. Our intention today was just exercise and getting to know the lay of the land. Our hope is tomorrow to get a good acclimatization hike in going all the way to Camp 2 and then coming back down here to Camp 1 for that next night. The afternoon today after we get back to camp was pretty quiet. It was snowing lightly, kinda socked in. We just took the opportunity to rest and recuperate inside our tents and continue our acclimatization process. Thank you.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
RMI Guide and Everest Expedition Leader, Dave Hahn, calling in from Camp 1.
The 2015 Mt. Everest season has been a tough start with big snow storms here at base camp, but full steam ahead right now. The snow that kept us from moving up earlier has blossomed to some nice days. You would be amazed at the difference on the glacier since last week. Rivers running, pools forming and a route through the ice fall that has allowed a reasonable ascent to Camp 1, where the team is at this very moment. I just got off the radio with Dave and word is, all well. I was able to follow the team's climb up the ice fall with my tripod-mounted spotting scope. They were at times obscured from view by huge ice towers and the route taking them down into the depths of the glacier, out of sight, and then minutes later they would they pop back into view. Their training, adjusting to the altitude and experience at this sort of wild climbing paid off with what I can guarantee you was one of the most amazing and memorable days in these mountaineers climbing careers. So proud of this group as I watched them progress through the Khumbu Icefall working the mountain, assisting each other, and sticking together in pure style and grace. Way to go team!
RMI Guide and Everest Base Camp Manager Mark TuckerDave Hahn called in after reaching Camp 1 and his audio is posted below.
RMI Everest Expedition Leader, Dave Hahn, calling in from Camp 1.
Phantastic and best wishes to all of you!
You passed the first barrier and I hope you arrived safe in Camp 2! It´s really great to follow your climb!
Sunny weather and good health to everybody - Ute
Posted by: Ute Novak on 4/24/2015 at 7:21 am
Dave & Team - absolutely fascinating following your journey. I wake up at 2 AM to read the blogs now. They are becoming very interesting—passing the icefalls and making high camp. :) Be safe.
Climbed up and established Annapurna Camp 4 today.
The other climbers here at Camp 4 are talking about continuing on and making a try at the summit this evening (leaving here at ~9pm), because there is a storm forecast for tomorrow afternoon. This is not for me, so I'll have to decide whether to make my summit attempt early tomorrow morning and risk being in a storm as I descend, or turn back and wait for a better weather window.
RMI Guide Alex Barber
Today was a well-earned rest day for all. But it was also a day of getting ready to go higher; carefully selecting food and gear for what we hope to be a three night stay at Camp One, above the Icefall. We've had a longer stay at comfy Base Camp than we'd expected, and so it will be a little tough committing to the normal discomforts of a camp in the snow at 20,000 ft, but in the plus column, we will be a little better acclimated than we might have been with an earlier foray to the Western Cwm. And we are eager to get on with the climb... Which is a big plus.
Our enthusiasm is tempered by the looming prospect of bidding a teammate goodbye. Larry Seaton has been climbing hard and pushing himself to extremes in the face of a number of physical setbacks. True to character, he isn't satisfied with staggering up Mount Everest at or beyond his limit... Larry has always been an asset to his climbing teams and won't chance being a liability to this one. He'll bow out and will head towards home in the near future. Obviously the team feels for Larry and regrets losing a key member, but we all applaud his prudent decision.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Is Chhering Dorjee Sherpa with you at your camp? He has a friend from Castle Mountain, Pincher Creek, Alberta, Canada (Marie Cameron) who is wondering.
Posted by: Chris McSweeney on 4/26/2015 at 10:47 pm
I miss you, Larry! Hope you are safe. You are smart for knowing your boundaries.
From,
Tina from Mt. Shasta.
Tonight I'm in Camp 3. This camp is hands down the most ridiculous camp I've ever made. It's perched atop a small serac maybe 20' by 20' with huge drops on three sides. A 150 feet overhanging ice cliff is what I'm tucked under... to protect from avalanches. Yikes!
The past three days I've spent making my way up Annapurna. The first day (the 19th) I left Base Camp with two Sherpa guides to re-open the route after a week of snow. But on the way to Camp 1 and after arriving in Camp 1, I was observing avalanche activity that was just too frequent for my comfort to continue pushing on to Camp 2 (as was our original plan). Shortly after making the call to stop for the day at Camp 1, a massive avalanche broke high on Annapurna. Rumbling toward us, I thought, for a moment, it was gonna hit us but luckily it just dusted Camp 1 with a cloud of snow and a large gust of wind.
The 20th I made my way to Camp 2 and found my tent, that I had set up on April 4th when I first established the camp, buried under 7ft of snow. Three and a half hours later I had my tent unburied and patched up. Today, the 21st, I tackled the most technical and dangerous section of Annapurna. Namely, a 3,200-foot climb through steep alpine ice with large seracs always above you. Just think of ice blocks the size of tractor trailers just waiting their turn to rumble down the mountain side. About mid-way through the climb I broke one of the straps on my Millet 8000m boots. Taking refuge beneath a massive serac I quickly jimmy-rigged a fix and kept climbing. The key in these regions is to move as fast as is safe and possible for you.
This evening at Camp 3 I'm sharing this small ice pedestal with another team. We barely fit. Just as dark set in a large stove fire erupted in a tent adjacent to mine. Luckily I had my down suit and inner boots on and could rush out to help reduce the fire. Myself and a few other climbers rushed to kick gas canisters and oxygen bottles out of the fire; throwing snow on it, and principally focusing on preventing the other tents from catching fire. Unbelievably no one was injured! The tent and many of the occupant's belongings were lost to the fire, but everyone is safe now.
It's quite windy here tonight. Not sustained, but you can hear the gusts approaching from the distance. Not sure what my game plan is for tomorrow, either head to Camp 4 and make a summit attempt tomorrow evening; in which case I'd be racing a forecasted storm to the summit, or head back to Base Camp and wait for a more stable window.
RMI Guide Alex Barber
As your next climb approaches, it’s a great idea to revisit your training plan with a critical eye and make a plan for how you are going to tune-up for the big event. Within four to six weeks of your climb, assess what is going well in your training and what could use a boost. This might mean entering a race or checking back in on a set of benchmarks that you’ve been using. It’s difficult to make an effective difference in your endurance base at this point—there simply isn’t time. Cramming in all of the hours that you wish you had done earlier is more likely to lead to injury or showing up to the climb already fatigued. Have confidence that you’ve done the job of setting yourself up with a good base and look to these other areas of your fitness for the final tune-up:
Core strength: Your core is comprised of all of the muscles that surround your spine, the side muscles, pelvic muscles, the glutes, as well as (but not just!) the abs. These muscles provide the link in the kinetic chain between your upper and lower body, and thus, nearly any movement you make ripples through the core. In climbing, a strong core helps to link the movements that we make rest stepping uphill with the stabilization of the upper body, including a heavy pack. Add an extra workout or two per week of core strength—focusing on the whole core not just the abs—in the weeks leading up to your climb. The extra strength that you build will help you to climb more efficiently, for longer!
Anaerobic threshold: Your final weeks of training should include some tune-up interval workouts. Try to find a mix of slightly longer level 4 interval workouts to increase your anaerobic threshold, and shorter, speed oriented workouts to tune-up your fast-twitch muscles. Emphasizing some harder intervals and speeds during your final weeks can give you a greater ability to recover from hard efforts during your climb and give you a few more gears should you need them.
Flexibility: A focus on strength training often comes at the expense of flexibility. As the muscles are broken down by training and recover again to build strength, they tend to tighten. If you haven’t dedicated much time to stretching and flexibility, use this opportunity to build it. Building flexibility will help your muscles work more efficiently during the climb and can help to prevent injuries or discomfort that may arise from the effort.
In your final tune-up don’t leave out your long workouts completely, but you can reduce your training volume or hours, and in doing so free up some workout time to focus on these areas. Though mountaineering is an endurance sport, strength, flexibility, and your capacity for high output activity are all important and the effect of your training can be greater in these areas over this last period of preparation. Pick out the elements that could use a tune-up, and take this opportunity to maximize your gains and head into your climb feeling ready and prepared.
_____
Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts here on the RMI Blog!
Finally, a breakthrough day. Our excellent Sherpa climbing team ran up to the midpoint of the icefall where we'd cached gear yesterday. They put all of that on their backs and busted on up to establish Camp 1 at approximately 19,800 ft. Two of the guys, Rinjin and Sonam then cruised on up to Camp 2 (Advanced Base Camp), claiming our campsite -which will be crucial with the mountain as busy as we expect it to be- and retrieving our ABC gear from last year ("abandoned" when the season came to an unexpected end last year). Meanwhile- Chhering, JJ Justman and I guided the climbing team on our much anticipated "dress rehearsal" for the Icefall. We were up at 3:30 AM, eating at 4 AM and walking by 4:30 AM. The intention was to travel smoothly and efficiently to the midpoint of the Icefall and return to base... as a check that the entire team would be ready for the committing step of moving to Camp 1. We did just that on another perfect weather morning. It was encouraging for all of us, and a little awe inspiring when three of the Icefall Doctors caught up and passed us as if we were standing still -all while carrying heavy and cumbersome sections of ladder to put in place at yesterday's trouble spot near the top of the Icefall. About two hours into our climb, we hit our own first real ladders and aced a half dozen awkward crossings. We took a break at the midpoint, still in deep and cool shadows and then got set for the equally challenging descent to Base. The team cruised through this test, showing the advantages of two weeks of training and acclimatizing. We were back down to the luxuries of Base Camp by 9:30 AM, feeling like we'd already put in a full day of hard work. The remainder of the day was spent resting, talking with climbers and guides from neighboring trips, and enjoying a few hours more of T-Shirt weather before we bundled up again for the late afternoon clouds.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Rock on…haha BTW, I recognize the guy in the climbing picture. Hiking behind Hans. Give him a hug for me. Safe travels to Camp 1. xoxo
Posted by: Bonny Rogers on 4/21/2015 at 3:36 pm
Hi all together, great pictures from the icefall!!!
You are in and everybody is well and feel fine - I hope so! And thank you Dave and JJ, you are responsible guides - safety first!!!
Good weather and good luck for your next steps.
Best wishes to Hans from hot and sunny Germany - Ute
Another early morning, another attempt to get through the Khumbu Icefall. Thwarted. We were still hoping to accomplish a recon/carry and so I headed out with our Sherpa climbing team at 4:30 AM. As we started, the Sherpa teams ahead of us formed a solid parade of headlights, snaking up through the glacier in the darkness. We made fine progress though, easily passing our highpoint from the other day. That last time the weather was poor, and this time it was perfect, so we could see everything we needed and wanted to see about the climbing route. Our luck ran out near the top of the technical difficulties when we skidded to a stop at 7 AM at the tail end of a monumental traffic jam. We spent 90 minutes inching upward, stomping our feet to stay warm (we were still in deep and cool shadows), and alternately eyeballing the ice towers hanging over our heads and the nearby site of last year's tragic avalanche. Finally, with perhaps a hundred Sherpas at full stop between ourselves and a fairly difficult wall climb, we determined that we'd pushed our luck far enough. We descended, cached the load at the icefall's midpoint and got ourselves out of the line of fire and on our way back to Basecamp. Sherpas and climbers did eventually make camp one and even camp two on this day, but the missions took perhaps three times as long as they should have, with much of that time spent at risk... Not for us. We reached sunny and safe Base Camp shortly after JJ Justman had departed with our team for a Pumori Camp One hike. The route needs more work and we conveyed this idea as best we were able to the Icefall Doctors and their administrators. In general terms, it takes a safer path than the routes of recent years, but more work needs to be done and more ladders need to be fixed in order to handle the Sherpa traffic, let alone the less skilled foreign climbers who will soon hit the climb in great numbers.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Don’t we go to the mountains to get away from traffic jams! You exhibit that all important combination of dogged determination with prudence that is so important up there. Glad the weather is moderating, which I hope will facilitate more progress soon. A special hello to J J and thanks for the birthday greeting to my son, Zac (Zeke).
Best wishes to all for a safe, successful ascent.
Posted by: Everett Moran on 4/21/2015 at 7:45 am
Glad you are a safety guy. Hate to think of the frontline team in the risk zone while awaiting a traffic jam. Be well. Sending my best. xo
Our family has been praying for Mark and all of you since the news broke. Mark, you guided us up Kili in 2012 and I have no doubt were one of the best to deal with the tragedy you faced. Continued prayers for your safe return. Dennis
Posted by: Dennis Mulherin on 4/28/2015 at 4:42 am
JJ, glad to hear you are safe! Worried when we heard the news. We’re sad to hear about all the casualties, and our hearts are with everyone in Nepal!
Posted by: Leslie on 4/27/2015 at 11:02 am
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