The 2013 fall climbing season in the Himalaya just seems to keep on going, despite the fact we keep wanting to declare it finished. Heavy snow across the region has made it a difficult year, particularly in the latter stages. But a few teams are still plugging away and holding out hope for late season summits.

Perhaps the most surprising expedition that is still on going is the Korean team's attempt to climb Lhotse. ExWeb is reporting today that the squad is still on the mountain and has launched their summit bid at last. The team moved up to Camp 3 today and are expected to go to C4 tomorrow with the push to the top to follow shortly thereafter. The report says that the Korean climbers attempted to shuttle gear to Camp 4 a few days back but were turned away by excessive snow. If that is the case, I would expect the upper slopes to be very difficult, making the way to the summit a real challenge. If all goes according to plan, it looks like they'll make the final push this weekend. Lets hope it is a safe climb up and back down.

ExWeb is also reporting news from several expeditions to smaller mountains in Nepal as well. A French team is attempting the 7031 meter (23,067 ft) Saipal in the western party of the country, while another French squad has wrapped up a new route on Gauri Shankar, a 7314 meter (23,996 ft) peak on the border of Tibet. British climbers Mick Fowler and Paul Ramsden were also able to make the first ascent of Kishtwar Kailash a few weeks back. You can read details of their ascent of that 6451 meter (21,164 ft) mountain by clicking here.

Finally, we're all still awaiting word from Chad Kellogg and David Gottlieb on their attempt to make a first ascent of Lunag-Ri. It has been ten days since we received the last dispatch and at that time the boys were prepping for a summit push that was to begin on October 25 and should have taken roughly 4-5 days to complete. Given that they expected quite a bit of snow up near the summit, it is possible they are still working the route or making their descent. Hopefully we'll get news from them soon. At 6895 meters (22,621 ft) it is the tallest unclimbed peak in Nepal. Chad and David aren't the only ones attempting the mountain this fall either. There was another team in BC that was a day or two ahead of them in acclimatization and launching their own summit bid.

That's it for now. Hopefully we'll hear more about these last few expeditions in the next day or two. It seems the season will truly wrap up in the next week or so.

Heavy snow, generally poor weather and a waning climbing season in the Himalaya have brought an end to most of the expeditions this fall. Most of the big mountains have been abandoned now with the majority of teams now long gone. But there are a few smaller climbs still taking place in Nepal, where not everyone has completed their adventures just yet.

Yesterday I posted an update from Chad Kellogg and David Gottlieb who are attempting to make the first ascent of Lunag-Ri, the tallest unclimbed peak in Nepal. If all goes as planned, they'll launch their bid later this week. It won't be an easy climb however, as they report heavy snow now on the mountain with more than 4 feet (1.2 meters) falling in the past week alone.

Over on Lhotse, the last of the 8000-meter peaks to see action this fall, we're still waiting on word from the Korean team. The last update indicated that they were headed up to Camp 2 on that mountain, but the amount of snow that was on the Western Cwm this season, even before the arrival of Cyclone Phailin, was daunting. There is no word on whether or not they are still attempting to summit or are planning on heading home.

ExWeb has shared a couple of other expeditions that are still ongoing as well. For instance, a team of French climbers arrived in country last week and are en route to Saipal now. Their travel has been delayed more than once due to poor weather, but they should arrive in Base Camp soon. Located in extreme Northwest Nepal, Saipal is a seldom climbed peak with an altitude of 7031 meters (23,067 ft).

Ama Dablam is also seeing some late season action. The popular climbing peak is 6856 meters (22,493 ft) in height and is often seen as a good tune-up for other climbs in the Himalaya. Himex has a team there now and a Pakistani group led by Shaheen Baig is also on the mountain. Aussie climber Chris Jensen Burke is also hoping to wrap up a busy year in the Himalaya with one final climb on Ama Dablam too.

While these few remaining expeditions aren't as big and sexy as some of the attempts on the 8000 meter peaks, they are still solid challenges, especially when you factor in the late season weather. It should be interesting to see how much success these teams find in the next week or so. These smaller mountains don't take nearly as long to climb and I suspect most of these remaining expeditions will wrap up by the first week of November.

Stay tuned for more updates.

If you followed the Himalayan climbing season this spring you're probably already aware of Kenton Cool's amazing expedition. Just last week, the British climber who already had ten successful Everest summits to his name, put together one of the most impressive string of climbs that anyone could ever hope to accomplish. In a single push, Cool managed to knock off Nuptse (7861 m/25,791 ft), Everest (8848 m/29,029 ft) and Lhotse (8516 m/27,940 ft), something that had never been accomplished in a single season before.

Since completing this ambitious expedition we've heard snippets of Kenton's tale but post climb exhaustion, a busy travel schedule and difficult communications from Nepal haven't allowed us to fully grasp the details. At least until now.

Alan Arnette has interviewed Kenton for Outside Online and the story is just as riveting as you would imagine. Alan gets all the details starting from how the idea to climb all three mountains came about, what events allowed for Cool to make the attempt this season and what it was like to bag a trio of Himalayan peaks in succession. As you can imagine, it was no easy task and there were a number of obstacles along the way, both physical and mental.

The article is a good read with lots of insights into climbing big mountains – Nuptse, Everest and Lhotse in particular. You'll come away with an even greater respect for Kenton's accomplishment, which is one of the most daring in recent memory as far as I'm concerned.

While things wrap up on Everest, elsewhere in the Himalaya there are other expeditions that are winding down as well. The past few days have not been good for numerous teams as there has been little summit success off of the Big Hill. Now, poor weather is moving in and closing down the mountains for the summer, as most of the teams pack up and prepare to head home.

The biggest news of the day is that Spanish climber Juanjo Garra is currently stranded on Dhaulagiri. Apparently Garra was descending yesterday along with his Sherpa guide from somewhere high up on the mountain. It is unclear if they two men made the summit or not, but on their way down the Sherpa slipped and fell, knocking Garra over as well. When he fell, the Spaniard broke his ankle, making it incredibly hard for him to move at all.

Reportedly, the two men bivouacked above 8000 meters and have now called for assistance in helping to get off the mountain. That includes asking Simone Moro to bring his rescue helicopter to the mountain in an effort to help get Garra down. Of course, the helicopter won't be able to conduct a rescue at 8000 meters, so other climbers may be en route to lend a hand. It has been suggested that Ferran Latorre and Alex Txikon may be headed to Dhaulagiri with the hopes of assisting rescue efforts. The two men completed a climb of Lhotse earlier in the week and are reportedly still in Everest Base Camp.

I'll try to post updates on this developing story as we get them.

Also on Dhaulagiri, Polish climber Pawel Michalski confirms that he turned back just 67 meters (220 feet) below the summit yesterday. He is descending back to BC today and says that he'll post more details once he has a better Internet connection. From the sounds of things, high winds were once again the culprit here, forcing him to descend even though his goal was so close.

Kinga Baranowska and Rafal Fronia have turned back on their summit bid on Makalu. Once again, it was bad weather that did them in. Conditions looked promising yesterday so the duo pressed on in their attempt to top out on the 8481 meter (27,824 ft) mountain. They are descending now and hope to be back in BC later in the day.

Finally, the Adventure Consultants have posted some summit photos from Lhotse that complement their Everest summit shots from earlier. You can checkout the images here. Most of them include shots of Everest in the background. Looks like it was a good day to be at the top of the world.

More news from the Himalaya as it comes in. Things are now winding down across the board and by next week the entire region will be much more quiet.

Just as the Everest climbers continue to move up and down the mountain, other teams across the Himalaya are doing the same on various other mountains. Most are looking to top out in the next few days, but there are still some stories to tell today, starting with the epic effort that British climber Kenton Cool has just wrapped up.

As I reported yesterday, Kenton was in the middle of an absolutely massive challenge in the Himalaya. At that time he had already successfully summited both Nuptse (7861 m/25,791 ft) and Everest (8848 m/29,029 ft), claiming his 11th career summit of the world's highest mountain. He was also in the middle of a summit push to the top of Lhotse, the 8516 meter (27,940 ft) sister of Everest. No one had ever completed a back-to-back-to-back climb of all three peaks before, but I'm happy to report that Kenton has indeed done just that. His home team announced his successful Lhotse summit overnight and he has since returned to Base Camp where he is reportedly "totally shattered." The Brit is getting some much deserved rest now, but his team promises to share more information and photos on his Facebook page soon.

I want to extend a hearty congratulations to Kenton on a job well done. That series of three peaks is one impressive climb and I can't imagine how completely knackered he feels right about now. It is difficult to overstate just what kind of an effort it took to pull this off. One of the boldest expeditions in the Himalaya in quite some time.

Sadly, the news from Lhotse isn't all good today. Yesterday I also indicated that there was a climber that was struggling at altitude and that a rescue attempt was underway. That climber was Lee Hsiao-shih from Taiwan. Details remain a bit thin, but it seems he took ill on the mountain and perished in Camp 4. My condolences to his friends and family.

Finally, ExWeb is reporting that Cho Oyu was successfully summited on May 13, despite previously posting that no one had been able to climb above C3 yet. It appears that husband and wife climbing team Uko and Anu Noulik of Estonia quietly completed their climb last week, topping out at 9:30 AM local time. Bad weather had made it impossible for them to acclimatize above Camp 3 prior to their summit push, but they were able to weight out the high winds and summit last Monday. Congratulations o Uko and Anu on a job well done.

More news from the Himalaya in the next few days as summits are expected across the region.

While everyone was obviously focused on Everest this past weekend as the big push truly got underway, there was plenty of action elsewhere in the Himalaya as well. Numerous teams are now on the move and have set their sights reaching their respective summits. The good weather is holding across the region, giving everyone an opportunity to realize their goals at last.

One man who came to the Himalaya with some serious goals this season is Kenton Cool. With ten previous Everest summits under his belt, Kenton wanted to do something a little different this year and over the weekend he launched an unprecedented attempt at a Himalayan triple header. On Friday, Kenton successfully topped out on Nuptse, a 7861 meter (25,791 ft) mountain that sits in the shadow of Everest on the South Side. He followed that up on Saturday with his 11th summit of Everest, which gave him two of the three summits that he is pursuing. Currently he is on his summit push for Lhotse, the 8516 meter (27,940 ft) neighbor to Everest. There has been no update yet as to whether or not he reached the top of that mountain, but hopefully news will come later today. He may also be caught up in the drama that I mentioned earlier, in which a climber on Lhotse is being assisted down by a group of Sherpas. Lets keep our fingers crossed that Kenton and the unnamed climber are doing well.

Speaking of Lhotse. Since the weather was good on Everest this weekend it was also exceptional on Lhotse as well. This allowed a number of commercial teams to top out, including members of Himex, IMG and Adventure Consultants, amongst others. While not nearly as crowded as the Big Hill, Lhotse saw its fair share of traffic the past few days as well.

Polish climber Pawel Michalski has moved up to Camp 2 today on his summit push on Dhaulagiri. He reports tough going so far but expects the weather to improve over the next few days. He's on schedule to top out on Wednesday, provided conditions hold steady or continue to get better.

On Makalu, Kinga Baranowska and Rafal Fronia are on the move today heading up to C2 on that mountain as well. They've accelerated their summit plans do to improving weather and are now looking to top out Wednesday too. No word from Don Bowie on whether or not he'll take advantage of the shift in conditions and begin his summit push too.

Things aren't going well on Kangchenjunga for Carlos Soria. His home team indicated that Soria's team ran out of rope on the way to the summit and he was unable to complete his climb. There is some talk of cooperation with another team on the mountain to finish getting the ropes into place, but after climbing as high as 8300 meters (27,230 ft), the 72-year old Soria has now reportedly returned to Camp 4 where he is resting. Whether or not he'll be able to take another crack at the summit remains to be seen.

Also in Camp 4 on that mountain is the Italian team that includes Annalisa Fioretti. It has been slow going on the summit push and the group, which is climbing without supplemental oxygen, may be currently resting at 7500 meters (24,606 ft). If they can regain some strength, their next push could take them to the top, provided their ropes are in place allowing everyone to go up. The weather has been changing rapidly, so they're keeping an eye on that situation too.

Raul Corominas and Peter Herms were attempting a summit of Manaslu but high winds and heavy snowfall has forced them back down the mountain. They are now in Camp 3 where they are resting and waiting for another opportunity. If things improve, and they have the strength, they plan to head up to C4 tomorrow and hopefully summit on Wednesday. This is their second thwarted summit attempt and the men are getting physically and mentally exhausted. They may not have the stamina to go one more time.

Finally, there is a summit push underway on Cho Oyu by an unknown team as well. According to ExWeb, the squad set out for Base Camp on Saturday with the hopes of topping out tomorrow. It has been an incredibly tough year on the mountain which saw four teams arrive this spring and three of them depart early. This final unit has been hit hard with illness and has reduced numbers, but they are pressing ahead none the less. Due to the incredibly bad conditions on Cho Oyu this spring, no team has yet to go above C3. Hopefully the weather will improve to give this last team a shot at the top.

More updates coming soon.

Just as the teams on Everest are on the move today to take advantage of the shifting weather patterns across the Himalaya, the climbers on other mountains in the region are hoping to make their summit bids as well. Many of them have been dealing with high winds for the past few weeks too and now that that those winds are dissipating at last, the climbers are eager to begin their ascents.

On Lhotse, most of the teams are following the same pattern as their friends on Everest. You may recall that the the two mountains share the same camps from BC up to C3. From there the routes diverge with those heading to the top of Lhotse taking a sharp right as they proceed up to their own Camp 4. High winds have kept that summit out of reach for now, but this weekend it should become accessible. Expect several teams to top out in the next few days.

On Dhaulagiri, Polish climber Pawel Michalski has begun his summit push. After being confined to BC  by bad weather, he was certainly eager to get going. He launched his bid on Wednesday, saying that his health and spirits were good. He now expects to summit on either Sunday or Monday (May 20-21) depending on the weather.

On Makalu the teams are still in BC waiting for the shift in weather to turn in their favor. News of the passing of Alexey Bolotov has reached that mountain as well, where Don Bowie has written a few brief words about his friend. As I've mentioned in earlier posts, Alexey was a very well known and highly respected climber and his death has had an impact on this Himalayan season and will likely to continue to do so for seasons to come.

Spaniard Carlos Soria has launched his summit bid on Kangchenjunga. He set out from Base Camp earlier today and will now spend the next few days getting into position to top out. If all goes according to plan, he should summit sometime early next week. If successful, it will be the 72-year old's 12th 8000-meter peak.

The Italian team that includes Annalisa Fioretti will set out for the summit of Kangchenjunga today as well. Their forecasts indicate improving weather all around and they are now eyeing a summit attempt on the 20th, provided things continue to improve. The entire team will be attempting their climb without the use of supplemental oxygen.

News of Alexey's death has arrived on this mountain as well, as Oscar Cadiach learned of his fate prior to the launch of his own summit bid. It seems he'll be following a similar path as the others and will look to top out early next week.

There have been no updates from Kenton Cool since he launched his attempt at the Himalayan Triple Header earlier this week. In his last dispatch, Kenton was heading up to Camp 2 on Everest, where he was going to decide which of the summits he would go for first. You may recall that he hopes to bag Nuptse, Lhotse and Everest all in one push. The weather was expected to be the deciding factor on whether or not that was possible. We'll just have to wait until he is back in communications range to find out how many – if any – of those summits he actually managed to reach.

Speaking of Nuptse, it seems that the route to the top of that mountain was finally set in place earlier this week and since it sits so close to Everest we can expect summit attempts there this weekend as well. That includes the all-women's team with Bili Bierling that is climbing under the Himex permit.

Finally, ExWeb is reporting that during a summit bid on Shishapangma last week a climber passed away due to HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema). Apparently the team, which was being led by Thomas Laemmle, were all turned back from the Central Summit due to bad weather. A German member of the group took ill and Thomas elected to stay with him while the others moved down. But after an extended stay at altitude, the team leader began to take ill as well, so they two slowly descended. Thomas showed signs of HAPE too, but fortunately he received medication and treatment in time. The other climber, who is unnamed in the report, passed away shortly there after. Sad news indeed. Again, condolences to friends and family of the fallen.

More updates from across the Himalaya next week.

Moving away from Everest for now, there has been a host of activity across other peaks in the Himalaya these past few days as well. Weather has been an issue for the entire region, but a few climbers have been lucky enough to bag their summits while others continue to toil away and wait for their opportunity to move up.

Yesterday was a big day on Lhotse, the fourth highest mountain on the planet and Everest's neighbor. While the ropes to the summit on the Big Hill were completed last Friday, there were still a couple of hundred meters to go to finish that job on Lhotse. That work was wrapped up by a team consisting of climbers with the Himalayan Ascent squad as Chris Jensen Burke, Chirring Sherpa, Lakpa Sherpa and Pasang Sherpa fixed the final ropes to the top. Their efforts not only gave them the honor of the first Lhotse summits of the season, they have now paved the way for other climbers to follow after them.

The weather cleared on Shishapangma late last week, allowing a number of climbers to top out on the 8013 meter (26,289 ft) peak. ExWeb reports that Fabrizio Silvetti, climbing with Asian Trekking, reached the Central Summit on Friday as did climbers from Kobler & Partner.  Two other climbers with Asian Trekking – Austrian Zoltan Benedek and Batmanlai Ulzli-Orshikh of Mongolia – also summited but whether or not they made the Central or Main Summit remains unclear. Benedek is now moving on to Everest North Side to attempt a Himalayan double-header.

Over on Makalu, Kinga Baranowska and Rafal Fronia have now established their Camp 3 at 7450 meters (24,442 ft) and Sherpa teams have been working on Camp 4 at 7900 meters (25,918 ft). Having spent the night at C3, the duo are acclimatizing nicely and feel like they are strong enough for a summit bid soon. High winds are making that impossible at the moment and the forecast doesn't look good for the next few days. They'll likely now return to Base Camp and wait for conditions to improve. A summit bid could come early next week.

Oscar Cadiach is now ready for a summit push on Kangchenjunga. He and his climbing partner spent some time off the mountain trekking throughout the region while they waited for their health and the weather to improve. They went in search of the elusive snow leopard and came up empty, but did have a wonderful time at lower altitude before returning to BC. A weather window is expected to open on Thursday and they'll proceed up then. This could be a very narrow window, so they wanted to take advantage of it while they can. On a mountain such as this one, this could be the only chance they get to reach the summit.

Italian climber Annalisa Fioretti is on Kangchenjunga as well and is back in Base Camp following a trip up to Camp 2 and 3. She reports poor weather continues with winds and lots of fog. The team will be attempting their climb without oxygen and they are getting eager to move up, but as elsewhere in the Himalaya, the weather will determine when that will happen. Annalisa reports, via her home team/husband Luca, that a team of six climbers and three Sherpas are making a summit bid right now, but after several days on the mountain, there has been no word about the progress. Lets keep our fingers crossed that everyone is okay.

Finally, Polish climber Pawel Michalski continues to sit and wait in BC on Dhaulagiri. Bad weather, with hurricane force winds, is keeping him at the base of the mountain while he waits for things to improve. There have been few updates in the past few days, but presumably his weather window could come at the end of the week as well, allowing him to begin a summit push too. We'll just have to stay tuned to see if that happens.

It is now the clam before the storm in the Himalaya. If all goes according to schedule, in two days time there will be a lot of teams, on a lot of mountains, back on the move.

While the climbers on Everest head into the weekend completely focused on their acclimatization, elsewhere in the Himalaya other teams are going about their work as well. Most are in the midst of their rotations as well as they prepare for their eventual summit bids, but one climber has already knocked off his objective, claiming the first 8000 meter summit of the season.

ExWeb is reporting that Iranian climber Azim Ghychisaz successful reached the summit of the 8481 meter (27,825 ft) Makalu. Azim reported topped out on Wednesday after spending jus two weeks on the mountain. He was the first person in Base Camp this spring and while others have now joined him, his early arrival allowed him to get a head of the other teams and nab the early season summit. This is Azim's 11th 8000-meter peak. He still has Lhotse, Cho Oyu and Shishapangma to add to his resume. Congratulations on a job well done.

Also in Makalu BC this spring is Don Bowie who has written a good account of what it is like just to travel to Nepal and begin the trek to Base Camp ahead of the climb. If you've never made the trip yourself, it is a blur of airplanes and airports that takes the better part of two days to complete and that is just to get to Kathmandu. After that, its a flight out to Lukla just to get on the trail that will eventually take you to Everest, Makalu or any number of other peaks. It is quite the journey just begin the climb.

The Polish team of Kinga Baranowska and Rafal Fronia held their Puja ceremony in Makalu BC on Wednesday which allows them to officially launch their expedition. They immediately started lugging gear up the slopes and were expected to establish Camp 1 yesterday. Weather has been more dependable across the region the past few days, so it is likely that they've been able to complete that task and are now planning their strategy for moving higher.

Over on Dhaulagiri, Polish climber Pawel Michalski is on the move. Yesterday he spent seven hours climbing from BC up to Camp 1 and he plans to continue up to C2 today. After suffering horrible weather this past week, he is happy to be on the move once again. This is just a normal acclimatization rotation at this point, which will help his body to adjust to the thinner air at altitude.

Finally, on Lhotse most of the teams are following the same schedule as their Everest counterparts. Remember, the two climbs share the same route up to Camp 3 before veering off in different directions. The fixed ropes up the Lhotse face are expected to be in place by Monday, which means both Everest and Lhotse climbers will be looking to head up to C3 shortly there after. So far, everything is moving according to plan and right on schedule. Just like clockwork.

More soon.

While the bulk of my coverage from the Himalaya this season has centered around Everest thus far, it is important to note that there are plenty of climbers on other mountains in the region as well. Just like their companions on the Big Hill, these climbers have quietly been going about their work, acclimatizing and preparing for eventual summit pushes. Here is a sample of some other expeditions that are taking place this spring.

As you would expect, Lhotse (8516 m/27,940 ft) is a popular target for climbers once again this year. The peak, which is located just next door to Everest, shares the same route much of the way. Climbers make the approach along the South Side of the mountain with the paths diverging after Camp 3. As a result, the climbers share much of the same experience including spending their days in Base Camp, trekking through he Khumbu Icefall and spending their time in Camps 1 and 2. Several of the big commercial expeditions operating on Everest also have smaller teams heading to the summit of Lhotse including the Adventure Consultants and Himex.

The 8481 meter (27,825 ft) Makalu seems to be a popular destination for climbers this spring. It is the 5th tallest mountain on the planet and can be found a short distance to the southeast of Everest. Some of the climbers who are currently on that mountain include Don Bowie, who will be climbing alone, but as he says he won't be solo. He is sharing Base Camp with 15 other people, including Kinga Baranowska. She arrived in BC yesterday and reports two other teams now on site. ExWeb is reporting that young Indian climber Arjun Vajpai is also hoping to bag Makalu this spring. The 19-year old alpinist has already managed to successfully summit Everest, Lhotse and Manaslu, and now he's looking to add another 8000-meter peak to his already impressive resume.
Polish mountaineer Pawel Michalski is reporting in from Dhaulagiri (8167 m/26,795 ft), a massive peak located in central Nepal, not far from Annapurna. He says that the weather has been terrible the past few days, as we've seen on Everest as well. He's been spending his time in Base Camp, waiting for an opportunity to go up, which may actually come today. Reports indicate that the weather improved across the region yesterday which is allowing climbers to get back on the move as they continue their acclimatization process.

Journalist Billi Bierling is once again writing the dispatches for the Himex team but she has returned to the Himalaya this spring for another climb of her own. Over the past couple of years she's managed to knock off both Everest and Lhotse and now she's turning her attention on Nuptse. This 7861 meter (25,791 ft) mountain is less than 2 km from Everest and is another popular peak in the Khumbu Valley. Billi has already had a bout with High Altitude Pulmonary Edema, better known as altitude sickness, and was forced to drop to a lower altitude to recover. She seems to be feeling better now and is moving slowly back up to EBC. Hopefully she'll be okay to continue her climb, but only time will tell if her body has grown accustomed to the thinner air.

That's all for now. I'm sure there are some other excellent expeditions taking place on other mountains. I'll be sure to try to keep up with them and share news of their progress throughout the weeks ahead.

Kathmandu is bracing itself for the onslaught of climbers and trekkers that will be arriving this over the next few days as the spring Himalayan climbing season is about to get underway. Over the next few days, the streets of the city will no doubt begin to swell with traffic as mountaineers from across the globe gather to connect with teammates, grab last minute gear purchases and put the finishing touches on their plans for the season ahead. It is a busy time in Nepal's capital where the energy and excitement of the adventures ahead is almost palpable.

Over the course of the next two months I'll be following a number of high profile teams and expeditions as they take on Everest, Lhotse, Ama Dablam and other high profile Himalayan peaks. As always, it'll be a season filled with highs and lows, with spectacular successes and inevitable failures. There will almost certainly be some tragedies along the way as it seems to come with the territory, but hopefully this will be a safe season in the mountains with fewer deaths than we had last year.

Amongst the first teams to arrive in Kathmandu are the IMG squad which is already preparing to begin the trek to Base Camp. They met with officials from Nepal's Ministry of Tourism on Sunday and received their permits to climb both Everest and Lhotse. Over the next couple of days, the mountaineer will go through a series of briefings, spend some time getting to know one another and rest up from the long flights. They should depart KTM on Thursday, weather permitting.


Speaking of weather, one of the IMG Sherpas also shared a photo of the snow that continues to fall in heavy amounts this year. Colder weather and plenty of snow is a good thing for the climbers and will hopefully help them to avoid some of the issues that arose last spring when the warm, dry conditions made for a lot of falling rocks and loose scree on the mountain. Hopefully the harsher winter will make for a safer climbing environment in the weeks ahead.

The RMI team is also gathering in Kathmandu, where most had arrived by yesterday but they were still waiting for their fearless leader, Dave Hahn, to get into town. His flight was delayed, causing some issues, but nearly everyone else is there and preparing to depart on the trek. For Dave, this will be another full season on Everest and if successful, he'll have 15 total ascents of the peak. That would extend his record for the most by a non-Sherpa.

Finally, the Adventure Consultants are busy sorting gear and getting ready for the arrival of their team at the end of the week. They have squads heading to both Everest and Lhotse, so at the moment they are sorting gear and prepping for departure to BC early next week. They have a large group of Sherpas already on site at Base Camp and they have been busy preparing their site for the arrival of the climbers. By the time they get there, a small tent-city will have been erected to welcome them and make them comfortable. Those tents will serve as their home for the next two months.

That's all for now. Expect coverage to continue to expand over the next week or so. Things are about to get very busy in the Himalaya.

I'd be remiss if I didn't post the news that renowned Everest Icefall Doctor Ang Nima Sherpa has passed away. According to a statement posted on the Asian Trekking website, he died in his home village of Pangboche on January 25 at the age of 59.

For years, Ang Nima was the lead Icefall Doctor, a group of Sherpas whose job it is to find, build and maintain a safe path through the Khumbu Icefall each climbing season on Everest and Lhotse. The Icefall is the most dangerous section of the mountain and without the tireless efforts of the "doctors" it would be virtually impossible for most climbers to even attempt Everest or its neighbor. The team of Sherpas works early in the season to find a stable route through the dangerous section of the climb, located just above Base Camp. Using carefully placed ladders and ropes, the Docs create a route through to the other side. But the icefall shifts and moves on an almost daily basis, which means they must constantly check their route and make sure that it is passable at all times.

As you can imagine, this is an extremely dangerous job and more climbers have lost their lives in the icefall than on any other section of the mountain. In addition to being tough and hard working, these Sherpas have nerves of steal while operating in an environment that requires a calm presence at all times. Ang Nima Sherpa was the best of the best of these men and his leadership will be missed in the upcoming Everest season.

My condolences to his friends and family, not to mention the entire mountaineering community, for this loss.