There is no question that Ueli Steck's solo ascent of Annapurna is the boldest climb of the year. News of his amazing feat has captivated the mountaineering community for the past few weeks as we've all waited to hear more about the expedition. Now that he is back home, Ueli sat down with the folks from EpicTV for an interview to discuss his latest adventure in the Himalaya. Part 1 of that interview can be found below, where you'll learn – amongst other things – that Steck feels a bit "empty" following his return from Annapurna.

What do you do when you're a world-class climber coming off a disappointing season in the Himalaya where you were caught up in one of the biggest Everest stories in recent memory? If you're Ueli Steck, you look for new challenges in your own backyard. In this case, that means speed-climbing the longest and toughest ridge in the Alps in impressive fashion.

Last week, Ueli set his sights on the Intégrale de Peuterey, a very long and difficult ridge that culminates at the summit of Mont Blanc du Courmayuer. This route features a vertical gain of 4500 meters (14,764 ft) and typically takes about 2-3 days for most climbers to complete. But most climbers aren't Ueli Steck, a man who has made a career out of going light and ver fast in the Alps. This time out he managed to knock of the entire climb – both up and down – in a little over 16 hours.

The ascent began well before dawn on August 12. With his camp located an additional 1000 meters (3280 ft) below the Intégrale de Peuterey, Ueli set off in running shoes traveling as quickly as he could. He covered that first 1000 meters in about an hour and then moved out onto the ridge itself. His pack was filled with only the bare essentials including a light down jacket, 60 meters or rope and assorted other climbing gear. He chewed through the early stages of the ascent in typical fashion – which is to say very fast – and switched over to his climbing shoes as he transitioned off the trail and onto the mixed rock, snow and ice that would be the crux of the challenge.

Traveling solo, Ueli was able to go at his own pace and made great progress, even when he encountered a pair of other climbers making the same ascent. He gave them a wide berth so as to not kick rocks back down upon them as he went by, leaving those climbers to wonder who was the speed demon that just left them in the dust.

The Swiss climber reached the summit of the Mont Blanc du Courmayuer just before 3:00 PM local time. That meant he had gone from his tent to the summit in under 11 hours. He took a few moments o enjoy the accomplishment before starting back down, crossing over to Mont Blanc proper and heading to the Dome de Gouter before descending into the Chamonix valley. By the time he passed the church in the village of Les Houches he had been on the move for just over 16 hours. He arrived back at his tent a short time later and immediately climbed into his sleeping bag for a much deserved nap. It had been a good day to climb in the Alps.

For more details on the climb, read Ueli's account on his website or a translated version here.

The Everest climbing season may be long over at this point, but one story continues to get plenty of attention weeks later. The conflict that took place between European climbers Ueli Steck, Simone Moro and Jonathan Griffith and the Sherpa team fixing ropes high on the mountain both shocked and saddened the mountaineering world. A loss of tempers is one thing but threatening the lives of the three western climbers is a completely different situation altogether and while it has been two months since the high profile incident took place, the repercussions of the event are likely to be felt for months and years to come.

One of the more respected figures on Everest is Russell Brice who has been coming to the mountain for decades both as a climber and expedition leader. His company, Himalayan Experience, is one of the larger and more well organized groups on the mountain each year and Brice is most certainly a leader in the Everest community. It was him who helped broker a deal between the three climbers and the Sherpas that helped bring a semblance of peace to the mountain following the conflict this spring and two of his best Sherpas were part of the group that had the initial run-in with Ueli, Simone and Jonathan. Brice has mostly kept quiet about the situation, preferring to let it play out within the "Everest family" if you will. But now, he has shared his thoughts on the entire affair in an interview with the BMC.

In the interview, the no-nonsense Brice doesn't really do much to dispute the story that Simone and Ueli have shared with the media. He does take umbrage with the fact that they spoke to the media at all however as part of the "peace accord" that was made in Base Camp. One of the conditions that came out of those talks was that the European climbers wouldn't talk to openly with the press. Russell feels that that portion of the agreement was ignored by Ueli in particular. He goes on to say that the Swiss climber wanted to press charges against those who has assaulted him, which would have involved getting the police and government officials wrapped up in the conflict. That didn't happen, but Brice says that the ringleaders of this assault would most certainly be dealt with in other ways within the Sherpa community.

The article offers some excellent insights into Sherpa culture, the Everest climbing community, life in the Khumbu, the economics of guided expeditions and much more. It is a good read all around and I highly recommend you take a look. Lots of interesting stuff for those who can't get enough news about Everest.

Big thanks to my friends over at EpicTV for sharing this story yesterday. Its has some very important message that I think many will find interesting.

So what's a world class climber to do after having his Everest dreams crushed? Return home, rest up and then go play in the alps apparently.

After Ueli Steck left the Himalaya following his much publicized showdown with the Sherpas this spring, he went on radio silence. He, Simone Moro and Jonathan Griffin were threatened, beaten and generally harassed on Everest, forcing them to abandon their attempt at a new route. Once the situation calmed down, he and Griffin left Nepal and returned home to Europe, where Ueli has been careful with his comments on the delicate situation.

But as with all climbers, the mountains make everything better and it looks like he had the opportunity to stretch his legs a bit in the Alps this week. Jonathan joined him for a little speed-run up the Mönch, a 4107 meter (13,747 ft) peak that sits between the famous Jungfrau and the Eiger.

Jonathan writes in a blog post on Ueli's website that the Mönch isn't a particularly tough climb, but it is a long route. During their busy day in the Alps, the covered 3460 meters (11,351 ft) of vertical ascent and 18 km (11 miles) total distance. Best of all, they captured some great photos along the way, showing the Swiss Machine completely in his element. You can take a peek at them here.

It is good to see these two men get back to climbing. Lets hope we see them back in the Himalaya in the future as well.

Clearly the story of the week has been the showdown between European climbers Ueli Steck, Jonathan Griffith and Simone Moro and the mob of enraged Sherpas at Camp 2 on Everest last weekend. On the one hand, it is the story that we want to put behind us and on the other, it is one that we want to hear all sides of the story. The latest bit of insights on what happened come via ExWeb, who have scored an interview with Simone himself.

The brief interview doesn't shed a ton of new light on exactly what happened, and by now I think most of the details have come out in a variety of reports. But it does give Simone the opportunity to talk abut the situation first hand and respond to some of the things that are being said. The Italian climber is quick to point out that climbing independently, he has as much right to be on the mountain as the Sherpas and he says that he and his team stayed well out of the way of the group that was fixing the ropes at the time. The only point where they came close to the ropes was when they were crossing them to reach their tent at C3. He does admit that he used strong words when confronted, but says that doesn't excuse the violent reaction that he saw out of the Sherpas upon returning to Camp 2.

He also addresses the statements of Everest guide Garrett Madison of Alpine Ascents. Earlier this week Garrett wrote a blog post that was intended to tell the story from the Sherpas side, something that has mostly been lacking in reports thus far. In that post, he claimed that Simone used profane language on an open and shared radio frequency, in a sense challenging the Sherpas to a fight. For his part, Moro denies this categorically, telling ExWeb "This is completely, completely, completely false!" He further says that he wouldn't make "such a stupid and provocative radio call" and claims to have witnesses to back him up on that. Presumably those witnesses would be Ueli and Jon.

Simone confirms that his climbing partners departed Nepal yesterday, but he is staying. The Italian operates a rescue helicopter in the country and is standing by to lend assistance as needed. He says that he may even end up saving the lives of some of the people who tried to kill him just last weekend.

There you go. A bit more information and insights directly from one of the principle participants in this affair. Probably not the last we'll hear of this story.

The recent violent attacks between a mob of angry Sherpas and three high profile mountaineers – Ueli Steck, Simone Moro and Jonathan Griffith – continues to cast a large shadow over Everest. Even though the two sides of the dispute have shaken hands and attempted to bury the hatchet, the stories about what actually happened on the mountain continue to trickle in and they aren't pretty. The showdown at Camp 2 this past weekend was an ugly one to say the least and while it seems both sides did some things that helped to escalate the conflict, the brutal attacks from the Sherpas was unjustified and terrifying. Yesterday, Garrett Madsen of Alpine Ascents gave us an account of the situation from the perspective of the Sherpas, which helped to shed some light on things, but as more information is revealed, it seems that the Lhotse Face was kettle that was just waiting to boil over.

While I had hoped to put this story behind us today, it seems that there is still more to be told. For instance, I'd encourage you to read Chad Kellogg's account of the situation as it actually begins a few days before the fight broke out. It seems Chad and his climbing partner joined the effort to fix the ropes up the Lhotse Face, taking a route that was used last year in an effort to avoid falling debris on the mountain. The two men spent the better part of the day placing ropes on the mountain, with the support of some of the Sherpa. Late in the day however they reached an enormous crevasse. One that was too large to cross and so all of their work was in vain. Chad and his companion told the Sherpas that the route wasn't good, and the Sherpas simply dropped all of their rope and went back down the mountain, not in a good mood. That left the two Western climbers to pick up the gear before returning to Camp 2.

When the did reach C2, Chad says that there was already tension amongst the Sherpas there. They felt like they had wasted an entire day following a route that was useless and that it was the fault of the foreigners for doing so. He also discovered that fixing the lines is a point of national pride for the Sherpas, and they didn't like anyone else doing it for them. That grumbling would continue into the next day and would eventually boil over more violently on Ueli, Simone and Jon.

After the incident occurred, Chad also spoke to a number of the other climbers who were in Camp 2 when the fight went down and got a first hand account of the brutality there. One of those climbers took a rock to the head himself for attempting to protect Ueli, who was immediately struck in the head with a rock as soon as he stepped out of his tent. Chad also says that Simone was told that if he came out of the tent on his knees to apologize that things would be better, but when he did he was also attacked on the spot. A second attempt to ask for forgiveness on his knees, resulted in the Italian climber being kicked under his jaw. One Sherpa even tried to stab Simone with a pen knife, but the blade struck the padded portion of his backpack, thankfully not doing any damage.

Reading this harrowing account of the attack is scary and it helps to understand why Ueli has now said he is finished climbing in Nepal and possibly the Himalaya in general. He and Jon should be heading home today, but it is unclear whether or not Simone is also heading home. Considering just how talented and dedicated these two men are as alpinists, it would be a shame if they didn't return to the region in the future.

Meanwhile, as more and more of these stories trickle out, it becomes clear that Melissa Arnot played a large role in helping to diffuse the situation. Ueli himself says that he owes her his life, as she served as a buffer between him and the angry mob. Thankfully the Sherpas refused to hit a woman, and Melissa is a well respected climber who knows a number of the Sherpas personally. She has made the choice to not speak publicly about the incident and now simply wants to concentrate on climbing. Something I think we can all appreciate and understand.

To that end, it is important to note that most of the teams have now gone back to work and are on their latest rotations up the mountain. Several took a few days off to let the emotions settle, but are now once again on the move as they prepare for eventual summit bids. The ropes have been fixed above Camp 3 and the Sherpas have even started progress towards Camp 4 on both Everest and Lhotse. The latest updates indicate high winds have moved onto the upper slopes however and for now the rope fixing efforts have come to an end. They hope to resume tomorrow or the next day, with the hopes of reaching the summit sometime next week.

Teams that are currently acclimatizing in Camp 3 include IMG, Peak Freaks and RMI. Each of them reports that their teams are doing fine and climbing well. Everything is going according to schedule and after spending a day or two at altitude, they'll probably head back down to BC to wait for the rope fixing to be finished and the weather window to open.

David Tait is heading up to Camp 3 tomorrow after spending two days at C2. He's climbing with Himex but with his experience he tends to climb on his own schedule. When the rest of the team returns to Base Camp to rest up, David intends to stay at altitude, wait for the rope fixing to finish, then make a quick dash to the summit ahead of the big crowds. He's done this in the past to much success and it is clear that he wants to be amongst the first to top out once again this year. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't follow the Sherpas fixing the lines and isn't on top shortly after they complete their work. I guess we'll find out next week.

Finally, a brief update on Denis Urubko and Alexei Bolotov. The two climbers are still hoping to complete their new route along the Southwest Ridge, but after the recent incident between the independent climbers and the Sherpas, they have moved down the mountain for some rest. Alex is apparently in BC while Denis has gone down to the village of Deboche. Both men are friends with Simone and Ueli, so no doubt they've taken word of the attack very seriously. With any luck, they'll be headed back up the mountain soon.

That's all for now. Hopefully more to report tomorrow.

The story of the conflict that broke out on Everest this past weekend continues to dominate the news in the world adventure today. While I know many of us are ready to put the event behind us and move on, it is clear that it was an ugly incident no matter how you cut it. It is also important to note that there are always multiple sides to the story as well. In order to be fair and try to provide as much info as possible, I wanted to share a couple more nuggets of information about the clash between the three European climbers and the Sherpas.

First up, Ueli Steck has given an interview to SwissInfo.ch in which he shares a lot of information about what happened, at least from his perspective. The gist of what went down is already out there, so I won't recount the whole tale once again, suffice as to say it is important to hear it from Ueli himself. He fills in some important details, such as when he, Simone and Jon were climbing up the Lhotse Face beside the Sherpa teams, Ueli claims that there ropes were 50 meters (160 ft) to the left of those the Sherpas were putting into place. That makes it seem highly unlikely that they would have kicked ice or snow down onto the teams working below them. He also says that the team's intention was to spend the night at Camp 3, but decided they needed to head down to C2 to try to work things out with the Sherpas because they felt bad that the other commercial teams were not getting the ropes fixed. Those are ropes that Ueli says he and his companions didn't need in the first place, but most everyone else would. He claims that they felt so bad about the situation that they they completed fixing the ropes up to Camp 3, an additional 260 meters by some accounts, for the Sherpas.

The scene of course turned wild when they returned to Camp 2 with as many as 100 Sherpas attacking them. Ueli credits Melissa Arnot with saving his life and helping defuse the situation, and says that Greg Vernovage of IMG also was instrumental in calming things down and ensuring he stayed safe. I suspect there were others involved as well and we'll hear more stories like this one in the days ahead.


Perhaps saddest of all, Ueli says that he is now done with Everest. It seems the entire situation has spoiled him on Nepal and the Himalaya, and at the moment he says he doesn't want to come back. Hopefully that is just the heat of the moment speaking and that once he clams down, gets some perspective and has a chance to reflect, he'll change his mind. We'll just have to wait and see.

The entire interview is worth a read, so if you have an interest in this topic, give it a look.

As with all things, there are always two sides to the story and that once again seems to be the case with this incident. Alan Arnette has posted a detailed account of the entire affair that was written by Garrett Madsen who is the leader of the Alpine Ascents team. It fills in some more important details that help explain the situation further. For instance, the Sherpas were operating under the assumption that there wouldn't be any other teams on the Lhotse Face while they fixed ropes up to Camp 3. That was agreed upon by all of the team leaders in a meeting on April 18. Simone Moro wasn't at that meeting however, so he wasn't aware of this agreement. Working on the Lhotse Face is incredibly demanding and difficult, so the Sherpas need to concentrate on their efforts. Having another team there was distracting and counter productive to what they were doing.

When the initial confrontation broke out just below C3, Garrett claims that it was Simone who set upon the Sherpas gathered there and began berating them in Nepalese, using foul language and demeaning words. That was the straw that broke the camels back, sending the Sherpas down to C2. Later, Simone reportedly got on the radio and using an open channel called out the Sherpas, even saying they should be ready for a fight. He was steamed and wasn't letting go of the situation either.

When they descended to C2, a heated debate broke out as to who was in the right and who should apologize to whom. Another Western climber, who had nothing to do with the incident at all, bumbled into a Sherpa, who turned to defend himself. That started the big brawl which created a scene during which Ueli, Simone and Jonathan were punched, kicked and hit with rocks. While it has bee widely reported that a small group of Western climbers helped to defuse the situation, Garrett is also quick to point out that there was a group of Sherpas hat came to the aid of European team too. I think it is important to point that out.

While the situation has not been good for the reputations of any of those involved, I think we can all agree that it is time to start putting it behind us. There is a lot of climbing to be done yet this year and this whole situation is a black eye on Everest and Nepal. Ueli and Jon are reportedly heading to Kathmandu tomorrow and it remains to be seen if Simone will depart as well.

This certainly has been a strange season on the Big Hill and it isn't over yet.

Yesterday the big news that dominated the headlines for Everest and the mountaineering world in general was the story about the conflict that took place between Simone Moro, Ueli Steck and Jonathan Griffith with the team of Sherpas who were fixing the ropes up the Lhotse Face. I won't go into details on the subject again, as it has already been rehashed a dozen times, but if you missed the story you can read my full account here.

Obviously this story was a strange one, as you don't often see conflicts erupting between the climbers and the Sherpas in general, let alone a dispute that turns violent. Nepal's Ministry of Tourism takes these kinds of affairs very seriously and yesterday they convened a meeting in Everest Base Camp between all of the parties involved to seek a resolution. By all accounts, that meeting went well with both sides apologizing and agreeing to put their differences aside. Government officials took Simone, Ueli and Jon to task for ignoring the Sherpas orders to stay off the ropes and to not climb above them, as that could have put the health of those Sherpas in jeopardy. On the other hand, the Ministry also admonished the Sherpas for their rash behavior that eventually led to a violent attack on the three European climbers.

Both sides signed an agreement taking responsibility for their actions. Alan Arnette published the text of that agreement last night and here is what it had to say:

Today, on 2070 Bhaishak 16 (April 29, 2013) at Everest base camp at SPCC office, with the presence of the Chief of Nepal Army team leader, Major Sunilsingh Rathor and the following attended personnels agreed to do the following decisions regarding the arguments between the two groups on April 27 while fixing ropes between camp 2 & camp 3. 

1. On April 27 2013, above Everest Base Camp, at Camp 2 and Camp 3 an agreement arose between foreign climbers and Nepali climbers and the situation was discussed today at this meeting. Both parties have realized their errors and apologized to each other in front of those present. Furthermore, both parties agreed to help each other in the future to make successful each others goals. It has also been decided that this issue will not be raised again. 

2. All those present agreed and committed that such activities must never be repeated by anyone in mountaineering and in the tourism sector. If any party is dissatisfied with the actions of another party, they commit not to go into conflict or use violence against the other party. Instead they commit to report the actions to the government representatives or releventent government recognized association present at the base camps, to come to an amicable solution between the parties.

We're told that the teams shook hands and parted ways amicably although it is unclear at this time whether or not Simone, Ueli and Jon will continue their expedition. Yesterday I read on the Peak Freaks blog that the three men had "cancelled their climb and have left the mountain." That led me to update my original story with the news that they had left for home. But other outlets, including Alan and ExWeb are less clear on the matter. It could be that the Simone, Ueli and Jon have gone down the Valley for a rest and will return to resume their climb along a new route in a few days. That would give the Sherpas time to fix the ropes up to the South Col and keep the teams out of each others way while they work.

Update: As I completed this post, some new information has come to light. At least one more outlet is reporting that the team is heading home. According to this story, the three Europeans will head back to Kathmandu via Helicopter tomorrow. Simone is quoted as saying "violence killed our climbing dream." It looks like the preliminary reports were accurate and the climb is indeed over for this group. Such a shame.

In the stories that came out over the past few days it was reported that several climbers came to the aid of Ueli, Simone and Jon when they were attacked in Camp 2. The names of those who helped diffuse the situation there, and quite possibly saved their lives, have not been given until now. I'm told that three climbers who were instrumental in the affair were Peter Hamor, Horia Colibaseanu and Iustin Ionescu, each of whom is a talented and experienced climber in his own right. We'd be remiss if we didn't give a tip of the hat to those three men for risking their own lives to assist others. I'm told that none of these three would ever step forward to claim credit for their actions, but had they no intervened, this story might have had a much worse ending.

Lets hope we don't see a scene like this one on Everest, or any other mountain, for a very long time.

I'll get to a normal Everest update later this morning, but wanted to share this breaking news from the weekend first. It seems it was an eventful weekend on Everest with lots of teams moving and continued rope fixing up the Lhotse Face. But the biggest news of all is that high profile climbers Ueli Steck, Simone Moro and Jonathan Griffith were attacked by an angry mob of Sherpas on Saturday and forced to descend the mountain. The incident was apparently bad enough to send Ueli to the hospital and death threats were given to the three men.

Apparently the altercation started when Simone, Ueli and Jonathan were climbing up to Camp 3 where the rope-fixing team was busy installing the lines up the mountain. As they neared their position, the Sherpas told the climbers to stay off the lines while were working on them, which the trio gladly did. The men moved up the mountain in parallel with the Sherpas to reach their already established Camp 3,  at which point they had to cross the fixed lines in order to reach the campsite.

When the lead Sherpa noticed that they were crossing the ropes he descended rapidly, possibly bumping into Ueli and then accusing the Swiss climber of touching him. A heated argument broke out with the Sherpa accusing the team of Europeans of knocking ice off the face of the mountain which then struck – and possibly injured – one of the Sherpas below. Simone attempted to diffuse the situation as he is known to have a good working relationship with the Sherpas, but tempers only flared further with reports of the Italian climber actually cursing out the lead Sherpa.

At this point, the lead Sherpa ordered all of his men to descend to Camp 2 and put an end to rope fixing for the day. In short, he was holding the rest of the teams on the mountain hostage for something he believed Ueli and Simone had done. Meanwhile, Ueli hoped to calm the situation by helping fix ropes himself, adding another 260 meters of rope up to Camp 3. After completing their work and delivering supplies to their camp, the trio descended to Camp 2, which is when things moved from bad to worse.

Upon arrival in Camp 2, Ueli, Simone and Jonathan were immediately set upon by a large group of angry Sherpas. The size of the group varies in reports from a couple of dozen to nearly a hundred. Either way, the men were assaulted viciously by the crowd. They were kicked and punched, rocks were thrown and one report even indicates there was a knife involved. Other Western climbers intervened the situation and helped calm things down over time, but the fracas apparently lasted for nearly 50 minutes.

In the immediate aftermath, Ueli, Simone and Jonathan were told to leave camp and head down the mountain or they would all be killed. Gathering a few essentials, they then descended to Base Camp without using the ropes. The threat was so serious that they didn't even want to risk using the existing lines for safety.

During the fight in Camp 2, Ueli was struck by a thrown rock and as a result he was evacuated to a hospital in Kathmandu. His injury was minor thankfully and there are reports that he is already back in BC, although ExWeb indicates that he is heading home. We'll have to wait for clarification on that point.

Several of the Sherpas that were involved in the situation have been ordered off the mountain and the situation is under investigation by the Ministry of Tourism, the Sherpa Association and the Nepalese police. As you can imagine, the government in Nepal takes this situation very seriously as they rely on the climbers coming to the country to help fund other projects. The mere thought of the lives of visitors being threatened isn't good for business.

For his part, Simone says that he believes the lead Sherpa was over reacting because of hurt pride and being extremely tired. The Italian climber says that he,  Ueli and Jonathan made their descent very quickly and easily, catching the Sherpa team that was moving much more slowly. He feels that bruised the ego of the head Sherpa, who was looking for an excuse to head down the mountain and get some rest anyway. Whether that interpretation of the events is accurate is hard to say, but it seems that there was probably a bit of blame to go around on both sides here.

In the case of the three European climbers, it seems that they probably could have been more careful crossing the ropes, taking caution to not knock ice off the slope that could injure a Sherpa below. But it should be noted that ice falling from above is a common occurrence on a climb like this, and as of now, no Sherpa has come forward to claim an injury from falling ice.

Regardless of whether or not this actually happened, the Sherpas have no excuse for their reaction. Having an angry mob assault three climbers on Everest is simply inexcusable. To threaten their lives, beat them senseless and even injure them is unthinkable. The mountain offers enough dangers without these kinds of situations as well.

I'm sure we'll hear a lot more about this in the days to come, but it sounds like it was a scary situation for the Euro climbers on Saturday. Whether or not they'll feel safe enough to attempt to go up again remains to be seen. They may decide that it simply isn't worth the risk and they truly will go home for the season. Simone does operate a rescue helicopter in the region however, so if he doesn't climb, he is likely to stay to continue those operations.

For more information on the incident, read this full account at EpicTV and check out Stefan Nestler's well written and objective take on the story as well.

What a crazy story to start the week off on. Wow!

Following the heavy snowstorms that Everest this past weekend, many of the teams spent the early part of the week either bedded down in Base Camp or trying valiantly to descend back to that point from either Camp 1 or 2. Reports indicate that more than a meter of snow fell on the area around C1, which has made it difficult to break trail or for the Sherpas to continue their efforts to fix ropes. But the skies have reportedly cleared – at least for now – and the climbers are once again on the move.

With a bit of a lull in the weather, and a forecast that calls for slightly improved conditions in the days ahead, the plan now is for the rope fixing team, comprised of the top Sherpas from a number of the larger squads, to get back to setting the lines above Camp 2. The current schedule says that they'll finish their work on the Lhotse Face this coming weekend or next Monday at the latest. That will allow the climbers to begin heading up to Camp 3 for the first time as they continue their acclimatization efforts. It also means the Sherpas are on pace to fix the ropes to Camp 4 and the summit sometime during the first week of May, which would be right on schedule with what we've seen in the past few years. After that, the teams will finish their final rotations and watch the skies for their first summit pushes of the year, sometime around mid-May.

Amongst the those who are sending climbers up to Camp 1 today are the IMG squad, who are rotating their second team up the mountain, as well as the Adventure Consultants and Jagged Globe, both of whom are starting their first rotations. Meanwhile, RMI and the Peak Freaks are staying put in BC having already competed their first acclimatization round. They'll rest and regain their strength before starting off once again in a few days. I'm sure they'll want to head up to Camp 3 once it is accessible early next week.

With Billi Bierling down for the count with a case of altitude sickness, there hasn't been much news out of the Himex camp. But fortunately David Tait is not only climbing with that team but doing an excellent job of sharing his experiences. He was amongst the climbers who went up to spend some time at Camp 1 last weekend and even climbed high enough to "tag" C2 before the weather turned really nasty and he had to descend back to BC. He does his usual good job of descriptively sharing the account of his adventure, which in this case was a harrowing descent in snowy conditions. You know the situation is bad when even the Sherpas take pause to consider which way to go down.

Similarly, Melissa Arnot shared a nice account of her first rotation, which she seems to have completed just as the heavier snows were setting in. She's no stranger to the mountain having summited it four times in the past, so she knows what needs to be done to get her up to the top for a fifth time.

Chad Kellogg has also posted a detailed report of his last couple of days trekking into BC and then continuing all the way up to Camp 2. All of that took place last week, prior to the heavy snows. His was to head back up the mountain yesterday and continue his acclimatization while also fixing ropes on the Lhotse Face to Camp 3.

On the North Side, things seem to be proceeding very well. The Altitude Junkies have moved their entire team up to Advanced Base Camp as part of their acclimatization process. Their Sherpa teams have been busy carrying bottled oxygen up to the North Col as well as they prepare for the team's arrival at that point further down the line. The climbers hope to go higher tomorrow to tag the Col itself, before descending back to ABC, but high winds are predicted, which could stymie those efforts.

Finally, Simone Moro and Ueli Steck are expected to arrive back in BC tomorrow after spending some days in Camp 2 and even attempting to move over to the West Ridge. While they still aren't talking much about their intended route up the mountain, it seems that they are planning to do something along the seldom visited West Ridge, which seems fitting for the 50th anniversary of that route.

More to come soon.

We have another video update from Simone Moro and Ueli Steck today with the two climbers checking in from Everest. From the sounds of things, the climb is going well thus far as they have been up to Camp 2 already, spent a couple of nights there acclimatizing and then returned to BC for a break. This is the first time these two very talented alpinists have climbed together, so they are still getting to know one another and finding out how they will best work together. According to Ueli, that process is going well and they are in sync in their approach to the mountain.

The video also includes some nice shots of the Khumbu Icefall and other parts of the trek up to Camp 2. Good stuff from our friends at EpicTV.

There is no doubt that Simone Moro and Ueli Steck are the dynamic duo of alpinists on Everest this spring. We are all waiting and watching to see where there "different" route will take them. The men are reportedly back in Base Camp today after already spending some time higher up the slopes and earlier our friends at EpicTV posted a new video dispatch that updates us on their condition thus far.

We all know Ueli Steck is amongst the most talented alpinists in the world today, but even the best climbers have to train and prepare for the Himalaya. In the video below, Ueli shares his training routine for taking on Everest, where he and Simone Moro are working on a "different" route this spring. If you've ever wondered how he prepares, here's your answer. And it is about as simple of an approach as you would expect.

Every time I see a video like this one I am reminded of just how much of a freak of nature Ueli actually is. At one point he talks about spending two nights at high altitude and how he still manages to eat well. Losing your appetite and getting enough calories are two of the biggest challenges of high altitude mountaineering, but it seems that isn't a problem for the "Swiss Machine." He even described it as having a big party up on the mountain. Yep, definitely a freak.

When two of the biggest names in climbing join forces it always piques the interest of the mountaineering community. That's exactly what we have with the pairing of Ueli Steck and Simone Moro this spring as the two legends prepare for an attempt on Everest. The early word on their expedition was that they intended to do a new route, but the two men have kept their plans close to the vest. Now, as the spring Himalaya season kicks off, we're learning a bit more about their plans, which they say will be "different."

Simone and Ueli recently sat down with our friends at EpicTV and shared a few more details of their Everest climb without giving too much away. They tell us they'll be climbing without oxygen or Sherpa support but from their description it sounds like they may be using an established route but approaching it in a unique fashion. They even say that we'll have to wait to see what they do once they are actually on the mountain. It seems they have a plan but are remaining flexible, reading the conditions of Everest when they are actually there.

EpicTV's  Climbing Editor and photographer Jon Griffith will also be headed to Everest this spring. He hopes to chronicle Ueli and Simone's efforts while having a go at the mountain himseslf. That should make for some interesting reports from the field when everyone sets out for Nepal in the near future. In the meantime, check out the video below of the two men talking about their upcoming expedition.

Earlier in the week I shared a video of mountaineer Ueli Steck learning to operate a paraglider, which he would go on to use in some of his more recent adventures. In the past couple of days, that same video has started to show up elsewhere and this morning it was posted on the Nat Geo Adventure Blog.  But rather than just sharing the video with readers, the team over at National Geographic also tracked Ueli down for a brief interview. As always, the "Swiss Machine" has some interesting things to share.

In the interview, Ueli talks about his interest in paragliding and how he has integrated it into his mountaineering plans. Remember, last year Ueli linked up three iconic peaks in the Alps for a single day of climbing and gliding. He mentions that it adds a bit of weight to his gear (2.6 kilograms/5.7 pounds) but it opened up new possibilities for his adventures.

The conversation also shifts to Everest and his plans for this year, which the Swiss alpinist is still keeping close to the vest. We know he'll be climbing a new route with Simone Moro this spring, but what exactly that entails, we don't know yet. Ueli also commented on his Everest climb without supplemental oxygen last year, saying his descent was "easy" getting back to the South Col in just 2.5 hours. He even weighs in on the topic of over crowding on the world's tallest mountain.

In case you missed the video in question earlier this week, I've reposted it below. Go read the full interview by clicking here.

We've known for some time that Ueli Steck has been using a paraglider in some interesting ways to bag multiple peaks in the Alps but learning to fly his glider wasn't as easy as he now makes it look. In the video below, Ueli shares his early training with us while talking about his new-found love for the sport and ways that he can use it to his advantage in the mountains.

A guy like Ueli seems to make everything look so easy, so it's kind of funny to see him struggle at first. But of course he learns to use his paraglider quite nicely in the end and we now know what he is capable of. Still, it is always interesting to find out what the Swiss Machine is up to.

I came across this video this morning and while it mostly serves as a commercial for Mountain Hardwear gear, it also gives us some insights into the brain of climber Ueli Steck. As the video says, Ueli brings the mentality of an ultra-runner to mountaineering, always wanting to go faster on the mountain. To accomplish that, his gear needs to be incredibly light without sacrificing performance, something that he worked closely with Mountain Hardwear to accomplish. Several of the company's designers are also in the video, sharing their thoughts on the way that Ueli changed their approach to creating gear. The results were a complete kit for the Swiss Machine that ways less than ten pounds. Pretty impressive stuff.

The Ueli Steck Project - Mountain Hardwear ProLab from Mountain Hardwear Europe on Vimeo.