Author : Kraig Becker

The Outpost, the official blog of Outdoorzy.com, has an interesting post up January 22, 2010 that examines the costs of climbing the Seven Summits, the highest peaks on all seven continents.

Seven Summits map (click to enlarge).

The article looks at several broad categories and gives a good estimate of what each of them costs. For instance, they say that it’ll set you back roughly $1170 for training to ensure you know what you’re doing on those mountains, and another $9200 in airfare just to fly to the various countries that is home to one of these mountains. Throw in another $1500 for “incidentals”, which covers such things as visas and passports, and things start to add up quickly.

Of course, the largest category is for the guide services necessary to climb the 7 (+1) mountains. The Outpost says that you can expect to pay between $105,850 – $169,900 on guides depending on who you choose to go with. They do note that this is an area that can be highly customized, and that’s why there is such a large variance in the cost. Guide services are not all created equal, and sometimes you get what you pay for. Besides, do you really want to go cut-rate on this kind of trip?

The one category that I might disagree with their estimate on is gear, which they say will cost you $2000. In my opinion that is on the very low side, as I’ve seen down suits and thermal boots for Everest that will cost you that much alone. But I suppose, that this is, once again, an area that can really vary greatly, and you do indeed get what you pay for here as well.

So what’s the bottom line? Outdoorzy says that the grand total of making a Seven Summits bid is about $119,720 – $183,870. That doesn’t include the time you’ll need to get off work, as most of us aren’t sponsored climbers either.

* Source : – http://theadventureblog.blogspot.com/

* Richard “Dick” Bass is the owner of Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah and the first man to climb the “Seven Summits.”

* Related Links : - Seven Summits.

* Previous story :

- The Deadly Side of Mt. Everest.

- Mt.Everest 2010: An Interview with Phil Crampton of Altitude Junkies.

- Everest 2010 season – Expeditions with any British Teams or Britons.

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Author: Alan Arnette.

To start any article on climbing deaths, it must be said that every death is devastating to family and friends and should never be taken lightly. I have helped bury climbing partners on high peaks and never wish that experience on anyone.

Sadly, mountaineering often receives mainstream media attention only when someone dies and especially on Everest. This was never more true than during the 1996 season that saw 8 people killed in a storm and then in 2006 when another 12 died while climbing. According to Eberhard Jurgalski’s 8000ers.com website, there have been about 4,024 summits since 1922 with 218 deaths or a 5.4% fatality rate.

Since 1990, the deaths have dropped to 4.4% due to better gear, weather forecasting and more rescue resources available, ironically, due to more climbers on the mountain. In 2009, about 281 people made it from the south and 60 from the north. There were 5 deaths. A record 500 people summited in 2007 evenly split between both sides, again with 5 deaths.

I wanted to examine the true statistics behind Everest in the past decade and looked to 8000ers.com for some facts. Based on his tables, the north side fatality rate is more than 2:1 over the south with falls, altitude issues and exhaustion noted as the primary reasons. The difference is even more extreme when the deaths of 9 south side Sherpas are taken from the total, making the ratio of “member or client” climber deaths from north to south 8:1. Here is the summary:

That the north side death rate is higher is not a big surprise. The north is traditionally considered slightly more dangerous given the exposure to the cold and harsh winds plus the technical nature of the Steps and exposed rock on the summit ridge.

Due to lower costs, more independent climbers are on the north thus sometimes finding themselves alone in the event of a problem. Also, it seems that more climbers do not use supplemental oxygen on the north than on the south which also can accelerate altitude issues especially in the harshest of conditions.

However, there is no strong correlation between deaths of independent climbers vs climbers on commercial expeditions. Finally, with the exception of 2005 through 2007, the south has had significantly more climbers thus more rescue resources in the event of a problem. Traditionally, commercial operators focused on the south thus fielding more Sherpas.

As far as nationalities, the Nepalese Sherpas suffer the most with 10 of the 53 deaths this decade almost all on the south side from falls, avalanches and crevasse accidents. 6 South Koren climbers have died but no other single nationality has more than 4 deaths in the past decade. As far as operators, no one operator stood out since the majority of the non-Sherpa deaths were of climbers on private national climbs, large shared permits or were climbing independently.

I am often asked which side is safer and my answer is pick your poison. The south has the Khumbu Icefall and the north has the Steps and weather. However these numbers clearly show the north takes a stronger toll. But the real story is the role and impact of the unsung heroes – the Sherpas.

Climb On!

Alan

* Source : – Alan Arnette : 2010 Everest expeditions.

* Previous story :

- Mt.Everest 2010: An Interview with Phil Crampton of Altitude Junkies.

- Everest 2010 season – Expeditions with any British Teams or Britons.

* zapraszam do subskrypcji mojego bloga :

** zapraszam na relacje z wypraw polskich himalaistów.

Author : Kraig Becker

It feels a little odd to be writing about the Everest 2010 season before Christmas, but when our friend Alan Arnette has already launched his coverage, I’m just trying to keep up. As regular readers know, Alan has the best coverage of Everest that you’ll find anywhere, and it looks like he’s going to surpass himself in the spring climbing season.

Mt. Everest – Everest 2010 season

Today we get a new entry that true Everest junkies will enjoy, as it is An Insider’s Look at Everest 2010, kicking things off with an interview with Phil Crampton, the owner of the Altitude Junkies, one of the best, and most reputable guide services on the mountain.

Alan begins the blog post with a little background on Phil, and his experience guiding in the Himalaya. From there, he goes into the interview itself, asking Phil about his thoughts for the spring climbing and trekking season in Nepal, whether or not he thinks it will be a “normal” year on Everest, and much more. The past few season’s on Everest haven’t been “normal” so to speak, thanks in part to the closures of Tibet, and the uncertainty of gaining access from that side of the mountain. Phil also talks about the rising costs of making a climb on Everest and the differences he found between climbing the North and South sides of the mountain.

All in all, Phil expects this to be a very good year on Everest, with a lot of the uncertainty from the past two years out of the picture. That should make a lot of climbers and trekkers more secure in their travels come spring time, but as Alan points out, we’re still 16 weeks away from the start of that season, and a lot can change between now and then.

* Source : – http://theadventureblog.blogspot.com/

** Previous story :

- Everest 2010 season – Expeditions with any British Teams or Britons.

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Author : Colin Wallace.

I am hoping to keep up to date with any British Teams or Britons on other permits climbing Mount Everest this season.

Are you climbing Mount Everest this Spring? If so please let me know and I will then add you to the list below.

Please remember that I have ONLY listed those members who are travelling on a British UK Passport.

List of the British teams climbing on Mount Everest 2010 season :

Adventure Peaks – Everest North Ridge Expedition – www.adventurepeaks.com

Bonita Norris – Global Angel’s 2010 Everest Expedition – www.bonitanorris.blogspot.com

Geordie Stewart – Northeast Ridge route – www.geordiestewart7summits.com

Jagged Globe – 2010 South Col Everest expedition – www.jagged-globe.co.uk

Adventure Extreme Expeditions – North Col route – www.mountaindynamics.co.uk

Trekking Encounters – South Col Route – www.trekkingencounters.com

Dream Guides – South Col Route – www.dream-guides.com

To keep up to date on how the British teams are doing while on Mount Everest please view our Dispatches.

* Source : – http://www.everest1953.co.uk/

Mount Everest The British Story For all information concerning the British on Mount Everest, we will provide the answers to many questions. From their first expedition to those of today, you will find a comprehensive history, list of summiteers, amazing facts, a gallery and much more.

** Previous story :

- K2 : Life and Death on the World’s Most Dangerous Mountain by Ed Viesturs.

- No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World’s 14 Highest Peaks by Ed Viesturs.

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