원정 개요

From Adventure Peaks website:

21st May 10:00pm Nepali Time

The whole team reached the top camp between 12:30pm & 2:30pm Nepali time today. For the last 8-10 hours they have been resting, cramming in what calories they can manage to consume and trying to keep hydrated. After years of preparation for each memeber of the team it all comes down to the next 8-12 hours to achieve, what for some will have been a life long ambition, of standing on the highest point on earth.

Chris called to say the team left right on time at 10pm Nepali time and so far everything is looking good for their bid. Mick is continuing to not use oxygen, but has made the decision to carry 2 cylinders just in case. All being well the next update will be from when the team reach the NE Ridge in hopefully a couple of hours time.

21st May 11:45pm Nepali Time

Chris has just made a very brief call. The team have made it to 8400m, the junction point with the NE Ridge. All the team are going well. They are now 1km from the summit, albeit it normally takes 6-8 hours to climb that final kilometer!

22nd May 04:40am Nepali Time

Great news, just after first light, Mick Allen is the first climber to reach the summit this morning. He switched over to using oxygen from about 8400m after his feet started to get really cold, so a really sensible decision by Mick to carry the oxygen. The oxygen made a huge difference and he started to get feeling back in his feet after 10 minutes. Not sure if he was also drinking rocket fuel while he was up their but he’s made the summit in fantastic time. The rest of the team are still making their way up towards the summit and will hopefully join him soon.

22nd May 08:30am Nepali Time

Another succesful summit bid is accomplished. A big well done to the team for their efforts. Chris has just left a very muffled message (he didn't take his mask off when talking), it seems despite having signal and trying to keep the sat phone warm in his suit he was struggling to make a call connect. From what I've been able to decipher from the call Al Ball & Andrew Smith decided to turn round just below the 1st Step and are back down at Camp 3. The rest of the team carried on and reached the summit around 5am Nepali time Mick, Chris, Andrew Whyte & Phurba, closely Followed by Andrew Taylor & Lhakpa. They are now on descent to Camp 3. At the time of the call Chris was with Andrew Whyte and about 25 minutes away from camp where he will call again. Andy Taylor is not too far behind with Lhakpa. We wish them a safe journey back down the mountain.

22nd May 11:44am Nepali Time

Chris has just called in from Camp 3 to give an update on the teams progress and clarify the events of the summit morning. The weather forecast the team received turned out to be pretty accurate, early on the clouds were coming and going and there were light winds, but the increased humidity menat that it did eventually cloud out and there was a light dusting of snow. The winds did pick up later on to around 20 knots, which didn't cause major issues for the summit bid, but the wind combined with the humidity meant that their suits & zippers were rimmed up with ice, causing a Chris a problem of not being able to get the phone out of his suit for considerable time, as well as radio microphones icing up.

The team decided to have planned split departure times with Mick, Al & Phurba leaving at 8pm last night, Andrew Taylor, Andrew Smith & Lhakpa at 9pm and Andrew Whyte, Chris & Phurba at 10pm. Al Ball & Andrew Smith decided to head down with Phurba just below the 1st Step at around 8550m, a tremendous effort for both of them, and are now down at Camp 2 and planning to clear down to the North Col today.

Mick reached the summit around 4:40am followed by Chris, Andrew Whyte & Phurba at 5am. Andy Taylor & Lhakpa reached the summit around 5:30am. Due to the wind & cold Chris said they spent around 15 minutes on the top before heading back down the mountain.

Mick is already on his way down to Camp 2 at 7600m. Chris, Andrew Whyte, Andy Taylor, Phurba & Lhakpa have been having a bit of well earned R&R at Camp 3, and just as Chris was calling in, they were about to set off down to Camp 2.