Everest

Alpenglow Expeditions offers expeditions to Everest in conjunction Himalayan Experience. Russell Brice, owner of Himalayan Experience, has helped bring more than 300 clients on the summits of 8,000-meter peaks since 1996. Himex has the best safety record in the business and because of this success, Brice was featured on Discovery Channel’s reality series, Everest: Beyond the Limit. Climbing Everest is a once in a lifetime trip and one which requires the right preparation and a high degree of physical fitness. It is an outstanding challenge and whether or not you reach the summit you will be rewarded by the incredible intensity of the teamwork involved in attempting such a goal.

There are no easy routes on Everest. Himalayan Experience's route has traditionally gone up the North Ridge, however, we have decided to approach from the south side in Nepal because of the Tibet’s current instability and therefore the unreliable access to Everest from that side. While this route might be new for team members, Russell first climbed on the West Ridge from the Western Cwm in 1981, so it is not new for our guides and Sherpas. When Himex first started operating on the North Side fourteen years ago, there were few teams and little infrastructure, however, over the years, we have been innovative in our ideas, methods, and standards, which has led to a high level of success and safety and we look forward to bringing these practices to the south side. The experience and local knowledge that our exceptional team of high altitude Sherpas provides us with is invaluable in reading the mountain and her capricious moods. With this insight, we give ourselves every chance of beating her defenses.

Route Description

The traditional Everest Base Camp is crowded and rests on active ice where a lot of time must be spent maintaining the camp’s infrastructure. Himex will set BC farther down the valley, closer to Pumori, where there is more sun and the ice does not move, so that our Sherpa staff does not need to spend so much time on upkeep and we will all be less crowded. We do have some concern for the unstable nature of the Khumbu Icefall and intend to minimize travel through this area for team members, guides, and Sherpas. We will spend much of our initial acclimatization time using Everest and Lobuche Base Camps, doing long strenuous days and camping trips on Lobuche and surrounding peaks in order to avoid the hazards of the Icefall. There will be practice ladders at our BC in order to gain familiarity with walking across them before traveling through the Icefall for the first time. We will also place an emergency tent and equipment at Camp I at the top of the Icefall, however, we discourage the use of this camp because of the area’s inherent avalanche danger.

The first trip into the Westerm Cwm will be directly to Camp II (6,400 meters/21,000 feet) where team members will spend two nights before continuing up to Camp III (7,200 meters/23,622 feet) on the Lhotse Face. We will spend one night here before continuing down to Camp II for another night. The following day we will return to BC. Himalayan Experience will maintain a very small camp at the traditional Everest BC which will be comprised of just a kitchen/dining tent, sleeping tents, and a basic toilet tent.

We can have an early evening meal at the lower Himalayan Experience Base Camp prior to moving up to the “tea shop” for a light supper and sleep before an early start up through the Icefall and directly to Camp II in the Western Cwm. On the return journey, we can have a welcome snack and drinks at traditional BC on our way to returning to the more comfortable Himalayan Experience BC.

The summit program will, of course, depend on weather and snow conditions, but ideally it will be a single push on seven consecutive days from Himalayan Experience BC: Base Camp – Tea Shop. Tea Shop – Camp II

Camp II – Camp III Camp III – Camp IV (South Col: 7,900 meters/25,919 feet) Camp IV – Summit – Camp IV Camp IV – Camp II Camp II – Base Camp