The team is doing well in the South Col and are enjoying hot drinks in their tents this morning. They will be resting through the day today and leaving for their Summit bid around 10pm tonight. The sky is perfectly clear this morning with some light breeze currently at the South Col.
Alpine Ascents Guide Ben Jones is in the region doing a little personal high altitude climbing. He is currently fixing lines on Lhotse with Damion Benegas. They departed early this morning and are making great progress, fixing the lines as they go. At 27,940 feet, Lhotse is the 4th highest mountain in the world, and its proximity to Mt. Everest provides the opportunity to link two 8,000 meter peaks in under 24 hours. Currently only three people have managed the task; Alpines Ascents Guides Garrett Madison and Mike Horst, and Alpine Ascents climber Tom Halliday. Garrett Madison is hoping to repeat the feat this year along with climbers Leanna Shuttleworth and Mark Shuttleworth. They would become the 4th and 5th people to do so and Leanna would be the first female to climb two 8,000 meter peaks in under 24 hours. Thanks to Ben and Damion for their hard work preparing the route and we look forward to following our climbers’ progress.
First things first…Mt. Everest. The team has the full day still to rest and prepare for tonight’s climb!!
Stay tuned,
Joe
