April 16th, 2024
Phunuru and the climbers made it back to Everest Base Camp and were able to send out some nice shots of their climb of Lobuche Peak yesterday. It looks like it was a great day to be in the mountains. Well done team!!
April 15, 2024
Phunuru reports the weather was good and the Lobuche and Everest climbers had a nice trip up Lobuche Peak! After a night at the high camp (about 18,300 ft) they were up at 3am and climbing by 4am. The route to the summit is initially rocky, before transitioning to steep snow and a spectacular ascent on fixed ropes to the summit ridge, from where the views up and down the valley are really fantastic. Now the climbers are back at Lobuche Base Camp, enjoying their success and the thick air. Tomorrow the Lobuche climbers head down valley, and the Everest climbers will move back up to Everest BC. Well done team!
April 12, 2024
Phunuru reports from Base Camp that the Everest team had a nice puja yesterday. The lama from Pangboche came up to officiate, and the weather was favorable. This ceremony is important to the Sherpas for good luck on the mountain, and for the foreign climbers it’s a fun way to kick off the climbing season. Next up for the team is some training on the Khumbu Glacier, followed by an acclimatization climb of Lobuche Peak.
Down in Lukla, IMG guide Porter McMichael and his team of Mera/Ama Dablam/and Everest/Lhotse climbers had a nice acclimatization hike up to Chautanga village (11,600 ft) which is on the way to the Zwatra La pass that goes to Hinku Valley. This is a great hike, departing busy Lukla and within just a few minutes finding a whole different landscape with no trekkers, lots of rhododendrons in bloom and small farms. Tomorrow the team will save themselves the stiff hike up and over Zwatra La, and will instead fly by helicopter direct to Khote in Hinku Valley.
April 10, 2023
Phunuru reports that Team 2 are doing well at Everest Base Camp. The weather has been excellent and they are excited to finally get to the end of the trail! Tomorrow they are looking forward to the puja ceremony, marking the beginning of the climbing. Higher up, the Icefall doctors have made good progress, and the route to Camp 1 will hopefully be open soon. All’s well at EBC!
April 9, 2024 –
Phunuru Sherpa reports that yesterday Team 2 had a good acclimatization hike up to the Lobuche High Camp, before descending to Lobuche BC for another night. Everyone is doing well and feeling strong. Today, Ang Jangbu and the Team 1 trekkers departed Base Camp, while Team 2 and the climbers moved up to Everest BC. Next up for the climbers is a day of training on the Khumbu Glacier, double checking their gear and techniques in preparation for their warm-up ascent of Lobuche Peak. Higher up the Icefall Doctors have made progress on getting to Camp 1, but still have more work to do on the route.
Back in Kathmandu IMG guide Porter McMichael did the Dept of Tourism (ministry) briefing for the permits. Porter and our Mera/Ama Dablam team will be departing tomorrow for Lukla. All’s well in Nepal!
April 7, 2024
IMG Everest Base Camp (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)
Lobuche Base Camp (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)
IMG Team 1 on the way to Everest BC from Lobuche Base Camp (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)
Ang Jangbu reports that Team 1 departed Lobuche Base Camp (about 15,500 ft) and had a nice hike today up to Everest Base Camp (about 17,500 ft), arriving before 2pm. They were greeted by cooks Kaji and Nima and the BC team, who have been working hard to get the camp all buffed for their arrival! Three days behind, Phunuru and Team 2 moved from Pheriche up to Lobuche Base Camp and are also doing well, arriving in good time.
The report from higher up on the mountain is that the Khumbu Icefall Doctors have been working hard on the Icefall route, but have run into some difficulties above the Football Field, requiring some route modifications. They have not yet reached Camp 1 and will need some additional time before the route gets opened.
April 5, 2024
Team 2 on the way to Pheriche (Phunuru Sherpa)
IMG Guide Phunuru Sherpa checked in with updates- Team 2 successfully moved from Pangboche to Pheriche today.
While Team 2 was on the move further up the Khumbu Valley, Team 1 spent today on an acclimatization hike near Lobuche base camp.
All’s well in the Khumbu!
April 3, 2024
On the trail to Pangboche with Ama Dablam (Phunuru)
Team 2 meeting with the Lama at Pangboche (Phunuru)
View of Ama Dablam from Lobuche Base Camp (Ang Jangbu)
Ang Jangbu reports that today Team 1 moved up to Lobuche Base Camp (15,500 ft /4,700 m) after their acclimatization day in Pheriche. To get there they followed the valley up to Thugla, then ascended the terminal moraine of the Khumbu Glacier to the Sherpa chorten memorials. Another hour of trekking up the Khumbu Glacier lateral moraine took them to the scenic Lobuche Base Camp, located at the foot of Lobuche Peak. Over the next couple days they will enjoy acclimatization hikes and having their own private camp and cooks. These nights they will spend at LBC are an important part of the team’s acclimatization profile, which will allow then to move into Everest Base camp well acclimatized.
Lower down, Phunuru and Team 2 had a nice hike from Phortse up to Pangboche. This afternoon they visited they the Pangboche monastery and had an audience with the Lama for the traditional climber blessing ceremony. Tomorrow they will be moving up to Pheriche. All’s well in Nepal!
April 3, 2024
Looking down the valley towards Kangtega and Thamserku from above Pheriche (Eric Simonson)
Phortse and Ama Dabam (Eric Simonson)
Ang Jangbu reports that Team 1 had a great acclimatization day in Pheriche. Most of the team members went up Ngartsang Ri for an acclimatization hike while a few took it easy and did shorter walks around town. The team also had a chance to visit the HRA clinic, which does a great job educating trekkers about altitude sickness. Everyone is doing well and they are moving to Lobuche Base Camp tomorrow.
Down in Phortse, Phunuru reports that Team 2 is also doing very well. They had a nice visit to Phunuru’s home and got up early for a sunrise view. Today they are moving up to Pangboche, where they will visit the monastery. All’s well in Nepal!
April 2nd, 2024–
Team 2 at the Everest Viewpoint above Namche (Phunuru Sherpa)
The weather has been good the last couple days and our Sherpas at Everest BC are almost finished with building our Camp. They report that the Icefall doctors working on the route in the Khumbu Icefall have now reached above the Football Field and will have the route open to Camp 1 soon.
Lower down, our two teams are moving higher. Ang Jangbu reports that yesterday Team 1 departed Phortse and took the high trail on the west side of the valley up to Pangboche. This is a spectacular and infrequently used trek route, with great view across the valley to Tengboche and Ama Dablam. Today they are moving on up to Pheriche (about 14,300 ft).
Three days behind Team 1, Phunuru and the Team 2 had a nice acclimatization hike up to the Everest viewpoint, and then they moved up to Khunde, following in the steps of Team 1. Now they are moving to Phortse, the local home of many of the IMG Sherpas (including Jangbu and Phunuru). Alls well at Mt Everest!
Team 1 departs Phortse on the way to Pangboche (Ang Jangbu)
On the way to Pheriche with Everest and Lhotse peeking into view (Eric Simonson)
