his from our team: “..a lot of teams are still on the mountain and looking at summit dates in the May 25-28 range. The weather has been wreaking havoc with attempts at forecasting (more than usual, apparently), so the weather reports — and, thus, summit dates — keep changing.” Everest ER is staffed by volunteers who commit to staying on the mountain until the last contracted team is down safely – or May 31st, whichever comes first. The average over past years had our tent packing up around May 26th, but this year we will definitely be later. We hear talk that the SPCC will close the icefall before the end of the month due to safety concerns, but, like the weather, nothing is certain.
“Our (patient) volume decidedly dropped with everyone going up on their summit pushes … We are, however, getting a decent number of people coming off the mountain directly to the clinic, harnesses and overboots and all. The last three days have been nonstop helicopters as the base camp exodus commences… there are patchy holes forming in the blanket of tents where teams have left and you can see glacier again.”
We are grateful for the tremendous donation of time and expertise from our volunteers — and salute their commitment to caring for the base camp community.
One Response
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So very thankful for what you all have sacrificed for the teams this year. Weather and wind have definitely made it a difficult season this year. May God bless you all as you leave camp and return to your loved ones. Namaste! Thank you!
Gina Murphy