22nd July we reached the summit of Pik Lenin, 7134m.
Now back for a few days rest in Osh and Bishkek before heading to Khan Tengri and Pik Pobeda.
22nd July we reached the summit of Pik Lenin, 7134m.
Now back for a few days rest in Osh and Bishkek before heading to Khan Tengri and Pik Pobeda.
Arriving in Bishkek the capital of Krygyzstan in a heatwave, 40C.
First stop Ibn Sina Peak popularly known as Pik Lenin, 7134m.
The Numbers Game
After extensive research and data collection during the 2018 Everest season here are the statistics
96% of UK Everest climbers are from public schools
85% of climbers are from the USA and India
52% of climbers have a gofundme profile
3% of climbers will arrive at camp 2 with their crampons on the wrong feet
18% of climbers will take an ice axe past ABC on Everest
0% of climbers will be Afro American
95% of ice axes taken above ABC will be used as tent stakes
26% of climbers will spill their stove in their tent
78% of climbers will be displaying a sponsors badge
23% of climbers tried to sell advertising space on their downsuit for more if it was on their chest than their arm
65% of climbers will have more sponsors badges on their jacket than mountains they’ve climbed
100% of climbers will carry a flag to the summit
46% of climbers will carry a soft toy and give it a name
34% of climbers claimed significant mountain features had changed last year
3% of climbers will claim significant mountain features have changed this year
6% of climbers will try to rescue someone and turn around on summit day
89% of those rescuers will be ready to turn around anyway
100% of rescuers will write an article about it
87% of people who publicly criticize other Everest climbers haven’t summited
84% of people who publicly criticize other Everest climbers have beards and haven’t climbed 8a
76% of climbers will use a jumar for the first time on Everest
15% of climbers couldn’t tell the west ridge of Everest from the north ridge when they arrived at basecamp
74% of climbers will bring technical hardware they don’t know what they will use it for
72% of climbers have a justgiving profile
90% of British climbers wear black
90% of European climbers wear primary colors
100% of climbers using acetazolamide will not get a TUE
23% of climbers who have been on Everest and used acetazolamide will claim podiums at sporting events
100% of climbers now know the half-life of acetazolamide is between 10 to 15 hours and it usually takes around 5 to 6 half lives for a drug to be eliminated from your system
33% of climbers will post on a blog that their rotation was “a hard day at the office”
88% of bloggers will use the words “super, uber, so, the moment when, blessed, this one”
0% of climbers know that World No 1 Malaysian sportsman and 3 times Olympic medalist was stripped of medals and banned after testing positive for dexamethasone
51% of operators will claim they have redefined climbing strategy and the Everest experience
100% of people who have climbed Everest in the past but are at home will post a photo and a #tbt during the Everest season
10% of climbers will try to convince you that ginseng will help you acclimatize
50% of climbers will try to convince you garlic soup that will help you acclimatize
76% of climbers will try to throw their menthol hot towels back at the kitchen boy at dinner time
100% of climbers that try to throw their menthol hot towels back to the kitchen boy at dinner time will miss
85% of climbers will receive “be safe” posts from their friends and family
87% of male climbers between the ages of 16 and 25 will get AMS
99% of male climbers between the ages of 16 and 25 are fucking hooligans
46% of climbers will turn their non summits into successful learning experiences
0% of climbers who stayed at home didn’t summit Everest
10% of climbers will be giving 110%
100% of these statistics might be true but more than likely are not
100% of Uk guides use sarcasm
90% of American guides wear badges to show they’ve passed a course
87% of American guides look undernourished, are as tall as volleyball players and wear checked shirts, baseball caps and flip flops even at BC
18% of climbers didn’t know which side of Everest they were climbing
100% of weather forecasts are still only forecasts
100% of groups had 1 client who didn’t want to use walking poles
100% of climbers who didn’t use poles slipped over
36% of climbers had fitted their crampons to their boots before arriving in Kathmandu
18% of those who hadn’t fitted their crampons to their boots prior to arriving in Kathmandu had the wrong size crampon bar for their boots
10% of those who needed to buy a longer crampon bar in Kathmandu were able to find it
43% of climbers asked what the weather forecast was for Everest when they arrived in Kathmandu in April
66% of climbers didn’t realize you had to walk uphill from basecamp to the summit
25% of climbers thought training pre-expedition would help them to be stronger going uphill
76% of climbers who reach the summit of Everest change their profile status to keynote speaker
43% of clients asked if they should gain weight prior to an expedition
65% of clients were overweight
86% of clients were able to read and believe far fetched climbing biographies
87% of climbers were not able to read packing lists or instructions
35% of climbers didn’t realize Everest was in a foreign country with foreign food
30% of climbers thought they wouldn’t eat anything for 60 days
2% of climbers were fell runners from Yorkshire
100% of climbers who were fell runners wore shorts and vest at 7000m in a blizzard
90% of Nepali UIAGM guides couldn’t equalize an anchor
100% of life coaches and fitness instructors from Jumeirah said Coca-Cola was empty calories
87% of climbers started seeing visions of Coca-Cola whilst climbing
50% of climbers thought they were faster than their guides
100% of guides were 400% faster than 100% of their climbers
50% of Everest climbers thought “the journey” would be amazing
80% of Everest climbers didn’t imagine cold, altitude or loss of appetite would be part of their “journey”
100% of climbers who summited forgot about “the journey”
This compliation of statistics is sponsored jointly by Lhasa Beer and Everest Beer
The best place to be in Europe this February and March was Spain.
I managed to dodge the bad weather and get some great training on the bike, running and of course rock climbing.
The Sierra mountain ranges and parques naturals just north of Malaga were stunning.
The hills and crags in south east Spain around Valencia are a treasure in the winter and full of the pro cycle teams.
Watch for details of pre-Everest / 8000m training camps in January and February 2019 to bring you up to speed and be ready for the Spring season.
Aconcagua and Argentina is always such a great trip to lead.
On the 8th January, the 13 who started out for the summit all 13 stood on the top of the highest mountain in the Western and Southern Hemispheres.
It has been a while since the last post but a lot has happened.
The Fall in Nepal saw awesome weather and me and a team of 5 friends summitted Manaslu, 8160m.
This is the 8th highest mountain in the world and absolutely stunning.
We did not use bottled oxygen but had a strong team of Sherpas who helped with the setting of high camps and the ropes.
Updates on expeditions will be here but more often than not on Instagram due to restricted bandwidth.
https://www.instagram.com/seanjames70/
A lot has happened since we left the Summit Hotel in Kathmandu on the 19th April.
Our flight to Lhasa was delayed 6 hours due to bad weather and no plane being available.
We finally took off and got some views of Everest below us in the clouds before descending to Lhasa airport only to divert to Chengdu because of turbulent conditions. Chengdu is another 90 minutes flight away and we arrived at midnight. The whole plane was bused to a hotel, given 3 hours sleep and picked up again at 04.50 to catch another flight, hopefully to Lhasa. Finally landing at 10.00 the next morning. Only 24 hours delayed.
Our young, friendly and keen Chinese Liason officer apologized profusely for the weather and we spent the next 2 nights exploring Lhasa and the Potala Palace.
The usual general maladies and sicknesses such as colds and GI problems hit the group and will be gone hopefully by the time we hit basecamp. On leaving Lhasa we paid a quick visit to a dentist to cap a tooth broken the night before.
Last night we stayed in Shigatse, 3800m and Tibet’s 2nd city we had a quick walk around the Tashilhunpo Monastery before dinner to stretch the legs. We are now quite high and climbing the stairs of the hotel is testing our lung capacity. Luckily we were presented with disposable oxygen cyclinders.
Tibet has changed a lot since last year and everything is looking very new, tidy and ready for tourists.
In a few days, I’ll be returning to Kathmandu. It will be the 3rd time I’ve led a group on Cho Oyu, 8201m. The 6th highest mountain in the world.
Last time we had a weather window and were lucky with great views from the summit.
You can follow progress on the following links –
https://www.instagram.com/seanjdjames/
and
http://www.jagged-globe.co.uk/news/
Thanks to Thuraya and CygnusTelecom in Dubai for supporting all communications with an XT Pro satphone and IP+
El Chalten
Monte Fitz Roy
In addition to leading a number of commercial expeditions I’m super excited to be climbing in Patagonia and Chile in February and March this year
Let’s hope the weather is kind and we can crack some of these stunning lines
The steep climb to the North Col.
This is the first technical piece of climbing on #everest.
A 400m steep ice and snow slope that finishes at camp 1, #northcol, 7000m.
It is equipped with fixed ropes and requires a #jumar – a mechanical device that fixes from your harness to the rope to stop you slipping.
Large numbers of “climbers” on a single rope can cause delays and getting cold is a serious problem.
Although a part of climbing, many people on Everest are inexperienced in moving up and down fixed lines, relying on their #sherpas to clip them in and manage the change overs at anchors.
A great lengthy article in the Guardian recently tried to describe the current Everest season antics.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/12/mount-everest-sherpa-disaster-one-year-on