Progress on Everest Halts with Rope-Fixing Confusion
A number of teams have made it to camp three on Mount Everest’s regular route, but as of May 4, rope-fixing has stopped about 400 metres below the South Col. Tim Monesdale has reported that teams are waiting to supply The Col to prepare for a summit push. As more time passes without climbers progressing past camp three, the chances of longer lines increases, which means more risk. No one has stood on the summit of Mount Everest this year.
As teams get in que, the first good weather window for a summit push will be spent fixing ropes. “The way things work regarding ropes on the hill is that the SPCC (Sagarmartha Pollution Control Committee) are paid from each team on behalf of their team members and the SPCC are then responsible for equipping and maintaining the route through the Khumbu Icefall,” said Monesdale. “Beyond there, however, it becomes a bit less structured. Money is again collected from each team but this is collected and the kitty is banked. This pays for the summit ropes, snow bars, ice screws etc etc to be delivered to basecamp.”
Due to helicopters being used this year, money from the kitty has been distributed to more hands, meaning less money for those fixing ropes up high. The task then falls to any Sherpas willing to fix ropes above camp two and three. “Another glaring issue with the current model is that some teams never ever contribute whilst the burden is mainly taken up by a few of the regular contributors,” said Monesdale. “Then there are always going to be the slip streamers and hangers on who don’t contribute but are certainly willing to clip the ropes. Occasionally teams manage to slip through the net and not even pay in to the fixing kitty.”
For the past three days, no one has been fixing ropes because of communication breakdown or unwillingness to contribute by teams. While it seems climbing on Everest has improved this year, the problem of having a dedicated rope-fixing team is something that will need to be reviewed for next year. In the mean time, more teams make their way up the mountain and will have to get in queue for their turn to climb the yet-installed fixed ropes. On the north side of the mountain, teams are above 7,100 metres. You can follow Cory Richards and Adrian Bellinger as they climb from the north at #EverestNoFilter.
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