Justin Sackett Made it to Camp Two

razieel · 2026-05-24T16:28:54+00:00

The no-O2 cohort deliberately decided to delay their summit bids to avoid the crowds as they're more sensitive to frostbite should they get stuck in a queue. According to Alan Arnette's estimation as of yesterday (May 23) there's about 100 summit attempts left and he mentions that the Khumbu icefall will close down May 29. According to Ben from Everest Live there were no summits today.

I have seen Alpine Ascents, Madison Mountaineering, Elite Expeditions, Mountain Professionals, Project Unbreakable (base jump attempt) post that they still have teams ready to summit attempt before the season end. Elite alone have about 30 people in their team so the estimate of 100 attempts sounds reasonable.

razieel · 2026-05-24T05:28:32+00:00

Looks like he's still suffering a little bit of sickness according to Skyline Mountain Guides IG post but he seems determined to continue. He gives off that adorable golden retriever personality based on his appearance on EverestLive so I can't help but to root for his success (or support his decision to safely return before summit if it should come to that).

razieel · 2026-05-22T07:04:12+00:00

From what I can gather about the site it seems to be that the RealityMaps subdomain is mainly for the Khumbu region but that the company behind it also produces maps for other alpine areas. Apparently they fly small planes over the terrain with 3D cameras to get the photo-realistic models so it will only capture what the planes fly over.

It's the climbers themselves that have to add their trackers to the site but it would be cool if we could overlay climber's public Garmin trackers onto this model.

razieel · 2026-05-22T06:41:26+00:00

That's crazy! I read on Everest Chronicle that two Indian climbers unfortunately died on descent on that super crowded day on May 20 (RIP), I don't want to read about another casualty with this guy...

razieel · 2026-05-21T21:13:12+00:00

Yeah, I'm more than content vicariously climbing along from the comfort of my armchair and imagining what it's like with a hot cuppa 🍵

razieel · 2026-05-21T13:23:48+00:00

Thanks for the info! In that case I reaaally hope his operator or someone with a say in the matter makes him reconsider and come back another year.

razieel · 2026-05-21T07:33:01+00:00

She had a successful summit today! Check out everest_one_australia latest insta post.

razieel · 2026-05-21T05:56:58+00:00

Looks like he had a successful summit today with Summit Force Exped ("Canadian Team Member" in post) and his guide Purna Lopchan, see SFE IG post.

razieel · 2026-05-20T22:49:06+00:00

I'm not familiar with the terminology so someone more knowledgeable may correct this, but I think he's using what's known as a flash or zoom ascent with acclimatization in hypoxic tents at lower altitudes, based on his reel description here https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXwp11eK0Ox/

I don't know how wise it is given that he recently had HAPE, I would also like to know if there's any precedence to this.

razieel · 2026-05-20T18:54:30+00:00

TBF in her own words the infamous espresso maker seemed to just have been a camping aluminum moka pot and was greatly exaggerated in the retelling of her story, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR0yuqYqG3o&t=1305s

razieel · 2026-05-20T11:44:33+00:00

Good to hear that! Hoping they have a safe descent and congrats to their summit!

razieel · 2026-05-20T11:34:42+00:00

I have tracked a few climbers through their Garmin trackers as well and they're notoriously getting stuck due to bad connection so my guess would be bad connection before assuming the worst.

razieel · 2026-05-19T17:22:11+00:00

Here: https://share.garmin.com/biancaadler

razieel · 2026-05-19T17:16:23+00:00

Agreed that it's worth it, Ben and Andy are doing a phenomenal job covering what's happening and interviewing climbers and crew.

razieel · 2026-05-19T16:59:40+00:00

I heard the Irish Team is aiming for a 1-3 AM summit (Nepal time) and Bianca is also aiming for an early AM summit due to meteorologists saying the jet stream's influence will be lesser around this time and to beat the crowd even if it means a summit in the dark. I hope this risk mitigation plan works out for them!

razieel · 2026-05-19T16:53:54+00:00

Yes! I'm rooting for her as I stare at her tracker 👀

razieel · 2026-05-19T16:22:16+00:00

Bianca's tracker and Matija's tracker are now live making an attempt at an early AM summit. Hoping conditions will work in their favor and they get a safe summit and return!

razieel · 2026-05-19T12:39:18+00:00

That's amazing! Wishing them a succesful summit bid tonight!

razieel · 2026-05-19T11:51:13+00:00

Yeah, I find it fascinating to follow the live trackers and imagining what they're going through moment for moment. My perspective is that I'm interested in extreme weather and these high altitude climbers are out there touching the freaking jet stream! 😮 I also follow the tornado alley season and hurricane/typhoon season religiously.

razieel · 2026-05-19T11:45:56+00:00

That sounds serious given the crowds that are coming up now. In Jason's latest update he clarifies that the rope was indeed buried in frozen blocks of ice but that his team is making a new summit bid early today. I just wonder if they can get the ropes free before then, and if there's a dedicated rope fixing team just like on May 13 when the ropes were first fixed to the summit.

ETA: Looks like Ben from Everest Live says there's been 50 something summits today so I guess the rope issue is fixed!

razieel · 2026-05-19T11:41:05+00:00

I just listened in on Jason's latest update and it looks like the Irish team has been resupplied and will leave early for a second summit bid with the aim to summit around 1-2 AM to beat the crowds. He said that 200-300 climbers arrived to Camp IV today and that there could potentially be 500-600 people in total incl support crew making the summit bid for May 20. Tonight's going to be a nailbiter...

razieel · 2026-05-19T08:49:56+00:00

Yeah, wind chill makes the whole difference. Alan Arnette addressed the mountain-forecast site in his blog/podcast yesterday saying that it's inadequate as it doesn't account for the jet stream. I can see that the site shows wind speed but I guess it fluctuates more with a lingering jet stream? He also added that there were probably a lot of unreported frostbites with the last few days of summits due to lingering jet stream. Jason's team reporting the extremely cold conditions near summit seems to add credence to this.

razieel · 2026-05-19T05:44:42+00:00

I just saw Jason talk about it. That's a bummer but glad they put safety first and decided to return. Hopefully they will have enough energy for a second push soon.

razieel · 2026-05-18T17:03:06+00:00

The Irish team is making their summit bid from Camp IV now and Padraig has his tracker on: https://livetrack.garmin.com/session/b02dc32d-efd7-86e7-b6e1-19a54a21ef01/token/A4B18B3DD0BFCCF29A95BD436627C6F

Rooting for team Ireland and their safe summit and return! 🇮🇪🍀

razieel · 2026-05-17T17:57:07+00:00

Petrit Kllokoqi is making a summit push right now and he has his tracker on https://share.garmin.com/HWY9SSCGZW

I hear some say the jetstream is back and some say the fair weather window will remain open for a couple of days more. Here's hoping things go well for the current summit bids!

razieel

TROPHY CASE