Mount Everest in 2013

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Everest from the South Col, 2013

The Mount Everest climbing season of 2013 included 658 summits and 8 deaths.[1] Due to avalanches in 2014 and 2015, this was the last big summiting year until 2016.

2013 mountaineering season[edit]

Years in Review Summary
Year Summiters Reference(s)
2012 547 [2]
2013 658 [3]
2014 106 [4]
2015 0 [5]
2016 641 [6]
Another view from around the South Col area up toward the higher elevations of Everest, on 20 May 2013

The 2013 Himalayan Database recorded 658 summits, which brought the total number to 6,871 by 4,042 different persons.[7] The year's total was greater than 2007's 633 summiters, the previous yearly record.[8]

In 2013, Yuichiro Miura became the oldest person to reach the summit, at age 80.[9]

A Eurocopter AS350 B3 flown by Maurizio Folini achieved a record breaking rescue at 7,800 m (25,590 ft) on the morning of 21 May, retrieving Sudarshan Gautam, who was descending the mountain after becoming the first person without arms to summit Everest without using prosthetics.[10][11] Gautam was rescued after collapsing near Camp 3.[12] On 21 May 2013 a team from Lawrence School Sanawar climbed Mt. Everest. The first school to do this globally.

On 21 May, Arunima Sinha became the first female amputee to summit Everest.[13]

Phurba Tashi completed his 21st summit in May, a total equal to the record held by Apa Sherpa.[14]

Assault on climbers[edit]

On 27 April, three climbers were attacked by a group of 100 Sherpas at 21,000 feet elevation.[15] The event was seen as an aberration in the otherwise decades-long spirit of teamwork and friendship on the mountain.[15] Sherpas have a reputation for going to extraordinary lengths for climbers, and being generous in sharing Everest with visitors to Nepal.[16]

Earlier in the day, a group of three climbers on the Lhotse Face had crossed over lines being laid by the Sherpas, contrary to the etiquette that climbers should avoid Sherpas working on the mountain.[15] Words were exchanged and the situation escalated. An ice pick was brandished and ice and stones were thrown. The Sherpas then left the Lhotse Face, but later visited the camp site with about 100 others and threatened to kill one of the three climbers. The climber was upset because he considered himself a friend of the Sherpa community, had built a school for nearly 400 Sherpa children, and also had funded free evacuations via helicopters for Sherpas.[17][18]

'I came here to climb Mt. Everest. I came here for the challenge, adventure and type of friendship that has become a mark of this place for me. On this expedition, I have had some of the best times of my life, laughing into the late hours with friends who were supporting each other's goals. I have had some of the worst times — standing in front of those same friends to protect them from unexplainable violence and anger. Something shifted the balance for a moment. My only hope is that it shifts back quickly, and everyone can resume their jobs, their passion and their goal of climbing.

— M. Arnot on the 2013 Everest season attack[16]

The American climber Melissa Arnot helped defuse the fight.[16] The 29-year-old Arnot placed herself between the attackers and the climbers.[16] She had friendly relationships with both the climbers and the high-altitude Sherpas, and managed to bring a halt to the fighting. She then negotiated a truce between the mountaineers.[16]

The Nepalese government said if climbers were attacked, action would be taken against the aggressors.[19] An official from the Nepal tourism ministry described the attack as a misunderstanding that had been sorted out and pledged to ensure the safety of climbers. The three ringleaders of the attack were removed from the mountain.[16] Sherpas are renowned for the most part for their climbing skill and demeanour, with one Everest climber noting, "To a man everyone seems to be absolutely impressed with the Sherpas. Not just their strength on the mountain, which is legendary, but their personalities and their friendliness. They become your friends."[20] The fight led to improved communication between the people on the mountain, which helped to overcome the cultural and language barriers that complicated an already difficult environment.[18]

Fatalities[edit]

There were 8 fatalities attributed to mountaineering.[21] One of the losses was the well-known and respected climber, Alexi Bolotov, who died in the Khumbu Icefall when the rope he was rappelling down broke.[22]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Everest 2013: Season Recap: Summits, Records and Fights". The Blog on alanarnette.com. 2013-06-03. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  2. ^ "Everest Maxed Out". ngm.nationalgeographic.com. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  3. ^ "Everest 2013: Season Recap: Summits, Records and Fights". alanarnette.com. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  4. ^ "Everest 2014: Season Summary - A Nepal Tragedy". alanarnette.com. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  5. ^ Peter Holley (12 January 2016). "The Washington Post - For the first time in four decades, nobody made it to the top of Mount Everest last year". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  6. ^ [1]
  7. ^ Arnette, Alan (20 February 2014). "Everest by the Numbers: The Latest Summit Stats". The Himalayan Database. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  8. ^ "Mount Everest: By the numbers". CNN.
  9. ^ "Japanese Octogenarian Becomes Oldest Man to Reach Summit of Mount Everest". ABC News. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  10. ^ "Maurizio Folini named pilot of highest helicopter rescue on Everest - Vertical Magazine". Vertical Magazine. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  11. ^ "Armless Calgary man Sudarshan Gautam reaches dream of summitting Mount Everest". Calgary Sun. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  12. ^ "Daring High Altitude Rescue on Everest Sets Records". www.rockandice.com. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  13. ^ Presse, Agence France (2013-05-22). "Arunima Sinha, Indian Woman, Is First Female Amputee To Climb Everest". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  14. ^ "Phurba Tashi climbs Everest for 21st time, equals record - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  15. ^ a b c "What drove 100 Sherpas to attack Western climbers on Everest?".
  16. ^ a b c d e f Brooke, Chris; Golgowski, Nina. "Revealed: The female American climber, 29, who heroically broke up vicious fight between 'more than 100 Sherpas and three hikers with calm talk and hand holding". Daily Mail (1 May 2013). Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  17. ^ "Everest Climber: Sherpas Tried to Kill Me". National Geographic. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  18. ^ a b Adhikari, Deepak (13 August 2013). "The Everest Brawl: A Sherpa's Tale". Outside. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  19. ^ "A fight at 23,000 feet? Climbers accuse Sherpas of Mount Everest attack".
  20. ^ Tobias, Mike (22 June 2016). "A Nebraskan climbed Mount Everest...and it almost killed him". Net Nebraska. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  21. ^ [2]
  22. ^ Rosenfield, Scott (2013-05-15). "Alex Bolotov Dies on Everest". Outside Online. Retrieved 2017-05-23.
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