Storms on Everest

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Last week we made a choice to delay our night in camp one based on a weather report. The storm never came, just the usual afternoon snow squalls that didn't amount to much.

Tonight I am in my tent listening to the steady hiss of snow falling.
This snow was not in the forecast. If it does not stop by 3:00 am the Sherpas and I will not be going up the Ice Fall in the morning. Our plan is to leave Base Camp by 3:30 to be at Camp One by 6:30 am. The rest of the team will come up later. I want to travel with the Sherpas to get shots of them carrying loads through the Ice Fall. Our plans may have to change because with too much fresh snow there will be a lot of avalanches.

I have seen all kinds of weather in seven expeditions to Everest and the surrounding peaks. What can be surprising at this altitude is the lightning. When you are in a tent with no protection and there are brilliant flashes of light in the snow it can be very disconcerting, there is nowhere to hide.

The worst is the wind. When combined with snow it can wipe out any trace of a trail in a few seconds. Up here though wind alone is can be fierce. Once my friend Jake and I were pinned down in a wind storm on the North Ridge. We were wearing our climbing harnesses and clipped in to rock anchors under the tent. We leaned against the windward side using our bodies to keep the tent from flattening. The rain fly was slowly shredding away. I stuck my arm out with a wind gage (aerometer (sp)) and measured 85 knots. Just for fun I handed Jake the video camera and went outside. The wind slammed me to the ground, I could barely crawl around. Once he had a minute or so of video I crawled back inside. We were laughing, it was all we could do. We didn't get much sleep that night.

When a bad storm hits with both snow and wind it is no longer funny. The wind chill sucks the heat away from your skin while the snow finds ways inside of your clothes. You can't see and it is time to find shelter quickly. Not easy when you are hours away from the next camp or on your way to the summit.

In 2001 as we climbed toward the summit with blind climber Erik Weihenmayer we were hit by a storm at 2:00 am. We had just reached the Balcony at 27,500-ft. I was spending a lot of time on the radio with base camp and the snow was melting onto my bare hand holding the radio. It was a little scary because a wet hand can quickly freeze.

The weather is always interesting here and one can count on some kind of storm every afternoon. It is best to be snug in a tent before it arrives.

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Blog by Michael Brown