Posted: Feb 23, 2006 12:30 am EST
(MountEverest.net) It's that time of the year again! The first edition of the Everest and Himalaya expedition list is up, and it's clear that climbers will continue to climb no matter what you throw at them. Despite the shaky situation in Nepal, Everest South Side already has 9 teams lined up.

As for the North - what used to be the quiet side of Everest has turned anything but: No less than 20 expeditions are signed up, and we are only in mid February! Expect at least another 5-10 teams to show up over both sides in the end.

Other Himalayan peaks have around 10 expeditions listed - marking a total of at least 40 climbing expeditions this spring.

Everest 2006: Adventurous, unguided, guided and...peaceful?

One of the surprises is Abramov/Kikstra's commercial outfit - 20 clients! Abramov has made a name for himself over the past few years with his colorful tales, and new partner Harry proved the same talent last year. Seems climbers like the adventure that inevitably follows the duo's free-spirited style.

Jagged Globe* and other commercial outfits are beginning to use the term "unguided" - a concept first introduced by low-budget outfitters such as Dan Mazur (SummitClimb).

The upside of unguided expeditions to clients: Low prices. The downside: High risk to inexperienced climbers. The upside to outfitters: Low responsibility. The downside: Low margins and competition from Sherpas and everyone's uncle.

As for the high end outfits, they are all well and kicking: Fewer clients, higher margins and (hopefully) better summit chances will always have a market - providing these ventures keep standards high and don't cut corners with second-rate products (oxygen!) and services.

Following some hard years, the Everest Peace Project finally has a go - Lance Trumbull is responsible for putting together the group of mountain climbers whose faiths and cultures span the globe.

Another fun outfit is the new coalition** formed by Jamie McGuiness, Duncan Chessell, and Scott Wollums who have joined forces to organize a fully supplied, guided expedition on Everest’s North side. Scott was the cyber wizard of 2003 - shooting the worst storm in ten years live from high camps. Jamie and Duncan led a wild expedition last year - another free spirited venture we all like to see associated with the beauty of climbing Everest.

The Everest 2006 "Cool climbs" section

When it comes to cool (unusual) climbs, there are some lined up also this year: Dave Bunting is leading a 22-member British team on Everest’s West ridge to attempt a combination of the West ridge-Hornbein Couloir, trying to succeed where two previous British military teams failed during the nineties.

Everest North Face might shake hands with Basque ace climber Alberto Iñurrategi who plans to give the Hornbein Couloir a try - if he gets the money in time; the same situation goes also for the somewhat shady Everest Fantasy Ridge expedition.

Unfortunately, there are only 2 no-02 attempts announced this far, one by Iñurrategi on the North Face and the other by "Ecuador Sin Limites" on the North side normal route.

Two skiing attempts are up though; one by the two Vikings Swede Tomas Olsson and Norwegian Tormod Granheim who did a great test run down Cho Oyu last fall. Olsson and Granheim have been training hard all winter in Chamonix, French Alps, while Colorado Brothers Mike and Steve Marolt - out on the same mission - have been training in the Andes throughout 2005. North side is the route of choice for both sky-skiing teams.

Eric Shipton’s younger son, John, was supposed to give Everest a try this year - unfortunately though, that expedition has been postponed.

Finally, there's Mary and Daisy: Uncomfortable with camping, British Mary Woodbridge, 85 and her dog Daisy have chosen a shortcut to the Top. The team will climb a vertical, avalanche-prone wall to the left of the Khumbu Ice fall on the south side. ExWeb have offered sponsorship for the expedition and asked for an interview. We are still waiting for a reply, Mary!

Other Himalaya and the bigwigs of mountaineering

The "real" climbing though, will mostly take place elsewhere this spring: Austrian Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner (ExWeb’s #1 in 2005) is teaming up again this year with her climbing (and real-life) partner Ralf Dujmovits, for an attempt on Kangchenjunga. Australian Andrew Lock has confirmed he will join the team, attempting the peak from its South side. Other climbers might join too, such as Japanese Hirotaka Takeuchi, and Finnish Veikka Gustafsson.

Kang will also meet with Ecuadorian Ivan Vallejo, Spanish Nacho Orviz, and Colombian Fernando González Rubio. Spaniard Juan Oiarzabal, who currently holds the record for the most 8000+ meter summits (21 to be exact) is back following a two year hiatus. Despite not being fully recovered from amputations he suffered in 2004 after summiting K2, Oiarzabal will team up with Juan Vallejo, Josu Bereciartua and Ferrán Latorre (Mikel Zabalza might join the team too) for an attempt on the difficult Yalung Kang, the western point of Kangchenjunga.

All these climbers are the real bigwigs of altitude mountaineering - counting close to 100, 8000ers between them! Most are on the highly treacherous 10-13 8000 summit list - Kang will be THE place to watch this spring.

More top guns

German Pete Guggemos and Spaniard Iñaki Ochoa are among a smaller number of climbers attempting Manaslu this spring, taking advantage of reduced fees the Nepal government has established for the peak currently celebrating the 50th anniversary of its first ascent.

Veteran climber Carlos Soria, 66, will attempt Dhaulagiri together with Vicente ‘Tente’ Lagunilla, a regular climbing-mate of Carlos Soria. Other climbers on the peak will also be Spanish, such as ace climber Carlos Pauner. A commercial exception is the German outfitter Amical who is launching a guided expedition on Dhaulagiri this spring.

Italian Mario Merelli is leading an Italian team on Lhotse; Silvio Mondinelli will join them after his own bid on Shisha Pangma. Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner may also join this group – after climbing Kangchenjunga.

Silvio Mondinelli will be giving Shisha Pangma a third try, this time through a variation of the normal route up to the main summit, and he will try to ski down from the top.

Cho Oyu will have its usual share of commercial outfits this spring; although last season this "beginners" 8000er proved a tough nut to crack: Giving up only 5% summits that season, out of 320 climbers only 14 summited in the end, with a Siberian team closing the mountain end May.

Get ready for another exciting spring season in Himalaya - Godspeed climbers!

Check out the brand new list of expeditions here

*Correction 02:15 pm EST Feb 24, 2006: Jagged Globe's operations on Mount Everest are not low-budget. Their South side expedition costs US$52,500. Dan Mazur charges US$29,450. Adventure Consultants charge US$55,000, Mountain Madness charge US$55,000 and Alpine Ascents charge US$65,000. JG use the term "un-guided", because in the UK (where most of their clients are from), the term "guided" could be confused as the level of immediate supervision provided by an IFMGA Mountain Guide in the Alps (a 1:2 or 1:3 ratio of Guides to clients).

**Correction 10:01 am EST Feb 23, 2006: Project Himalaya - DCXP writes that Jamie McGuinness and Duncan Chessell are the sole organizers behind their fully supplied, guide-assisted expedition on Everest’s North side. Scott Woolums (Adventures International) is a guide in the outfit.

As for the Everest Peace Project team, the outfit points out that it is a strong international team with well over half the climbers having been on Everest before or having previously been on two 8000+m peaks.

First the team will trek up the Khumbu valley to Everest South Side’s BC to begin acclimatizing. They will then return to Kathmandu briefly and drive to Tibet late April to climb via the North Col route. Once in Tibet they will be sending regular Contact 3 dispatches and also a photo diary.

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