Guiding Mt Everest? Client on Mt Everest?

Several of you have asked me to write my view point on "Guiding"  Mt Everest.  The topic has been scrutinized, shredded, and sensationalized and I understand its allure.  I have been asked to lead expeditions to Everest several times throughout my guiding career.  The answer always a quick "No, but I will take you to a peak where the climbing is beautiful, technically harder,  and we will be the only team on the mountain".   Two old school climbing values held within this answer:  1.  The aesthetic nature of the line.  2.  Having a wilderness experience.  Two out of several values that are the foundation of climbing ethics and why we climb.  These values and many others seem to be missing in the choice to climb Everest.

In 2008 I was leading a trip on the technical South West Ridge of Pumori.   Our team of 4 were sharing a Base Camp with Tim Rippel, a guide I highly respect, of "Peak Freaks" and Fabrizio Zangrilli an outstanding guide from Boulder Colorado and his client.  I believe there were a total of 14 people on the mountain.  In our group tent the discussion of "Guiding" Everest was a topic that sliced the thin air at our 17,300 foot Base Camp.   There were 14 of us on Pumori,  more beautiful than Everest ( it resembles a mini K2) and the route a climbers dream.  Steep ice,  a line that follows the south shoulder, distinct and sharp. That same season, just 1 hour and 45 minutes to the North, Everest Base Camp was hosting 800 people (according to the Sagamartha Pollution Control Committee), several generators, computers, boom boxes, and a russian spa.  We would walk from our star lit Base Camp to the edge of a moraine that formed a high shoulder.  Looking North to Everest BC we were shocked to see it lit up with electricity, we could here music, generators,  basically a small town formed on the glacier.  

I do not want to step on anyones toes!  I have friends that guide Everest,  a high respect for some of the guide services leading trips on Everest.  I am happy that the many Sherpa's have steady work.  The guides service and Sherpas hold years of experience and outstanding knowledge of the mountain.  Other toes that I may want to tweak are those of clients or people considering going on a guided climb of Mount Everest.  You have a responsibility! Just because you pay big money does not mean you are exempt from responsibility.  Also the guide service has a responsibility to educate you on your responsibility,  maybe this does not happen in a clear concise way.  It seems that there may be a break down in communication because guide services, rightly so, want to make money and clients want to climb Everest and have paid thousands to get there.  Because big money is involved on both sides I believe that important issues the guide services need to address often get left in a grey area and important issues that the client need to address get dumped into the same grey area, never discussed.  In short our goals and desires can often outweigh what is inherently important in choosing to Guide Everest or choosing to be guided on everest.  In 2003 I went to Everest BC for an acclimatization hike.  I witnessed a client learning to put on crampons.  It became obvious to me that the guide service was not responsible and the client was not responsible.  Climbing is like learning to fly a plane,  you just don't go from a flight simulator (the climbing gym) to sitting in the cockpit of a 747 ( Mt Everest).   You have years of steps and studies in between.  Learning the skills should not be taking place on Mt Everest.

Responsibility is just one of the hundreds of issues that surround the "Guiding Everest" debate and I only have these observation to offer to both guide service and client on responsibility.  I  have a set of guidelines that I have been using in the Himalaya.  In 31 seasons and 19 expeditions they have worked for my guide service "Four Winds Himalayan Guide Service" and client alike.  

Clients if you are choosing to climb Everest or anything above 21,000 ft.  you should take responsibility for the following:

There is no such thing as an easy mountain.  Climbing any mountain is dangerous and you could die.  No guide service can stop an avalanche, a snow storm, the 500 pound boulder bouncing down slope.  Any guide service that says "Thats an easy mountain"  you may want to be cautious of.  If you are in the climbing arena remember you could die.  You alone are making the choice of being in the climbing arena.  With this choice you must accept that you might die and that just because you are being guided you still could die to no fault of the guide service.  If you don't know the high risk involved in the climbing arena you probably have not spent enough time in the mountains to be on Mt Everest.

If you are choosing to climb in the high altitude arena it is your responsibility to be truthful about your experience.  If you are learning to put on a harness at BC then you should not be there.  If you have less than 5 years of alpine climbing and mountaineering experience you probably should not be there.

You should be proficient at using your mountain axe.  Self arrest, boot axe belay, pick positions, adze usage, all should be automatic.  If you don't know what these are you should not be on Everest. 

You should be 100% confident about rappelling and belaying.

You should be 100% confident/proficient with your crampon skills,  be comfortable climbing AI 3.  If you don't know this rating you should not be there.

You should be proficient with crevasse rescue.

You should be comfortable with setting up a tent in heavy storm conditions.

You should be familiar with stoves and be able to cook and boil water in near hurricane condition.

You should be proficient at rope travel and management.  You should at least know how to tie a figure Eight.  If you don't know what this is then you should not be there.

You should be comfortable and accept 100% that just because you are paying $7000 to $75,000 for an expedition in the Himalaya does not guarantee a summit. There are too many unpredictable variables. You are paying for a chance to summit.  If a guide turns you back or shuts down the expedition he is probably saving your life.  It is your responsibility before an expeditions to understand that you are just paying for a chance at reaching the summit.  A chance has been attained when you reach base camp,  anything after that is out of anyones control, a fringe bentefit,  you might not make it to Advanced Base Camp.

These are just some of the basics that are your responsibility as a client.  If you do not have these basic skills or experience then start with a smaller mountain like Island peak.

Guide Services:  If your clients for Everest fall outside of any of these guidelines then you have the responsibility of turning them down.  

You have the responsibility of letting them know what their responsibilities are.  Asking what there skills are and submitting a "climbing resume".  If your clients are learning to put on crampons at Base Camp of Everest many would say you are being irresponsible.

Leave all the crap at home.  Get rid of the comforts like generators and loud boom boxes (obvious reasons and a whole other topic).

Limit your group size.  I don't have a number but a client list of 18 or more seems extravagant.  I have heard of Guide services with 25 or more climbers.  Dollar wise it is awesome for you, totally understandable, but responsibility, safety, and the mountain experience suffers.  Think about others on the mountain.  A group of 7 to 12 is plenty.

Have clients carry their own gear.  Hardly anyone climbs everest any more except the Sherpas.  They carry gear, set up tents, fix rope, carry clients oxygen, make tea for clients etc.  Let clients do all this while keeping the Sherpas on board for back up.  Let the client climb the mountain, carry their gear, set up their own tents, cook their own tea and meals.  

If client and guide services can follow these simple guidelines I believe guiding Mt Everest would be a much safer, quieter, undertaking for client and guide service alike.  Clients who do not have the skill will not go to the mountain ( at this time) and Guide Services will attract climbers that have put in their time on smaller mountains and have the skill to climb the mountain without reducing Everest to her knees.   

In the end remember the 2 "old school" climbing ethics and choose your mountain accordingly.  The aesthetics of the line and the wilderness experience will define your climb not how high the mountain.

Other articles regarding this topic:  www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/30/everest-mountaineer-crowding-hobby-tragedy