Mt Everest climbing routes
 Satellite photo of Mt Everest
Recommended books & maps about Everest Recommended books & maps on Nepal The vast majority of climbers attempt Everest from two routes: the South East ridge from Nepal and the North East ridge from Tibet. South East ridge The climb on the south side of Everest in Nepal starts with a flight to Lukla followed by a trek to base camp. The climb starts by going through the notorious Khumbu Icefall where the objective hazard is high due to the crevasses, seracs and shifting blocks of ice. Above the icefall at 6,065m is Camp I or Advanced Base Camp (ABC). From Camp 1 the route enters the Western Cwm which is a relatively flat glacial valley. On a sunny, windless day the Western Cwm (sometimes called the Valley of Silence) can be unbearably hot as the sun is reflected from all sides. Camp II is established at 6,500m at the base of the Lhotse face. The climb to Camp III goes up the Lhotse face to a small ledge at 7,470m. From there it is another 500 vertical metres to Camp IV on the South Col at 7,920m; the route passes over the Geneva Spur and Yellow Band. On the summit push from Camp IV the route passes a platform at 8,400m known as the Balcony. As the climbers follow the south east ridge they are forced by a series of rock steps on to the east side and at 8,750m an ice dome marks the South Summit. From the South Summit there is a traverse along a corniced ridge over the Kangshung face. At the end of the ridge is the Hillary step which is the steepest section of the climb; this feature often causes a bottleneck on a busy summit day. Above the step the climb continues on moderately angled snow slopes to the summit. Gary Pfisterer, one of The Mountain Company leaders, climbed Everest via this route in 1993. The approach to base camp on the north side of Everest in Tibet is by vehicle rather than trekking as on the Nepalese side. The base camp is on moraine gravel below the Rongbuk glacier at 5,300m. Intermediate camp is reached by walking along the medial moraine on the east Rongbuk glacier; the camp is situated at the base of Changtse around 6,200m. Advanced base camp is further up the east Rongbuk glacier at the base of the north col at an altitude of 6,400m. From ABC climbers walk up the glacier to the base of north col and then follow fixed ropes to Camp 1 on the North Col at 7,000m. Camp II at 7,800m is reached by climbing up a snow slope followed by a rocky section. The route to the Camp III at 8,300m passes through a series of gullies and downsloping, slabby terrain on the north face. Small ledges for Camp III are hacked out of the slope. The summit push starts from Camp III, first the route climbs up through gullies before gaining the north east ridge. Climbers must then climb through three rock bands known as the First Step, Second Step and Third Step. Once above these steps, a snow slope is crossed to reach the rock traverse before exiting on to the summit ridge. The Mountain Company leaders Roland Hunter, Mark McDermot and Paul Walters have all climbed Everest via this route. For photos of this route, click here West Ridge/Hornbein Couloir Route (FA May 22,1963) - Tom Hornbein (USA) and Willy Unsoeld (USA) climbed to the West Shoulder via the Western Cwm and then traversed across the North Face to the Hornbein Couloir. They descended via the South East Ridge route. South West Face (FA September 24,1975) - Dougal Haston and Doug Scott (UK) reached the top at sunset and were forced to bivouac near the South Summit on the descent. West Ridge Direct (FA May 13, 1979) - Andrej Stremfelj (Yugoslavia) and Nejc Zaplotnik (Yugoslavia), descended by the Hornbein Couloir. Japanese Couloir (FA May 10,1980) - Tsuneoh Shigehiro and Takashi Ozaki (Japan) South Pillar (FA May 19,1980) - Jerzy Kukuczka and Andrzej Czok (Poland) East Face: American Butress (FA October 8,1983) - first ascent of the East Face by Lou Reichardt, Kim Momb, and Carlos Buhler. The Great Couloir or White Limbo (FA October 3, 1984) - Australians Tim Macartney-Snape and Greg Mortimer climbed the Great Couloir to the summit without using oxygen. East Face-S Col: Neverest Buttress (FA May 12, 1988) - an international team climbed the Neverest Buttress to the South Col. Brit Stephen Venables followed the SE Ridge route to the summit without using oxygen. N Col-N Face-Norton Couloir (FA May 17, 1991) - Bonali Battistino (It) and Sulovsky Leopold (Cz). The Complete NE Ridge (FA May 11, 1995) - The first ascent of the complete NE Ridge was made by a Japanese team climbing the Pinnacles before joining the standard NE Ridge route. The Mountain Company treks around Everest: Everest base camp and Sherpa villages Recommended books & maps on Nepal
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