Both Tyler Andrews and Karl Egloff have halted their attempted speed climbs this year on Mount Everest.

With the need for ample acclimitasation time and then the need for near perfect weather, the late season variability this year has shut down both attempts.

With the added challenge of needing to climb when the mountain is hopefully less populated, the season has warmed up and a few rotations have helped familiarise you with the route, the overall strategy and timing play a far more significant role than when making an ascent in more traditional style with oxygen.

Tyler Andrews, an accomplished endurance athlete, Initially planned to climb without supplementary oxygen. He then decided to use oxygen in the upper sections due to high winds and cold conditions, as the seasons variability left few options to choose a perfect ascent time when he might have a window of good weather he could trust.

Despite this adjustment, his expedition leader, Dawa Steven Sherpa of Asian Trekking, made the decision to halt the ascent just above Camp 4. Reports from support team members stationed at the Balcony and South Summit indicated dangerously strong winds, prompting the call to prioritize safety.

Standing around that high on Everest even for his Sherpa support team would have been hellish to put it mildly, and even with oxygen, both Tyler and his team would have very little time to sit around. Even for speed climbers, Peter Athans adage to me many years ago: “Robert, there are only two sorts of climbers in the Himalaya, the quick and the dead,” would hold very true.

Swiss-Ecuadorian mountaineer Karl Egloff, who was attempting the climb without any oxygen support, turned back near Camp 3 at approximately 6,800 meters. Egloff cited a ‘bad feeling’ about continuing under the prevailing conditions, leading to his decision to retreat. Intuition is often underrated in these situations – though interesting he put the emphasis on simply how he felt, not the weather, not his support team, not how he felt physically.

While Andrews and Egloff faced setbacks, other climbers achieved notable successes. Garrett Madison who now ties with Dave Hahn for the most ascents by an American, reached the summit for the 15th time, guiding his team through the challenging conditions, with both oxygen and strong Sherpa support.

Adventure Consultants also had successful summits around 6 a.m. Nepal time, despite the high winds.

While the climbers go there to climb fast and the physicality plays into it, both these climbers were probably strong enough to set new records. But unlike any regular competition, the weather, the terrain that weather creates and the need for support while having all the forces align play a larger part in setting real records on the mountain.