While an attempt was made by the Chinese team to summit last week, weather drove the team back down and they are starting back up again this week.

As always, this is dictated by the weather and more specifically, the wind. The North Ridge and final section of the Northeast Ridge is brutally exposed on the final days climbing up to High Camp and on to the summit.

Here is the forecast for today in celsius and kilometers per hour:

 

While Mountain Forecast isn’t the most sophisticated modeling and some data doesn’t change out all the time (conversions from c. to f. a bit glitchy) it does give a surprisingly good overview. This weeks high pressure moving in, with little snow forecast, is showing a real improvement from Wednesday onwards.

The Chinese team appears to be moving in a few waves, with a group going first and fixing ropes, then teams of more communication/scientific oriented climbers going up to remeasure the peak, as well as chat away on 5G, and hopefully update us.

That this is primarily a funded public relations exercise to take 5G to the top of the world and transmit from there is hard to overlook. With the Chinese being the only team on Everest this year, it will certainly clear the media for a story that should be broadcast loud and clear around the world.

 

The National Geographic Weather Stations on the South Side of Everest seem to have intermittent reception (not unexpected in those conditions), we are still getting a live temperature reading right now from the South Col of minus 18 c. (- 22 f.)  That it will still be the minus 25 c. or lower up higher is pretty predictable, quite livable in the heights with the low winds that are forecast.

As ever, it could all change, but the corresponding weather maps are looking positive.