The Podcast on alanarnette.com

The summer 2025 Karakorum for the 8000-meter peaks is over, and what a season it was. There were summits, deaths, disappointments and survivals. Was it a “successful” season? I’ll leave that judgment to others—but honestly, it often felt like safety took a back seat to ambition. Summits: K2- 42 with two deaths Broad Peak: 0 Gashbrum II: 0 Gasherbrum I: 17 Nanga Parbat: 25 with one death#K2025 Clim...

With teams still hoping to summit, popular American climber Ryan Mitchell, Phurba Sherpa, Terray Sylvester, ⁠Madison Mountaineering⁠ lead guide, and several other Sherpas ended their expedition after climbing to Camp 1. Terray felt the rockfall was too dangerous to continue despite several teams already higher on the mountain, hoping to summit on August 11. Only a few teams remain on the mountain,...

After almost five weeks, a weather window long enough for a summit attempt on K2 has emerged. Most teams and many individuals have left, but an estimated (very rough guess) that 20-30 total people, split equally between commercial and independent climbers, remain for the summit push starting today, August 5th, 2025. #k2025 https://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2025/08/05/k2-2025-coverage-k2-summit-push...

Signs of trouble on K2 and Broad Peak. First is the weather. There have been more high winds and heavy snowfall, preventing the establishment of Camp 3 on K2 and keeping the Broad Peak climbers below Camp 3. And the other concern is the lack of cooperation among the teams, as noted by Polish climber, Lukas Supergan: "... This could be achieved by a large, combined team from agencies and indep...

Summits! We have summits in the Karakoram on Sunday, July 20, 2025. Also, climbers are acclimatizing at Camp 3 on BP, and most teams seem focused on an upcoming summit window around the end of July. Conditions are finally improving in the Karakoram after days of high temperatures, winds, and even snow and rain. One issue is that crows are eating food left at high camps! Tragically, one climber die...

Teams are finally progressing across the four northernmost 8000-meter peaks: K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum I, and Gasherbrum II. Multiple teams report reaching as high as Camp 3 on these peaks, thus setting an optimistic tone for summits this season.  Although rockfall remains a clear and present danger, leaders feel more comfortable after recent snowfalls. However, climbers still need to be thoughtf...

The Karakorum's drought continues due to the low snowfall from Spring combined with warmer-than-normal temperatures; thus, rockfall is a real danger on K2, Broad Peak, Nanga Parbat and the Gasherbrums. Ryan Mitchell and his K2 team are acclimatizing on a nearby unclimbed peak, hoping for snow in the next two weeks. They're doing well, but patience will be tested this year on all the mounta...

Teams are arriving at K2 Base Camp, but communications are limited, so not much information is coming out. We know that conditions are harsh, with high temperatures and low snow in the lower mountains. Given the absence of snow, climbers are concerned about rockfall this year. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything https://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2025/07/03/k2-2025-coverage-teams-at-bc-and-trekki...

NOTE: This Podcast has extensive pictures so best viewed instead of listened to. Ryan Mitchell, a  Summit Coach  client, has gained considerable recognition thanks to his impressive video documentation of his 2024 summit of Mt. Everest with Madison Mountaineering. Exciting news! He’s all set to leave for K2 on Saturday, June 21, 2025. You may recall that in December 2022, Ryan contacted me for gui...

The 2025 Everest expedition has come to a close, marked by strong winds, drones, challenging climbing, and innovative strategies. Along the way were reports of frostbite and helicopter evacuations, but many of these incidents went unreported to avoid negative publicity. Not all was bad, and one climber stood out: a German alpinist, Anja Blacha, made a near-solo ascent (she summited the same day as...

What a week on Everest! We had both regular and unique summits, some of which may have unintended consequences for years to come. On the other 8000ers, the season came to a close with a few inspiring stories. The action is not over quite yet, even with an impending storm threatening to close the Icefall early next week, but allowing the remaining Tibetan side teams to summit a deserted peak. A nar...

Blustery conditions stalled most summit attempts last week, but a few teams managed to reach the summit, bringing the total number of Everest summits to over 200. May 14th,  15th and 18th, 2025, were big days on Everest despite the strong winds on the first two. And today, May 18th, we saw more Nepal side summits and the first commercial team summit on the Tibetan side. Hundreds more are staged fo...

Summit, Forest, summit! With decent weather, climbers took full advantage of summiting four of the 8000ers, including the first Everest summits, with more teams on their way this season. One person attempted to set a speed record on Everest. The fixed line is to the summit of Lhotse and the Nepalese and Tibetan sides of Everest. 8K Expeditions did an excellent job of being dedicated and patient wi...

The last few days of low winds have allowed the rope fixing teams to make excellent progress. The rope team from 8K Expeditions summited Lhotse this afternoon, May 8, 2025, marking the first summits of the year. A separate team from 8K will summit Everest tomorrow. This opens the season to the plethora of climbers already staged at Camp 2, just waiting for this event. The Tibetan rope-fixing team...

Poor weather is delaying getting the fixed ropes to Everest's summit on both sides but is looking better. The Nepal side Everest permits have reached 444, with more permits issued each day. EverestER has seen over 400 patients thus far. Some teams have completed their acclimatization protocols while others haven't started. An interesting season to be sure! Also a narrative on climbing From...

Drone crash, Icefall collapse, ropes to Camp 3, and climbers tag Camp 2. 374 Everest permits thus far, but only 48 on the Tibet side. It's been a busy week on Everest. https://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2025/04/27/everest-2025-weekend-update-april-27-on-the-move/

The 2025 season is well underway, and more teams arrive at Everest Base Camp each day. The Icefall Doctors have the fixed line to Camp 2, where 8K Expeditions will take over and fix the route to the summit. I expect them by early May. It's a tough job, to be sure. Also, a short narrative on the puja ceremony. This may go down as the season of stunts, pleasing those who have called Everest a ci...

As I previously reported, two Sherpas lost their lives when struck by an avalanche on the 8000er, Annapurna, on April 7, 2025. Ngima Tashi and Rima Rinje were swept into a deep crevasse between Camps 2 and 3. Four days later, Sherpas located their bodies using RECCO reflective technology after several helicopter searches proved unsuccessful. Retrieval was not attempted due to the bodies being insi...

It was a tough week in the Himalayas. We saw summits on two 8000ers, two Sherpas died, and the Icefall Doctors finally got the route to Camp 1 through the Khumbu Icefall. Also, it feels like the early predictions of a record and crowded Nepal side are coming true, with more permits issued at this time than last year. #everest2025 Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything https://www.alanarnette.com/b...

Despite ominous weather and route conditions, various media reports have at least four climbers summiting Annapurna on Sunday, April 6, 2025. Early reports of disturbing conditions on Annapurna seem to be mirrored on Everest. The Kumbu is buzzing with activity, and the Icefall Doctors are struggling again this year to get the route through the Icefall. In other words, busy as usual in the mid-2020...

Early data suggest Everest will see a record year, primarily driven by Chinese and Indian clients. I won’t be surprised to see over 1,000 total summits from both sides. The Icefall Doctors are already at work. Sherpas are setting up Base Camp, which is starting to look like a small city. The Himalayan winter was warm and dry, causing the snow line on Everest to move higher and increasing the chanc...

This is the Weekend Update for Everest 2025. The season is about to get started in earnest. Climber after climber and team after team are leaving home. In many cases, scores of Sherpas are on their way to Everest Base Camp to begin the arduous process of establishing a home for over 1,000 people this spring season. The Icefall Doctors are already at work. #everest2025

Deaths on Carstensz Pyramid, one of the Seven Summits, are rare, but two women tragically lost their lives on March 1 while descending during a storm. The 4,884-meter (16,024-foot) peak poses challenging logistics and is the most technical of the seven, requiring basic rock climbing skills for primarily 5th-class terrain on fixed ropes. Interview with Garrett Madison from CP

German Alpinist Jost Kobusch is back home after accomplishing his objective of a winter, solo, no-O’s climb to tag over 7500 meters on Everest’s West Ridge. In this podcast, we go into deep detail on his climb. If you are a climber, explorer or sour on the entire Everest scene, this is for you. #everest2025

Welcome to my limited series on climbing the Seven Summits. For eight weeks, I'll drop a new episode discussing one of the 7 Summits in detail. Today is Episode 9, Acocangua with special guests Garret Madison and Ed Viesturs. Next week, I wrap up this series with an Everest episode and special guests Adrian Ballinger, founder of Alpenglow and Mike Hammill, founder of Climbing the Seven Summits. #7...