Mt. Everest Expedition – South Col

By the time you arrive at the base camp at the foot of the Khumbu Icefall, a route will already be established with ropes and ladders through the icefall to Camp 1, and our strong Sherpa team will be ferrying loads of equipment up the mountain. On your first stage of acclimatization, you’ll spend several days at and above Camp 2. A day-climb up the Lhotse Face towards Camp 3 (7,300m/23,700ft) will complete this first foray before returning to Base Camp. The second trip on to the mountain will involve either ‘tagging’ or sleeping a night at Camp 3 for acclimatisation before returning to base camp for a rest period. The most likely time for our summit climb will be between 15 and 25 May. We will climb through the established camps with lightweight packs and don our oxygen masks for the first time when we arrive at Camp 3 (7,300m/23,700ft) to sleep. We then climb to Camp 4 (7,950m/26,300ft) on the South Col. All climbers will be sleeping on bottled oxygen before setting out for the summit, carrying only very lightweight Russian oxygen bottles and using Summit masks. Sherpas and Western guides will accompany all members during the summit climb.

The expedition will be organized in such a way to allow members to concentrate largely on their own health and performance, without the burden of load carrying or dealing with logistics. A doctor experienced in high altitude medicine will be resident at base camp throughout the expedition to monitor your acclimatization and provide for your health care.

To gain a full understanding of your body’s response to altitude and to gain experience with Himalayan conditions, we recommend you join us for two expeditions prior to Everest (Alaska’s Denali and Tibet’s Cho Oyu are our top choices for your preparatory steps to the summit of Everest). Please see our web site for more details on these expeditions or call us to discuss our Seven Summits Training Program.

The final steps. AAI Collection.

We climb Everest via the South Col route from Nepal in the spring season because this route and timing offer the absolute best chance of success.  Routes from the north are technically more difficult, especially as you climb higher on the mountain.  In the spring climbing season, we gain the dual advantages of getting progressively milder weather as we move closer to the summit and of climbing more stable slopes because the winter winds have scoured away much of the snow, significantly reducing the avalanche hazard.

This expedition is a joint American Alpine Institute /AC Expedition. The Institute has the most extensive and successful high altitude guiding record in the world, and AC has the highest success rate guiding on Mt. Everest. The companies in these programs share guides and administrative duties to bring you meticulous preparation. From expert Sherpas and support staff, to careful menu planning, oxygen support, satellite communication, environmental protection, and a mountain clean-up plan, our expedition is finely tuned to Leave No Trace while offering you the highest possible chances for success.

Climbers on the final summit push. Charley Mace.

Oxygen

We provide a high flow oxygen package for all team members included in the expedition fee. Many have found this critical to their success on Everest and we have seen our summit rate increase dramatically with its use. The response from our team members has also been phenomenally positive. Climbers have reported having better energy levels, a better appetite, more warmth, a higher degree of strength and greater enjoyment on summit day. We also ensure we have enough oxygen to wait a day at the South Col and Camp 4, before attempting the summit. Our recent experiences show that for those who really want to maximise their chance of success, then these high oxygen flow rates allow the best option for ensuring you only need to attempt Mount Everest one time!

Extra Sherpa Support

Shouldering a heavy burden can be debilitating at the higher elevations and sap crucial energy levels right when you need it. This option is now included in our standard Everest expedition fee and enables you to carry the equipment you need on a daily basis while we arrange for our Sherpa staff to carry your kit on camp moving days.

Personal Sherpa

Shouldering a heavy burden can be debilitating at the higher elevations and sap crucial energy levels right when you need it. Another service we now include in the expedition price is ‘Additional Sherpa Support’. This enables climbers to forego the carrying of heavy packs, which is often very debilitating at high altitude. For some climbers, the long climb with a pack up to the top camp at South Col can leave them too exhausted for summit day and hence, this service greatly enhances your summit opportunity. We can, however, add an additional layer of support through our Personal Sherpa option. This option provides you with the assistance of a very experienced and dedicated Sherpa who will support you for the duration of the expedition above Base Camp. Your Personal Sherpa will climb with you each day while you are climbing on the mountain as your climbing partner and generally assist you throughout the expedition all the way to the summit. When on the mountain, you would share a tent with your Personal Sherpa and he would supervise cooking duties. Our Sherpa guides are very experienced with multiple ascents of Everest and other high peaks under their belts, and are friendly and supportive companions along the way!

Fast Track Program

For those climbers who wish to maximise their time and are able to pre-acclimatise prior to arriving in Nepal with a system such as Hypoxico, we are able to offer an accelerated Everest expedition schedule with our ‘Fast Track’ program, allowing you to reduce the standard Everest itinerary by 10 days.

Inclusions:

• 1:4 Western Guide ratio and 1:1 Sherpa to climber ratio on summit day
• Bottled oxygen
• Personal equipment carried on the mountain
• Nepalese government royalty fees
• All expedition organizational requirements
• All climbing and trekking permits
• Fixed-wing air transport within Nepal
• All team equipment
• All expedition staff including Sherpa support
• All food whilst away from Kathmandu
• All supplies necessary to make a safe and strong bid for the summit
• Medical services from our Expedition Doctor
• Base Camp Wi-Fi (fair-use policy applies) and satellite phone facilities
• Internet dispatch page that is updated daily by guides and Base Camp staff, and semi-hourly on summit day
• dZi Foundation support for their “revitalize a village” program—likely to include support for a Nepalese child’s education for a year.

Exclusions:

• Air travel to and from Nepal
• Hotel accommodation and meals in Kathmandu
• Nepalese airport entry visas
• Extras on the trek in/out such bottled drinks, showers and laundry
• Personal clothing and equipment
• Personal Insurance/Trip Cancellation Insurance/Medical Evacuation Insurance
• Actual satellite phone calls
• Gratuities for guides and Sherpa staff

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Successful expeditions require excellent team work! AAI/AC Collection.

A successful summit of Everest always brings big smiles. Dean Staples.

On the summit with our talented guide team. AAI/AC Collection.

The American Alpine Institute strives to provide the highest quality service and leadership to our climbers around the world. On certain expeditions, we reach out to our partners to combine resources and offer an experience unmatched by any other guide service. This is a joint expedition with our partner Adventure Consultants. We work together to share the load of administrative and guide-related duties that go into such a complicated expedition.

We employ strong, specialized expedition leaders and support staff, whom are some of the most pre-eminent in the industry. We pride ourselves on operating with small teams and the best back-up and support available. This includes nutritious and ample quantities of food, comfortable base camp facilities, reliable communications systems and the necessary medical back up.

Dean Staples on his 9th summit of Everest in 2013. AAI/AC Collection.

The success of an expedition is often determined by factors that are planned well in advance of the actual climbing; the many years spent fine-tuning the operational blue print for this expedition has led to a high proportion of our expedition members reaching the summit.

On the top of the world!  AAI Collection.

Our guide team and Sherpa staff are of the highest caliber in the industry, and our climber-to-guide climbing ratios are lower than that provided by other expedition operators.  While we see some other operators foregoing the use of Western Guides in favor of Sherpa-only guiding staff, we know that this places undue pressure on these highly capable but minimally trained people.  Instead, our expedition combines the strengths of our guides and Sherpas to operate as a cohesive unit, contributing to a complete, competent, and highly efficient team.

Our collaborative expeditions have a long history of employing the most up-to-date and appropriate technological equipment and systems.  We are constantly evolving these systems to ensure we are performing at the highest levels of modern expedition climbing. By incorporating specialized weather forecasting into our ascent program and appling our knowledge base to interpret the forcasts, we set a higher standard of decision making and rate of success. Special focus is placed on catering and sustenance, training our cooking staff to provide excellent meals that earn constant positive feedback from our clients. We employ our own dedicated expedition doctor whose sole purpose is to ensure the ongoing health of the team members, staff, and Sherpas.  We also have a qualified Base Camp manager to support the whole team in Base Camp and while they are on the mountain.

An attempt on Mt Everest is a committing undertaking which requires a huge amount of dedication and determination. If you are serious about achieving the top and feel you have the right ingredients and experience, we invite you to apply for a position on our team this season.​