Mt. Everest 2005: The Chinese abort the Second Push at 8400 due to strong winds!

Update: Mt. Everest 2005: The Chinese abort the Second Push at 8400 due to strong winds! After the Chinese kicked butt yesterday (to our Chinese readers that means they did very very good, and much better than the rest of us.), they had the turn back last night. As our forecaster predicted, the high winds are back...

Update: 22 Chinese summited and they broadcasted live from the Summit of Mt Everest again! Below are some of the many reports from our friends in China and Hong Kong,

Report: The climbers were composed of The re-measuring team, The Chinese Women Expedition and Tibet Climbing Club. The tripod had been erected at 11:50 (Beijing Time). Height of the Tripod : over 2.0 meter. Result of the measurement will be announced around in August, 2005.

Report: The Chinese Measurement Expedition is on LIVE by CCTV. Beijing Time 11:35    15 members have summited. ( 3 are female NOT confirmed) They would have stayed for an hour. Temperature on top: - 29.8 deg C. Wind: Grade 7 ; Weather: "fairly fine."

First summit: 11:08 (Beijing Time)

From 11:35 : Started to set up the Tripod.

On May 22, the 2nd assault team should have climbed up from Camp 7,790M to their Final Camp  8,300M. Summit push on 23rd May.

The Chinese started to descend at 12:25 (Beijing time). They stayed for around 77 min.

The CCTC.com had issued 22 updated summit photo on its web site. You could see the tripod the radar disc in the first instance. see here.

It looks that the Chinese were using modern gas mask and apparatus on the Top, weren't they? 

The Chinese had (or will ? to be confirmed) erected a "permanent" GPS monitoring station at the small "Rocky Land" near the top, in addition to the tripod mounted on the Top. At least two GPS detectors were installed , according to the  CCTV report.

Reports from successive Summiters would bring us clearer picture of it. 

For more pictures see here.

WOW!

Previous Updates are below

Update: Chinese Summit Everest! They were fast...

Update: Chinese report they are all above the Second Step, but there is a "20 minute delay". [Hey who knows... we could speculate but we won't...]

North Side: The Chinese report that they are 20 minutes from the top! [20 minutes in these conditions might be a bad estimate.]

Update 7.04PM 5/21/2005 in America: The first group started 3:30 (Beijing time) . They think, they'll need 7  hours to reach summit. Some of the climbers, who are in charge of  re-measuring Mt. Everest's height, intend to stay from 40 minutes to 1 hour  on top where they want to erect kind of a plate (which reflects - maybe -  signals, don't know ) and do other work

Update: The Chinese are on a summit push right now! And measuring the Peak ! Stay tuned and we will let you how it turns out. We are told 22 climbers, not sure if that is 22 plus Sherpas (Tibetans to them) or 22 total...

The Chinese have announced they are starting up to ABC. Around thirty Chinese scientists are planning to re-measure  Qomolangma (Mount Everest). Kang Shichang is the research leader of the expedition and a famous fellow at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Qomolangma has been measured 4 times by the Chinese with the last being 8848.13 meters by Chinese scientists in 1975. However scientists believe because of global warning the mountain has shrunk. The Chinese plan to install a GPS to re-measure the height of the mountain. A joint team Chinese and Japanese women team will also attempt the Mount Everest, the lines between these expeditions appear hard to define at this point.

Some ask, why don't they just take a GPS up there and see what it says! GPS's do not measure very well at 7000 meters and above. Therefore the Chinese plan to use/install a dish! They also plan to a sophisticated radar detector to measure the current height of Mt. Everest.

If it could just see pictures of George Mallory's wife...

Millet One Sport Everest Boot  has made some minor changes by adding more Kevlar. USES Expeditions / High altitude / Mountaineering in extremely cold conditions / Isothermal to -75°F Gore-Tex® Top dry / Evazote Reinforcements with aramid threads. Avg. Weight: 5 lbs 13 oz Sizes: 5 - 14 DESCRIPTION Boot with semi-rigid shell and built-in Gore-Tex® gaiter reinforced by aramid threads, and removable inner slipper Automatic crampon attachment Non-compressive fastening Double zip, so easier to put on Microcellular midsole to increase insulation Removable inner slipper in aluminized alveolate Fiberglass and carbon footbed Cordura + Evazote upper Elasticated collar. Expedition footwear for mountaineering in conditions of extreme cold.  NOTE US SIZES LISTED. See more here.

A cold weather, high altitude double boot for extreme conditions The Olympus Mons is the perfect choice for 8000-meter peaks. This super lightweight double boot has a PE thermal insulating inner boot that is coupled with a thermo-reflective outer boot with an integrated gaiter. We used a super insulating lightweight PE outsole to keep the weight down and the TPU midsole is excellent for crampon compatibility and stability on steep terrain. WEIGHT: 39.86 oz • 1130 g LAST: Olympus Mons CONSTRUCTION: Inner: Slip lasted Outer: Board Lasted OUTER BOOT: Cordura® upper lined with dual-density PE micro-cellular thermal insulating closed cell foam and thermo-reflective aluminium facing/ Insulated removable footbed/ Vibram® rubber rand See more here.

   Ascenders

   Atlas snowshoes

   Atomic

   Big Agnes

   Black Diamond

   Brunton

   Carabiners

   Chaco

   Cloudveil

   Columbia
   CMI

   Crampons

   Edelweiss ropes
   Eureka Tents

   Exofficio

   FiveTen

   Featured

   FoxRiver

   Gregory

   Granite Gear

   Harnesses
   Headlamps

   Hestra
   Helmets

   Helly Hansen

   HighGear

   HornyToad
   Ice Axes

   Julbo

   Kavu Eyewear

   Katadyn

   Kelty

   Kong

   Lekisport

   Life is Good

   Lowa

   Lowe Alpine

   Lowepro

   Millet

   Motorola

   Mountain Hardwear

   Mountainsmith

   MSR

   Nalgene

   New England Ropes

   Nikwax

   Omega

   Osprey

   Outdoor Research
   Patagonia

   Pelican

   Petzl

   Prana

   Princeton Tec

   Primus

   Rope Bags

   Royal Robbins

   Salomon

   Scarpa

   Scott

   Seattle Sports

   Serius
   Sleeping Bags

   Sterling Rope

   Stubai

   Suunto

   Tents

   Teva

   Thermarest

   Trango

   Tool Logic

   Trekking Poles
   Yaktrax
   and more here