Sean Kristl's Posts

Cory Richards enjoying life at Advanced Base Camp

Alpenglow’s Rapid Ascent team has been enjoying life at Advanced Base Camp (21,000’/6400m) for a few days in order to fully recover and be ready for the next low wind period that will allow their summit push. The team was initially planning on leaving camp today however an unexpected burst of wind popped through on the forecast so they have decided to wait one more day for things to calm down

The team is targeting May 22 as their summit day. Other teams…

Everest North Side Update May 16

If you’ve been following along via social media you have likely seen that both teams have been enjoying very stable weather with all team members acclimatizing well. Daily updates can be found by following along on Snapchat – usernames @EverestNoFilter & @AlpenglowExped. Our guides also take amazing photos and upload every few days on Instagram. Follow them at @ZebBlais and @ChadPeele.

#RapidAscent Team resting in ABC

Alpenglow’s Rapid Ascent team of Bryan and Trudi led by all star Chad Peele and supported…

Let me start this blog off with a little public service announcement for all the climbing fans out there. If you have a smartphone, do yourself a favor and download Snapchat and create an account. You don’t have to do anything but follow EverestNoFilter and AlpenglowExped. This unique social media platform allows you to check in with our teams everyday, getting an intimate and unfiltered view of climbing life on the big E!

Ok, now on to the update…

Advance Base Camp on the North Side of Everest. 21,000′.

Everest Rapid Ascent…

Blog post from Alpenglow guide Zeb Blaise.

We hit our bumps in the road getting to Everest Base Camp, but all in all we’re doing pretty
well. Complaining about the trip logistics would be like complaining about air travel: its got its
problems, but how else can you get from Seattle to Katmandu in 24 hours? Travelling thousands
of feet in the air at hundreds of miles per hour is incredible, even if their only whiskey is Johnny
Walker.

Everyone and everything arrived in Katmandu without a hitch. We recovered from a little jet
…

Just getting to base camp on the North Side of Everest can be a challenging task. With a few hiccups along the way our team is now in Shigatse, Tibet catching some sleep before the final push to base camp at 17,000’ tomorrow!

The first travel hurdle was caused by a bit of weather thwarting our flight into Lhasa two days in a row. On day 2 the flight was en route when the pilot diverted at the last minute to Chengdu, China… a 2.5 hour detour by air. A night in Chengdu was spent sampling some local culture and food.…

As you have likely heard, the devastating 7.8 earthquake that struck along the coast of Ecuador on April 16 has put the coastal regions and the country in a state of disaster. Our logistics and guide team based in Quito are reporting that all is well in the capital although the strong shaking for almost a minute was terrifying. Quito lost power in parts of the city for some time but all has been restored. The part of the country sustaining the most damage is Portoviejo (about 250 miles west of Quito) with as many as 370 buildings destroyed.…

Adventure wouldn’t be what it is without some unexpected twists and turns. No matter how much planning is put in, there will inevitably be a few surprises along the way.

The #EverestNoFilter team of Adrian and Cory are currently enjoying one of those twists with an impromptu journey into the Khumbu Valley to acclimatize before reaching Everest Base Camp on the North Side of the mountain. For those of you following along, you’ll notice this is the opposite side they should be approaching from. The cause of this diversion is the temporary closure of the border between Tibet and Nepal…

The 2016 Everest season is literally around the corner. We wanted to take some time from our hectic office life and update you on what’s been happening.

#EverestNoFilter

Adrian Ballinger and Cory Richards have set their sights high this season and are looking to climb the North Side of Everest without the help of supplementary oxygen. Less than 3% of climbers who have attempted the tallest peak in the world have done so without oxygen and Adrian and Cory will be looking to add their names to this elite list.