HACE or High Altitude sickness is already starting to take a toll on Everest climbers this year.  BasecampMD is reporting that two low land Nepali were taken in to the clinic yesterday with signs of severe HACE…they were given steroids and Oxygen and were able to get stabilized enough to be able to take to the trek to a lower altitude.

HACE has always been a problem on Everest with some people not taking the extra time to get acclimatized and some, even when they do–still catch HACE.  HACE in and of itself is not deadly if you have a means to get to lower ground fast.  But on Everest…That lower ground could be hours away all the while you are by yourself.  It has claimed quite a few climbers and Sherpa lives over the years and has sparked a lot of interest from the medical fields.

This season there is going to be a huge scientific study based on this such issue to try to find out how people’s bodies actually handle higher elevations, and what steps could be taken to help save more lives.

Last year, after 11 deaths occured on Everest, it gave way to the grand ‘ol debate once again of how crowded Everest is getting…

Well this year, after the death of David Sharp and the resulting turmoil and frustration shown wordwide about climber etiquette and the crowd problems, the warning has already sounded–North Side of Everest is CROWDED.

Teams have been sending their Sherpas up, in some cases, weeks ahead of time to try to beat out the crowds and try to secure a good spot.

The Tibetan Mountaineering Association has put out a warning due to the overcrowded conditions that will be present this year.

They have placed part of the blame on Tibetan climbers planning to do a trial run of the Chinese Olympic Torch Ceremony..to the Top of Everest.

Now I don’t want people jumping to conclusions.  After what happened with David Sharp and the ensuing controversy and bad publicity surrounding last season, I think a lot of teams will be doing things a little bit different this year–in order to not become the one down in the crowd so to speak.

I do know that HIMEX is currently working on the plans that the teams will be taking as they vie for their chance at the Summit and the order that they will all be ascending..

I just hope that this season takes a much safer turn for the better after a heartwrenching and disasterous year last season.

My good friend Kraig over at The Adventure Blog has just informed all of his readers (including myself) that his blog has gone on hiatus, just as he made his 1000th post!

Now the 1000th blog post should be something celebrated.  It takes an awful lot of time and dedication to get to that point–So why the “break” Kraig?

Well it seems he has booked himself on an African adventure of a lifetime.  His goal?  Mt. Kilimajaro.  This will be Kraig’s first attempt at a big peak and he is promising a big adventure update on his site in two weeks.

The Adventurist would like to wish him luck and safe travel both to and from Africa and Mt. Kilimanjaro!

While I am on the subject of my blogging friends, I would like to mention Alan Arnette’s site today as well.  He has a great article on Miss Elizabeth Hawley…

If you have climbed an 8,000er in the Himalayas then you will know the name, and if not…well you weren’t alone.

It seems Miss Hawley is THE Himalayan journalist living in Nepal.  She has covered Mt. Everest and the surrounding areas for magazines such as TIME and the American Alpine Journal for well over 40 years  (47 to be exact).

I suggest all of you head on over to Alan’s and read this great article…Miss Hawley can make or break a climbers career..and she has never climbed a mountain in her life….

An 11 year old Norwegian Boy spotted a black box on the beach near his home in Denmark–this in itself is not remarkable, but what was inside could only be called amazing.

Three years ago Joergen Amundsen buried a watch at the North Pole in Commemoration of his late ancestor Roald Amundsen, Discoverer of the North Pole.

Since that time, the watch had been trapped beneath the pole in ice..but as the arctic goes, it is always breaking apart, drifting, and reforming itself.  Through all of the arctic cycles, somehow this watch showed up in Norway.

Along with the watch was a letter left by Joergen stating that it was buried at the North Pole and the date.  And the most amazing part–The watch was still working….

In a 33-22 vote, Oregon could very well become the first US state to require Mountain climbers to carry personal locating devices such as a GPS, a mountain locator unit, or a personal distress beacon in case of an emergency.

This has all come about through two recent accidents on Mt. Hood.  The first one, occuring in December of ‘06 left three climbers dead and two bodies still missing….the second, just weeks ago, seen three climbers rescued after they had used their GPS units to tell rescuers where they were.

The Oregon politicians have said that this bill is very similar to what is required of boaters or bicyclists across the country with laws passed to protect those involved.

Climbers on the other hand are skeptical and claim that this infringes on there general freedom and the whole purpose they climb…it takes some of the chance away from the climb.

It will be very interesting to see how this plays out once it reaches the Oregon Senate then the Governor.

In the past 25 years, 35 people have died trying to ascend Mt. Hood.

It seems like EVERYONE is wanting there shot at Everest this season.  I mentioned Orlando Bloom yesterday, and today news reports are circulating that the Mayor of Prague is leaving in two weeks for his attempt at the world’s highest mountain.

The Mayor of Prague, Pavel Bem, has been given an unpaid leave of absence from his city duties to take part in this season on Everest. 

His absence from Prague is disapproved by some in his country as wel as by the King himself, but this is not going to stop Pavel Bem from trying one of his life long dreams.

Also, Former Deputy Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Khalid Yunus, has arrived in Kathmandu for his attempt on Everest as well.  It seems like the politicians are trying to draw attention to their respected countries by doing something that few people ever have the chance to do–Climb Everest.

Datuk Khalid Yunus said that he is climbing Everest to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Independence of Malaysia.

Both of these stories are coming from the ABC of Mountaineering website.

A visitor stopped by and posed this question:  “How many people will be climbing this year?”

As most of you will probably know there has been a great debate raging over whether or not there is getting to be to many people trying to scale Everest.  Well, here are a few numbers for you:

As I have it right now, there are going to be 32 teams trying to ascend this year..as far as a team is concerned, it can consist of 0ne person or well over twenty or more. 

David Tait is going by himself, as is Gavin Bates…but then you have HIMEX or the 7 Summits team that are well equipped with over 20..so at this point it would really be hard to put up an exact number. 

Take in to account all of the Sherpa people that are involved with each climb and team, plus that some people going will presumably have to turn back due to sickness at basecamp or above, and you can see where I am coming from…

Last year there were 410 summitters, and 11 deaths.  The ratio of summits per deaths has risen substantially over the last few years..it use to be one in four would die trying…now it is more like 1 in 10 as an average.

The reason why there seems to be a lot of deaths as of late could very well correspond with the number of climbers attempting to summit, all within about a two week period.

The race will be on once again this year with HIMEX leading the way and laying the ropes, as they usually do, and setting the climbing schedule for most of the teams.

The camps are being set and stocked as we speak, teams are arriving in Kathmandu and the surrounding areas by the day–and before long there will be a full blitz to basecamp.

Hopefully this year will be a safe climbing season–but going on statistics alone–it might be interesting to see how this season compares to last year and whether or not any slight changes will be made if a climber does go down on the mountain.