2008 Spring Everest Expeditions List Up

MountEverest.net has put up it’s annual list of Himalayan Expeditions to take place this spring.  This list includes Makalu, Manaslu, Dhauligiri, Shisha Pangma, Anna Purna, and Mt. Everest.  The expeditions for Cho Oyu have yet to be released.

Here is what we know at this point.  Everest is going to be very busy once again:  53 Everest Expeditions have been announced thus far (this list was put up Feb. 25).  Last season, up to April 4th (the final list update) there were 60 expeditions listed.  We still have a month and a half before this list will be finalized.

Early stories to keep an eye on:

•  The Chinese Olympic Torch Run–as we all know, the chinese made a preliminary run up Mt. Everest last season, which was successful, in anticipation of the 2008 Summer Olympics being held in Beijing.
• The Lohtse-Everest Traverse–The Kazakh National Team will be trying for a first traverse of the world’s 1st & 4th tallest peaks, all in one run.
• Daniela Teixeira will be attempting a no supplemental O2 run–a pretty rare attempt for a female.
• Two seperate all female teams will be making runs for the summit.
• The race to be the oldest to summit.  Last season seen a new record.  This season it could be broken again by 77 year old Nepali Min Bahadur Sherchan.
• Alan Arnette will be making a third attempt at the summit.  His first two attempts were unsuccessful.
• David Tait will be back once again for a no O2 run at the summit.  His successful Everest Traverse last year set the stage for the South teams to finally summit.
• Andrew Brash, Myles Osborn, and Dan Mazur will be together once again.  They last climbed as a team in 1996 when they helped with Lincoln Hall.
• The Crowds–Last year seen more people at Basecamp than at any other time in history.  This year promises to have an even BIGGER crowd.
• Security–Nepal and Tibet have been moving forward with trying to make Everest a safer place.  Armed guards will be present at a few undisclosed points.  In recent times crime has been widely reported, theft being the biggest issue.
• Tibet–with Tibet being in a huge spotlight, we will be keeping an eye on the unrest of the area.  Last season we seen the “Free Tibet” campaign make an early stand against the 2008 Chinese Olympics.  Will be interesting to see if another stunt will be pulled off before this season’s actual run of the torch up the high peak.

As you can tell, there are already many different story lines taking shape for this season.  It is going to be another very busy year on the mountain.  China has upgraded the roads leading in to Basecamp..hopefully the crowdwatchers and sightseers will stay at bay and let these people live their dreams.

I will be making future updates to all of these stories and more.  I have already put up my “Everest 2008″ page which will contain all the articles that are posted here, in running order.  Of special interest to The Adventurist will be the attempts of both, Alan Arnette and David Tait.  I have talked at length with both of these men over the course of the last year.  Alan has been training for the past year, climbing some of the world’s highest peaks in the process.  Hopefully the third time is the charm.  He will be climbing for his Cure Alzheimer’s cause.  David Tait, an early favorite on the Himex team last year, will be going back up with a no O2 attempt.  Over the past two years he has proven his strength and dexterity.  He will be climbing for his own cause, the NSPCC, which helps children who have been affected by childhood abuse.  Alan and David’s causes are both very important.  I urge each of you to stop by, at least read what each is supporting and trying to do, and possibly even help them out a bit, if you can.

I plan on trying to talk with each of these guys about their upcoming Everest climbs in the days ahead.  I had an interview with David last season, and fondly remember him telling me that he wouldn’t go bcak to Everest.  My, what a year does!  Alan has been talked about and with quite often on The Adventurist.  He has been invaluable to myself as an Everest authority and mentor.  With him ON Everest this season, we will all be missing his annual Everest reports–but don’t fear–Kraig, over at The Adventure Blog, as well as myself, will be trying to pick up some of the slack–Plus, now Alan can send in reports from the frontline.  He will be making posts on his own site, related to his climb–

All the usual teams and guides will once again be on Everest.  Himex, 7Summits, SummitClimb, and the rest.  Am definately looking forward to this season.  Starting April 1st, I will begin the daily reports as I get them from the other teams.  Stop back in, check things out, and hopefully this year will be bigger, better, and safer than ever.