We reported last month in the article “Climbing Season Kicks off on Big E” that Conrad Anker and Cory Richards would attempt the West Ridge route on Mount Everest carrying all their own food, shelter, and equipment. Well, things have changed, as you’ll see on National Geographic’s Everest micro-site. Richards was evacuated from Base Camp to Kathmandu after a medical emergency. The West Ridge plan has been canceled due to unsafe climbing conditions. Now Anker and other National Geographic Expedition members turn their attention to the peak’s trade route, the Southeast Ridge, with summit pushes ramping up as we write.
Here below are a few new images from the action on Everest this year. The photos, from the June edition of National Geographic magazine for iPad, show some of the beauty and drama on this peak. The plans have changed for the National Geographic Expedition this spring. But the final goal, the summit of the world’s highest peak, remains still the same. —Stephen Regenold
—Stephen Regenold wrote about gear on Everest for National Geographic in the article “Everest Climbing Gear—Then and Now.” GearJunkie.com covered a unique expedition on Everest last month in the post “History Retraced on Mount Everest This Spring.”
