Everest - When To Go
As we have mentioned in the section on Everest's Approach and Climbing Routes, Climbing Everest takes a lot of careful planning and preparation in order to have a successful Climb. Part of the preparation is knowing When to Go. It is important the ideal season to go there, lest you be caught in a season which is not conducive for Climbing thus putting you in a lot of risk. Climbing Everest during Climbing season is risky enough, so why put yourself in greater risk by doing it off-season?
The best seasons to Climb Everest are either pre-monsoon (spring) or after monsoon (autumn).
Most ascents are made in the spring, usually reaching Base Camp in early April, with a view of Climbing around the second week of May. During this time, the temperatures are relatively warm and the winds are generally less vicious than in the autumn. As always, the weather is variable and can be very unsettled and afternoon squalls are common. To made a successful summit attempt, you would normally need a fine spell lasting four or five days once the team is ready for a summit attempt.
In the autumn, crystal clear skies are the reward, if you are lucky! The heavy snow, left by the monsoon, and that is now covering the awkward rocks, can make some routes such as the South West Face easier than in spring. But be careful, by the cold temperatures, the snow can often be powdery and unstable. Post-monsoon attempts are usually a race against the upcoming winter winds, which hardly affects the lower peaks but are devastating above 7000m. Hence, having frostbite is a much bigger risk in the autumn than in the spring.
The Everest can also be Climbed during the winter, but this would then be only for die-hard Climbers. Summit temperatures can drop as low as -50 degree Celsius combined with winds over 200 kph, blasting away much of the snow to leave bare rocks and iron-hard ice. Because of the high degree of difficulty, only a handful of Climbers have attempted a winter ascent since it was first done in 1980.
The same can be said of an ascent in the summer (monsoon). Since Reinhold Messner's solo ascent of the North Face during the monsoon period, also just a few have followed him. The advantages of this unorthodox approach were thick snow covering the sloping rocks, warmer, damper air putting less strain on the throat; and more protection from ultra-violet radiation.
An ascent to the Everest's summit has become relatively easier in the past years, due mostly to the advances in technology and corporate sponsorships who would provide Climbers with the funds they need for the Climb. But it nevertheless remains as probably the most challenging and riskiest mountain to Climb. So it still pays to know when is the safest and most ideal time to Climb. With that, you considerably lessen the risks involved in scaling Everest.
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