Chinese Climbers Are Currently Attempting Everest

Mt. Everest will not see its usual crowds this year, but one lucky team is making an attempt from the Chinese side. Wikimedia Commons photo.

While the 2020 spring expedition season was canceled for just about everyone on the planet, one lucky team of climbers is currently making an attempt on Mt. Everest. While the mountain was closed to all foreign nationals on both the Chinese and Nepalese routes, a team of Chinese climbers is waiting in Base Camp to make an attempt from inside their own country. April and May are typically the peak Everest climbing seasons, with hundreds of climbers from all over the world congregating on the mountain to wait on a weather window for a summit attempt. This year will look a little different, with so far just one 26-person Chinese team making the attempt. China is allowing some of its own citizens access to the peak, while Nepal has completely closed access.

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With an unusual amount of snow on the peak from the winter, the climbers will likely spend a few weeks in base camp acclimatizing and waiting for a break in the weather before making a summit attempt. Given the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, this comes as somewhat surprising news, but keeping it in-country makes sense. It does offer a glimmer of hope into a return to normal sometime soon. Maybe there will be a Fall Everest season?

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stash member Max Ritter

I manage digital content here at TGR, run our gear testing program, and am stoked to be living the dream in the Tetons.