...The Everest Experience Lecture Series...
** PLEASE NOTE - THIS POST CONTAINS ALL 3x LECTURE REGISTRATION LINKS** - you will need to sign up for each episode separately.
..Join Us...
While we can't physically be in the mountains together right now, we'd like to continue to educate and inspire our community and are thrilled to be offering a FREE 3x part online Everest Lecture Series to educate and prepare you with everything you need to know to summit Everest starting Thursday 21st May at 8pm Eastern Time (GMT-4:00)
If you've ever dreamt of, or are planning an Everest climb, or even if you are just curious, you don't want to miss this!
Register on Zoom for all 3 here:
21st May - Episode 1:
Using actual footage of the route, Mike Hamill (owner of CTSS and author of the guide book) will virtually guide you through every section of the South Side Everest climb whilst offering detailed insights garnered from his 13x expeditions.
Following the route visualisation, we will then moderate an Q&A with Mike and past Everest summiteers, PS Sim & Mark Wilkins.
REGISTRATION LINK: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_XMY9tXy0TgeXHp947MWwAQ
28th May - Episode 2:
The Summit Bid - Following on from Episode 1, we take a more detailed look specifically at the summit bid, again using video, Mike Hamill will provide time tested strategies and insights to lead to a successful Everest summit. Special guest panellists Everest Blogger, Mountaineering coach and Summiteer Alan Arnette & Tendi Sherpa 13x Everest summiteer, Sirdar and Lead Guide
REGISTRATION LINK: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_erUieOe7SGed1vq0z4GHAQ
4th June - Episode 3:
Broken into two parts, this episode will address Everest specific training strategies and how best to prepare for your climb with Uphill Athlete Trainer Mark Postle before deep diving into the duffel bag with Mike Hamill to give you an inventory of the most needed gear for Everest. We are thrilled to also be joined by Speedy Steve (Steve Plain) - the current record holder of the fastest lap of all 7 summits in just 117 days!
REGISTRATION LINK: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JfWPLLuiRNWYpIHAdUeAjg
..CTSS Corona Virus Update..
To our climbing friends and family -
We hope more than ever that this newsletter finds you safe, healthy and well.
CTSS's Commitment to Our Climbers...
The well-being of our climbers and staff is always the first priority whether we are in the mountains or as in this moment, confined by COVID-19 to home.
Based on the most recent travel advisories and recommendations from the experts we have postponed all upcoming expeditions and private climbs in April and May and have communicated and coordinated with all affected mountaineers and trekkers. We will continue to work closely with each team.
CTSS staff are actively working (albeit from home!) on all of your logistics for expeditions in the second half of the year and beyond, with the same dedication and commitment you know from us. Of course, like you, we continue to actively monitor the situation as it unfolds, taking direction from the World Health Organisation and other expert voices and remain flexible.
We know these are challenging and uncertain times for us all - from the stress of safeguarding our individual health and that of our loved ones, to the psychological battle of cabin fever! We are all in the same boat longing to make land and head up towards a summit again.
For the current moment, in lieu of taking you into the mountains we will endeavour to bring them to you! We will use our social channels to inspire you, motivate you and increase your knowledge base with information that you can put to use when we’re back in the mountains again. We hope this will inspire you in the weeks ahead to keep focused on your at-home training and prepare for getting back to the big open spaces again soon!
If you have any questions, our office is open and the team is always happy to speak with you as we continue using this time to improve many aspects of our operation.
Taking Care of Our Own...
One of CTSS' efforts that we are most proud of is our Not-For-Profit arm the Tiger of the Snows Fund which supports Outdoor Tourism Workers and their families around the world and particularly the Sherpa in the Khumbu during challenging times. TOTS has been running since 2015 supporting all manner of projects and people.
As many of you have asked, with the closure of the Everest season on both the North and South sides there are impacts to the wider Khumbu community. For the Sherpa community we have started a special initiative where we continue to raise funds in support of local families during this time - from the porters, to the cook teams, to the climbing sherpa and all the valued team members in between - All donations until the end of June will be directed to this end.
If you would like to support this special initiative you can donate here:
https://tigerofthesnows.com/donate/
Our goal, as always, is to ensure you have a safe and unforgettable experience in the mountains. We look forward to climbing/trekking with you in the future and thank you for your continued support.
Best wishes,
Mike, Caroline & the CTSS Team
..Sherpa Team Training..
Preparations for Everest 2020 are ongoing here at CTSS. Thousands of kilos of gear are currently en route to Everest base camp via truck, helicopter, porter and yak with more gear and food prep being finalized in Kathmandu and the US.
Here Big Tendi (above) leads one of our many specialized 5 day training seminars that we run exclusively for our Sherpa team to refresh their skills and reinforce our high safety standards.
The countdown continues.
Cheers
Team CTSS
...Final Everest Packing..
It's that time of year again; our absolute favorite. Everest season is well underway and our exceptional Sherpa team in Kathmandu are working hard as ever to get the final preparations complete.
Everything from tents, to solar panels, to kitchen supplies and wooden floors start their steady move up the Khumbu valley ahead of our climbing teams over the coming month.
Climbing Sirdar Tendi reports in that after many weeks getting the packing in order, today they're happy to report it's almost at the final stage. "All are so excited to start the spring season with CTSS and can’t wait to another great and successful climb!"
The countdown continues.
Cheers
Team CTSS
..Aconcagua Reflections..
Now that Team Aconcagua is back recovering in the balmy Mendozan heat, it's time for a few last views of the higher stretches of the mountain these last days. Snapshots from CTSS guide Colo Griffouliere of the journey to high camp, sunrise on summit morning, and the famed windy ridge and the traverse at nearly 20,500 feet. The challenges on Aconcagua never cease to impress!
A solid congratulations to the entire 2020 Team.
Cheers
Team CTSS
...Back at Base...
A quick last report from our Aconcagua adventurers - The team are all safely down to Base Camp and will be trekking out and heading to Mendoza today ready to fly home!
...Summits on Aconcagua...
A great effort today by our Aconcagua team which saw a bunch of the crew stand on top of the Americas today! Congratulations.
Everyone now back safely at High Camp, tucked in for the evening and they will descend to Base Camp tomorrow for a hot shower and some Argentinian wine! Before making their way to Mendoza.
What a valiant effort by everyone.
Cheers
CTSS Team
...Ready for the Summit...
The team are at High Camp and are geared to go for the Summit tomorrow!
We always feel that we have had a successful expedition when the entire team has made it up to high camp together to be able to make the traverse down the other side of the mountain together.
Of course - the summit is certainly icing on the cake and we are sure they will all do great tomorrow but we are thrilled with their progress thus far.
They are all doing well.
Cheers
CTSS Team
...C3 Plans...
The team are currently at Camp 2 on Aconcagua enjoying some culinary delights of fresh ravioli and pesto bought up from Base Camp today (hard living eh?)
Tomorrow they plan to do a carry to Camp 3, descend for acclimatization and start looking at the summit on the 15th...
Winds are looking like they might be a factor but plenty of time in the schedule.
All well on Aconcagua.
Cheers
CTSS Team
...Camp 2 Carry...
Josh has checked in from Camp 1 with the good news that their carry to Camp 2 is complete and has been successful.
The stoke is high and to celebrate it is pizza on the menu tonight! Tough living out there on Aconcagua!
Predicted higher winds will likely see the team take a rest day at Camp 2.
Cheers
CTSS Team
