Latest news with #FastestKnownTime
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Tyler Andrews Aborts Everest Speed Climb Less than 500M Below the Summit
Something has prompted Tyler Andrews of the U.S. to turn around when he was nearly touching the summit of Everest. After a 17-hour, non-stop run without supplementary oxygen from Base Camp to above the Balcony (8,400m), he has decided to go down. Andrews, 35, left Base Camp yesterday at 9:08 pm Nepal time. Chris Fisher supported him until Camp 2. There were also support teams in the higher camps. Around noon today, he was above 8,000m. At 8,200m, Andrews sent a text message over his InReach reading: "All well in the mountains." This suggests that Andrews would finally succeed on his third attempt this season to speed climb 8,849m Everest. Concern began among the thousands of followers checking the climber's location on his tracker during the afternoon in Nepal, when his InReach device stopped sending a signal. Andrews' team also had problems connecting with him over the radio, but were aware that he was moving. They noted that 16 hours into his effort, the runner was approaching the Balcony. Shortly afterward, the team finally connected with him and learned -- and shared -- the bad news: Some 20 hours after departure, Andrews' tracker shows him on his way down. But if his team's information is accurate, the signal does not show the highest point he reached: Andrews was on his third attempt to speed climb Everest. On the first attempt, on May 10-11, Andrews turned around slightly above Camp 3, due to problems with his equipment. Last Friday, he tried with supplementary oxygen, but the high winds at the summit proved too strong to let him finish. That day, Karl Egloff of Ecuador also attempted to bag the Everest FKT (Fastest Known Time) without oxygen. Egloff aborted shortly after Camp 3. Both climbers officially called their expeditions off, but Andrews changed his mind unexpectedly yesterday. Weather forecasts promised good conditions today. He decided at the last minute to give Everest a last try and set off that same evening. Andrews was trying to beat the previous mark set by Kaji Sherpa, who climbed from Base Camp to the summit in 20 hours and 24 minutes in 1998. Kaji's ascent was controversial since the climber used oxygen on his way down. However, Andrews believes that how a climber performs on descent is not significant if the planned record run ends at the summit. "In my opinion, if you get to the top, you get to the top," he told ExplorersWeb. "I don't mind how you go down. However, I understand people may have different criteria." Andrews still has a long way to go to Base Camp, but there are support staff at several points of the route. Other climbers are also still on the mountain. We will update you when we learn what caused him to turn around.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
The Everest Race is Over, Tyler Andrews Ends FKT Attempt
Tyler Andrews has abandoned his Fastest Known Time (FKT) attempt on Everest, aborting just above Camp 4. Karl Egloff, climbing without oxygen, had called off his bid two hours earlier. Andrews' expedition leader, Dawa Steven Sherpa of Asian Trekking, made the final decision to end the attempt. In poor weather, he wanted to preserve the safety of the runner and the support team on the mountain. "I turned him around above the South Col," Dawa Steven told ExplorersWeb. "My team, who were waiting up at the Balcony and South Summit, reported extremely strong winds, so I called my whole team off the mountain." Egloff set off without supplementary oxygen and hoped to run the entire round trip to the summit and back to Base Camp. Andrews had also planned to run without oxygen, but changed his mind following advice from his team, who suggested he should use oxygen on the upper sections of the mountain because of high winds and very cold conditions. Yesterday, Garrett Madison checked in from Camp 4 on his way back from the summit and shared images of a gigantic wind plume rising from Everest's summit area. However, despite the high winds, some climbers topped out today. Adventure Consultants reported summits between 5:30 am and 6 am Nepal time. On the north side, the Alpenglow Expeditions team started their summit push yesterday. They plan to top out on May 27.
Scoop
18-05-2025
- Climate
- Scoop
More Wānaka Search And Rescue Callouts As Unprepared People Drawn Outdoors By Social Media
Article – RNZ Unprepared people are venturing deeper into back country, lured by influencers and websites. Wānaka search and rescue teams are responding to more avoidable accidents as unprepared people venture deeper into the back country, lured partly by the influence of social media and websites. Volunteers said they had observed more people 'lost and out of their depth' in 22 rescue operations between October and March, including nine alpine cliff rescues, three swiftwater or canyon rescues and three sub-alpine or bush rescues. Alpine cliff rescue team leader Davie Robinson said the type of call-outs had changed in his 25 years with Wānaka Search and Rescue. 'We're definitely seeing more and more accidents that generally shouldn't be happening,' he said. 'When you're rescuing people that don't really need rescuing, we're getting a little bit frustrated because one day we will have an accident. And it's just a matter of time and numbers.' Robinson highlighted the summer rescue of three women near the Brewster Glacier in Mt Aspiring National Park who were stuck in 'steep, dangerous country' – one of 17 call-outs in three years on the Brewster Track. They called for help using the satellite text function on their phones and were winched to safety by helicopters in bad weather at night in 'scary' conditions for rescuers, Robinson said. 'As soon as we get a helicopter in bad weather, the danger increases. We start doing that stuff at night that [danger] ratchets up again,' he said. 'Sending out a beacon, we're going to assume it's the worst case scenario. So we're going to try really hard to get there.' Robinson said people were venturing into the backcountry without learning how to read a map and compass or properly preparing for alpine hikes. 'It's a combination of the Insta kind of thing – people just flashing up great photographs of an alpine lake … but at the same time it's an alpine walk, in apline terrain, with alpine hazards,' he said. 'There's also a lot of ultra-light travel going on now, so if people have got better and better at doing stuff, they've tended to go lighter and lighter. It might be websites like Fastest Known Time … Strava, all those apps that are recording stuff, advertising it. So you quite often go in the backcountry and you're rescuing people who are following some ultra runner's route.' Wānaka Search and Rescue said many other rescues were the result of genuine accidents, where people had not necessarily done anything wrong. Chair Raewyn Calhaem said Australian woman Claire Frances Connell, who died while hiking the Te Araroa trail near Lake Hāwea in February, slipped and fell 'in just the wrong place'. Later that month, Argentinian Hector Gaston Artigau slipped on the Rob Roy Glacier track and fell into the river. His body was believed to be trapped in one of the deep Rob Roy stream canyon pools. Search crews spent more than 800 volunteer hours over nine days, using dog teams, underwater cameras, probes and other specialist equipment in what Calhaem said was an 'extraordinarily difficult' attempt to find him. 'This was unquestionably the most difficult operation we have undertaken … we deeply regret we could not bring appropriate closure to Hector's family,' she said. Hikers should 'start easy, get the full information before heading out' Calhaem said mistakes or accidents were always possible but people should prepare by starting with easy trips and visiting the Department of Conservation and Mountain Safety Council's websites for information about specific hikes, recommended equipment and weather warnings. 'You can be extremely well prepared and still have an accident, but there are things that people can do to try and mitigate that risk,' she said. 'The thing with New Zealand back country is it's open and accessible to everybody. You can't close it off and for the majority of people, it's fine, it's just every now and then people get themselves in trouble or they accidentally put themselves somewhere that they shouldn't be.' She said Wānaka Search and Rescue was fortunate to be financially well-established, with a highly-skilled team that often dropped everything to come to the aid of the lost, missing and injured.
Scoop
18-05-2025
- Scoop
More Wānaka Search And Rescue Callouts As Unprepared People Drawn Outdoors By Social Media
Wānaka search and rescue teams are responding to more avoidable accidents as unprepared people venture deeper into the back country, lured partly by the influence of social media and websites. Volunteers said they had observed more people "lost and out of their depth" in 22 rescue operations between October and March, including nine alpine cliff rescues, three swiftwater or canyon rescues and three sub-alpine or bush rescues. Alpine cliff rescue team leader Davie Robinson said the type of call-outs had changed in his 25 years with Wānaka Search and Rescue. "We're definitely seeing more and more accidents that generally shouldn't be happening," he said. "When you're rescuing people that don't really need rescuing, we're getting a little bit frustrated because one day we will have an accident. And it's just a matter of time and numbers." Robinson highlighted the summer rescue of three women near the Brewster Glacier in Mt Aspiring National Park who were stuck in "steep, dangerous country" - one of 17 call-outs in three years on the Brewster Track. They called for help using the satellite text function on their phones and were winched to safety by helicopters in bad weather at night in "scary" conditions for rescuers, Robinson said. "As soon as we get a helicopter in bad weather, the danger increases. We start doing that stuff at night that [danger] ratchets up again," he said. "Sending out a beacon, we're going to assume it's the worst case scenario. So we're going to try really hard to get there." Robinson said people were venturing into the backcountry without learning how to read a map and compass or properly preparing for alpine hikes. "It's a combination of the Insta kind of thing - people just flashing up great photographs of an alpine lake ... but at the same time it's an alpine walk, in apline terrain, with alpine hazards," he said. "There's also a lot of ultra-light travel going on now, so if people have got better and better at doing stuff, they've tended to go lighter and lighter. It might be websites like Fastest Known Time ... Strava, all those apps that are recording stuff, advertising it. So you quite often go in the backcountry and you're rescuing people who are following some ultra runner's route." Wānaka Search and Rescue said many other rescues were the result of genuine accidents, where people had not necessarily done anything wrong. Chair Raewyn Calhaem said Australian woman Claire Frances Connell, who died while hiking the Te Araroa trail near Lake Hāwea in February, slipped and fell "in just the wrong place". Later that month, Argentinian Hector Gaston Artigau slipped on the Rob Roy Glacier track and fell into the river. His body was believed to be trapped in one of the deep Rob Roy stream canyon pools. Search crews spent more than 800 volunteer hours over nine days, using dog teams, underwater cameras, probes and other specialist equipment in what Calhaem said was an "extraordinarily difficult" attempt to find him. "This was unquestionably the most difficult operation we have undertaken ... we deeply regret we could not bring appropriate closure to Hector's family," she said. Hikers should 'start easy, get the full information before heading out' Calhaem said mistakes or accidents were always possible but people should prepare by starting with easy trips and visiting the Department of Conservation and Mountain Safety Council's websites for information about specific hikes, recommended equipment and weather warnings. "You can be extremely well prepared and still have an accident, but there are things that people can do to try and mitigate that risk," she said. "The thing with New Zealand back country is it's open and accessible to everybody. You can't close it off and for the majority of people, it's fine, it's just every now and then people get themselves in trouble or they accidentally put themselves somewhere that they shouldn't be." She said Wānaka Search and Rescue was fortunate to be financially well-established, with a highly-skilled team that often dropped everything to come to the aid of the lost, missing and injured.
Otago Daily Times
17-05-2025
- Climate
- Otago Daily Times
'Out of their depth': Wānaka searches linked to social media
Wānaka Search and Rescue chair Raewyn Calhaem and alpine cliff rescue team leader Davie Robinson. Photo: RNZ Wānaka search and rescue teams are responding to more avoidable accidents as unprepared people venture deeper into the back country, lured partly by the influence of social media and websites. Volunteers said they had observed more people "lost and out of their depth" in 22 rescue operations between October 2024 and March this year, including nine alpine cliff rescues, three swiftwater or canyon rescues and three sub-alpine or bush rescues. Alpine cliff rescue team leader Davie Robinson said the type of call-outs had changed in his 25 years with Wānaka Search and Rescue. "We're definitely seeing more and more accidents that generally shouldn't be happening. "When you're rescuing people that don't really need rescuing, we're getting a little bit frustrated because one day we will have an accident. And it's just a matter of time and numbers." Robinson highlighted the summer rescue of three women near the Brewster Glacier in Mt Aspiring National Park who were stuck in "steep, dangerous country" - one of 17 call-outs in three years on the Brewster Track. They called for help using the satellite text function on their phones and were winched to safety by helicopters in bad weather at night in "scary" conditions for rescuers, he said. "As soon as we get a helicopter in bad weather, the danger increases. We start doing that stuff at night that [danger] ratchets up again. Sending out a beacon, we're going to assume it's the worst-case scenario. So we're going to try really hard to get there." Robinson said people were venturing into the backcountry without learning how to read a map and compass or properly preparing for alpine hikes. "It's a combination of the Insta kind of thing - people just flashing up great photographs of an alpine lake ... but at the same time it's an alpine walk, in alpine terrain, with alpine hazards. "There's also a lot of ultra-light travel going on now, so if people have got better and better at doing stuff, they've tended to go lighter and lighter. It might be websites like Fastest Known Time ... Strava, all those apps that are recording stuff, advertising it. "So you quite often go in the backcountry and you're rescuing people who are following some ultra-runner's route." Wānaka Search and Rescue said many other rescues were the result of genuine accidents, where people had not necessarily done anything wrong. Chair Raewyn Calhaem said Australian woman Claire Frances Connell, who died while hiking the Te Araroa trail near Lake Hāwea in February, slipped and fell "in just the wrong place". Later that month, Argentinian Hector Gaston Artigau slipped on the Rob Roy Glacier track and fell into the river. His body was believed to be trapped in one of the deep Rob Roy stream canyon pools. Search crews spent more than 800 volunteer hours over nine days, using dog teams, underwater cameras, probes and other specialist equipment in what Calhaem said was an "extraordinarily difficult" attempt to find him. "This was unquestionably the most difficult operation we have undertaken ... we deeply regret we could not bring appropriate closure to Hector's family," she said. Hikers should 'start easy, get full info' Calhaem said mistakes or accidents were always possible but people should prepare by starting with easy trips and visiting the Department of Conservation and Mountain Safety Council's websites for information about specific hikes, recommended equipment and weather warnings. "You can be extremely well prepared and still have an accident, but there are things that people can do to try and mitigate that risk," she said. "The thing with New Zealand back country is it's open and accessible to everybody. You can't close it off and for the majority of people, it's fine, it's just every now and then people get themselves in trouble or they accidentally put themselves somewhere that they shouldn't be." Wānaka Search and Rescue was fortunate to be financially well-established, with a highly-skilled team that often dropped everything to come to the aid of the lost, missing and injured, she said.
