Everest Summit > MBA > CFA > CAIA

Ok this is quickly turning into an obsession. Here’s what the next 9 months or so look like:

Christmas/ New Years - Kilimanjaro (10-13 day trek)

Late January - Mumbai Marathon (Will try and do it under 4 hours, but unlikely)

March to End of May Everest up to Camp 3 (26,000 feet or just under 8k meters). Will possibly go for the summit depending on my ability to acclimate at high altitude. Never been past 5k meters so completely unsure there.

June 1 2013 - CFA LEVEL 3 in Kathmandu possibly just days after summitting Everest. Better keep all my fingers as I will need them for the essay portion.

Did you research the cost with permits to summit Everest? Either I’m mistaken, or you’re a richer man than I am. I heard north of $60k. You may want to do something between Kilimanjaro and Everest to prepare for the cold. I spent a night in a tent at -50 F with wind chill and it was enough to know I was not the Everest type. Fun fact, an ultrarunner from Spain set the Kilimanjaro record for Base to Peak and back at 8 hours a few years back.

Running in Mumbai must be rough. I ran in Jakarta a lot last year when I was out for my brother’s wedding and it blew major chunks. No running trails, dodging traffic on highways, the worst humidity I’ve ever experienced, and then all the smog. I finally found an abandoned highway I could run on, but it was super creepy at night.

I’ve heard that too. Assisted climb of Everest is freaking expensive. Of course, you could grab a backpack and attempt it alone…

But I researched it and apparently, the permit to climb solo is still like $30-50k or some crazy thing. I could have been wrong though, I wasn’t really set on climbing that crazy cold summit anytime in the next 5 years so I just kind of raised my eyebrows and moved on.

Yeah, I had a brief interest in doing everest until I started reading about it and finding out it wasn’t uncommon to cost beyond 100 grand. I’ll stick the free/cheap ascents :stuck_out_tongue:

it is already past the deadline to sign up for 2013 with this group http://www.alpineascents.com/everest-price-date.asp

2013 Schedule March 30 - June 1, 2013 Arrive Kathmandu April 1, end date subject to change.

Land Costs $65,000

Payments Deposit: $20,000 due upon registration Deposit: $10,000 due September 30, 2012 Balance: $35,000 due November 11, 2012

Special Early Sign Up Offer: Those who sign up for our 2013 Everest Expedition by July 15, 2012 will receive 20% off all items in our Gear Store. We offer a full array of climbing clothing and equipment. Most of our current selection includes Mountain Hardwear and Outdoor Research products

Please note a 2.7% surcharge will be added to all credit card charges over $10,000.00

Refunds: NO REFUNDS are provided on the deposit or payments for this expedition.

Note: Acceptance based on prior experience. Enrollment is confirmed upon receipt of deposit. A complete confirmation package is forwarded to all members in conjunction with multiple email and phone briefings. Detailed gear lists, logistics and training information are available upon request.

So, I’ve done the marathon in Mumbai twice before. No big deal there. It does get hot as hell the longer it takes you but if you can be done quickly you get finished before the worst of the heat and sun. It’s in January which is Mumbai’s most pleasent month in terms of temperature.

Kili should give me a decent idea of whether or not I can handle acclimation well. I’ve never been up quite so high before. It’s a full 1000 meters higher than I have been. It is 2000 meters below where I plan on going on everest. Obviously, if I have any trouble climbing Kili then I have no business at Everest.

In terms of coldness, the Himilaya’s just aren’t that cold. In fact I wish they were as then the ski season there would be longer. Sure at night when it is windy and on top of everest it can get to be really cold. But for the most part it would never get much below -20 celcius, a temperature that I used to wear thin GS suits at comfortably as a kid alpine racing. Base Camp, from what I understand, is generally much warmer than that.

The big xfactor in this whole thing is my ability to deal with altitude. From past experience I know that I am not the quickest to acclimate and that I usually suffer a great deal the first two days. However, I do get better the longer I am up high which is important. I go skiing each year at 4.4 kilometers in Kashmir and I am usually sucking wind on the first few days relative to most other people in my group. By day four though I am fine and can trek up and down the mountain far easier than most. I’m hoping this will be the case at twice that altitude.

I am completely unsure if I can, or want to commit to an everest of 8000 meter summit. This is why I am looking at a other options that will give me the compulsory mountaineering training and put me at relatively safe altitudes below the death zone to see how I manage with the elevation. I will see if it is for me.

In terms of cost. Yep, it seems like the high cost providers charge around 60k. But there are much cheaper ones out there. Right now I’m looking at spending around 8k to join a lesser expedition to smaller mountains in the everest vicinity. You guys worried about deadlines have obviously never seen what a sack full of cash can accomplish in a South Asian country.

My hope is that doing these 6-7k mountains will give me an indicator of whether I belong on an 8k summit. If that goes well then I’ll probably look to do something like Cho Oyu, next fall which, at 8k, is nearly as tall as Everest but much easier. I can also ski down it which is cool.

If that is successful I’ll definitely want to give an Everest Summit a go the following spring.

The money question. Yeah, its a lot of money to spend on something like this. I can afford it though. It’s not gonna bankrupt me, just means I’ll be driving a less fancy car which is fine with me because I never understood spending a lot of money on a car. I’d much rather have a “This ass climbed Mt. Everest” bumper sticker on my ass.

It’s been a lifelong ambition of mine, which I’ve never utterered to anyone I know, since I was a kid. I do not think I will tell anyone about this plan which is why I am sharing it with you guys anonymously.

I’m no climber, but I enjoy reading mountaineering news. There are some awesome youtubes of K2 bottleneck, Everest’s Khumbu glacier & others. Just watching them from a 1st-person perspective gives me the creeps. A friend from my gym told me about his 2-week trek to K2 basecamp (starting out from Pakistan) - sounded awesome. But if i recall correctly, his total cost was only a few grand. Then again, it was only the base camp.

There’s the always the risk of not ever coming back - like the 10(?) climbers who were killed at the Manaslu avalanche a couple of weeks back. And Everest >> CFA for sure … 3,000+ individuals sumitted vs >100,000 Charterholders.

And Manaslu is supposed to be a training mountain for everest, the “safer alternative.”. This is normally Cho Oyu but the Chinese government has been making it difficult for foreign operators so they have started going to Manaslu instead.

Tikka, research carefully. I was thinking about climbing Kili and got somewhat discouraged after some Googling.

Apparently, there are different levels of altitude sickness, and the worst kind can kill, and can kill fast. If you get it, you must go to a lower plane quickly.

The climber usually has his/her judgment impaired by the sickness at that point, so it is good to have someone who really knows what’s going on with you, and it seems that a lot of guides suck.

Here’s a scary article - http://www.alpineascents.com/kili-article.htm

Here the kinds of mountain sickness and some tips - http://www.ultimatekilimanjaro.com/acclimatization.htm

I don’t mean to discourage you but, if you really wanna do it, take every possible precaution. I understand that attaining your dreams will involve some risks, but you shouldn’t have to deal with the unnecessary risks (insert some lame CAPM joke).

Of course, if you’re planning on attempting Everest, you’re very likely way ahead of me in your research. Good luck and make sure to tell us about your experiences afterwards!

I hear you Crazyman,

One of the reasons I’m looking to do Kili is just to see how I do at just below 6k. I ski at 4.4k so this isn’t a huge jump but is still roughly 1.5k higher.

Altitude Sickness is my principal concern. I have a pretty good background with Avalanche safety so I have an idea at least what I am up against. AMS is a completely new ballground.

My point was that running there would suck. Because the region sucks for running. Not that it was hard. Those things are different.

Yeah, agree with the last sentence. I don’t even really think you can view Kili as an indicator. Kili is a long hike. But ultra runners have knocked it out round trip in 8 hours with running shoes, water packs and energy bars. You don’t pass bodies on the way up Kili.

GS racing where you where a thin suite while skiing down and mountaineering are not even the same. Look at the gear burly Everest guys are wearing and look at a GS racer, that should help clear that up.

^This isn’t correct. The permit to climb Everest is 20-30k and must be secured many months in advance, regardless of whether you succeed. It’s a PITA process and can’t be bribed through from what I hear. The high cost providers cost more than 100k. Because you have no substantial gear, background, etc, you will be more or less forced towards something north of 50-60k because the low cost providers cater to very experienced climbers that need less gear / guidance. It’s apparently extremely regulated by both China and Pakistan.

I don’t know anything about this mountain, but it sounds much more realistic as well as more fun and a better way to spend your money.

I’m jealous. Even if I had the cash, I’m several years away from being in good enough shape to climb everest. I got altitude sickness climbing Pikes Peak last summer our in Colorado.

Not hard to get sick hiking up Pikes Peak, that ish is steep!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Carpenter_(runner)

Tattoo or brand? Brand is manlier.

I can’t wait to study GIPS at Everest Base Camp.

This is probably a very stupid question, but short of it being incredibly stupid and a likely death warrant, what stops a group of 2 or 3 independent climbers from just grabbing their gear and heading up Everest? I understand there are established camps at different elevations and only a couple of routes to the summit, but are there actually government officials checking ID’s and papers?

Assume you are already legally in Nepal.

I actually don’t know 100%. I’ve wondered this, and there may be some police force and I would guess some sort of ranger type authority that overseas the mountain as it is a national asset and tourist destination. They may not get you on the way up, but as there are only so many people going up, they will probably realize they have an unwelcome visitor and grab you on the way out. I doubt the local outfitters would work with someone without a permit due to the risk of losing their own ability to operate. But I’m not actually sure. You do have to keep in mind that your actions would be very visible as you typically have to acclimate for up to two weeks around the base camp, and if you’re doing a speedy alpine ascent they typically take several trips over that period to the places they plan to camp and stash some supplies like food, etc that they won’t need until that point. Then you have to wait for your weather window.

Carpenter has some really impressive accomplishments. Thanks for the link.

I actually enjoyed doing the Incline more than Barr trail. It was a fun morning workout and didn’t make me want to throw up.

^ good points. I guess the established guides would rat you out at one of the camps, as it is obviously in their economic best interests to keep people from trying to go it alone.