I’ve been reading reports coming from Mt. Everest especially those from the south side. There is a summit window this weekend (May 19-20), and if the weather holds, many of the teams may try for the top.
The main problem right now is that the lines at the summit have not been fixed. Sherpas from several of the teams will combine their energies to get this done hopefully by May 17-18th. Fixed lines aid safety, but climbers can proceed without them.
A Chilean team seems to be moving aggressively to summit without the lines in place. One long term weather forecast indicates that this weekend may be the only feasible summit window. Some climbers may feel this is their only chance to summit this season and go for it. If the weather holds, some estimate 300 climbers may summit from the north and south.
Last season (2011), 525 climbers summited Everest bringing the total number of climbers to get to the top to 3425. Most will recall that it was Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay who were credited as the first to summit Everest back in 1953.
ellisnelson 