Hubei Daily News Our reporter at Everest Base Camp, May 10 (Reporters: Wang Jing, Correspondent: Cao Zhikai) As the route to Everest’s summit continues to extend, the DIYOU Mountaineering Team’s challenge to the world’s highest peak is entering the final countdown. On the 11th, the transport team—serving as the advance party—along with guides, a total of 11 people, set off from the base camp first; on the 13th or 14th, the acclimatization team of 10 members will also depart from the base camp. The climbers who will attempt the summit will mainly come from the acclimatization team. The reporter noted that Chen Chen, the only female member in the acclimatization team, if she succeeds in reaching the summit, will become the first female college student to stand atop Everest.
According to team leader Ciluo, the main tasks of the transport team this time are to establish two camps at altitudes of 7,790 meters and 8,300 meters, and to transport relevant supplies to those camps. Due to the unusual weather on Everest this year, the DIYOU Mountaineering Team had only managed to build camps at 6,500 meters and 7,028 meters by the end of April. This time, the transport team faces a heavy workload in carrying supplies to higher camps.
During the Everest climb, once the altitude exceeds 6,500 meters, all logistics depend on manpower—yaks can no longer go any higher. Most commercial expeditions hire high-altitude support staff for carrying gear, but the DIYOU Mountaineering Team relies entirely on team members for transport.
Entering May, the weather on Everest has not improved fundamentally, and in recent days it has entered a strange cycle: clear skies in the morning, sudden changes in the afternoon, snowfall in the evening, and calm winds with thin clouds by midnight; moreover, temperatures are significantly lower than usual. In previous years by this time, many teams had already summited and returned, but this year most international expeditions are either at the base camp or waiting at the 6,500-meter advance camp. Yuan Fudong, a DIYOU team member who carried the Olympic torch to the summit in 2008, said that if good weather holds for about 10 days, the chances of a successful summit will greatly increase.