In a couple of suprise moves today, MountEverest.net is reporting that summit bids have been launched on both Everest and Dhaulagiri and in grand fasion.

First up, on Dhaulagiri a group of climbers have set out from Base Camp today to go straight for the summit, fast and light. Just five days ago, this same group, made up of Horia Colibasanu, Iñaki Ochoa, Jorge Egocheaga and Joby Ogwyn, was turned back on that same mountain. Currently there is calm weather on the seventh highest peak in the World, and the team doesn't want to let that go to waste. They haven't specifically said that they are on a speed push, but their actions say otherwise. If everything holds true, they could summit as early as tomorrow.

In other news, over on Everest, two Kazak climbers have set off from ABC for their summit bid on the North Col route. The two are also making a speed run, with out supplemental oxygen, pre-established high camps, or fixed ropes on the upper sections. If the pair make it to the top, it'll certainly be an impressive feat, not to mention the first summit of the year.

In other Everest news, four American demonstrators were arrested today at Base Camp. The group held signs saying "One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 2008" and wore t-shirts that said "No Torch through Tibet" in obvious reference to the Chinese bringing the Olypic Torch to the summit of Everest via the North Side.

The other Big Story (I say a bit tongue in cheek) is the lack of Yaks on Everest this year. This isn't the first time I've heard complaints of a Yak Shortage, but now even Nives Meroi is having problems finding the pack beasts to help her bring gear up to BC. Fear not though. The Yaks aren't being mutilated by aliens or anything, they've simply been reserved by the large Chinese contigent and two other big commercial climbing teams. Hopefully there will be a boom in Yak births this year, as I'm sure next year's Chinese team will be even larger.

We've got a new Himalaya Wrap-up today over at MountEverest.net. With teams in BC on Everest, and high winds forcast for the next several days, it's time to check in on how the teams are doing on other mountains.

Iñaki Ochoa has left Dhaulagiri, after topping out on the mountain, and is now headed to Annapurna. But before he left Dhaula, he wanted to be sure that we were aware of some other summits and pointed out that Gian Paolo Casarotto and Cristina Castagna both reached the top climbing independently, while Joelle Brupbacher, Richard Brill of Germany, and Russian Dmitry Sinev summitted with Kazakhs Samoilov, Sharipova and Shutov. Ochoa is also proposing that Miss Hawley add Sergio Dalla Longa,as well as his wife Rosa, to the list of summitteers on the mountain in tribute to the climber. Sergio slipped and fell to his death less than 150 meters from the summit while Rosa looked on.

Meanwhile, Andrew Lock is already on Annapurna after knocking off Shisha Pangma. He says his plan now is to climb up to Camp 3 in the next few days and help open the route to Camp 4 with a summit bid coming on the weekend, if everything goes as planned.

Annapurna, the most deadly of all the 8000m peaks, has claimed it's first life of the season, as Dr. Uddhav Prasad Khanal, the Liaison Officer for the Spanish team climbing there, has gone missing. After spending some time in BC with the team, he decided to return to Kathmandu alone, despite being warned about the dangers of traveling the rugged area by himself. He never made it to town and is now considered another victim of the mountain.

Finally, over on Manaslu, the teams have set up C2 and are proceeding to C3, despite bad weather. The plan is to establish C3, and if the weather clears, perhaps make a summit bid in the next few days.

MountEverest.net has posted an update on impending summit bids in the Himalaya. There has been a flurry of activity in the past few days, and teams have put themselves in a position to top out soon.

On Annapurna, Camp 2 is firmly established, but low visibilty in BC has forced teams off the mountain, and fear of avalanches, which is always the case on Annapurna, has other teams wary of going higher. Over on Dhaulagiri, several teams have put themselves into position to make summit bids over the next few days, weather permitting. Dodo's Slovak Team is aiming for the summit on Shisha Pangma sometime next week, as long as the weather forcast holds out. Finally, Gavin Bate and his team are in Camp 2 on Cho Oyu, and are also aiming for a summit bid sometime next week.

Good luck guys. Climb high! Climb safe!

ExWeb has all kinds of climbing updates again today, with this one from Everest topping the headlines. David Tait is reporting that the Chinese team has placed 17(!) people on top of Everest this morning in what is described as very windy conditions. As of this writing, we're still awaiting official confirmation, but Tait has a good handle on what's going down (or up as the case may be) on the North Side. He hasn't forgotten about his historic double traverse of course, and the word is that he'll make his first summit attempt around the 16th of May.

Meanwhile, over on Dhaulagiri, there is news that Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner will be heading to the summit on her own. When she and her climbing partner Lucie Orsulova proceeded up the mountain to make their first summit bid, they arrived at Camp 1 to find that all the gear they stowed there was missing. Someone found their stash and cleaned it out. The pair soldiered on however, making it to C2 the next day and the proceeding to C3 the following. But the exertion of climbing was too much for Lucie, who began suffering from altitude sickness. The summit attempt turned into a resuce mission as they proceeded back down the mountain. Now, Gerlinde will make the bid on her own. She is a strong climber and has topped out on nine of the 8000m peaks, so things look good. Still, a solo climb on a mountain like this one is never easy.

Finally, things are starting to heat up in Pakistan as well, with teams starting to arrive on Nanga Parbat. The climbing season is a bit different in the Karakoram, and while Everest teams are nearing their big push, the logistics of the climb are still being worked out. Dodo is at home right now, fresh off his double header of Shisha Pangma and Cho Oyu, but he'll only take a short rest before going to Pakistan for a second double climb, this time on Nanga Parbat at K2. This guy sure know how to make us all feel like slackers. Hey Dodo! How about you stay home, sit on the couch, and watch some TV for a change? Please?!?

Another climbing update from MountEverest.net today brings us news on the Spring Climbing Season in the Himalaya. Things are really picking up with all kinds of news starting to roll in.

Swiss Climber Ueli Steck has big plans for Annapurna, where he intends to climb the mountain by a new route, solo and in alpine style no less. Ueli, who recently set a speed record on the Eiger is warming up for Annapuran with summits on Cholatse and Pumori while he treks up the Khumbu Valley.

Over on Shisha Pangma, the Slovak Team are at 7000m and about to make their summit push, with weather conditions being less than ideal. On Dhaulagiri, Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner is celebrating a unique honeymoon. While she waits for her chance to go up the mountain, her husband is guiding another team on Manaslu. (Dude! You've got a keeper!)

On Cho Oyu the news isn't so good when it comes to summit attempts. Gavin Bate is reporting that his team is turning back, giving up on their attempts to top out. At 6800m, not far below Camp 2, they were turned back by an ice cliff that is making it all but impassable. Their climb, it appears, is over.

Alan Arnette brings us some news from Everest as well, where the word is that the HiMex sherpas will once again be the first on the summit, and by the end of April no less. Of course, these amazing climbers are laying down the fixed ropes that will allow the other teams to follow them up the mountain. Rumor has it that the Chinese team carrying the Olympic Torch may not be far behind though. Word from the South Side is that fixed ropes now reach up to Camp 3 and a number of teams are rerturning to Base Camp as part of their acclimatization process.

MountEverest.net has posted another one of their Himalaya wrap-up articles with the big news beingt that summit bids on Dhaulagiri could come as early as tomorrow, Saturday April 21st. A team of seven climbers, lead by Spaniard Iñaki Ochoa will begin their assault on the summit with the hopes of putting some or all of them on top by Monday. Good luck guys!

In other Himalaya news, the teams on Annapurna have begun the process of fixing ropes between Camp 2 and Camp 3, while teams continue to arrive in ABC over on Shisha Pangma. Cho Oyu offers similar news, with teams arriving in Base Camp on the Chinese side, while Gavin Bate reports that his team hasn't reaced C2 yet, contrary to other reports. They're stalled out at 6800m and watching the weather. Forcast calls for snow over the weekend.

ExWeb has posted updates on both Everest itself and the Himalaya in general today as the climbing season continues.

Over on Everest, it seems that the Khumbu Icefall continues to be a source of irritation with traffic jams reported in the area, which is the most deadly section of the mountain. At least on the South Side. There are also reports that Base Camp on the North Side is a bit tense, with Discovery Channel in the area once more to film a follow-up to their Everest: Beyond The Limit series. David Tait notes that everyone is trying to get to know one another, but that the flim crew is a bit of an irritation. You'll recall that Tait intends to complete a "double traverese" of Everest, by going up the North face, then descending on the South, and after resting a week or so, reversing the process and returning to the North.

Other teams report that Camp 2 has been established with the first climbers reaching that mark, while others are wandering in the Western Cwm. Tim Warren says he's "knackered", or too tired to put one foot in front of the other at the moment, something I'm all too familiar with of late, while other teams are fighting flu and symptoms of altitude sickness.

New from the other Himalayan climbs in the area is filtering in as well. Over on Annapurna, camps are being established and routes created, but they're not so busy to where they can't work in a few golf lessons. On Dhaulagiri, the story is much the same, with the Italians establishing Camp 2, despite bitter cold and high winds, and more teams still getting eastablished on the mountain. The same story is filtering in from Cho Oyu, Shisha Pangma, and others.

MountEverest.net is reporting that Denis Urubko has summitted Dhaulagiri but gave up on his attempt at the speed record in order to assist another climber down the mountain.

Denis set off from BC on Monday Night at 10 PM to try to set a new speed record, but on his way up the mountain, he ran into Boris Korshunov, a 72 year-old climber, who was struggling to climb, and was caught below C3 when night fell. Alone and without a tent, Boris was in touble, and Denis decided he had to help him. So, he gave up his summit bid long enough to help the older climber down to 7100m where he could continue on his own.

After that, Denis turned back up the mountain, where he reached the summit yesterday. He didn't get the speed record he was looking for, but he did get something that you can't every quantify, the respect of his peers on the climbing community. Denis has established a track record for helping other climbers in trouble, even at the expense of his own climbing goals, and following the David Sharp incident last year, you can't help but salute him for his efforts.

National Pars Traveler has posted a very sad article about two climbers who fell in Grand Teton National Park. Apparently they fell while climbing on Sunday and were reported missing yesterday. When rangers went looking for them, they spotted the bodies, but as of this time they can't be reached due to unsafe conditions in the area. The names of the climbers are being withheld at this time. (Thanks for the heads up Carl!)

It's been a rough week on the climbing community. First we had word on Lara Kellogg, and yesterday The Adventurist posted this story with the terrible news that both Andi Orgler and Kasper Ochsner died on separate climbs. And if that wasn't enough, ExWeb has reported that Italian climber Sergio Dalla Longa has fallen to his death on Dhaulagiri.

It's a rash of accidents like these that makes you realize that mountaineering is still a very dangerous activity, and that the places we go can be very unforgiving. Keep the friends and familes of these fallen comrades in your thoughts this week, and keep your fingers crossed that they are the last fatalties we'll have to report on for a good long while.

Yesterday it was reported that several climbers were making a speed attempt on the summit of Dhaulagiri, and the word today is that they were successful. MountEverest.net is reporting that Iñaki Ochoa and Jorge Egocheaga have topped out on the mountain.

Ochoa arrived at the summit at approximately 3 PM yesterday with his partner Egocheaga about 30 mintues behind. The Spaniards arrived at the top just 24 hours after leaving BC, an impressively fast climb to say the least. For Ochoa, this is his 12th 8000m peak, leaving him with just Kangchenjunga and Annapurna to go on completing the list. Congratulations and great work guys!

In other Himalaya news, the Spanish team on Annapurna has retreated to base camp following a fresh round of snow. Some of the team members are feeling under the weather, and it doesn't look like a summit window will open in the next few days. On Shisha Pangma, Andrew Lock is reporting that the summit push is on now that a the weather has cleard up some. And finally, on Cho Oyu, the Italians are setting off for C2 today with the hopes of improving their acclimatization efforts. The report is that the mornings are clear and beautiful, but the afternoons have continued to bring snow.

MountEverest.net is reporting that Maxut Zhumayev & Vassily Pivtsov have topped out on Everest! This is the first summit of the season on Everest, and it was accomplished with out supplemental oxygen or Sherpa support as well. The pair left their high camp, at 7900m last night around 10 PM and radioed back to ABC at about 6 PM Chinese time from the summit.

The pair first attempted to reach the summit last week, but were turned back due to poor weather conditions. They returned to ABC on Friday, but launched another bid on Saturday. The two Kazakhs climb in alpine style, carrying all their necessary gear with them, and not using established camps. The report is that they reached the top just as HiMex's Sherpa team were laying down the last of the fixed ropes to the summit.

Currently they are descending the mountain on those ropes and will camp tonight above 8000m. Weather conditions are said to be good, with no high winds. Congratulations guys! What an amazing climb! I can't wait to hear more about it.

In other Summit news, word has come in that Denis Urubko is making a speed summit push tonight on Dhaulagiri as well. Denis is hoping to set a new summit speed record by beating the old time of 17 hours 15 minutes set back in 1995. Good luck Denis. We'll want to hear about your climb as well!

Update: Alan Arnette is now reporting that 5 Sherpas from the HiMex team actually summitted about a half-hour ahead of Maxut and Vassily. The Sherpa team was up near the summit setting fixed ropes and upon completion of that task, felt like continuing higher. This means that all the fixed ropes are now in place on the North side, and the way is clear, weather permitting, for teams to start to make their push. Alan notes that this is the exact same date that the Sherpas finished the task last year as well. Rumor has it the Olympic Torch practice run may go for the summit before weeks end.

Everest isn't the only place where the action is this weekend. While teams on the Big Hill jockey for position and hope the good weather window stays open for a few more days, MountEerest.net is also reporting that the teams on Annapurna are also getting ready for their summit push.

There are two teams on the North side that are getting ready to leave BC and head up. The fixed ropes are in place and high camps are established, so now there is nothing left to do but head up to the summit. These teams include Iñaki Ochoa and Edurne Pasaban The weather isn't great at the moment however, with deep snow on the higher points of the mountain, and rain in BC. Anyone familiar with Annapurna knows that it's prone to avalanches, so lets hope those snows at higher elevation stay in place for these teams to make their run.

Teams have left Dhaulagiri after a rough season on the mountain that saw two climbers killed in their tent when an avalanche struck. Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner can't help but wonder how she managed to survive. She had to dig herself out of her tent, which was buried in snow as well, and she could have easily been swept off the mountain too. The rest of her climb was no piece of cake either. On her previous summit bid, she had to retreat in order to see her climbing partner, who got very sick, safely back to BC.

News from other Himalaya summit include a summit push by Ralf's Amical Team on Manaslu, a summit on Cho Oyu by the Kazakh team, and Italians Diego Giovannini and Massimiliano Gasperetti on Nuptse attempting to put up a new route.

MountEverest.net is reporting the sad news that Spanish climbers Ricardo Valencia and Santiago Sagaste were killed in an avalanche yesterday at C2 on Dhaulagiri.

The two climbers were waiting out a storm in an attempt to make their summit bid when the avalanche swempt through camp. Teammate Javi Serrano and Austrian Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner were also at C2 at the time, but were unharmed by the snows that buried Ricardo and Valencia's tent.

Gerlinde has since returned to BC where she radioed her team to let them know that she was alive and well, but at this time it's hard to say if she will attempt to once again go up the mountain. Her climb has been plagued with difficulties having already retreated once before in order to get her sick climbing partner back to BC.

This is sad news indeed, and I want to once again express my condolences for the friends and family of these climbers. Our thoughts and prayers are with you in these difficult times.