Management of Extreme Situations

4A New Progress Technique in the Himalayas

4.1. Introduction

In the Himalayas, the highest peaks in the world are the scenes of spectacular climbs, in a particularly extreme environment.

Himalayan carriers, base camps, oxygen masks and fixed ropes inhabit this very particular world and the homo sapiens we imagine are most often urban dwellers in this context. In high altitude, between rapid incursion and progressive immersion, there are situations of rare intensity. In the way these giants are approached, several travel strategies are possible: in terms of continuous progression or with trips back and forth to the base camp. In the context of continuous progress, the need for “doing together” requires a disruption of the entire organizational chain, logistics, management skills and participants’ support. With the combined challenges of safety and pleasure, it is a progression that today challenges the Himalayas and offers exciting life experiences and topics for study.

4.2. The Himalayan technique, a reference

In the Himalayas today, the vast majority of expeditions use a sawtooth style of progression. From a base camp, the Nepalese team sets up high altitude camps that are used by mountaineers/clients in several round trips during the acclimatization period. Then, when all the camps are set up and supplied, the mountaineers wait at the base camp for the right weather slot and the summit is attempted in an incursion at the shortest possible altitude. This strategy generates ...