Everest from south (Nepal, south col)
So much has already been written and continues to be written about it. Good and bad, fascinating, cautionary, electrifying, odd, disturbing, and interesting. You can think what you want, but it is and remains the mother of all mountains. It’s the mountain whose history of ascents is unsurpassed, bursting with drama, madness and heroics. The playground for the top climbers of our time and the life-long dream of so many climbers from around the world. It‘s not just a mountain. The Everest is a myth. And it makes you a hero.
We are the first independent European tour operator to offer Mount Everest tours from both the North and the South at the same time. With the highest possible safety and quality standards and the comforting ressurance of dealing with a fully licensed and strictly tested Austrian expedition organizer.
Furtenbach Adventures Everest Expeditions
We are offering Everest expeditions in unique style with maximum oxygen and Sherpa support to achieve the greatest amount of security and the highest chances of success. The exclusive spirit of Furtenbach Adventures makes our expeditions a touch different. Maybe even a touch better.
- We provide 20 years of experience in the organization of expeditions to eight-thousanders in the Himalayas and Karakoram.
- We provide experienced, state-certified (IFMGA/AMGA) western mountain guides, accompanied with a tried and tested Everest Sherpa team.
- We provide sherpas to our members who have repeatedly stood on Everest and know exactly how they can best support our climbers during their summit attempt.
- In contrast to many other tour operators, we provide the most advanced, most reliable and lightest oxygen system developed by Summit Oxygen, which is available on the market.
- We provide each participant with at least 8 bottles of oxygen, more than any other organizer. Thus, our participants can rise at a higher flow rate and sleep with oxygen at Camp 2 and Camp 3, thus conserving energy.
- Our participants are better acclimatized when they arrive to the mountain because they have already started acclimatizing at home 6 weeks prior to the expedition. The complete high altitude generator equipment including training plan is included in the price and will be delivered to your house and picked up when training is completed. You don’t need to take care of anything.
- Our participants have to overcome the objectively more dangerous way through the Khumbu Icefall less frequently. Because our group will be acclimatizing at the safe and less demanding Island Peak while our Sherpa team sets up the high camp and route on Mount Everest.
- We provide one of the most comfortable base camp facilities Mount Everest has ever seen
- We provide a kitchen team and food which you would not expect at a base camp on a glacial moraine at the end of the world.
But above all, we provide the Furtenbach Adventures promise of quality:
You get more Sherpa support, more oxygen and more comfort than with any other provider. This leads to better recovery, more safety and, ultimately, to higher chances of success. The total travel time can be shortened by pre-acclimatization at home. We fly by helicopter from Kathmandu to Syangboche above Namche. This provides security because you avoid the dangerous landing approach to Lukla while saving valuable time.
Highlights:
- 1:1 client to sherpa ratio
- Minimum 8 bottles of oxygen per client
- IFMGA mountain guide
- Max. 8:1 client to western mountain guide ratio
- 2017 success rate 100%
- 2018 success rate 100%
- Smallest groups compared to other tour operators for more safety and higher chances of success
- Including a high altitude tent for pre-acclimatization at home!
- Shorter expedition duration due to pre-acclimatization
- Fewer ascents through the Khumbu icefall due to pre-acclimatization
- Add Lhotse for only
Itinerary
1st – 15th day: Arrival and trekking to the basecamp
Day 1: Arrival and get-together at the hotel in Kathmandu
Meet and greet the other participants while enjoying a beer in the hotel gardens. A great adventure awaits us. You can feel the tension rising. Soon we will embark on our journey and already there’s a feeling of pride and grandeur.
Day 2: Free day in Kathmandu
Those who do not yet know Kathmandu will love it. Relax in the comfortable hotel, shop and people watch in Thamel, enjoy the cultural program, or simply soak up the atmosphere. To each his own.
Day 3: Helicopter flight to Syangboche above Namche and overnight stay in nearby Khumjung at approximately 3750m.
Day 4: Trekking to Pangpoche at 3900m.
Day 5: Trekking to Dingpoche at 4200m
Day 6: Trekking via Chukung to the Island Peak base camp at approximately 5050m.
Days 7–14: Acclimatization at Island Peak and / or Lobuche with 2 ascents and 2-3 nights in the summit area. The Sherpa team already starts preparing our high camp on Mount Everest.
Day 15: Trekking to our already prepared base camp on Mout Everest at ca. 5100m.
16th – 43rd day: Acclimatization and ascent
Days 16–24: Rest days followed by an acclimatization tour to approximately 7500m with one night in Camp 3 at 7200m.
Days 25–27: Descent to Pangpoche at 3900m in one day, relax, enjoy the air and vegetation for one day, then return to base camp.
Days 28–43: Ascent Everest. We are waiting for the right weather window for our first summit attempt. In the past, all successful summit days are in this period. We`ll skip Camp1, so that we’ll need 4 days for the ascent and 2 days for the descent. From Camp 3 onwards, oxygen is available. At Camps 3 and 4, we can also sleep with oxygen. There is plenty of time for a few days of rest and a second try at the summit.
44th – 49th day: Return journey
Days 44–45: Trekking back to Namche.
Day 46: Trekking to Lukla.
Day 47: Flight Lukla – Kathmandu.
Day 48: Kathmandu or extra day in case the flight wasn`t possible due to bad weather .
Day 49: Return travel.
Inclusion/Exclusions
Inclusions
- All organisation for the expedition
- State certified IFMGA mountain guide during the whole expedition
- 3 nights in an upscale hotel in Kathmandu in a twin room (surcharge for a single room)
- All transfer
- Flight Lukla – Kathmandu
- Full board for the duration of the whole trip (in Kathmandu only breakfast)
- Drinks during joint meals (alcoholic beverages excluded)
- Double rooms on stop-overs during our trip to the mountain
- Baggage transport to the base camp and back (40kg per baggage piece per participant)
- 1 tent per participant at the base camp
- 1 tent per two participants during the approach and for the high camp
- A mat for the approach and the base camp
- High camp equipment (tents, cooker, gas, dishes, food)
- All the fixing material for the route
- Use of the fixed ropes along the route
- „Icefall Doctos“ fee for using the icefall route
- Transport of waste back from the base camp
- High altitude porters and climbing Sherpa (1:1 Sherpa client ratio on the summit day)
- Oxygen package provided by Summit Oxygen with a rental mask & regulator and 8 bottles per participant
- High altitude generator and tent for 4 weeks prior to the expedition
- Insurance and equipment for the Nepalese staff
- Emergency oxygen
- Pharmaceutical travel kit, high altitude emergency medicine, pulsoxymeter
- Kitchen crew
- A comfortable, heated common tent, shower tent, etc. at the base camp
- Satellite communication and WIFI for a fee and depending on availability
- Solar charging
- Radio transmitter for each participant
- All fees & permits
- weather reports
- Security and warranty of an Austrian tour operator
Exclusions
- International Flight to/from Kathmandu (We’ll gladly make you an offer)
- Personal insurance
- Visa for Nepal (available at the airport, bring a passport photo!)
- Shipping costs for high altitude generator and tent outside of the EU
- Personal medication
- Alcoholic beverages
- Tips
- Helicopter flight Basecamp – Kathmandu (on request)
- Personal mountain and climbing equipment
- Sleeping bags for the base camp and high camp
- Fees for satellite phones, emails
- Summit bonus for personal summit sherpas
Reviews
4.9/5
based on 2 reviews
M
Michael W
Climbed Everest with them this year. Could not have been better. Superb organisation, superb guides, wonderful Sherpas and local staff. Best logistics on and off the mountain. Just perfect.
Year of Expedition : 2022
07-06-2022
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2
A
Anonymous
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I would not recommend Furtenbach as a good expedition company especially if there are any though situations/ risks associated with the mountaineering trip. I was part of the 2021 Everest South season (which had a lot of challenges: COVID, 2 cyclones, avalanches) and out of all the tour operators Furtenbach was the first to cancel the expedition. They cancelled for all their clients without even giving us a chance to try to summit the day of our summit push. There are some things that I was very disappointed in and were unprofessional throughout my interaction with them: 1. One of the statistics presented on their website is 100% success rate. I discovered that this rate is only applied to the clients who are starting the push for the summit not the ones who actually sign up for the trip. 2. The staff would openly talk badly and make fun of clients with the other clients (they said things like X was carried up the mountain, Y is too old, why is he even here etc) 3. There were also instances where guides screamed at clients in front of others and called them names 4. Due to the fact that only some people were allowed to try to go for the summit, the culture in the team was quite competitive, with the "weak" climbers (slower/ women) feeling marginalized in trainings. I did not see the same in other camps or mountaineering expeditions where there is a strong sense of friendship and support 5. COVID: all guided camps had COVID cases but most were able to mitigate, reduce risk and let their healthy climbers continue the season. When Furtenbach had the first cases I did not feel they took enough strong mitigating actions to prevent the spread: did not ask clients to isolate in their tents (we were all still eating in a common tent from a buffet dinner), clients were not wearing face masks or staying only in the camp (clients were still doing hikes and meeting other clients daily). The company was doing Rapid Antigen tests every day but without the other COVID measures in place I did not feel safe and there was a real risk that the virus could spread quickly To summarize, from my opinion this is a company that makes a lot of promises, uses a lot of marketing but does not provide full value in mountaineering. The Nepalese company we switched to and took us to the summit was very professional on all levels - client services, respect as well as expertise on the mountain. It is very common for western guides to discount local guides by saying they are not good/safe but having seen both operate on Everest I think this is unfounded and Nepalese guides know the mountain better and they care for you as a person/ climber not for their profits. All these statements are my personal opinion and are based on the facts that I knew at that point in time
Year of Expedition : 2021
21-02-2022
Interesting?
4
2
Furtenbach Adventures
Dear Iulia, thank you for your review, all feedback is important to us and we are sorry that you had such a disappointing experience. Not everyone accepts the risks related to COVID-19 and not everyone accepts the reality about COVID-19. We believe in science and rely on medical experts, and therefore take the COVID-19 threat serious, especially in a remote place like Mount Everest basecamp at 5200m. During the 2021 Everest climbing season more than 150 COVID positive people have been evacuated from basecamp from different teams, more than 20 COVID positive climbers were evacuated from C2 at 6400m with helicopters, not being able to descend on their own. The safety of our participants and staff is our top priority. It is true that we had to cancel our 2021 Everest expedition for safety reasons due to a massive COVID-19 outbreak in the entire base camp, which affected all teams. This decision, which was made by the team doctor together with the expedition management and the mountain guides, and which was not easy for anyone, was supported by the vast majority of our clients with full understanding. After our cancellation many other operators cancelled their expeditions as well, even the one where you found a spot after our cancellation. The fact that after their cancellation you finally found a local mountain guide without recognized qualifications, whom you were able to convince with money to make a summit attempt despite the immanent COVID risk and in dangerous snow and weather conditions (which in the end several climbers had to abandon partly with frostbite, others could no longer descend independently, Camp 2 was buried by an avalanche), ultimately brought you to your planned summit, for which we congratulate you wholeheartedly, but does not meet our requirements and minimum standards for risk assessment and risk management on the mountain. Moreover, this behavior of a guided expedition client is also in strong conflict with our value system and morals due to the responsibility towards the local labor force on the mountain, the Sherpa. Under these conditions, we did not want to and could not risk the life of one of our Sherpa or mountain guides. We had the strictest camp isolation and hygiene protocol from all basecamp teams. No staff was allowed to leave camp and meet other teams and we also asked all team members multiple times not to leave the camp and meet other teams. But we are not in a position to lock up our team members and can only appeal to their personal responsibility. You yourself have been visiting multiple other teams in basecamp and even invited people from other camps to our common tent against our strong advice. The fact that our team has been one of the last of all teams on the mountain to have COVID cases shows that our strict COVID protocols worked. How „professional“ your summit push with your operator finally was, has been and still is subject to investigation from the authorities. Please feel free to contact us on one of our multiple offers from the past months so that we can talk to you about all details and clear up obvious misunderstandings and information deficits.
03-03-2022
M
Manfred H
Very good service, advice and support from initial contact until after the expedition. Above average basecamp comfort, more oxygen than other operators, the latest oxygen system, super strong Sherpas. Lukas is a very experienced expedition leader with the safety of the whole team clearly in the first place. Safety and high chances of success on this mountain have their price. Special requests are always catered for. The atmosphere in the team was great.
Year of Expedition : 2016
01-12-2021
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1
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M
Markus A
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Furtenbach claims to be a premium provider with "100% success" on his website and promises better service and safety. Unfortunately the 2021 Everest (South) expedition which I have been part of has proven these claims to be misleading or plain wrong. The suggested "100% success" on Everest can easily be proven wrong after some web research regarding prior expeditions (e.g. Himalayan database) or asking around among climbers. Most likely Furtenbach's success rate is no higher than that of other Western providers. Just like these, the company also heavily relies on a local Nepalese company which organizes almost all important things on the mountain. During the 2021 Everest expedition Furtenbach decided to cancel the expedition for "safety reasons" right when the summit push was about to begin. The company likes to use the safety argument for its (financial) benefit depending on the situation. Only a few days after Furtenbach had cancelled the 2021 expedition, our entire group (everybody who decided to climb beyond Camp 2) reached the Everest summit and returned safely with all Sherpas from the new Nepalese expedition operator which we had hired after the cancellation by Furtenbach. A lot has been discussed about the 2021 season but these simple facts speak for themselves. 0% success of Furtenbach and all client money gone (zero refund). 100% success with a Nepalese company witch charges a lot less and communicates honestly and openly with all climbers. A lot more could be said/ written about the Furtenbach experience. Empty promises regarding medical monitoring devices on the mountain, false information to us as climbers regarding weather and other expeditions to keep everybody in line with the companies decisions etc. Only during the expedition we found out that several others had similar negative experiences with Furtenbach before - hence, I fell obliged to share here. Don't fall for the clever marketing stories - I don't recommend climbing with them
Year of Expedition : 2021
04-10-2021
Interesting?
2
5
Furtenbach Adventures
Dear Markus, Thank you for your review, all feedback is important to us and we are sorry that you had such a disappointing experience. As you can hopefully see from our other reviews, your situation is the exception and far from our usual high standards. We are all the more committed to ensuring that this is resolved and does not happen again. Interaction and cooperation with you was challenging for everyone involved. As you know, we have already made several offers to talk to you on site, but you have always ignored them. Unfortunately, it has not been possible for us to talk to you on any channel. It is a pity that you perceived the expedition in the way you describe during the time you were part of our team before you suddenly left the camp secretly with your luggage in the night to the great astonishment of everyone. Not everyone accepts the risks related to COVID-19 and not everyone accepts the reality about COVID-19. We believe in science and rely on medical experts, and therefore take the COVID-19 threat serious, especially in a remote place like Mount Everest basecamp at 5200m. The safety of our participants and staff is our top priority. It is true that we had to cancel our 2021 Everest expedition for safety reasons due to a massive COVID-19 outbreak in the entire base camp, which demonstrably affected all teams. Thus, our success rate on Everest in 2021 was 0%, instead of the usual 100%. However, we aborted the expedition before the planned summit climb and we follow all other operators here and attribute a global pandemic as well as an earthquake to force majeure and not to a mistake by ourselves. This decision, which was made by the team doctor together with the expedition management and the mountain guides, and which was not easy for anyone, was supported by most of the other clients with full understanding. The fact that after our cancellation you finally found a local mountain guide without recognized qualifications, whom you were able to convince with money to make a summit attempt despite the immanent risk and in dangerous snow and weather conditions (which in the end several climbers had to abandon partly with frostbite, others could no longer descend independently, Camp 2 was buried by an avalanche shortly after your departure), ultimately brought you to one of your two planned summits, for which we congratulate you wholeheartedly - a truly outstanding achievement, but does not meet our requirements and minimum standards for risk assessment and risk management on the mountain. Moreover, this behavior of a guided expedition client is also in strong conflict with our value system and morals due to the responsibility towards the local labor force on the mountain, the Sherpa. Under these conditions, we did not want to and could not risk the life of one of our Sherpa or mountain guides. We would also like to remind you that you received an immediate refund for services not used, you had our full support until your return to Austria, and of course we did not experience any financial benefit from the expedition termination. Please feel free to contact us on one of our multiple offers so that we can talk to you about all details and clear up obvious misunderstandings and information deficits. With kind regards
21-10-2021
Expedition Information
- $75,327
- April, May 49 Days
- Mountaineering
Fitness Level
5
Technical Level
4
Guide:Client ratio
1
:
1
Expedition Information
- $75,327
- April, May 49 Days
- Mountaineering
Fitness Level
5
Technical Level
4
Guide:Client ratio
1
:
1
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