Maeghan Carney Ski Everest Postcript–The Snow Sucked: Maegan Carney has posted an explanation of why she gave up on her plan to ski Everest, while Wally Berg and others stuck around to try and summit:

“As those of you know who followed our expedition, I made it to Camp 3 (23,600ft/7,200m) twice but decided it was unsafe to ski Everest this season. When we first arrived in base camp, the skiing conditions were great but the monsoons kept us pinned down low. Then we had to wait out a week of huge avalanches. The window of clear skies and low winds was incredibly short this autumn and by the time our Sherpas had cleared a route through to the South Col, the jet stream was resting on our summit. Painfully, I watched the snow blow off the 5,000ft/1,500m Lhotse face and expose the very old, gray ice of the glacier.

When I was at Camp 3 on October 21st I thought it remained skiable because I could see a route through the ice that still held snow. Unfortunately, the winds were gusting at 60 mph (100k/h) and after a sleepless night we retreated back to base camp in hopes of a break. The winds roared even harder the next day, further stripping my coveted snow, then we had a freak storm that dumped one meter of snow at Camp 2. The winds continued unabated and I knew it was no longer safe for me to ski; the majority of my descent route would have been wind slab snow over ice, essentially a recipe for avalanches.”

Well, okay. It’s hard to second guess someone when their life is on the line. Hope she tries again…….



“I didn’t wimp out….I swear!”