At Basecamp, the winds rarely get this forceful but higher on the mountain, at Camp II in the expansive Western Cwm or at Camp III on the exposed Lhotse Face, the racing winds are that destructive. When Byron Smith first visited Everest in 1998 nearly every expedition on the south side had to contend with a wrecked Camp II after the winds swept through during a May storm. The high winds started at about 10 p.m. last night and have not let up. We had 10 tents and it is our understanding that only one remains, it happens to be our largest tent at camp. These people held on for dear life in the raging storm, putting rocks on top of knocked down tents, and putting gear in the tent that they were in.
Storms can blow in with little warning, turning a clear horizon into a snow globe.
But satellite imaging can still offer a fair view of the weather that may be ahead. Expeditions often share the expensive forecasts, particularly when summit bid dates approach and the weather information needs to be retrieved each day. The Weather Channel British Mountaineering Council Weather Links Weather info from the Nepal Information Center Avalanches on Everest Cyber Space Avalanche Center Sharing information, strategizing and keeping camps as secure from the wind as possible help climbers confront the weather. But the various expeditions don't share their entire strategy freely with everyone else. Expeditions guard their summit plan somewhat, not because they're necessarily racing the other expeditions to the top but because each expedition is responsible for its own safety and the added risk coming from more climbers going up on the same day is something team leaders want to avoid.