Expedition success

Tyrolean brought 40 adventurers to the summit of Everest

Lukas Furtenbach has done it again! The Tyrolean expedition provider set off at the beginning of May to bring 40 clients from 15 nations to the summit of Mount Everest. On Thursday, the 47-year-old reported back from faraway Tibet: "All of our clients have reached the roof of the world!"

Furtenbach Adventures is considered one of the most successful providers in the Mount Everest business. The Tyrolean can look back on seven expeditions with a 100 percent summit rate. Every one of his clients has reached their dream destination and his teams have never had an incident. And Lukas' string of successes continues: Even on his eighth expedition to the world's highest mountain, everyone reached the summit!

Furtenbach's clients set out not only from Nepal (south side) but also from Tibet (north) to reach Mount Everest. 

"With the outbreak of the coronavirus, Chinese authorities had closed access to Everest from Tibet," Lukas told Bergkrone: "This year, we were able to enter the country again for the first time in four years." And while the base camp in Nepal resembles a small town of colorful tents, on the north side in Tibet there are only 52 climbers in the small camp at an altitude of 5,200 meters in the Qomolangma nature reserve. "The same number as on the first ascent in 1953," smiles the Tyrolean.

"On the south side, our first team with mountain guide Kenton Cool, the UK's leading alpine and high-altitude mountaineer, reached the 8,848-metre Everest summit on 12 May," Lukas tells Bergkrone.

In the meantime, all of Lukas' clients and guides have reached the roof of the world via the Khumbu Glacier and from Nepal. A few of his clients have climbed another eight-thousander, Lhotse, on the way. The success speaks for Furtenbach Adventures, who has his clients prepare for the high altitude at home in a hypoxia tent before the expedition in order to reduce the time spent on the mountain. A measure that also greatly reduces the risk.

The Tyrolean himself is on the north side this year. "As planned, we reached the summit of Mount Everest in perfect conditions on Thursday, May 23. Just eleven days after entering Tibet," says Lukas: "We are the first team since 2019 to reach the roof of the world from the north side." Incidentally, this was Lukas' fourth time on Everest.