Himalaya Fall 2015: Summit Bid Denied on Lhotse

There are a few updates from the Himalaya today, as a few teams there continue towards their goals on a variety of summits. Most notably amongst them is Lhotse, where the South Korean team has been acclimatizing and preparing for weeks. Today was suppose to be the day that they reached the top at long last, but once again poor weather has denied another squad a shot at achieving their goals.
According to ExWeb, the Korean team was able to climb as high as Camp 3 at 7850 meters (25,754 ft), where they had hoped to make an attempt on the summit today. But, a fierce blizzard hit the top of the mountain, not only creating dangerous weather conditions, but also creating rockslides that made it impossible to go any higher. Now, the entire team squad has descended back to Base Camp, where they will rest for a few days before going up once again.
The plan now is for one or two of the Koreans to go up with a group of Sherpas to establish Camp 4 and fix ropes above that point. That will become their launching pad for another summit bid, once the weather improves. Apparently, Camp 3 is far too crowded, and really only has enough room to cached food and supplies. With C4 firmly established, the team will have a good place to rest and prepare for the final push to the top. Depending on the weather, they could attempt another summit bid sometime late next week.
Over on Annapurna IV, the Polish team has also been forced to descend due to poor weather. They report that over 3 feet (1 meter) of snow has fallen on the mountain in the past few days, and now conditions are unsafe. They have dropped down to lower altitudes to consider their options, as they are now prepared to climb, full acclimatized, but conditions are difficult and unsafe. The team says that they are not ready to come home just yet, but they also need about 7-10 days of good weather to have a legitimate shot at topping out. For now, they are waiting to see what will happen, as everyone is in good spirits, feeling strong, and healthy. It is once again the weather that is not cooperating.
Over on Ama Dablam, 76-year old Spanish climber Carlos Soria is now ready to make a summit bid. His team has been acclimatizing in the Khumbu Valley for a few weeks now, and have been working the mountain too. It appears that he is preparing to launch his summit bid today, with the hope of completing the climb sometime in the next few days.
Finally, Lonnie Dupre and his teammates have now wrapped up their expedition to the Himalaya. Over the past month or so, they have been in the country helping with rebuilding efforts, while also climbing a few mountains. They managed to summit both Ama Dablam and Kyajo Ri, while also providing support for the locals too. The entire crew is now back in Kathmandu, and preparing to go home.
That's it for today. More news as it comes in.