A news report by the Jagged Globe expedition team in Mount Everest indicates that Tico climber Warner Rojas is at 7,300 meters and preparing to reach the summit. About twelve hours ago the team was resting from a five hour hike from Camp 2. Mountaineer David Hamilton and Pasang Sherpa lead the team that Mr. Rojas from Costa Rica is climbing with.

There are two Jagged Globe teams at Camp 3 right now: Everest and Lhotse. According to Jagged Globe’s news page, the teams will eventually split up before summit:

“It has been another hot and sunny day with a nice cooling breeze up high, allowing the team to make good time between camps.

They can now rest up for the remainder of the day and hopefully get a good night’s sleep with the aid of some supplementary oxygen. They will then leave early in the morning for the South Col, positioning themselves for the summit push. At this point Adele Pennington will split up from the Everest team and head to her own high camp up on the Lhotse Face.

The weather forecast remains promising, especially as the levels of convection have dropped giving them a good chance of a summit view!”

The South Col route up Mount Everest is not new to Jagged Globe, and Mr. Rojas is in good hands. The team’s web page claims 100 percent success in 2011, with 10 climbers, two leaders, and eight Sherpas summiting last spring.  Jagged Globe offers expeditions to Everest via either the South Col route or the North Ridge. Here’s the description offered by Jagged Globe:

“To date (2011), we have run sixteen expeditions to the mountain, thirteen of which have followed Hillary and Tenzing’s route via the South Col, and three via the North Ridge from Tibet. Team members on all of our South Col expeditions have reached the summit, with two of our three North Ridge expeditions being successful. Statistically, climbers attempting Everest via the South Col have a higher chance of success, due mainly to them having to spend less time above 8,000m, compared to on the North Ridge. Crucially, a shorter period of settled weather is required on the South side of the mountain and the climb is less exposed to high winds (a good example of this was in the 2010 season, when very few climbers summiting on the North Ridge due to narrow weather windows).”

Mr. Rojas is anxious to reach the summit and plant the flag of Costa Rica at the top of the world. The team was forced back to Everest Base Camp a couple of days ago, after a deadly day claimed the lives of two climbers, as reported by The Costa Rica Star.

UPDATE: Mr. Rojas will begin his push to the summit this evening (Costa Rica time). You can track him online via GPS provided by NavSat and on Teletica Channel 7. NavSat is an enterprise funded by 100 percent Tico venture capital.