No Finnish woman has ever reached the summit of Mt. Everest, so two on Everest this season are locked in a dead heat (or in this case, freeze) in the hopes to claim the top spot, according to Alan Arnette’s Everest coverage:

“The concern is that summit winds are currently in the 80 mph range. The forecast calls for a reduction on Saturday night and then regaining strength. Climbers like to see the summit winds under 30 mph at max. With extreme winds, if something creates a delay, there is a high likelihood of frostbite, hypothermia or even death–especially on the descent.”

Statistically, most Everest summits have occurred in a rather narrow window, between May 20 and  May 25, but summits have been recorded as early as February, so pushing this hard in mid-May isn’t out of the ordinary. Still, Peak Freaks’ Carina Räihä and Sky Climbers’ Anne-Mari Hyryläisellä are said to have summit fever, that stubborn mental itch that costs lives and is nearly impossible to shake off.

The latest reports indicate that all the teams stuck at Camp 2 amidst destroyed tents will attempt the summit on Sunday. For the sake of their own lives we hope the women will have enough time to reflect on their true purpose on the mountain to embark only when the conditions are right.