Blog Entry 05/27/08
We summited on Saturday, May 24, at about 7:30am! Previously we got to Camp 4 on Thursday and rested until about 9pm on Friday when we set out for the summit, arriving 10 1/2 hours later. We returned to Camp 4, located on the South Column, at about 1:30pm on Saturday. On Sunday we made it to Camp 2 and Monday back to Base Camp. The trip between Camp 3 (23.500) and Camp 4 (26,000) was probably the hardest. The Ice Fall between Base Camp and Camp 1 has really melted due to the heat and many of the ropes and ladders that were secure on the way up were now pretty precarious. I have frostbite on three toes on each foot but otherwise am doing very well.. Yesterday we held a party at Base Camp to celebrate and thank our dedicated Sherpa guides and the Nepalese staff who supported our team. We are leaving now to trek out, expect to be back in Katmandu by May 31. Thank you all for your support and good wishes.
Blog Entry 05/21/08
We left for Camp 3 this morning. It was a big decision to leave Camp 2 because at Camp 3 we start using our oxygen supply. We will leave Camp 3 on the 24th or 25th to attempt the summit. We are in good spirits and cautiously optimistic!!
Blog Entry 05/15/08
I have found the world's highest internet cafe at about 13,000 feet and they are using an iDirect modem! We have just finished three days of rest. We have been in the valley of Pangboche. Interestingly, all the little towns here end with "boche" which translates to "in the footsteps of Buddha". The legend is that Buddha walked up this valley. Pangboche is also a "no-kill" zone, so even flies are escorted out of buildings in box traps, rather than killing them.
The weather is very good and we are planning to be at Base Camp in two days. Then we will climb straight for the summit!
Blog Entry 05/12/08
Spent the last night on the high end of Camp 3, roughly 23,500 feet. Camp 3 is on a very steep hill, so steep that we had to carve a platform into the mountain to make a spot for our tents. I we did not do this, the tents would just slide down the mountain. We also had to tie ourselves in when we went outside of the tents, just in case... It was a very precarious place to camp. No sleep walking allowed!
We are now back at Base Camp. We are heading down to a town called Pangboche, at about 13,000 feet. We'll spend three nights there. We have spent the last three days at or above 17,500 feet and it has taken its toll on us. The lower altitude will provide much needed rest and oxygen.
In three days, we will go back to Base Camp and, if the weather is clear, we'll make a run for the summit. There is some speculation from the meteorologist that the monsoons may be coming early which would be a problem. They usually don't
come until June. At this point, it's too early to tell, but this is something we are definitely keeping a watch on.
Blog Entry 05/9/08
We are on our way to Camp 3 tomorrow. The Chinese have reached the summit with the Olympic torch so all the climbing restrictions on Mt. Everest have been lifted. We have lost a little bit of time due to the political situation and hope to make
that up in the next few days. We hope to summit during the last week and a half of May.
Blog Entry 05/6/08
We are getting ready to go to Camp 3 for the last time on the 11th. Elevation there is 23,000 ft. Thankfully, we are not experiencing altitude sickness due to the acclimatization process of going back and forth to the different camps. In fact, we will go back down to about 13,000 feet, which is below Base Camp, to recover before we attempt the summit. We plan to stay down for about three to five days, dependent on weather, and then attempt the summit. It is roughly five days from Base Camp to the summit.
Blog Entry 05/5/08
The last several days have been spent resting. There were a few good parties at Base Camp over the weekend. Everyone was trading stories over past climbs compared to this one. We plan to climb to Camp 2 on the 7th and then on to Camp 3 on the 10th.
Blog Entry 05/4/08
Back at Camp Two, which, at just under 21,000 ft, is higher than any point on five of the seven continents (except Asia and South America). At 23,000 ft., Camp Three is higher than any point on six of the seven continents, with the exception of Asia. We now have 209 oxygen bottles at Camp Two. At 7lbs each, that is 1,463lbs of oxygen bottles alone, not accounting for all our other gear.
Blog Entry 05/1/08
Back at Base Camp after another trek to Camp Two and back. Our team continues in good health and is anxious to receive final clearance to proceed beyond Camp Two. This depends on progress made by the Chinese team carrying the Olympic torch to the summit from the Chinese side of the mountain. For additional information, visit the website “Mount Everest by Climbers”, which contains blog entries from other teams on the mountain: http://www.mounteverest.net/news.php?id=17246.
Blog Entry 04/27/08
Yesterday was a full day of relaxation for the team, there was a little bit of hiking but mostly reading books and relaxing. Today the team returned to Camp I and they were able to cut two hours in moving up to 20,000 feet, about the same height as Mt. McKinley. The team members are feeling good. Tomorrow we get an early start to move further up the mountain.
Blog Entry 04/25/08
We’re back at Base Camp again to re-provision after spending two days at Camp 1 and two days at Camp 2, which is just under 21,000 feet. We now plan to return to Camp 2 for three days to further acclimatize ourselves. Everyone is healthy and fairing well.
Blog Entry 04/15/08
We’re continuing our acclimatizing process here at base camp, practicing ice climbing and rappelling in preparation for our trek to Camp 1 later in the week.
Blog Entry 04/14/08
We reached base camp on Saturday the 12th. As part of our supplies we carried in 2,000 liters of kerosene! We’re busying ourselves setting up camp and practicing walking across long ladders that we’ll use to traverse the large crevasses enroute to Camp 1. Tomorrow we’ll help rebuild the heliport at base camp. It’s situated on a glacier that’s continually shifting so there’s a lock of rock removal and clearing of the surface to enable emergency landings and takeoffs. On Thursday we will have our second Puja, a traditional Tibetan blessing. The first one last week was to bless our trip, while this one is specifically directed at blessing our climbing equipment.
There are approximately 20 separate climbing groups on the mountain at any one time, so base camp is like a mini-United Nations with up to 400 climbers and their support teams. We’ll spend a month here getting acclimatized before attempting the summit. The following excerpt from www.everestnews.com <www.everestnews.com> provides more details about this process:
Base camp is located at 17,500 feet. This is where climbers begin their true trip up the mountain. This is also where support staff often remain to monitor the expeditions and provide medical assistance when necessary. Many organizations offer hiking trips which just go to base camp as the trip is not technically challenging (though you must be very fit).
From base camp, climbers typically train and acclimate (permitting the body to adjust to the decreased oxygen in the air) by traveling and bringing supplies back and forth through the often treacherous Khumbu Icefall. This training and recuperation continues throughout the climb, with the final summit push often being the only time to climbers do not go back and forth between camps to train, bring supplies, and recuperate for the next push.
The Icefall is in constant motion. It contains enormous ice seracs, often larger than houses, which dangle precariously over the climbers heads, threatening to fall at any moment without warning, as the climbers cross endless crevasses and listen to continuous ice creaking below. This often acts as a testing ground to judge if less experienced climbers will be capable of continuing. The Icefall is located between 17,500 and 19,500 feet.
Blog Entry 04/09/08
Arrived at 14,000 feet elevation. Tomorrow we’ll hike to 15,500 feet and stay two days to acclimate to the altitude. Then we’ll begin our hike to base camp at 17,600 feet, arriving April 12.
Blog Entry 04/07/08
Today was sort of an easy day. We hiked to a town called Pheriche where we are spending the night. Tomorrow will be a lot longer day. We are headed to a town called Dingboche. Enroute we will stop for our Puja – a traditional Buddhist ceremony blessing our team and equipment so that we’ll be safe on the mountain. This is essential if you want to have your Sherpas on the mountain with you since they will not make the climb without the Puja!
Fun Facts – Logistics to Get 9 People to the Summit:
We set out with 1700 pounds of food for our team.
We have 75 tents between us.
So far, we have made 60 Yak loads to base camp, with 50 more to go!
Blog Entry 04/06/08
Two days ago, we trekked from the small town of Namche Bazaar to a tiny hamlet called Thame. This is where our lead Sherpa, Lakpa Rita, was raised. As a child he attended the school founded by Sir Edmund Hillary in 1961. It would take us approximately four hours to get from Thame to the school, although Lakpa could make the journey each way in about 21/2 hours! Yesterday we left Thame for Khumjung, a small village about a four and half hour hike distance.
Blog Entry 04/04/08
I've gotten many questions about the climbing permits this year and the political tensions. It is clear that climbing Everest this year will be unlike any other year. While we have our climbing permits, the restrictions are quite limiting and a lot will depend on how they are implemented and how the weather behaves. For example, there are limits on how high we can go before May 10th -- which will make the acclimatization schedule very tight. There are also limits on communication equipment that could make portions of the trip less safe than we'd like. But a lot depends on how the restrictions, some quite vague, are implemented. We really won't know if we will be able to attempt the summit safely until we are more than halfway up the mountain!!
Blog Entry 04/03/08
Yesterday we took a "puddle jumper" flight from Katmandu to Lukla (elevation 9,200ft) in the gorgeous Khumbu valley to start our trek to base camp. Lukla is on the side of a mountain. The runway slopes downhill to the edge of a cliff, so departing flights pick-up speed going down hill and then drop off the cliff, while incoming flights fly into the mountain and use the uphill to slowdown. We trekked along the valley for a few hours to a small village -- Phakding (elevation 8,400ft) -- this trip is not straight uphill. Today we continued to trek along the Khumbu valley to Namche Bazaar (elevation 11,300ft). This is about the altitude where people start feeling sick. We’ll be spending two nights here to start the acclimatization process. Before dinner we went to a construction sight and watched villagers break stones with hammers to make brick-shaped stones for a new small building -- its unbelievable that this type of manual labor still exists!
Blog Entry 04/01/08
Got our final permit last night! It covers all nine members of our team, plus the three guides and about 30 Sherpa staff. The latter includes cooks and porters (lower elevations), climbing Sherpa (mid elevations) and high altitude Sherpas (who will go all the way to the summit). We leave for the almost two week trek to base camp (17,600ft) tomorrow morning. If we didn't need to acclimatize, we could probably do the trip in a few days. Due to the unrest in the region, communication will be limited from the time we reach base camp (April 12) until May 10, but details on the implementation of restrictions remain uncertain. We are hoping for the best.
Took at tour of a Buddhist temple, a Hindu temple and a local primary/secondary school today. Although the culture is very rich, Nepal is a very poor country with average income under US$500 per year.
Blog Entry 03/31/08
Arrived in Katmandu this afternoon -- a three hour flight from Bangkok. Nepal is 9 hours and 45 minutes ahead of New York. For some reason they've added a 15 minute differential -- probably just to confuse everyone. We expect to get a climbing permit later today or early tomorrow (so far none have been issued to anyone) and then start the trek to base camp in two days. We are using that time to check gear, get final supplies and do a bit is sightseeing. The team is in good spirits. I’d like to give a tip of the hat to iDirect, newest expedition sponsor, at the “Base Camp” level.
Blog Entry 03/28/08
Landed in Bangkok Wednesday evening after a 17 hour flight that crossed 11 time zones from JFK. After arriving I had dinner and promptly went to sleep. Today I had a huge traditional breakfast and went to see the Grand Palace, on what I've been told, is about the hottest day of the year. It was fabulous nonetheless - amazing statues and architecture. I was last in Bangkok about five years ago - the economic development has been quite rapid -- more western stores, cars, hotels etc. After visiting the Grand Palace, I went back to the hotel and spent the remainder of the afternoon at the pool and getting a traditional Thai massage -- its a very different kind of massage than Western styles like Swedish or deep tissue -- much like someone doing yoga to you but you don't have to work, just relax. I'll spend a few days here before heading to Katmandu to start the trek to base camp.
Blog Entry 03/25/08
Once I begin my Mt. Everest climb, I will maintain a blog of my travels as often as permitted by available communications.