Friends, (and non-friends too!)
Many people have asked me about an Everest show – it’s this Friday 7pm at the Mazamas. It’s a fundraiser for the Mazamas Expedition Committee, so they’re asking $5/7 members/nonmembers. I can attest it’s going to a very good cause – it was help from them that helped get me started on expeditions.
Since I can’t of course describe what it’s like to stand on the summit of Everest (hmff! Probably overrated :) I hope to impart a sense of what going to Everest and spending two months at base camp, and climbing amidst the circus, is like. I'll have tall tales, big lies, and daring deeds with which to regale you, plus lots of video. I gathered over 10,000 photos from our team, only the top few percent were used in the show, including many pictures up to the summit.
Since many of you won't be able to make the show, I've put some of the better photos up on Picasa http://picasaweb.google.com/montys61361/Everest2008#
Hope to see you there!
Monty
7pm
Mazamas Mountaineering Center
527 SE 43rd Ave
Portland OR 97215
503-227-2345
Monday, September 29, 2008
Sunday, June 1, 2008
[From Val] The way to the top of the world
The way began about three and a half hours ago, or at least that is where it began this evening. The steps, decisions, and desire to be here actually began much earlier. Five days earlier it began at base camp: all rested, acclimatized, and ready to try for the summit. Two months earlier from home: two duffels of essential gear ready to go, body trained, and soul excited. Two years earlier on Shishapangma: the body can deal with life at 8000 meters; the lessons of the mountains, weather, and partners sink in. Five years earlier in Nepal for the first time: the first view of Everest from the top of Mera Peak--clear, majestic, alluring. Around thirty years earlier: remembering my dad sailing across the ocean to Hawaii . . . adventure is in my blood.
From the Balcony we continue on up. We follow footsteps and a few headlamps. We passed most of the headlamps early on, but keep around four ahead of us. It is steep. It is windy. It is dark, but looking up the stars are bright. Sometime during the night the orange moon rises near Makalu and the way is a little more clear. Occasionally the lights ahead of us stop for a few minutes for a break, and I wonder at first why they don't wait until the route takes a way that is less steep for their break, someplace where if you put a pack down it wouldn't fly down the slope. Then I realize that there are very very few of those places around. And sometimes you just really need to pause for a minute or take a drink. PhuNuru and I stop maybe four times during the climb up for a quick drink or to take in some calories. The Gu's in the pocket of my down suit were very thick—almost frozen, but not quite.
I check my altimeter and watch often: we are making good time. Early during the climb we average 500 ft vertical an hour. I like using oxygen. There is a downside though--what if we make the summit before sunrise? The wind keeps us moving for heat; the fact that we are on Everest keeps us moving for safety.
The route is fun. It keeps going and going. You don't even think about the fact that it is 1 am in the morning. A steep snow slope will turn and offer some rock steps to climb during this low snow year. You reach an anchor: unclip the biner, clip above, re-attach your ascender above the anchor. Step, breath, step, breath, and repeat until the next anchor. Then you reach a section of new rope that is all twisted up with the old rope: time for the biner only.
At some point you look up and the headlamps that were above you are no where to be seen: the South Summit! You've reached ~28,700 feet and are getting quite close. The route drops down a little, you take a quick break, and then head off to cross the ridge to reach the base of the Hillary Step. The winds here pick up a bit. Keeping warm involves the usual bit of feet stomping, hand curling, down hood holding, and strategically placing a few hand warmers. Nicely enough I am able to climb using ice climbing gloves, which gives me dexterity that is hard to come by if you are wearing mittens. The Hillary Step itself is almost all rock, and much easier to ascend than descend. One new orange rope lays unfettered for your biner; below there is a Technicolor set of ropes from last year and the year before and before and before and . . . Those are also used to help you get up and down 'safely.' Once above the Step, the way is the most gentle of all. Step by step, the way is complete!
Sunrise at the top of the world is hard to describe. Beautiful, of course. Not to be missed (well, if you are a mountaineer). The warmth brought by the sun and the safety of so much light invades you. The happiness of accomplishment, and the support and confidence to make it safely back down to the Col, to base camp, . . . to home, to life, to loved ones, this comes with the sun, the dawning of the great eastern light. [For a taste of this feeling, see the first picture 0SummitSunrise]
It is 4:45 am and you are on your way down from the top of the world. The way down is more scary than the way up, and you need the sun. Arm and hand rappels, angel rappels, the occasional munter hitch rappel, and many many carefully placed steps get you down. Below the Balcony you see a few bodies, reminding you of the seriousness of the mountain. The mango juice boxes that PhuNuru brought along as a treat are frozen, so you wait for arrival at the Col for more hydration. The next day you make your way down and around the Geneva Spur, across the Yellow Band, and down the entire Lhotse face to Camp 2. The final day of climbing sees you safely down through the Icefall for the last time. It is now time to try to take in more of what the past few months have been about. And time for some fresh veggies.
-Val
PICTURE SUMMARY:
0SummitSunrise: Sunrise on May 24, just below the summit. You can see climbers along the route and the South Summit from above. We actually summited before sunrise, but it was too cold and very windy to wait for the sun to rise up there; it rose after 5-10 minutes of heading down.
1TeamBeginSummitBid: PhuNuru, Val, Monty, and Passang as we began our summit bid at the bottom of the Icefall.
2CwmFromLhotseFace: Looking down at the Western Cwm from high on the Lhotse Face. Camp 2 is in the Cwm on the right.
3EverestSpurBand: From left to right, a view of Everest, the Geneva Spur, and the Yellow Band from the Lhotse Face. The climb from the Col climbs the right hand ridge, and the Balcony is the slightly flat part of the ridge just below where the cloud ends.
4UpLohsteFace: Looking up at Tim and Lhotse from the Lhotse Face.
5Val_YellowBand: The crux of crossing the Yellow Band. I am in the red, climbing with oxygen above Camp 3.
6Val_waytoC4: Above the Yellow Band the route is less steep, but got quite hot (I had to take my down suit top off).
[see the previous post for a picture of the route from the Col]
7PhuNuruPhortse: On the trek out, I went via Phortse, the village where PhuNuru and many of our climbing Sherpas live. It was a great village, and it was also sooo nice to see green again!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
[From Val] Safely down to Namche and correction to earlier post
Look for a post about the summit climb itself in a few days from Kathmandu! For now, check out these two pictures: one pic looking toward the summit from the Col (you can see the South Summit), and the other pic of me on the summit.
Namaste, Val
Monday, May 26, 2008
[From Monty] Back in Kathmandu - climb over
It’s been a rough few days for both Val and me, for very different reasons. I was evacuated to Kathmandu after significant blood loss, and Val summited, but needed to be escorted down to C4 at the S Col due to loss of eyesight. I’ll let her fill in the rest; just before we left she was resting at C4, debating whether to spend a night there or continue descending.
So here’s what led up the the evac: After the extra rest day at C2, Val and I were READY. We were both feeling strong; all the ailments were over. Planned 4am breakfast, then climb to C3 on our way to the summit. At 3am I was waiting for the alarm to go off; I was somewhat surprised at fluid running down my throat. When the alarm struck, I rose, but needed to wipe a runny nose. Uh, no… the snotrag was instantly drenched in blood. Drat – why now?
A few minutes passed and it wasn’t abating; I finally resorted to TP plugs in my nostrils and tipped my head back. I called for Val to come over (tent next door) and we discussed the situation. By now all the blood was running down my throat. I called Tuck at BC, and apprised our Sherpas of the situation.
By 4am it stopped, so I moved the dining tent to discuss with our Sherpas but the activity caused the bleeding to begin again. With the bleeding now recurring, it was clear that I needed to get it stopped PERMANENTLY before heading to C3. It continued for a few more hours, at which point Val and I agreed she’d take off without me. I consulted with the ER doc at the BC med tent as well as Scott, an ER doc on our team. None of their suggestions helped, indicating the bleeding was likely further back (not from within the nose itself).
By ~7am, with no slowing to the bleeding, Pasang and I decided to descend to BC; this was a risky decision – how much blood loss had occurred, and would I be safe descending? We decided the benefits of lower altitude and real medical care outweighed the risks. I was feeling extremely weak, but within five hours I was back at Base - normal descent time ~half that.
I went immediately to the med tent of the HRA; Himalayan Rescue Assn runs a medical clinic staffed with two ER docs. It was determined I needed (I love this term…) a nasal tampon in one nostril. This slowed the external blood flow, but for the next day I still had significant blood running down my throat or out the other nostril. So the next day I had a second one installed. If you’ve never had the pleasure of a nasal tampon, imagine a 3/8” x 3”long stick shoved into your brain. Trust me – it SOUNDS better than it feels. And the resulting headache is not to be missed!
Between the blood loss and sickness with swallowing the blood, hiking the 36 miles to Lukla was out of the question, so a helicopter was arranged. Scott Paraczinski, the ER Doc/Astronaut team member, joined me for the ride out. That afternoon we hiked to Gorak Shep, the nearest settlement, awaiting a military chopper at dawn. Well, the military had some bureaucratic SNAFU and didn’t get clearance to depart until late morning, but by then the clouds had moved in. We were instructed to descend further to Lobuche, where there was more chance of better weather (and more activity, which re-started the bleeding again).
We arrived Lobuche ~10:30, and waited four hours until we gave up and finally got a room at the lodge there. Scott and I were napping at 4pm when the Sherpas burst in – “Helicopter coming!!”
We grabbed our bags and ran outside just as the bird was landing, and hopped aboard. Then they threw me out! The pilot began liftoff, but we really weren’t getting anywhere. He turned to me and said “Get out – we’ll be back soon!” and departed down the valley.
I was chuckling at the irony that I, the evacuee, was now stranded, hoping for the RE-appearance of the rescue chopper. Fortunately in a few minutes they DID return. Scott was dropped off a thousand feet lower, they came back and got me, then picked Scott up at the lower altitude where they could lift off with both of us aboard.
Wow. WOW! A helicopter ride from the upper Khumbu to Kathmandu is NOT TO BE MISSED. It didn’t quite make the whole ordeal worth it, but it sure was cool!
The next morning in Kathmandu I went to the local Trekker’s Clinic where I finally had the plugs removed – every bit as painful as having them inserted. But HEY – no bleeding! Yippee!
So now I’m in Kathmandu, awaiting luggage and Wednesday’s departure. I got the previous ticket mess cleared up and I’m cleared for a flight home.
Am I disappointed? Sure, at first, but not after how things played out. When the bleeding started and I headed down, I admit to being in tears over the unfortunate turn of events. Then the bleeding continued and I got weaker. Soon, the summit faded and my own evacuation became the prime thought in my head. Yeah I’m disappointed, but I’m FAR happier to be down and safe. And I’m VERY thankful to Steve at the HRA, Scott, Pasang, Tuck, Jangbu and everyone else who helped me get here.
So I’ll be home soon, contemplating the future. Will I return to try again? I don’t know – it’s too soon to answer that question. There’s too much death and injury on this mountain, and I’ve come to believe getting both up and DOWN has a greater element of luck than skill, at least for a weekend warrior like me. And it might be too much reliance on luck for the return of this loved father, husband, brother and friend.
Monty
So here’s what led up the the evac: After the extra rest day at C2, Val and I were READY. We were both feeling strong; all the ailments were over. Planned 4am breakfast, then climb to C3 on our way to the summit. At 3am I was waiting for the alarm to go off; I was somewhat surprised at fluid running down my throat. When the alarm struck, I rose, but needed to wipe a runny nose. Uh, no… the snotrag was instantly drenched in blood. Drat – why now?
A few minutes passed and it wasn’t abating; I finally resorted to TP plugs in my nostrils and tipped my head back. I called for Val to come over (tent next door) and we discussed the situation. By now all the blood was running down my throat. I called Tuck at BC, and apprised our Sherpas of the situation.
By 4am it stopped, so I moved the dining tent to discuss with our Sherpas but the activity caused the bleeding to begin again. With the bleeding now recurring, it was clear that I needed to get it stopped PERMANENTLY before heading to C3. It continued for a few more hours, at which point Val and I agreed she’d take off without me. I consulted with the ER doc at the BC med tent as well as Scott, an ER doc on our team. None of their suggestions helped, indicating the bleeding was likely further back (not from within the nose itself).
By ~7am, with no slowing to the bleeding, Pasang and I decided to descend to BC; this was a risky decision – how much blood loss had occurred, and would I be safe descending? We decided the benefits of lower altitude and real medical care outweighed the risks. I was feeling extremely weak, but within five hours I was back at Base - normal descent time ~half that.
I went immediately to the med tent of the HRA; Himalayan Rescue Assn runs a medical clinic staffed with two ER docs. It was determined I needed (I love this term…) a nasal tampon in one nostril. This slowed the external blood flow, but for the next day I still had significant blood running down my throat or out the other nostril. So the next day I had a second one installed. If you’ve never had the pleasure of a nasal tampon, imagine a 3/8” x 3”long stick shoved into your brain. Trust me – it SOUNDS better than it feels. And the resulting headache is not to be missed!
Between the blood loss and sickness with swallowing the blood, hiking the 36 miles to Lukla was out of the question, so a helicopter was arranged. Scott Paraczinski, the ER Doc/Astronaut team member, joined me for the ride out. That afternoon we hiked to Gorak Shep, the nearest settlement, awaiting a military chopper at dawn. Well, the military had some bureaucratic SNAFU and didn’t get clearance to depart until late morning, but by then the clouds had moved in. We were instructed to descend further to Lobuche, where there was more chance of better weather (and more activity, which re-started the bleeding again).
We arrived Lobuche ~10:30, and waited four hours until we gave up and finally got a room at the lodge there. Scott and I were napping at 4pm when the Sherpas burst in – “Helicopter coming!!”
We grabbed our bags and ran outside just as the bird was landing, and hopped aboard. Then they threw me out! The pilot began liftoff, but we really weren’t getting anywhere. He turned to me and said “Get out – we’ll be back soon!” and departed down the valley.
I was chuckling at the irony that I, the evacuee, was now stranded, hoping for the RE-appearance of the rescue chopper. Fortunately in a few minutes they DID return. Scott was dropped off a thousand feet lower, they came back and got me, then picked Scott up at the lower altitude where they could lift off with both of us aboard.
Wow. WOW! A helicopter ride from the upper Khumbu to Kathmandu is NOT TO BE MISSED. It didn’t quite make the whole ordeal worth it, but it sure was cool!
The next morning in Kathmandu I went to the local Trekker’s Clinic where I finally had the plugs removed – every bit as painful as having them inserted. But HEY – no bleeding! Yippee!
So now I’m in Kathmandu, awaiting luggage and Wednesday’s departure. I got the previous ticket mess cleared up and I’m cleared for a flight home.
Am I disappointed? Sure, at first, but not after how things played out. When the bleeding started and I headed down, I admit to being in tears over the unfortunate turn of events. Then the bleeding continued and I got weaker. Soon, the summit faded and my own evacuation became the prime thought in my head. Yeah I’m disappointed, but I’m FAR happier to be down and safe. And I’m VERY thankful to Steve at the HRA, Scott, Pasang, Tuck, Jangbu and everyone else who helped me get here.
So I’ll be home soon, contemplating the future. Will I return to try again? I don’t know – it’s too soon to answer that question. There’s too much death and injury on this mountain, and I’ve come to believe getting both up and DOWN has a greater element of luck than skill, at least for a weekend warrior like me. And it might be too much reliance on luck for the return of this loved father, husband, brother and friend.
Monty
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Val has summited!
Val has summited Mount Everest, reaching the top just before sunrise! Everything is going well and she is resting at South Col.
Friday, May 23, 2008
[From Val] Val looking good at South Col
Tonya just heard from Brad... he has made the summit(!!) and now he's safely back at Camp 2. He will descend to base camp in the morning. Also, Brad said he saw Val moving up to South Col as he was coming down and that she was looking good!
[From Monty] Resting at Gorak Shep
Spoke with Monty this morning... He is safe and currently resting at Gorak Shep, just below basecamp. While at C2 he started experiencing severe, uncontrollable nosebleeds. He suspects it stems from his earlier respiratory irritation. The condition was making him too weak to continue so he descended to basecamp. Val continued up the mountain and is now at C4.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
[From Monty] Resting at Camp 2
Monty and Val are taking an extra rest day at C2. His asthma is gone. The weather is great with less wind. They will be heading up the Lhotse Face to C3 tomorrow.
Monday, May 19, 2008
[From Monty] At Camp 2
Passing on a brief message from Monty... He and Val are currently at C2 and both feeling strong. Everything is going as planned and the weather is looking good for a May 23rd summit bid. The IMG Sherpas are still fixing the route from C4 to the summit but should have it finished within the next day. They will check in again when they reach C3.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
[From Val] After 58 days, we are finally ready to go
Fifty-eight days after leaving home, we are ready to make our summit push. A lot has happened in between.
We have made it through the many restrictions imposed due to the Chinese climb on the north side. Made it through the excitement and dread of the rumor mill up until their summit on day 47.
We have become comfortable with the route up to our high points so far. In the icefall, that may mean that we clip the rope sometimes, and other times we choose to move more quickly through a straightforward section. Sometimes we now move two ladder rungs at a time. Sometimes that means arm-rappelling down a steep section, or going ahead and doing a full-on rappel down the Lhotse face when you are tired. It means adjusting how you climb the steep Lhotse face, focusing on your legs to carry you up, and not too much on your arms. (The picture attached is of me heading up the Lhotse Face--on a more mellow section of the Face, followed by PhuNuru and others.)
We’ve learned what food fuels us best. Now we know that a fresh apple at C1 on the way to C2 is exactly what you will crave after 4 hours of almost non-stop climbing in the icefall. Or that keeping a hard candy in your mouth at all times helps with both energy and coats your throat to help avoid the Khumbu cough. Or that 1.5L of water on the way to C2 just isn’t enough (luckily the Indian Army has a great custom of bringing juice down 1 km from camp and are generous with their Tang and biscuits).
We have strategically placed our gear on the mountain: down suit ready to go at Camp 2, down gloves ready in the C4 bag, food that will hopefully taste good up high all packaged in bags by camp. We’ve practiced with the oxygen setup, changing the regulator as we will on the Balcony, practiced walking around camp with the oxygen, now knowing it will be hard to see our feet as we walk above Camp 4. Through the great help of many many Sherpas, the route through the South Col is already fixed and the camps in between are all set up, and by the 21^st the route should be complete to the summit.
As you saw in Monty’s post, our intended summit day is May 23—we’re hoping our health and energy levels stay strong, the weather window stays open and relatively calm, and that we receive that little bit of extra luck to make it to the summit!
Namaste,
Val
We have made it through the many restrictions imposed due to the Chinese climb on the north side. Made it through the excitement and dread of the rumor mill up until their summit on day 47.
We have become comfortable with the route up to our high points so far. In the icefall, that may mean that we clip the rope sometimes, and other times we choose to move more quickly through a straightforward section. Sometimes we now move two ladder rungs at a time. Sometimes that means arm-rappelling down a steep section, or going ahead and doing a full-on rappel down the Lhotse face when you are tired. It means adjusting how you climb the steep Lhotse face, focusing on your legs to carry you up, and not too much on your arms. (The picture attached is of me heading up the Lhotse Face--on a more mellow section of the Face, followed by PhuNuru and others.)We’ve learned what food fuels us best. Now we know that a fresh apple at C1 on the way to C2 is exactly what you will crave after 4 hours of almost non-stop climbing in the icefall. Or that keeping a hard candy in your mouth at all times helps with both energy and coats your throat to help avoid the Khumbu cough. Or that 1.5L of water on the way to C2 just isn’t enough (luckily the Indian Army has a great custom of bringing juice down 1 km from camp and are generous with their Tang and biscuits).
We have strategically placed our gear on the mountain: down suit ready to go at Camp 2, down gloves ready in the C4 bag, food that will hopefully taste good up high all packaged in bags by camp. We’ve practiced with the oxygen setup, changing the regulator as we will on the Balcony, practiced walking around camp with the oxygen, now knowing it will be hard to see our feet as we walk above Camp 4. Through the great help of many many Sherpas, the route through the South Col is already fixed and the camps in between are all set up, and by the 21^st the route should be complete to the summit.
As you saw in Monty’s post, our intended summit day is May 23—we’re hoping our health and energy levels stay strong, the weather window stays open and relatively calm, and that we receive that little bit of extra luck to make it to the summit!
Namaste,
Val
[From Monty] Summit Push!
The weather, health and rest are all coming together well, and tomorrow Val and I start for the summit! This is a day earlier than previously suggested, based on a clear weather window that we’re hoping to take advantage of.
The expected schedule is:
May 19 – BC to C2, thru the Icefall and Cwm
May 20 – rest day at C2
May 21 – move to C3, up the Lhotse Face
May 22 – move to C4, thru the Yellow Band and over the Geneva Spur to the South Col
May 23 – Summit Day! From camp at the S Col up the Triangular Face to the S Summit, up the Hillary Step and along the summit ridge to the - *SUMMIT*
We'll leave C4 8:30-9:00pm and if all goes well we’ll be summiting soon after dawn. This gives us wide latitude for issues to arise – leaving all morning and afternoon to return to C4. If all goes well, it also leaves us plenty of time to drop below C4. The lower we go to rest, the better it will be for our recovery and safety.
We’ve been watching the weather reports closely and it looks relatively stable. A few clouds, and possibly some light precip, and limited winds until the summit. It looks like the predicted summit winds have dropped; from a high of as much as 60mph to today’s forecast of 20-40mph winds on our summit day. In the case of the higher winds it could be a summit touch-and-go, with barely time for a summit photo before we beat feet outta there.
My lungs are feeling pretty much 100% improved. Minimal cough, minimal lung congestion, and a plan to keep it that way. I'm using the inhaler and a mouth covering, and will climb slowly enough so as not to stress my lungs. But… if the irritation and constriction starts, I'll not hesitate to pull the plug, descending immediately. I know from earlier that I will not recover unless I descend, and it’ll only get worse if I go higher.
The other concern is my previously-frostbitten fingers – will they be warm enough? Well, I hope so. I have the biggest, warmest Himalayan double mitts made, plus gloves and handwarmers inside. Oxygen plays such a key role in warmth, and I'm glad for IMG’s specific oxygen system that, liter-for-liter, delivers almost double the amount of usable oxygen to the lungs. Other than that I think I should be warm enough; I have my one-piece down suit plus extra layers both top and bottom should I need to bundle up warmer on summit day. In short, I think we’re ready!
Two IMG teams have already left for the summit, and there will be at least two more teams leaving after us, too. Our team is breaking up; we'll likely see each other at ABC (C2) and possibly not again until Kathmandu. After the summit push, people will be vacating BC quickly – the call of a soft bed, thick air and a cold beer are pretty compelling. We'll take all our personal gear down with us (no Sherpa support) so we can pack and descend to Lukla and then to Kathmandu as soon as we feel rested.
Not sure what level of communication we'll have with us. Of course, email and photos are out of the question, but I think we'll be able to make satphone calls for quick updates on our progress, to be posted to the blog. Stay tuned.
Please keep us both in your thoughts and prayers in the next week, wishing us strength and luck - to summit, of course, but mostly to return safely.
Monty
The expected schedule is:
May 19 – BC to C2, thru the Icefall and Cwm
May 20 – rest day at C2
May 21 – move to C3, up the Lhotse Face
May 22 – move to C4, thru the Yellow Band and over the Geneva Spur to the South Col
May 23 – Summit Day! From camp at the S Col up the Triangular Face to the S Summit, up the Hillary Step and along the summit ridge to the - *SUMMIT*
We'll leave C4 8:30-9:00pm and if all goes well we’ll be summiting soon after dawn. This gives us wide latitude for issues to arise – leaving all morning and afternoon to return to C4. If all goes well, it also leaves us plenty of time to drop below C4. The lower we go to rest, the better it will be for our recovery and safety.
We’ve been watching the weather reports closely and it looks relatively stable. A few clouds, and possibly some light precip, and limited winds until the summit. It looks like the predicted summit winds have dropped; from a high of as much as 60mph to today’s forecast of 20-40mph winds on our summit day. In the case of the higher winds it could be a summit touch-and-go, with barely time for a summit photo before we beat feet outta there.
My lungs are feeling pretty much 100% improved. Minimal cough, minimal lung congestion, and a plan to keep it that way. I'm using the inhaler and a mouth covering, and will climb slowly enough so as not to stress my lungs. But… if the irritation and constriction starts, I'll not hesitate to pull the plug, descending immediately. I know from earlier that I will not recover unless I descend, and it’ll only get worse if I go higher.
The other concern is my previously-frostbitten fingers – will they be warm enough? Well, I hope so. I have the biggest, warmest Himalayan double mitts made, plus gloves and handwarmers inside. Oxygen plays such a key role in warmth, and I'm glad for IMG’s specific oxygen system that, liter-for-liter, delivers almost double the amount of usable oxygen to the lungs. Other than that I think I should be warm enough; I have my one-piece down suit plus extra layers both top and bottom should I need to bundle up warmer on summit day. In short, I think we’re ready!
Two IMG teams have already left for the summit, and there will be at least two more teams leaving after us, too. Our team is breaking up; we'll likely see each other at ABC (C2) and possibly not again until Kathmandu. After the summit push, people will be vacating BC quickly – the call of a soft bed, thick air and a cold beer are pretty compelling. We'll take all our personal gear down with us (no Sherpa support) so we can pack and descend to Lukla and then to Kathmandu as soon as we feel rested.
Not sure what level of communication we'll have with us. Of course, email and photos are out of the question, but I think we'll be able to make satphone calls for quick updates on our progress, to be posted to the blog. Stay tuned.
Please keep us both in your thoughts and prayers in the next week, wishing us strength and luck - to summit, of course, but mostly to return safely.
Monty
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
[From Monty] A Setback is Introduced
(sorry, no pics this time – pictures are incredibly difficult and expensive to send; maybe Val and I will choose a few choice snaps for the next update)
It’s disappointing, but it looks like my chances for the summit may come down to how well my body (lungs) react to a new drug I'm trying.
I may have mentioned in an earlier post about some asthma issues that were occurring. I've always had a trivial touch of exercise-induced asthma, but my asthma here is debilitating. The cold, dry air irritates my lungs, which react by protecting themselves with a wonderful layer of phlegm as well as constricting the passages. So after a climb, I'm coughing up a lung trying to clear the phlegm, eventually causing my throat to start bleeding, while getting horribly winded just walking to the dining tent. Climbing then becomes out of the question.
A few weeks ago I got an asthma inhaler (bronchial dilator) from the base camp medical tent, but they told me it wouldn’t work indefinitely. They had a second inhaler with steroids that help reduce the irritation (and hence reduce the phlegm and constriction). This is the last stop for asthma sufferers, and became an issue on the last acclimatization rotation, to C3.
A few days ago we climbed BC-C2 in one day, skipping C1. I felt GREAT. The icefall was fun, and I even got some ice climbing in while bypassing a traffic jam on the ladders and doing some vertical ice up the rappel line. We reached C1, took a rest, then started up the Cwm to C2 in the midday heat.
WOW was it hot. My watch thermometer read 99degF. But I was climbing strong and passing people all the way to C2.
But stupid me; I wasn’t wearing anything over my mouth, like a buff or bandanna, that helps warm and moisten the incoming air. So once I reached C2, my lungs revolted. I spent the rest of the day as well as the next day hacking and wheezing. The following day’s attempt to reach C3 up the Lhotse Face was short-lived; I aborted and decided to retreat to BC, while Val continued up the Face.
The return to BC was living hell. I was chronically short of breath, and any slight uphill required 2-3 breaths per step. Pasang Rinji, my Sherpa, was extremely helpful, unloading my pack, and helping me in every way he could. By mid-afternoon I finally reached Base, but it was one of those near-rescue situations where they’re all in radio contact monitoring my progress, ready to send food and drink (or manpower) into the Icefall to assist my retreat.
I quickly visited the Base Camp medical tent. The good news is nothing’s ‘wrong’ – this is all just a normal asthmatic reaction to the cold, dry air. The inhaler with steroids works for some people, is ineffective for others. I'll know in a few days how the steroids work for me. Until then I need to spend all hours (day and night) with a buff over my mouth, and should expect to wear it while climbing, too. Sure, I'd been wearing one since we started the trek, but not religiously. I now must be far more diligent, protecting my lungs from any irritation, and hoping the steroids deal with whatever irritation is left. If that doesn’t work, I don’t summit.
This isn’t unusual; many others in our camp have similar ailments; one team member has similar asthma, but many people have some sort of respiratory affliction.
Onto other things…
The weather has taken a nasty turn, especially up high. There’s lots of fresh snow at C3, which is hampering the building of C4 (at the S Col). We get daily detailed weather reports that indicate the jet stream is far from the summit, but that the monsoon may be hitting early this year. The Chinese restrictions have delayed the building of the high camps as well as laying lines to the summit. As of right now it’s predicted the mountain prep may be completed by May 20^th – very late in the season to begin summit attempts. But if the monsoon hits early… well I'd rather not think about that.
So all WE can do is get ourselves ready and take advantage of the summit window that appears.
It’s interesting all the different approaches to summiting. I thought it was pretty standard that you had three rotations, successively sleeping at C1,2,3. But different people take very different approaches. Some are just getting as high on the Lhotse Face toward C3 as they can, then retreating, while others aren’t even attempting to climb above C2. One of our groups is currently down the valley, resting at a lower altitude, after only one stay at C2.
I'm very happy that Val and I seem to have acclimatized well to C2 at 21,000ft. On the last rotation there were no headaches, no nausea, or other symptoms of altitude sickness. Physically, mentally, acclimatization-wise – I think Val and I are ready. Nothing but the weather’s going to stop Val, and I've got serious respiratory care to tend to. I’m expecting 6-7 days rest here at BC before attempting the summit – I'll try to send out a short note before heading up describing our plans and strategies for summiting.
Monty
It’s disappointing, but it looks like my chances for the summit may come down to how well my body (lungs) react to a new drug I'm trying.
I may have mentioned in an earlier post about some asthma issues that were occurring. I've always had a trivial touch of exercise-induced asthma, but my asthma here is debilitating. The cold, dry air irritates my lungs, which react by protecting themselves with a wonderful layer of phlegm as well as constricting the passages. So after a climb, I'm coughing up a lung trying to clear the phlegm, eventually causing my throat to start bleeding, while getting horribly winded just walking to the dining tent. Climbing then becomes out of the question.
A few weeks ago I got an asthma inhaler (bronchial dilator) from the base camp medical tent, but they told me it wouldn’t work indefinitely. They had a second inhaler with steroids that help reduce the irritation (and hence reduce the phlegm and constriction). This is the last stop for asthma sufferers, and became an issue on the last acclimatization rotation, to C3.
A few days ago we climbed BC-C2 in one day, skipping C1. I felt GREAT. The icefall was fun, and I even got some ice climbing in while bypassing a traffic jam on the ladders and doing some vertical ice up the rappel line. We reached C1, took a rest, then started up the Cwm to C2 in the midday heat.
WOW was it hot. My watch thermometer read 99degF. But I was climbing strong and passing people all the way to C2.
But stupid me; I wasn’t wearing anything over my mouth, like a buff or bandanna, that helps warm and moisten the incoming air. So once I reached C2, my lungs revolted. I spent the rest of the day as well as the next day hacking and wheezing. The following day’s attempt to reach C3 up the Lhotse Face was short-lived; I aborted and decided to retreat to BC, while Val continued up the Face.
The return to BC was living hell. I was chronically short of breath, and any slight uphill required 2-3 breaths per step. Pasang Rinji, my Sherpa, was extremely helpful, unloading my pack, and helping me in every way he could. By mid-afternoon I finally reached Base, but it was one of those near-rescue situations where they’re all in radio contact monitoring my progress, ready to send food and drink (or manpower) into the Icefall to assist my retreat.
I quickly visited the Base Camp medical tent. The good news is nothing’s ‘wrong’ – this is all just a normal asthmatic reaction to the cold, dry air. The inhaler with steroids works for some people, is ineffective for others. I'll know in a few days how the steroids work for me. Until then I need to spend all hours (day and night) with a buff over my mouth, and should expect to wear it while climbing, too. Sure, I'd been wearing one since we started the trek, but not religiously. I now must be far more diligent, protecting my lungs from any irritation, and hoping the steroids deal with whatever irritation is left. If that doesn’t work, I don’t summit.
This isn’t unusual; many others in our camp have similar ailments; one team member has similar asthma, but many people have some sort of respiratory affliction.
Onto other things…
The weather has taken a nasty turn, especially up high. There’s lots of fresh snow at C3, which is hampering the building of C4 (at the S Col). We get daily detailed weather reports that indicate the jet stream is far from the summit, but that the monsoon may be hitting early this year. The Chinese restrictions have delayed the building of the high camps as well as laying lines to the summit. As of right now it’s predicted the mountain prep may be completed by May 20^th – very late in the season to begin summit attempts. But if the monsoon hits early… well I'd rather not think about that.
So all WE can do is get ourselves ready and take advantage of the summit window that appears.
It’s interesting all the different approaches to summiting. I thought it was pretty standard that you had three rotations, successively sleeping at C1,2,3. But different people take very different approaches. Some are just getting as high on the Lhotse Face toward C3 as they can, then retreating, while others aren’t even attempting to climb above C2. One of our groups is currently down the valley, resting at a lower altitude, after only one stay at C2.
I'm very happy that Val and I seem to have acclimatized well to C2 at 21,000ft. On the last rotation there were no headaches, no nausea, or other symptoms of altitude sickness. Physically, mentally, acclimatization-wise – I think Val and I are ready. Nothing but the weather’s going to stop Val, and I've got serious respiratory care to tend to. I’m expecting 6-7 days rest here at BC before attempting the summit – I'll try to send out a short note before heading up describing our plans and strategies for summiting.
Monty
Friday, May 9, 2008
[From Val] Setting up home on a glacier
One layer after the next Down in Lukla, around 9,000 ft, your body is comfortable with shorts and a short sleeve shirt. By the time you reach ~16,300 ft, just above Lobuche, you are comfortable climbing into your sleeping bag with tech pants, fleece pants, a long john top, wind shirt, tech top, ear warmer, wool hat, buff, and fleece socks. Really it is quite comfortable to crawl into your tent, protected from the winds, and feel so good and strong at 16,000 ft, higher than the top of any mountain back home. The outer tent fly reads 19F, the inner tent 22F, our fingers read ~70F, and our cheeks clock in around 85F. The next layer is added in the middle of the night, as ~2 inches of new snow fall.
The small headaches come and then go with a little extra rest, hydration, and some caffeine from the kala chia (black tea). We drink around 4 liters a day, as our kidneys adjust to new pH levels and our bodies make more red blood cells to adjust to the low oxygen levels.
Setting up home on a glacier
When you first head to Base Camp (BC), you’re walking into a cirque surrounded by wall of mountains: Pumori, Lingtren, Khumbutse, Nuptse. You can’t even see the summit of Everest. You wonder first how you are going to get up the mountain, but then switch thoughts to where and how you are going to live for the next two months. Then you see the first tents, all set up. The ‘ground’ is not dirt, but a moving, soon-to-be melting glacier that has a layer of rocks of all sizes on it. Small, medium, large, some bigger than a car. As you make your way into camp, you see parts of your temporary home: dining tents, cook tent, yoga (or card) tent, movie (okay storage) tent. All set up with a lot of good hard labor: moving rocks by hand, swinging ice picks. Then your personal Sherpa shows you to your very own tent, in my case complete with a sit-down entry, rock chair outside for gazing at the icefall, the tent platform leveled with many small rocks to ensure that later in the season no puddles would form underneath the tent.
Once inside your tent, setting up home really begins. The big things come first: setting out the sleeping pads and bag, unrolling the rugs you bought in Namche Bazaar, locating the duffels and the packs. Then you decide where the library goes, set up the clothes drying lines, put out the crazy creek. There are the smaller decisions to be made: what will go in this pocket, or that one? Sunglasses and headlamp here, journal and mirror there, radio and pulse ox there, tissues there, batteries there, nano and glasses there… repeat 20 times. Finally there are the best things from home: putting up the framed picture, or hanging the customized prayer flags.
When returning from a rotation on the mountain, base camp especially feels like home. Where you get to take a hot shower after five days up high. Where you can sleep in until the sun hits your tent and the inside temperature jumps from 20F to 70 in 20 minutes. Where you get to use a toilet tent that isn’t perched above a crevasse. Where the dining tents have actual chairs. Where your appetite is strong. Where you don’t have to always breath through a buff. Where you get to change into clean clothes. It all feels great.
Other blogs
If you’re interested in blogs from others on our IMG team, you can check out onorbit.com/everest and ciscoeducationclimb.webone.com (login as guest with password martin).
Namaste for now… and much more when we return from our next rotation!
Val
The small headaches come and then go with a little extra rest, hydration, and some caffeine from the kala chia (black tea). We drink around 4 liters a day, as our kidneys adjust to new pH levels and our bodies make more red blood cells to adjust to the low oxygen levels.
Setting up home on a glacier
When you first head to Base Camp (BC), you’re walking into a cirque surrounded by wall of mountains: Pumori, Lingtren, Khumbutse, Nuptse. You can’t even see the summit of Everest. You wonder first how you are going to get up the mountain, but then switch thoughts to where and how you are going to live for the next two months. Then you see the first tents, all set up. The ‘ground’ is not dirt, but a moving, soon-to-be melting glacier that has a layer of rocks of all sizes on it. Small, medium, large, some bigger than a car. As you make your way into camp, you see parts of your temporary home: dining tents, cook tent, yoga (or card) tent, movie (okay storage) tent. All set up with a lot of good hard labor: moving rocks by hand, swinging ice picks. Then your personal Sherpa shows you to your very own tent, in my case complete with a sit-down entry, rock chair outside for gazing at the icefall, the tent platform leveled with many small rocks to ensure that later in the season no puddles would form underneath the tent.
Once inside your tent, setting up home really begins. The big things come first: setting out the sleeping pads and bag, unrolling the rugs you bought in Namche Bazaar, locating the duffels and the packs. Then you decide where the library goes, set up the clothes drying lines, put out the crazy creek. There are the smaller decisions to be made: what will go in this pocket, or that one? Sunglasses and headlamp here, journal and mirror there, radio and pulse ox there, tissues there, batteries there, nano and glasses there… repeat 20 times. Finally there are the best things from home: putting up the framed picture, or hanging the customized prayer flags.
When returning from a rotation on the mountain, base camp especially feels like home. Where you get to take a hot shower after five days up high. Where you can sleep in until the sun hits your tent and the inside temperature jumps from 20F to 70 in 20 minutes. Where you get to use a toilet tent that isn’t perched above a crevasse. Where the dining tents have actual chairs. Where your appetite is strong. Where you don’t have to always breath through a buff. Where you get to change into clean clothes. It all feels great.
Other blogs
If you’re interested in blogs from others on our IMG team, you can check out onorbit.com/everest and ciscoeducationclimb.webone.com (login as guest with password martin).
Namaste for now… and much more when we return from our next rotation!
Val
Update from Monty
Yeay!! Restrictions are lifted and we can openly send info out. It's been a very long while since we've been able to do a complete update on things, so this is going to be much longer than usual. We also have lots of photos, so apologies if this clogs your inbox (photos have been posted separately - click here to view them). The good news is that the Chinese finally summited yesterday, and yesterday afternoon restrictions were (mostly) removed. Doing stupid things like the idiot at C1 who had a "F*** China" banner are still restricted (his passport was confiscated and he was escorted out of the country). This won't be a FULL update; the politics are mostly being left out – stuff like searches, armed military, spy planes, arrests, checklists... it's been totally surreal and felt like a scene from Kafka. But the military departed this morning and all that's left is our liaison officer Major Leelu (sp?). He's a really nice, fun guy who's integrated well into the team.
Wow – there's just SO much to say! I'll try to break it into what we're doing and what it's like to be here at BC (and above). We've been up to C2 (ABC) on two acclimatization rotations. BC is at the foot of the Khumbu Icefall, C1 is at the top of it (and at the lower end of the Western Cwm), and C2 is at the far end of the Cwm and at the base of the Lhotse Face. C1 is sparse; a few tents and a kitchen tent for the Sherpas for heating water. C2 is full of amenities – dining tents for us and the Sherpas, a kitchen tent, even latrines. So the goal is to get to C2 where a full rest is more comfortable.
Everything starts with the Icefall. I was surprised by how BIG it is. It's about 2000ft high and maybe a mile long. But first – WHAT'S an icefall? A glacier is a river of ice, and an icefall is analogous to a waterfall. Or imagine a half-mile-wide river, with a mile-long waterfall dropping 2000ft. Now picture it with a jumble of ice chunks ranging in size from refrigerators to multi-story buildings. And they're all moving, but thankfully at glacial speed – but they ARE moving. This makes the icefall the most dangerous part of the climb, and moving thru quickly and efficiently means safety.
There are ladders throughout – over crevasses, up walls of ice; short and long. Some crevasses have multiple ladders lashed together, with handlines on either side into which you clip your safety line. Some are solid, some are very shaky, but they're actually easier to cross and less nerve-wracking than reputed. You look down to see your feet and crampons on the rungs, but don't look past that at the drop below you. Then there are the vertical ladders. I hate those. They're especially hard to climb down; you have to hang your arse into space and blindly step down, while mixed up in a tangle of ropes. One misstep wouldn't mean death, but the 20-30ft drop sure would hurt. Fortunately many of the vertical ladders also have rappel ropes; I'd much rather rap down than use the ladders.
Once thru the main part of the icefall then there's still about a half mile of meandering thru a huge crevasse field before reaching C1. It's not particularly difficult or scary, but you're pretty tired by this point, and it's all up, down, over,around, etc. Overall the icefall takes 3-5 hours to cross (depending on your acclimatization).
The Western Cwm
Cwm is a Welsh word that just means valley; the Western Cwm is the huge valley between Lhotse (actually Nuptse) and Everest. It's about two miles long, and ends in the Lhotse Face; the huge climb leading to the South Col. I thought it was a big flat walk, but it too is riddled with crevasses. Most are small; with apparent openings only a foot or two wide, but peering into them reveal huge overhung edges with a deep black maw underneath. More ropes and ladder crossings; maybe two hours from C1-C2.
Acclimatization Trips
So far we've done three trips thru the icefall. First was a practice trip about halfway thru, then back to BC. A bit of rest, then an acclimatization trip to C1, sleeping there two nights and returning to Base. A few more days rest, then mostrecently a longer trip – day one to C1, day 2 to C2, then two full days resting/acclimatizing at C2, then day five return to BC. The next trip will be to C3, most likely skipping C1 altogether – day one straight to C2, a rest day, then up to C3 for one night, day four back to C2, and day five home to BC again. The next (last!) time up would then be the summit bid.
Most of our team left for C2/C3 early this morning. With the Chinese restrictions lifted, Sherpas are now placing the fixed ropes to C3, and then will chop the tent platforms in the ice. Our team is proceeding to C2 (Advance Base Camp), rest at ABC, then up to C3 once it's established. Both Phunuru (Val's Sherpa) and I have been fighting a cold, so we decided to take an extra rest/healing day before heading up.
Tomorrow the four of us will climb straight to C2, then a rest day or two, then up the Lhotse Face to C3 for a miserable night, finally descending back to Base to rest up for the summit bid.
Immediately after C3 is installed, Sherpas will place the lines thru the Yellow Band and Geneva Spur up to the South Col,establishing C4. More work will then commence to fix lines to the summit – up the Triangular Face, Balcony, HillaryStep and finally along the summit ridge to the summit!
Many people ask when we think we'll be summiting. Well the weather decides that, but if all goes well, we'll do our C3 rotation May 10-14, then 5-7 days rest, and our summit push will hopefully start around May 20. A TENTATIVE schedule could be: May 21 to C2, 22 rest, 23 to C3, 24 to C4, 25 SUMMIT!! and back to C4, 26 to ABC and 27 descend to BC.
Oxygen
IMG uses a different oxygen system than other teams (Poisk is the standard; IMG uses TopOut). I've played with both and must say I'm impressed with the TopOut. I've worked with the mask/regulator/bottle both in the day and in the dead of night (it's cold and dark and much more indicative of what it's like on summit day). I'm impressed with the fit and relative comfort, and how it integrates with balaclava, glasses/goggles, helmet and headlamp. TopOut's system delivers almost 100% of the oxygen to your lungs, instead of bleeding lost oxygen into the air as most of the other systems do. What this means is that for the same flow rate, you're getting almost double the usable oxygen into your lungs. We all have our own mask and regulator which is now as much a part of our gear as our harness or crampons. Using the O's has given me another bump in confidence in my/our ability to reach the summit.
Base Camp
Outside Magazine had an article last year on Everest BC, breaking the camp into ‘countries'. They called IMG BC “Luxuristan”. For the clients there are two dining tents (complete with carpeting), a cook tent, a communications tent, a medical tent (well, it's used mostly for playing poker), and two storage tents. Each of these range in size from small garage to small house. In addition, there are other cook/dining/storage for the staff, too. We have two shower tents with running hot water, a hot water tap and clothes wringer for laundry, and two latrine tents. Each of us has our own 3-person 4-season tent that is our ‘home' for the duration of the trip.
BC itself is situated on a corner of the Khumbu Glacier within a huge cirque of mountains. Small and large avalanches occur all around us every 1-2 hours, although BC is protected from these. There's no question we're on a glacier. There's ice poking out everywhere, and as summer approaches, the lakes and streams appear in random and unexpected locations. Right now the central area of camp has developed a lake, which we've begun both filling in and draining. Many of our tents will eventually need relocation, as the ground underneath shifts.
The food is bountiful, tasty, and omnipresent. Meals begin with a hot towel, then soup, and the main course. Heavy on potatoes and veggies, with meat ranging from (what they say is) water buffalo, hot dogs, Spam, and the occasional chicken. Dessert is usually canned fruit. 3pm teatime has popcorn or cheese/crackers/salami, and sometimes even fresh sushi. We've had two birthdays this week, each with balloons, birthday cake with candles, and gifts.
The tables are laden with condiments - Worchestershire, salad dressing, ketchup/mustard, hot sauces, soy sauce, salt/pepper grinders, etc. There are at least a dozen hot drink choices – teas, coffees, hot chocolate, fruity mixes, etc. Finally are the snackfoods – cookies, Pringles, crackers, pickles, you name it. All of this is available day/night. This sounds excessive, but calories and massive food intake is MANDATORY. I'm eating as much as I can and by the scale that's here, have only lost ~15lbs so far.
Food is prepared for us at C2 (Advance Base Camp) but at C1, C3 and C4 we're bringing a mix of military MREs, freeze-dried, and anything we want from cases and cases of snack food. Maintaining appetite, energy and weight is critical to high-altitude mountaineering, and IMG is insuring that food is NOT a limiting factor.
Rest days at BC are a mix of reading, cards, hikes, showers/laundry, and just killing time. Last week we had our first movie night, with Val and me cranking up the laptop and a DVD after dinner. This has become a regular event, with most nights much of the team and staff crowding into the largest tent, heater cranked, and snack food flowing. Temps are, or should be, rather cool, but on a cloudless calm day the tents become ovens. Otherwise it's typically 40-50s in the daytime and 20s or colder at night. Overall quite tolerable, really. High camps get just that much colder, approaching 0degF at night. We've been quite fortunate that there have been no storms or really bad weather so far. (I wrote that last week. Two hours later it started snowing, and snowed for four days. This same weather front created the tornado in Burma that killed tens of thousands).
We get weather from a service in the States that aggregates a number of different reports. Currently the outlook is positive; the jet stream is staying north of the summit, and it appears we have almost three weeks until the monsoon hits. The recent snow may improve the route above C2. The mountain has been quite free of snow, making the travel more difficult; while wearing crampons traveling over snow is easier and safer than traveling over bare rock. Over the next couple days we'll be getting reports of the route conditions up high.
Health
You're gonna get sick on a trip like this. You just hope it's early enough that you can recover and keep climbing. An intestinal bug and a respiratory bug have both worked their way thru camp. I've had them both and returned quite healthy. I've always had a slight case of exercise-induced asthma and it's really making itself known here. The cold dry air really irritates my lungs and I've got the typical ‘Khumbu cough', although an asthma inhaler I got from the medical group here at BC really helps. Other team members are battling ailments large and small, with the expectation that they self-quarantine while ailing. Three members have already left the expedition due to health or other reasons; we hear that ‘only' three dropping so far is a very low number. As mentioned above, I'm currently healing from a cold and have pushed back our climb to C3 to allow another day's rest. (Dave and Marleen – thanks for the herbs, they're really helping!)
Here's where I'll say some things about IMG's planning and oversight. They have an overall ‘recipe' that's gotten many people to the top, of which you're free to modify as desired. But if your performance is significantly below what they know is required, they'll tell you, and eventually even 'strongly discourage' you from proceeding. This may seem harsh, but I don't think so. By stopping someone they're reducing the risk of a likely rescue (or body recovery!). Other outfits are known for their tolerance, but I feel that IMG's oversight and planned allocation of rescue resources increases everyone's chances of returning home safely.
Personal Sherpas - Pasang Rinji and Phunuru
My and Val's personal Sherpas have very different levels of experience. My Sherpa, Pasang, is on his second year as a personal Sherpa, after previous years as a climbing Sherpa (they help put in the route). Phunuru however is an old hand at this, with years of experience with clients and also as a climbing instructor. With my fifteen years of experience leading and instructing with the Mazamas and elsewhere, I feel more like Phunuru. I have strong opinions on climbing methodologies and safety, and I can see at times I may intimidate Pasang (What? Me intimidate??? Never!) But we're getting on well and I'm hoping to show him some of the Northwest this summer – he's coming to Bend, OR for two months immediately after the climb.
Our Sherpas climb with us, and help out if necessary. So far I don't think Val nor I particularly have needed assistance, but it's nice to know they're there. They also help at high camp(s), bringing us tea and hot water, as well as setting up the camps. There's a clear difference in the level of personal service provided by the Sherpas vs the Western guides; something noted particularly by the guided clients.
Team and staff
I mentioned in an earlier posting about climbers vs adventurers. There are clearly people here for both, but thus far this hasn't been nearly the issue I'd heard it would be. Everyone on the team has plenty of experience, and the overall team is integrating well. There's very little drama or issues that could divide and cause problems.
The glue holding everything together is Mark Tucker, or mothertucker, or usually, just ‘Tuck'. He's been doing this for years and really knows how to run a base camp and a climb. Part team leader, part cat-herder, but always the authority. Equal to him is Ang Jangbu, who is universally respected around all of BC as one of the leading voices on what goes on. He's slightly more behind the scenes; to generalize, Tuck deals with us and Jangbu deals with BC.
There are SO many other staff – cooks, porters, climbing Sherpas, etc. For the two dozen climbers we have about four dozen staff. I suppose this COULD be done solo/alpine style, without the staff, but they make it comfortable and pleasant, in addition to handling most of the hard work like building camp(s) and hauling the heavy loads.
Pictures
Val and I sorted thru almost 1000 shots so far and will be trying to send along about two dozen, starting from our climb of Lobuche all the way thru the Lhotse Face. These will hopefully be on the web, so you might have to see them there.
Well that's all for today. VERY long, but it'll catch you up on five weeks of government-imposed silence. Tomorrow we head to C3, then hopefully one more shorter dispatch before the SUMMIT BID!
Many thanks for all your prayers and well-wishes, and all of you are constantly in our thoughts. We miss you and hope to be seeing you soon.
Monty
Wow – there's just SO much to say! I'll try to break it into what we're doing and what it's like to be here at BC (and above). We've been up to C2 (ABC) on two acclimatization rotations. BC is at the foot of the Khumbu Icefall, C1 is at the top of it (and at the lower end of the Western Cwm), and C2 is at the far end of the Cwm and at the base of the Lhotse Face. C1 is sparse; a few tents and a kitchen tent for the Sherpas for heating water. C2 is full of amenities – dining tents for us and the Sherpas, a kitchen tent, even latrines. So the goal is to get to C2 where a full rest is more comfortable.
Everything starts with the Icefall. I was surprised by how BIG it is. It's about 2000ft high and maybe a mile long. But first – WHAT'S an icefall? A glacier is a river of ice, and an icefall is analogous to a waterfall. Or imagine a half-mile-wide river, with a mile-long waterfall dropping 2000ft. Now picture it with a jumble of ice chunks ranging in size from refrigerators to multi-story buildings. And they're all moving, but thankfully at glacial speed – but they ARE moving. This makes the icefall the most dangerous part of the climb, and moving thru quickly and efficiently means safety.
There are ladders throughout – over crevasses, up walls of ice; short and long. Some crevasses have multiple ladders lashed together, with handlines on either side into which you clip your safety line. Some are solid, some are very shaky, but they're actually easier to cross and less nerve-wracking than reputed. You look down to see your feet and crampons on the rungs, but don't look past that at the drop below you. Then there are the vertical ladders. I hate those. They're especially hard to climb down; you have to hang your arse into space and blindly step down, while mixed up in a tangle of ropes. One misstep wouldn't mean death, but the 20-30ft drop sure would hurt. Fortunately many of the vertical ladders also have rappel ropes; I'd much rather rap down than use the ladders.
Once thru the main part of the icefall then there's still about a half mile of meandering thru a huge crevasse field before reaching C1. It's not particularly difficult or scary, but you're pretty tired by this point, and it's all up, down, over,around, etc. Overall the icefall takes 3-5 hours to cross (depending on your acclimatization).
The Western Cwm
Cwm is a Welsh word that just means valley; the Western Cwm is the huge valley between Lhotse (actually Nuptse) and Everest. It's about two miles long, and ends in the Lhotse Face; the huge climb leading to the South Col. I thought it was a big flat walk, but it too is riddled with crevasses. Most are small; with apparent openings only a foot or two wide, but peering into them reveal huge overhung edges with a deep black maw underneath. More ropes and ladder crossings; maybe two hours from C1-C2.
Acclimatization Trips
So far we've done three trips thru the icefall. First was a practice trip about halfway thru, then back to BC. A bit of rest, then an acclimatization trip to C1, sleeping there two nights and returning to Base. A few more days rest, then mostrecently a longer trip – day one to C1, day 2 to C2, then two full days resting/acclimatizing at C2, then day five return to BC. The next trip will be to C3, most likely skipping C1 altogether – day one straight to C2, a rest day, then up to C3 for one night, day four back to C2, and day five home to BC again. The next (last!) time up would then be the summit bid.
Most of our team left for C2/C3 early this morning. With the Chinese restrictions lifted, Sherpas are now placing the fixed ropes to C3, and then will chop the tent platforms in the ice. Our team is proceeding to C2 (Advance Base Camp), rest at ABC, then up to C3 once it's established. Both Phunuru (Val's Sherpa) and I have been fighting a cold, so we decided to take an extra rest/healing day before heading up.
Tomorrow the four of us will climb straight to C2, then a rest day or two, then up the Lhotse Face to C3 for a miserable night, finally descending back to Base to rest up for the summit bid.
Immediately after C3 is installed, Sherpas will place the lines thru the Yellow Band and Geneva Spur up to the South Col,establishing C4. More work will then commence to fix lines to the summit – up the Triangular Face, Balcony, HillaryStep and finally along the summit ridge to the summit!
Many people ask when we think we'll be summiting. Well the weather decides that, but if all goes well, we'll do our C3 rotation May 10-14, then 5-7 days rest, and our summit push will hopefully start around May 20. A TENTATIVE schedule could be: May 21 to C2, 22 rest, 23 to C3, 24 to C4, 25 SUMMIT!! and back to C4, 26 to ABC and 27 descend to BC.
Oxygen
IMG uses a different oxygen system than other teams (Poisk is the standard; IMG uses TopOut). I've played with both and must say I'm impressed with the TopOut. I've worked with the mask/regulator/bottle both in the day and in the dead of night (it's cold and dark and much more indicative of what it's like on summit day). I'm impressed with the fit and relative comfort, and how it integrates with balaclava, glasses/goggles, helmet and headlamp. TopOut's system delivers almost 100% of the oxygen to your lungs, instead of bleeding lost oxygen into the air as most of the other systems do. What this means is that for the same flow rate, you're getting almost double the usable oxygen into your lungs. We all have our own mask and regulator which is now as much a part of our gear as our harness or crampons. Using the O's has given me another bump in confidence in my/our ability to reach the summit.
Base Camp
Outside Magazine had an article last year on Everest BC, breaking the camp into ‘countries'. They called IMG BC “Luxuristan”. For the clients there are two dining tents (complete with carpeting), a cook tent, a communications tent, a medical tent (well, it's used mostly for playing poker), and two storage tents. Each of these range in size from small garage to small house. In addition, there are other cook/dining/storage for the staff, too. We have two shower tents with running hot water, a hot water tap and clothes wringer for laundry, and two latrine tents. Each of us has our own 3-person 4-season tent that is our ‘home' for the duration of the trip.
BC itself is situated on a corner of the Khumbu Glacier within a huge cirque of mountains. Small and large avalanches occur all around us every 1-2 hours, although BC is protected from these. There's no question we're on a glacier. There's ice poking out everywhere, and as summer approaches, the lakes and streams appear in random and unexpected locations. Right now the central area of camp has developed a lake, which we've begun both filling in and draining. Many of our tents will eventually need relocation, as the ground underneath shifts.
The food is bountiful, tasty, and omnipresent. Meals begin with a hot towel, then soup, and the main course. Heavy on potatoes and veggies, with meat ranging from (what they say is) water buffalo, hot dogs, Spam, and the occasional chicken. Dessert is usually canned fruit. 3pm teatime has popcorn or cheese/crackers/salami, and sometimes even fresh sushi. We've had two birthdays this week, each with balloons, birthday cake with candles, and gifts.
The tables are laden with condiments - Worchestershire, salad dressing, ketchup/mustard, hot sauces, soy sauce, salt/pepper grinders, etc. There are at least a dozen hot drink choices – teas, coffees, hot chocolate, fruity mixes, etc. Finally are the snackfoods – cookies, Pringles, crackers, pickles, you name it. All of this is available day/night. This sounds excessive, but calories and massive food intake is MANDATORY. I'm eating as much as I can and by the scale that's here, have only lost ~15lbs so far.
Food is prepared for us at C2 (Advance Base Camp) but at C1, C3 and C4 we're bringing a mix of military MREs, freeze-dried, and anything we want from cases and cases of snack food. Maintaining appetite, energy and weight is critical to high-altitude mountaineering, and IMG is insuring that food is NOT a limiting factor.
Rest days at BC are a mix of reading, cards, hikes, showers/laundry, and just killing time. Last week we had our first movie night, with Val and me cranking up the laptop and a DVD after dinner. This has become a regular event, with most nights much of the team and staff crowding into the largest tent, heater cranked, and snack food flowing. Temps are, or should be, rather cool, but on a cloudless calm day the tents become ovens. Otherwise it's typically 40-50s in the daytime and 20s or colder at night. Overall quite tolerable, really. High camps get just that much colder, approaching 0degF at night. We've been quite fortunate that there have been no storms or really bad weather so far. (I wrote that last week. Two hours later it started snowing, and snowed for four days. This same weather front created the tornado in Burma that killed tens of thousands).
We get weather from a service in the States that aggregates a number of different reports. Currently the outlook is positive; the jet stream is staying north of the summit, and it appears we have almost three weeks until the monsoon hits. The recent snow may improve the route above C2. The mountain has been quite free of snow, making the travel more difficult; while wearing crampons traveling over snow is easier and safer than traveling over bare rock. Over the next couple days we'll be getting reports of the route conditions up high.
Health
You're gonna get sick on a trip like this. You just hope it's early enough that you can recover and keep climbing. An intestinal bug and a respiratory bug have both worked their way thru camp. I've had them both and returned quite healthy. I've always had a slight case of exercise-induced asthma and it's really making itself known here. The cold dry air really irritates my lungs and I've got the typical ‘Khumbu cough', although an asthma inhaler I got from the medical group here at BC really helps. Other team members are battling ailments large and small, with the expectation that they self-quarantine while ailing. Three members have already left the expedition due to health or other reasons; we hear that ‘only' three dropping so far is a very low number. As mentioned above, I'm currently healing from a cold and have pushed back our climb to C3 to allow another day's rest. (Dave and Marleen – thanks for the herbs, they're really helping!)
Here's where I'll say some things about IMG's planning and oversight. They have an overall ‘recipe' that's gotten many people to the top, of which you're free to modify as desired. But if your performance is significantly below what they know is required, they'll tell you, and eventually even 'strongly discourage' you from proceeding. This may seem harsh, but I don't think so. By stopping someone they're reducing the risk of a likely rescue (or body recovery!). Other outfits are known for their tolerance, but I feel that IMG's oversight and planned allocation of rescue resources increases everyone's chances of returning home safely.
Personal Sherpas - Pasang Rinji and Phunuru
My and Val's personal Sherpas have very different levels of experience. My Sherpa, Pasang, is on his second year as a personal Sherpa, after previous years as a climbing Sherpa (they help put in the route). Phunuru however is an old hand at this, with years of experience with clients and also as a climbing instructor. With my fifteen years of experience leading and instructing with the Mazamas and elsewhere, I feel more like Phunuru. I have strong opinions on climbing methodologies and safety, and I can see at times I may intimidate Pasang (What? Me intimidate??? Never!) But we're getting on well and I'm hoping to show him some of the Northwest this summer – he's coming to Bend, OR for two months immediately after the climb.
Our Sherpas climb with us, and help out if necessary. So far I don't think Val nor I particularly have needed assistance, but it's nice to know they're there. They also help at high camp(s), bringing us tea and hot water, as well as setting up the camps. There's a clear difference in the level of personal service provided by the Sherpas vs the Western guides; something noted particularly by the guided clients.
Team and staff
I mentioned in an earlier posting about climbers vs adventurers. There are clearly people here for both, but thus far this hasn't been nearly the issue I'd heard it would be. Everyone on the team has plenty of experience, and the overall team is integrating well. There's very little drama or issues that could divide and cause problems.
The glue holding everything together is Mark Tucker, or mothertucker, or usually, just ‘Tuck'. He's been doing this for years and really knows how to run a base camp and a climb. Part team leader, part cat-herder, but always the authority. Equal to him is Ang Jangbu, who is universally respected around all of BC as one of the leading voices on what goes on. He's slightly more behind the scenes; to generalize, Tuck deals with us and Jangbu deals with BC.
There are SO many other staff – cooks, porters, climbing Sherpas, etc. For the two dozen climbers we have about four dozen staff. I suppose this COULD be done solo/alpine style, without the staff, but they make it comfortable and pleasant, in addition to handling most of the hard work like building camp(s) and hauling the heavy loads.
Pictures
Val and I sorted thru almost 1000 shots so far and will be trying to send along about two dozen, starting from our climb of Lobuche all the way thru the Lhotse Face. These will hopefully be on the web, so you might have to see them there.
Well that's all for today. VERY long, but it'll catch you up on five weeks of government-imposed silence. Tomorrow we head to C3, then hopefully one more shorter dispatch before the SUMMIT BID!
Many thanks for all your prayers and well-wishes, and all of you are constantly in our thoughts. We miss you and hope to be seeing you soon.
Monty
Monday, May 5, 2008
Update from Monty
Another update from Monty... He and Val are at BC waiting for restrictions on climbing higher than C2 to be lifted. He reports that they are both healthy and climbing strong. While waiting they've been making short day hikes to surrounding peaks, playing cards, watching movies on the laptop and wandering about BC which Monty describes as being "monstrous" in size with approximately 1000 people in 30-40 teams. There is even a bakery and small museum at BC this year and it takes an hour to walk from one side of BC to the other.
The route from BC to C2 is in good condition but the Khumbu Icefall is "a whole lot bigger and scarier" than Monty expected. However he says after his ice climbing trips to Ouray the technical parts are a "piece of cake and fun". He says there are numerous crevasses on the Western Cwm that you can step across but many are severely undercut.
The weather has been perfect up until a few days ago when it started to snow. The route above C3 appears to be extremely barren and the Lhotse Face appears to be a 2000 foot sheet of blue ice. They are concerned about the avalanche risk the new snow brings but hope it improves the climbing conditions higher up. They are also worried if there is more delay before summit attempts begin the route through the ice fall will become too unstable. BC has already melted out.
Right now everyone is playing the waiting game, but Monty estimates that if everything goes as planned they should summit sometime around May 25th.
The route from BC to C2 is in good condition but the Khumbu Icefall is "a whole lot bigger and scarier" than Monty expected. However he says after his ice climbing trips to Ouray the technical parts are a "piece of cake and fun". He says there are numerous crevasses on the Western Cwm that you can step across but many are severely undercut.
The weather has been perfect up until a few days ago when it started to snow. The route above C3 appears to be extremely barren and the Lhotse Face appears to be a 2000 foot sheet of blue ice. They are concerned about the avalanche risk the new snow brings but hope it improves the climbing conditions higher up. They are also worried if there is more delay before summit attempts begin the route through the ice fall will become too unstable. BC has already melted out.
Right now everyone is playing the waiting game, but Monty estimates that if everything goes as planned they should summit sometime around May 25th.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Update from Val
Passing a brief update from Val. She and Monty are back in BC after the C2 rotation. They are in good health, climbing strong and waiting to go up to C3. Val said that going down the Khumbu Icefall for the second time was much easier. She also said that the Lhotse face seemed to be icy due to warm weather, and that they would have to proceed a little bit slower when going up to C3. She added that spring had also arrived in the BC and snow started already to melt. Everything else is going well and the logistics provided by IMG is excellent.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Update from Monty
Passing on a brief message from Monty... He and Val are about to make their second 5-day rotation up to Camp 2. They are in good health and climbing strong. Monty described the Khumbu Icefall as being "tough". He also said IMG has put together a great team of clients, guides and Sherpas and everything else is going good.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Monty and Val at EBT
Just to let everyone know both Monty and Val have made it to Everest Base Camp. The following dispatch was posted yesterday (April 9th) to the IMG website:
IMG Leader Mark Tucker reports that all is well at Base Camp, and that the entire team is now there. The members had their puja today and after that, the EBC Trekkers started back down the valley, planning on taking four days to hike to Lukla. The Icefall sherpas have been making good progress and we expect the Icefall route to be finished in the next few days. The team members are spending the next couple days making preparations to begin climbing. This is a great chance for everyone to do some further acclimatization, before starting to climb the Icefall on the first C1/C2 acclimatization rotations. We'll keep you posted!
Not much else is known besides that. Communication with the outside world is heavily restricted and requires approval from the authorities. It appears that the final South Side restriction is no climbing above Camp 2 before May 10th or whenever the Chinese make it to the top with the Olympic torch. For more information on South Side restrictions checkout the following article:
http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web08s/newswire-everest-follow-up
IMG Leader Mark Tucker reports that all is well at Base Camp, and that the entire team is now there. The members had their puja today and after that, the EBC Trekkers started back down the valley, planning on taking four days to hike to Lukla. The Icefall sherpas have been making good progress and we expect the Icefall route to be finished in the next few days. The team members are spending the next couple days making preparations to begin climbing. This is a great chance for everyone to do some further acclimatization, before starting to climb the Icefall on the first C1/C2 acclimatization rotations. We'll keep you posted!
Not much else is known besides that. Communication with the outside world is heavily restricted and requires approval from the authorities. It appears that the final South Side restriction is no climbing above Camp 2 before May 10th or whenever the Chinese make it to the top with the Olympic torch. For more information on South Side restrictions checkout the following article:
http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web08s/newswire-everest-follow-up
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Update from Lobuche
[Val and I didn't coordinate notes so I'm sure there'ssome overlap if you're reading them from both of us.]
Again, this may be the last dispatch. Here's thelatest - Camp3 is again restricted before May 10 and now possibly ALLelectronics must be locked up. There are huge elections here on May 10and there could be changes in the government, at which point all NEWrestrictions could come into force. But the team leaders' best guess nowis that outgoing communications may be restricted to the point ofnon-existent. It's all up in the air and we're all just being asked toflow with it, although everyone - the leaders, the guides, the staff andof course the climbers are all frustrated but hoping for the best.
Not much else to report. We're up at Lobuche, at
about 16,000ft. We're trekking very slow, with a rest day after each day
of moving, so today some of us took a hike up toward Island Peak, in the valley between the back of Ama Dablam and Lhotse.
Hopefully the picture came thru – it's a snap of me in from of Lhotse.
There's a stomach bug going around the group, but onlylasts ~2days. I had it and stayed close to camp, but feel much betternow, although three other people are now ailing. It feels like foodpoisoning, but is getting passed around like a virus.
Also attached is a photo of Val and me with Phunuruand Pasang Rinji, our two personal Sherpas.
Monty
____________________________________________________________________________________
You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total Access, No Cost.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
[From Val] Almost half way there, in one dimension
We are almost half way there, in one dimension at least, that being altitude. There are, of course, many many dimensions to it all. Some are absolute, as in ~14,000 ft at Dingboche, 7am breakfast time, 1 liter of boiled water. Some are transitory, as in good health, strong legs, flexible hamstrings. You can measure a trip, a trek, a climb in many ways--in days, in camps, in villages, in altitudes. The best ways are in the 'wows' at the views of Ama Dablam or Lhotse as you move into twisted triangle or the favorite--pidgeon. The smile at the mother carrying her child down the 'street', the child's hair in a waterfall ponytail on top of her head. The heart conversations with your climbing partner in the tent after dinner. The sound and smell of freshly-planed wood beams, ready to build the new tea house. The heat from the yak-dung fire to dry your washed hair. The reflections on your hike to the next villiage that you are really here to climb to the highest point in the world, that is is just around the corner, in many dimensions.
The dimension of health took a little dip back in Debuche two days ago for me. Where after afternoon tea with popcorn and mint tea, I then decided I wasn't so interested in lunch. And a few hours later decided I also wasn't so interested in breakfast. But after a full 24 hours of rest, sleep, and rehydration, I was back to normal, with regularly scheduled yoga classes to boot. I am waving my flag to the wind right now, telling it that I am now well adjusted to the food and atmosphere (I hope it listens).
The mornings are cyrstal clear, but by now (~1pm) the winds have picked up and the clouds are rolling in, all as expected. This afternoon we'll take a day hike to Pheriche, and tomorrow move on to Lobuche (villiage).
Namaste until next time,
Val
You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total Access, No Cost.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
[From Val] The sweet in the sweet milk tea
There are times, finally, when there is nothing that needs to be done. When the bags have been repacked in Kathmandu. When flights over a hazy terrai into a perched Lukla have been taken. When feet have trekked through Phakding to Namche. When the hot lemon or hot Tang have been drunk. And when nature's calls have been satisfied. Then it is time to sit against a rock, not an ordinary one, but a mani rock with mantras carved into the stone, with bright blue paint to accent them. Then it is time to listen to the Dudh Kosi rushing the melted glaciers to the sea. Then it is time to gaze upward at immense rock and glaciers above. It may even be time to do some yoga to relax the body and breathe.
This morning started with views of Everest, a great plume of clouds to the east. We are in Namche, approximately 11,300 ft. Feeling good, today we climbed a fun ridge above Namche, exposing our bodies to the thinner air of 2,000 fewer feet. The ridge offerred us a chance to breathe a little more quickly, and some great views of Everest, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam. Descending into Kunde, we were able to visit a hospital, and the Hillary school in Khumjung on the way back. We even managed to see a yeti skull; somehow coconuts have a strikingly similar appearance.
What is great about this trip, this trek, this climb, is getting to the space where you appreciate the hot in the hot shower, the clean in the clean socks, the salt in the salty popcorn, the deep in the deep breath.
As you have seen from Monty's last post, we are going to be under quite a few additional restrictions from April 1 through May 10, and our communications will be limited. The good news is that we'll be able to go up to Camp 3 prior to May 1, which will be great for our acclimatization. For now, our plan is to head up to Base Camp over the next week or so, then Monty and I will go climb Lobuche (~20,000 ft) to acclimatize prior to going through the icefall for the first time. Then we'll be up and down Everest (up to Camp 3) getting ready. Things are going well, Monty and I are both healthy, and our IMG team members are all good and strong teammates that we're looking forward to getting to know better over the next two months.
-Val
Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
[From Monty] Update from Namche Bazar
This may be the last update for the next couple months. The Chinese situation is getting clarified, improving slightly, but not without onerous restrictions. We still have no permit. We’ve been granted a preliminary permit which allows our staff to enter BC, and we’ve been told we'll get the climbing permit – to be issued in the next few days.
The final briefing in Kathmandu is supposed to take place next week where the restrictions will be outlined in detail. There are preliminary restrictions already on the internet, which include:
The summit permit may not be issued (to the entire team) until May 10; therefore in ANYONE on the team violates the terms, the entire team may be denied a summit permit. Right now across the room, Eric Simonson, Ang Jangbu and Mark Tucker are drawing up a second agreement for us saying we agree to all the restrictions or... Well, they really have no choice - if one person messed it up for the entire team, well, they'd be safer OUT of base camp!
We may have to surrender the laptop and satphone until May 10 to ensure complete team compliance with the restrictions. Calling home from permitted phones will likely be allowed, but supposedly under the restriction of the Liaison Officer (we do not have a permit for our phone; only IMG does). How this may work is still unclear, but we hope to place phone calls and give updates. So once we leave Namche there will be no more internet cafes and therefore no email access. Stay tuned.
We've been able to get our satphone connected, but still not as a modem. For better or worse, this may be a moot point.
In the meantime, I've met Pasang Rinji, my personal Sherpa and he seems really nice. The plan from here is to rest in Namche for two days, then continue to BC. Once there, some of us will depart for Lobuche. The one bit of good news is that yesterday my bags finally arrived, so I now have trivial items like a warm jacket and sleeping bag (I was borrowing). We've split our gear into one bag that has been sent straight to BC and another that travels with us each day.
In other good news I'm in good health, and there seems to be minimal bugs going around the team, but a few just appearing. I'm playing with things like wearing a bandanna over my mouth/nose on the trail, and a dustmask at night to keep cleaner, moister air in my lungs. I'm doing whatever I can to avoid the dreaded Khumbu Cough.
More as we get the opportunity.
Monty
The final briefing in Kathmandu is supposed to take place next week where the restrictions will be outlined in detail. There are preliminary restrictions already on the internet, which include:
- We will be allowed up to C3 before May 1
- No one allowed above BC May 1-10
- No climbing at night
- No video cameras, laptops or PDAs
- Satphones will be severely restricted, as will individual emails.
- All communication may be required to go thru the BC Liaison Officer, and therefore severely restricted.
The summit permit may not be issued (to the entire team) until May 10; therefore in ANYONE on the team violates the terms, the entire team may be denied a summit permit. Right now across the room, Eric Simonson, Ang Jangbu and Mark Tucker are drawing up a second agreement for us saying we agree to all the restrictions or... Well, they really have no choice - if one person messed it up for the entire team, well, they'd be safer OUT of base camp!
We may have to surrender the laptop and satphone until May 10 to ensure complete team compliance with the restrictions. Calling home from permitted phones will likely be allowed, but supposedly under the restriction of the Liaison Officer (we do not have a permit for our phone; only IMG does). How this may work is still unclear, but we hope to place phone calls and give updates. So once we leave Namche there will be no more internet cafes and therefore no email access. Stay tuned.
We've been able to get our satphone connected, but still not as a modem. For better or worse, this may be a moot point.
In the meantime, I've met Pasang Rinji, my personal Sherpa and he seems really nice. The plan from here is to rest in Namche for two days, then continue to BC. Once there, some of us will depart for Lobuche. The one bit of good news is that yesterday my bags finally arrived, so I now have trivial items like a warm jacket and sleeping bag (I was borrowing). We've split our gear into one bag that has been sent straight to BC and another that travels with us each day.
In other good news I'm in good health, and there seems to be minimal bugs going around the team, but a few just appearing. I'm playing with things like wearing a bandanna over my mouth/nose on the trail, and a dustmask at night to keep cleaner, moister air in my lungs. I'm doing whatever I can to avoid the dreaded Khumbu Cough.
More as we get the opportunity.
Monty
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
[From Monty] Dean Smith Sends His Greetings
We're in Kathmandu , departing for Lukla 5am tomorrow. Latest word is that my bags should chase us up the route and catch up in two days.
What happened will some day, I'm sure, be humorous, but just not quite yet. There's another climber on the trip named Dean Smith; I'm Monty Dean Smith (or Montgomery Dean Francis Smith to be precise).
While checking in in LA, Thai Airlines couldn't find the reservation, but soon enough found it.
But boarding the plane, two of us had the same seat assignment – Dean Smith and me. Seems they pulled up his info and gave me his boarding pass, and him an identical one. So according to Thai, Monty Smith never boarded the plane, and his bags were never sent on. The irony here is that Thai has assured me this cannot happen – the system will not issue two boarding passes.
More snafu on the Bangkok-Kathmandu leg, where they forced me to buy a second ticket while keeping the entire plane waiting. So here I am in Kathmandu , and they say my bags should arrive tomorrow, but after we've started the trek to base camp. The plan is – one of the staff get the bags, bring them on his flight to Lukla, and then hustle them atop a porter to Namche, reaching me in only two more days. By then I *may* be ready for fresh socks and underwear; but I'll have to wait and see how I feel or whether I've become too attached to these (or whether they're too attached to me).
So Kathmandu is every bit as endearing as always. Noisy, crowded, and just a nice place to say goodbye to. I had a perfectly wonderful day waiting for hours at the Thai Airlines office, followed by shopping for a few last minute items. But at least I did find a like-new $1000 Mtn Hardwear one-piece down suit for only $220. I have a down parka and pants, but the suit does work better at keeping the wind out.
Tomorrow we fly to Lukla and start the eleven-day trek to BC. We'll take a rest days at Namche Bazaar, where I'm hoping my luggage catches up. In the meantime I'm borrowing hiking shoes (I'm presently wearing Crocs) and schlepping extra stuff in Val's bag.
So let's see – other than that, the handle on the laptop carrier/briefcase broke on day one, and the satphone won't connect in Kathmandu no way no how. Small details, but all just adding to the frustration. Val's been kind while I vented; 'nuff said.
Tonight was a full-team welcome dinner at a nice bar in Kathmandu ; some 30-40 people including trekkers, guides, and additional guided parties signed onto IMG's permit/logistics. That doesn't include the staff, of whom we'll meet in Lukla. Seems like a great bunch of folks; clearly some climbers, some adventure-seekers.
Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.
Monday, March 24, 2008
[From Val] ... but the yak is waitig...
As if it wasn't already stressful to arrange leaving your life for two and a half months. As if there hadn't been enough things on the list to cross off before leaving the front door. As if you hadn't stayed up till 4am packing, ftting in good friends between rescue insurance, automatic bill-pay, and having the kitties well cared for. It was as if the airline scheduler didn't know that the yak was waiting for your duffel bags five days from now.
Didn't know that one thing leads to the next, and that change at the beginning of things has the most impact. That grande flights lead to venti flights lead to new countries and dinners and teammates and tall flights into the high Himalaya where the yaks are waiting, even now. As if canceling your fligt and rescheduling for the next day were okay. But imagination and creative problem solving aren't part of the job description.
Some things get crossed off the list because they are complete. Some things get 'X'-ed off because there is no time left for them. The item 'relax', while the realization started so nicely on the back deck, snow melting, sun shining, and loved ones and tea waiting, the item would be quickly X-ed off, as implications that the flight was canceled set in. In the end, an extra stop in San Francisco on the way to LA solved the problem. And my duffels even made the plan (at least the first one).
Now the reality of the next few months begins to set in. It will be life at a slower pace, where if sleep for 10 hours a night is what you want, it will be what you get. It will be learning new Nepali songs, walking on familiar paths down low and unknown ones up high. There will be challenges at many levels: physical, psychological, political, emotional. As with the flight, through problem solving, excitement, looking at things anew, and a little extra help, the journey is sure to lead to a good place.
-Val
Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! Search.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Political News, Additional FAQs and Our Staff
Here's some additional general information about the climb, a few more FAQs, staff bios, plus at the end is info on how you can sign up for climb updates directly from IMG.
[To Chuck and me these posts appear to be coming thru just fine. But if you're experiencing difficulty, please let Chuck know and he'll devote his life savings and personal happiness to get you right. Call now, operators are waiting.]
Political News:
Most of you have heard the news of uprisings in Tibet, and many have also heard about the Chinese closing parts of the mountain.
Two events occurred simultaneously on Mar 10. That is the anniversary date of the Tibetan uprising in 1959 (when the Dalai Lama fled to India). Monks and students began protesting in Lhasa, Tibet, of which the ensuing crackdown has brought up to eighty deaths by troops and police (the protestors' figures) or ten deaths caused by protestors (the Chinese figures). It seems there were also protests in New Delhi, India; Sydney, Australia and NYC at the UN HQ. The Chinese are blaming the coordinated(?) efforts on the Dalai Lama.
Coincidentally on the same day, China closed Everest from the north; the Tibet side.
Backstory: in preparation for the Beijing Olympics, China plans on taking the torch to the summit. Last April, five protesters were arrested at Tibet base camp protesting to 'Free Tibet' during a practice torch climb. Despite months of stating otherwise, on Mar 10, China appears to have suddenly revoked permits to N side teams until the torch has passed (no access to BC until May 10). This comes about a week before hundreds of climbers were due to depart.
China also requested that Nepal close the S side, apparently to eliminate the possibility of "Free Tibet" protesters being on the summit while the torch is there. Nepal rejected that request, until on Mar 13 Nepal agreed to close the entire S Side from May 1-10; we're told all climbers will be required to retreat to BC. There are rumors that China assisted in convincing Nepal by means of a $120M contribution.
This is of course causing great concern. Our outfitter has stated this shouldn't affect us as we'd not be on our summit push until after that, but there are many concerns:
- Acclimatization must be completed, and climbers off the mountain, by May 1. This will obviously affect acclimatization plans.
- Many N Side teams may try to change plans to the S, making it more crowded.
- Come May 11 there'll be a stampede for the summit.
- May 1-10 is a very early summit date; what if the Chinese don't summit due to weather? Will they require the S Side remain closed longer, and Nepal capitulates? This type delay could eliminate options on the S Side. And of course all this is changing daily, with Nepal being quite silent, and China characteristically denying everything.
Connectivity on the mountain
We are taking a laptop, satphone and solar panel. Much thanks to David Christopher for the use of the Thuraya satphone! IMG has a high-speed Inmarsat data terminal (think satellite DSL) that we can use for a fee. They also have additional solar power that we can use; but their laptop is not for general use. So between the satphone and IMG's data terminal we should be able to send both blog updates and some photos from BC. You will have the ability to email us on the mountain – forward to our blogmaster at chuck@chuckaude.com and he'll forward to us.
Classroom Visit
Last week I had the opportunity to visit The International School in downtown Portland, thru some friends, Dave and Linda (their sons go there). I entered in full summit regalia, and spent about 45min talking with the class about the climb. Photos above.
Additional FAQs:
Have you read the new book "High Crimes" by Michael Kodas?
There's a new book about Everest that is mostly about the people and not the climb. Kodas really made some enemies on the mountain, and this seems his way of getting even. He tries to make it an expose of the dire goings-on, but "methinks thou dost protest too much". Not recommended.
Why Everest?
There's been an unsurprising but huge reaction to "I'm climbing Mt Everest" – it's the 'big one' people think of, but among the climbing cognoscenti, the S Col route or N Ridge are mere tickboxes in one's climbing career. It's an overcrowded, overrated mountain, and of all the big peaks I've done, it's the one I'm looking forward to the least. I imagine in three months I will be very disillusioned with the climbing community.
I've been asked "So why Everest? I thought you didn't want to do Everest." Well, I didn't. I'm actually looking forward to Cho Oyo, Broad Peak or Gasherbrum II in future years – all Himalayan 8000'ers, but with far less people. Val wanted to do Everest and turned down Cho Oyo. Well, she wanted to do the West Ridge (yikes!) so we compromised on the more sedate SE Ridge; the S Col route; the dog route. I feel I'm in good hands climbing with Val, and the chance for a great adventure together surpasses the desire to do this peak vs that one.
What about high altitude retinopathy – didn't that affect you on Shishapangma? Will it be an issue on Everest?
Retinopathy is when the blood vessels in your eyeball burst. My father had diabetic retinopathy that effectively blinded him for weeks at a time, as his normally-clear ocular fluid became filled with opaque blood, taking weeks to cleanse itself. I had a tiny spot of high-altitude retinopathy on Shishapangma; there was a tiny blood clot right on my optic nerve, and showed up as a red spot when I'd look at a light, fading a few weeks after returning home.
This is a very little-understood ailment, and there is no research indicating whether it occurs due to lower oxygen level in your blood (an oxygen mask would reduce the likelihood), or lower partial pressure of oxygen in the ambient air (an oxygen mask won't help at all). So there is some risk of retinopathy, and possibly even more than what I experienced on Shishapangma. The likelihood of this should be determined by our acclimatization climbs, and if it's too bad, then I forego the summit. But the likelihood that it'll occur bad enough to block usable vision is remote, and the likelihood of both eyes getting it is more remote. So it's a risk, but in my opinion an unlikely one, and I'm approaching the risk with both eyes open (ba-da-bump!).
Are you using oxygen?
Yes. Uh, let me restate that. YOU BET YOUR A** WE'RE USING OXYGEN!! Not using oxygen is the current macho 'no-cheating-allowed' trend in climbing big peaks, and it just raises the risk that much more. I mourn the loss of those brain cells during my college years, so it's all the more important I hold onto the few left. Yes to oxygen.
And now the specifics for the techno-lovers, taken from IMG's website:
http://www.mountainguides.com/oxygen-systems.shtml
IMG's oxygen system holds 1800 liters of O2, each supplying 10-30 hours at lo-hi flow rates. IMG will supply us four bottles. Climbers sleep on O2 at C3 and use the same bottle to get up to C4 the next day. They have a full bottle at C4 just for sleeping. The climb starts with a full bottle and is used to the Balcony, at which point it is exchanged (the remaining half bottle is left at the Balcony). The second full bottle should be enough to go from the Balcony to the Top and back to the Col.
If climbers are slow or if there is a problem, the half full bottle left at the Balcony is for backup.
This sounds very reasonable to me.
Our staff:
We will have a large staff on the mountain, but there are five VIPs that you'll be hearing more about.
Mark Tucker and Ang Jangbu Sherpa – IMG's expedition leaders; the Big Bosses
Ang Passang – Sirdar (head of the Sherpa climbing team)
Phunuru Sherpa – Val's Personal Sherpa
Passang Rinji - Monty's Personal Sherpa
http://www.mountainguides.com/everest-south08.shtml has these bios, as well as pics and bios of the entire IMG client list and Sherpas.
Mark Tucker has been guiding since 1985, with Mt. Rainier as the starting point. Since then, he has climbed and guided classic peaks on seven continents, with the summit of Mt. Everest as his high point. Mark's extensive experience in South America, Africa and the Himalayas, combined with his lengthy career guiding n Rainier and Denali in the US, makes him a super member of our guide team. On September 29, 2006 Mark became a Seven Summiter when he led the IMG Mt. Carstensz expedition to the summit of that mountain. His first seven summit was Aconcagua in 1989 — it only took him 17 years! When not in the hills, he leads a fun-filled Other Life. Passions by land include mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding, motorcycle riding, and gardening (he's still working on the golf game.) By water, he enjoys surfing, kayaking, wind surfing, scuba diving, water skiing, and fishing, and by air, hang gliding.
Ang Jangbu is a partner and director of the premier trekking and climbing agency we use in Nepal. Jangbu grew up in the village of Phortse where he attended the Hillary school until the age of 18. In 1981 he moved to Pokhara and lived there for seven years and trained under the legendary Colonel Jimmy Roberts, the founder of Nepal's first trekking company and the trekking industry in the Nepal Himalaya. He then moved to Kathmandu and started a trekking and climbing agency with two other partners in the spring of 1993. Jangbu is married and has two children. He has been on dozens of expeditions, including summiting Everest on the 1990 American Everest Expedition. Jangbu has climbed Europe's Mt. Blanc and most of the 14,000-foot peaks in Colorado, and has served as assistant instructor for Colorado Outward Bound. Ang Jangbu has worked with Eric Simonson on every IMG Himalayan program since 1991 and is a very popular leader. He and his staff put together one of the very best Sherpa teams for IMG.
Ang Passang Sherpa (Sirdar)
42 years old, from Pangboche, 4 kids
Experience: Everest X 19 (4), Makalu X 1, Daulagiri (1), Cho Oyu X 9 (7), Ama Dablam X 3 (4), Nuptse X 1
Ang Passang has been working for IMG as a climbing sirdar since 1997.
Phunuru Sherpa (Val's Personal Sherpa)
26 years old, from Phortse, 1 daughter
Experience: Everest X 7 (3), Cho Oyu X 9 (7), Nirika (1), Lobuche East (1), Island Peak (2), Ama Dablam X 1, Attended Khumbu Climbing School three times (including first aid training), Attended week-long medical course in Khunde.
Passang Rinji Sherpa (Monty's Personal Sherpa)
30 years old, from Phortse, 2 kids
Experience: Everest (2), Makalu 1, Island Peak (12), Mera (3), Pharchamo (1), Pokalde (2), Namche Barwa 1. Attended Khumbu Climbing School (with first aid training)
Blog website: http://monty-val-everest.blogspot.com
To get updates on the climb directly from IMG:
Short instructions: go to
http://visitor.constantcontact.com/email.jsp?m=1101602842895
Step by step instructions:
- go to www.mountainguides.com
- choose "Contact Us" from menu bar
- choose "Register for Newsletter" from drop down list under "Contact Us"
- when the new screen asks for "Your email address", enter your email address and then click on "SUBMIT"
- If this is a new email address that has never been registered with IMG before, then
- on the next screen, retype your e-mail address in the place where it says "Retype Your e-mail address:"
- Check the boxes for the newsletters you wish to receive
- Enter the rest of the required information (First Name, Last Name, City, Zip)
- Click on the "SUBMIT" button
- If you are already registered with IMG using this email address, then
- Re-enter your e-mail address where the screen says "Re-type your email address"
- Click on the "SUBMIT" button
- You will see a message that's says: "You will be receiving an email at yourname@xxxxxx.yyy shortly. This email will include a link to allow you to change lists and/or personal profile information."
- Check your e-mail at the address you entered above. Click on the link in that e-mail that says "Update your profile"
- Check the boxes for the newsletters you wish to receive
- Update any personal information that needs to be updated.
- Click on the "SUBMIT" button
- You are now setup to receive the IMG updates!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
This email is to introduce everyone to the blog and our ‘blogmaster’, and explain how to subscribe.
Thanks to Chuck Aude for taking on the task of being our stateside contact. He’ll be able to forward emails to us, fix unforeseen blog problems, etc. He (and thru him, we) can be reached at chuck@chuckaude.com.
The Blog
I have set up a blog at http://monty-val-everest.blogspot.com; it is live with the first post already up. I'll be (re-)posting the second entry in a couple days.
It works pretty well; we can send an email and it’s automagically posted to the blog, photos included. You can subscribe to the blog via email right on the site, and posts, including photos, will be forwarded directly to you. If you prefer an RSS feed, the subscribe link is http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/PNfc.
On the blog page, just give it your email address, then there’s a ‘type the letters you see in the box’ check, and it’ll send you a confirmation email. Emails will be sent to you once a day, although it’s unlikely we'll ever do more than one entry in a day. We don't mind if you invite others to join the site; it’s all public. If you subscribe but don't ever get email, check your spam folder. You're welcome to leave comments on the site; there’s a comment link at the end of every entry.
Some of you know I tried doing this with yahoo, but most of you didn’t get the message, and those who did, had problems subscribing. So I've switched to feedburner.
Many of you know me, many know Val, and some of you may not care to read blog entries of someone you’ve never met. So we will preface our individual entries by our names, so you can choose to read mine, Val’s or both.
We've added some info on a non-profit that Val’s supporting – Room To Read. There’s a slideshow and a link to their website.
Profiles of Val and me have also been added.
IMG Blog
IMG, our outfitter, will also have a blog on their site http://www.mountainguides.com. This will give generic info on the team, such as ‘we’ve begun the acclimatization to Camp2’, but no info on, or from, any individual climber.
The Everest page is http://www.mountainguides.com/everest-south.shtml. This is chock full of info on the climb, including bios of our staff and the climbers.
Once they have their blog up I'll try to send the link out to people. If you want to be on their email list in addition to this one, please let me know and I'll have them add you.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Everest FAQ and Blog Intro
<<...>> _____________________________________________
Greetings –
So in case you weren't aware, I'm making a bid at Mt Everest this spring, along with Valerie Hovland, my summit partner from Shishapangma in ’05. So this email will answer the FAQs and let you know what’s going on.
You’re getting this because you either asked to be on my Everest list, or I thought you’d probably like to be. Want to be dropped? A different email address? Add someone’s name/address? Feel free to contact me up until Mar 22; after that I don’t expect to be doing any more list maintenance. Please feel free to forward this email to friends, or to various e-lists that I'm on (you know who you are).
There are recurring questions that many people ask; I'm starting with those, and moving to the other FAQs.
What are you doing to train?
There’s a saying that the best training for climbing is to climb. So I've been up Hood 3x this winter, and hope to get up more as the conditions allow. I've never been one for structured training so I'm doing what I feel like when I feel like it - hikes/runs in the Gorge, long runs with friends, bike rides, a treadmill in the garage. I put out a call for help (to many of you!) asking to be invited along when you’re getting out to sweat. The response has been fantastic, and it’s not an overstatement that all of you are part of this summit attempt with me.
I always feel like I should be doing more, but this weekend tells me I'm getting there. Friday I climbed Mt Hood, leading much of the way in moderate-tough conditions, either post-holing in deep snow or kicking lots of steps on the steeper slopes. Yesterday we did a pretty grueling XC ski, exploring some new trails we’d never done before, and we were all pushed to our physical limits. So to cap it off today I ran a marathon; well, I did 26.5 hilly, muddy miles in Forest Park with two friends.
That was the psychological breakthrough I needed; knowing I could crank off marathon-level effort while already fatigued (a good skill to have on the mountain!)
So physically I think I'm about there.
I've debated whether to drop a few pounds (I have a few to drop) but estimate the trip will shed ~40lbs off me. I shouldn’t try Everest with this tummy roll… or should I? Well, with those so-yummy winter ales, the decision’s being made for me, one pint at a time!
With whom are you going?
Valerie Hovland will be my climbing partner. She and I summited Shishapangma (our first 8000m peak) in Tibet in 2005. We make a great team and I'm looking forward to getting to spend a few more months together. Beyond that, we’ve chosen International Mountain Guides in Seattle as our outfitter. They are one of the top companies out there and we feel we’re getting top quality support. Thru IMG, both Val and I have taken the ‘Personal Sherpa’ option, so we’ll really be climbing as a team of four. Our Sherpas together have five summits of Everest, eight summits of other 8000m peaks, and 24 other summits in the Himalaya. Although we’re going ‘unguided’ both Val and I feel we’re in excellent hands.
IMG offers both guided and unguided options on Everest; with the unguided, once you step out of Base Camp (BC) you’re climbing on your own. Well, it means you don’t have a western guide along with you, but we still have our Sherpas. IMG’s support is to take care of us from Kathmandu to BC – porters, yaks, transportation, dining tent, cooks – everything we need to relax and let the logistics into someone else’s hands. Above BC, they will have porters set up the four camps, climbing Sherpas set up the fixed lines, and porters delivering oxygen to Camp4 and the Balcony.
We will have a highly experienced BC manager (Mark Tucker) as well as a Sherpani sirdar (head of staff). The entire IMG team will be nine(?) unguided clients, three(?) guided, guides, personal Sherpas, porters, cooks, climbing Sherpas, etc. I'd guess our entire base camp including support will be around fifty people. For the whole mountain, Base Camp will likely be in excess of five hundred people.
How much does it cost?
Total – about $40,000.
IMG’s complete package is ~$31,000 ($65,000 guided), the Personal Sherpa is another $6,000, throw in staff tips and airfare, and we’re up to about $40,000.
I have opted to not pursue grants and sponsors. I’ve received grants on most previous expeditions, along with politics, expectations and overall mixed feelings on whether the money was worth the cost. So I'm going to Everest feeling I'm beholden to nobody, and it feels good.
The gear is expensive, but I have most of it already. Items I still need can mostly be purchased on one pro-deal or another, saving hundreds of dollars.
How long will you be gone/what is the schedule?
I leave Mar 23 and will be gone until mid-June; exact return date depends on our summit date. Basically 2 ½ months.
We fly to Kathmandu, meet the team, then fly to Lukla to start the weeklong trek to BC. We will be in BC by the 2nd week of April, then Val and I plan on a short acclimatization side trip to a local 20,000ft peak called Lobuche. After returning to Everest, the schedule from there is flexible and will depend on how we feel and the weather, but the basic plan is to climb to Camp1, then return to BC for rest. Then two days to C2, return to BC. Next to C3, back to BC, and then likely all the way to C4, then down to Base to prepare for the summit bid. This process, although it sounds shorter, will take almost a month, what with rest days, waiting for the weather, and days spent at high camps just sitting around while our bodies acclimatize. How we’re feeling, weather, and other team members’ schedules will determine how often we spend the night in higher camps. This process will help our bodies build extra blood cells necessary to adjust to the higher elevations.
Before the summit bid we may descend below BC for rest at an even lower elevation, then move back to BC and prepare for the summit push.
The actual climb will take about a week – one night at each camp, then the summit push from C4, then after summiting descend as low as we can. The following day(s) will be returning to BC for some well-deserved rest and celebration. Most all climbers will summit in the last two weeks of May.
BC – 17,600ft
C1 – 19,900
C2/ABC – 21,300
C3 – 24,500
C4 – 26,000
Summit – 29,035
Why does it take so long?
Three things are happening simultaneously as climbers prepare. During the winter, the jet stream is kicking the teeth out of the summit, with 100+mph winds pretty consistent. As the oncoming summer monsoon weather moves N from the Bay of Bengal, the jet stream is pushed northward; it is the brief window between jet stream and monsoon in which there is relative calm on the summit. This period lasts two weeks at most, and is most often in late May.
Second, teams are setting the fixed lines and stocking the camps with tents, fuel, food, etc.
Finally, climbers must acclimatize slowly, allowing their bodies to adjust to the altitude. How well you felt at one camp will help determine when you’re ready to advance to the next camp. There is no set schedule, and each climber is different.
With luck, the weather, logistics and acclimatization all come together at the same time, allowing for summit attempts. This is also why there are reported traffic jams – it’s a narrow summit window, and everyone wants in.
What are you doing to acclimatize?
Nothing. There’s really nothing I can do from here at sea level.
Practically speaking, the acclimatization will begin with the flight to Lukla (9400ft) and the trek to BC. Living at sea level will put me at a slight disadvantage to Val, who lives at 5,000ft, but my body should catch up and be OK. The Lobuche climb should also help us get some extra acclimatization.
What do Margaret, Allie and Amy think of this?
They have all been wonderfully supportive. They’re concerned for my safe return, but understands this is part of me, and none has never made even the slightest overture that they might want me to reconsider. Margaret’s eagerly learning all she can about the climb.
It looks like she’ll get to see what all the fuss is about – we’re making plans to return to Nepal in the fall, planning a month-long trek around Annapurna, which will include her first (of many!) ascent of a 20,000ft peak.
Will you be maintaining a blog from base camp?
That is the plan. Although our outfitter will have satellite email and internet access from Base Camp, it is not open to general use by the clients. Any electronic access must be conducted by the climbers on their own equipment, so we will be taking a satphone and laptop. Even if the email doesn’t work, we should be able to call and leave updates, which one of you can post to a US-based blog. So one way or the other, you should be receiving updates from the mountain. If photos can be sent, we'll send a few of those, too. I hope to set up an actual blog in which you can opt into. Stay tuned.
Are you excited/worried/nervous?
Excited? No – I really don’t get excited about things like this. Worried and nervous? Yes, of course. I want to think the best, but I'm realistic enough to understand that there are both controllable and uncontrollable risks on any peak, and the altitude only introduces additional risks. The best I can do is “Expect the best and prepare for the worst”.
I want to believe that the training and experience of Val, our Sherpas and me will help us through any difficulties we encounter, but I'm not so naively optimistic that I'm discounting the risks.
What are your greatest concerns?
Many.
In the short term, I'm worried about getting injured. Skiing is my greatest concern, as well as running on muddy trails.
The other climbers are a great concern to me. A friend told me that he encountered a disappointing array of adventurers, not climbers, on his trips to Everest. I'm very disappointed that commercialistic companies have accepted so many unprepared people whose qualification is a fat checkbook, and I fear these people may compromise our safety or chances of summiting.
I sure hope this next one is overblown, but I fear being put in the position to make a life or death decision on a fallen climber. Will the hypoxia or summit fever cloud my judgment? To what extent will I risk my life to save someone who I believe is almost, or guaranteed to soon be dead? What if that person is me? What if it’s Val? Those thoughts haunt me.
Lastly, I'm worried for Margaret, Allie and Amy. What IF I don’t come back? Is taking greater risk in my life worth possibly taking their husband and father away?
Are you leaving any body parts on this mountain, too?
It’s been debated whether I've already left my brain on one peak or another, but I've decided to come home with all my remaining fingers.
What about your fingers? Will your previous frostbite affect you?
Undoubtedly. To overcome this, I have purchased the biggest, warmest mitts made (OR’s Himalayan mitts) which I'll use with one or two pairs of gloves under, and chemical handwarmers (which don’t do much at high altitude, but hey, can’t hurt!). I'll also make sure that, unlike on Shishapangma, my gloves will never, ever get wet.
Will; you cry like a baby if you don’t summit?
Yes. With kicking and screaming, too.
Monty
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)