Wednesday, May 28, 2008

[From Val] Safely down to Namche and correction to earlier post

Hi from Namche! I wanted to post a quick clarification about Monty's post about my eyesight to ease concerns many of you have had. I made it safely down to the South Col (Camp 4) on my own--I didn't need to be escorted down. Of course Phu Nuru Sherpa was with me as we climbed together. At the Col, I had a small problem with my eyesight being a little blurred, but the issue corrected itself within two hours of relaxing at the Col--we think the issue was a little frosting of the cornea, and my eyes recovered quickly on their own (corneas are very resilient!). The rest of the descent to BC went smoothly over the next two days, and after another two days, I'm now in Namche Bazaar.

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

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

[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

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

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

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

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.

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.