Firat Eren

From a series of dispatches from the Alpine Ascents 2007 Everest Expedition team.

Dear friends, family and loved ones,

It was a brutal rest day. Our challenges were many and our pleasures were few. It all started with seeing who could stay in bed the longest however once the sun hit the tents the heat was unbearable and we were forced out. A demanding four course breakfast was followed by either yoga or an acclimatization trek to the base camp bakery. Then there was the quandary of deciding whether to shower, answer emails or suffer though a session of massage therapy. Deepak (our cook) insisted that we eat sushi for lunch. That was almost enough to sustain us through the ordeals of the afternoon which included cards, walking the slack line, washing clothes and reading. In the evening had to partake of John’s powerpoint presentation of several expeditions. All said and done, it was so exhausting, we barely made it back to our sleeping bags before nine….what a day!

Weather has fallen into a familiar pattern with clear warm mornings and snowy afternoons. Team members are now sleeping well after the challenges of camp one and two. Though we have had some sore throats we have missed (so far) the major cold outbreak that has run though base camp. Stay tuned.

All the best,
Vern