Firat Eren

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

Friends, family and loved ones,

We are in “Go” mode. Every one of us is excited with anticipation as we prepare for tomorrows departure for the upper mountain. Weather report looks favorable and we are all in good health. Even potential people problems with other teams seem to be resolving themselves. The first teams from the South side summited this morning relieving some of the human pressure on our route. Hopefully in the next few days even more folks will top out and be gone by the time we move into position. This is actually our plan, to miss the first wave and go when it’s warmer and less crowded.

Still, we have time for fun and games. We need to remain relaxed as it’s real easy to get sucked up into the mood of summit fever. Patience is a virtue in times such as these. To that end we cheer Firat the “Champ” of base camp Chess. We also salute the gallant team member that, under the cover of darkness, stole the dinner “Gong” from a very noisy nearby British team. Only time will tell if we will be made to pay retribution for this dastardly deed. Stay tuned.

Wish us luck,
Vern