Firat Eren

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

Well the great news just keeps pouring in. Our third summit team has just made the top. The group has been actually split up a bit and the fourth team is still making their way. We also have other good news that sounds like Ellie has been able to get messages through so she should be sending in the summit recount in a little while.

But for now, we want to congratulate our third group! The third group has Amy Beeton, Tony King, Werner Berger, Fur Kancha, Nima Kancha, Gyelzen and our guide and sirdar: Lakpa Rita Sherpa. Congratulations to you all!!

We’ll be waiting for one more last group to head up there. It’s Vern, Bill Hanlon and Pasang Rita.

One more set of congratulations.
Kristine from the office

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

Hi out there again. It’s so exciting, Ellie just called in and the second group just made the summit. Unfortunately we had an earlier miscommunication on the radio and the second team is actually made up of Todd Macy, Firat Eren, John Griber, Thopke, Dorje and Mingma. Congratulations you guys!!!

So that makes us waiting on the final summit team to call in. The final team has Amy, Tony, Werner, Bill, Fur Kancha, Nima Kancha, Gyelzen, Lakpa, Vern and Pasang Rita. We expect to hear from them shortly.

Kristine from the office

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

We are happy to announce that part of the Alpine Ascents Everest team is standing on the summit and the rest of the group is not far behind. In the first summit team is our guide, Dave Morton, James Ogilivie, Jeanne Stawiecki, Chewang and Tshering. Congratulations to the them as they celebrate.

Following and should be up there soon is Amy Beeton, Tony King, Werner Berger, Fur Kancha, Nima Kancha and Gyelzen. The final group with Vern and Lakpa and the rest of our summit team should be calling in again soon. We expect to hear from them very shortly for more details.

We are so excited as the good news keeps coming in. More to follow.
Congratulations to the summit team - Kristine

PS - We apologize, we had a miscommication on the above listed second team. Please see next dispatch for the actual names of the second and third summit groups.

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

Sounds like we are getting close. Ellie from Base Camp just called in. She got off the radio with Lakpa. He was calling from the South Summit. He’s about in the middle of our group and said that he thought Dave and the group in front of him were just below the Hillary Step. We should be hearing from the team again soon hopefully from the summit.

Kristine

Additional message from Ellie that came in later when the satellites started working again: It’s been a frustrating experience trying to get these reports out to the website. All of our equipment is working perfectly but the satellite is unavailable. So hopefully this report will go. I got a call from Lakpa at 6:37 telling me he was standing on the South Summit. Some of the group is behind him still coming up. They will take a rest and soon start across the final traverse to the true summit. The group is doing very well and making very good time. I have been watching a small lenticular cloud forming on the top of Khumbutse above Base Camp, but Dave tells me they still aren’t having much wind where they are.

We also have a report that Amy Bullard was having difficulty breathing and was having a little rib pain, so she has returned to the South Col and will not be going to the summit. I have talked to her on the radio and she is sounding fine. She is planning to get checked out by a doctor at the South Col, taking a rest, and then possibly continuing on down to Camp 2. We’ll keep you posted on how she’s doing when she knows more.

So stand by as the team gets closer to the summit. Here at Base Camp we’re all getting ready to cheer for them when they reach the top.

Ellie at Base Camp

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

Hi out there. I just fielded another call from Ellie at Base Camp. She is still having some problems connecting to the satellites and asked me to forward a message from Dave. She got the radio call from the group around 5:00am and he said that he thought they were about 45 minutes from reaching the South Summit. The group is feeling good and the weather is still beautiful, hardly any winds. Ellie is figuring she’ll send her next cybercast out (or through the office) when they reach the south summit. Cross your fingers out there and continue to watch as the group gets closer and closer.

Thanks for watching - Kristine from the Seattle office

Additional notes that came in later from Ellie: The first glow of dawn is beginning to light the high peaks of Pumori and Nuptse. This is not sun yet, just a pre-dawn glow. But it is enough light for the climbers to turn off their headlamps and see where they are going by the natural light. They are now above the Balcony and making their way up the Southeast Ridge, but it will still be a couple of hours before they reach the South Summit. I have not heard a lot of talk on the radio so I know all is going well. This part of the climb is fairly steep and a lot of work, so they are saving their breath for getting themselves up the mountain. Meanwhile, we have a valley cloud that has engulfed Base Camp, but I expect it will be temporary and disappear when the sun comes up. I sent Padam back to bed, so it is only myself and Nawang minding the radio. We still have our thermos of tea, and soon it will be time to scrounge up something for an early breakfast.

Ellie at Base Camp

P.S. As I write this I talked to Dave. He says the sun is starting to hit up where they are and that they are about 45 minutes below the South Summit. Good going guys!!!

P.P.S. Sorry for the delay – the satellite connection has been unavailable.

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

We got a radio call from Lakpa – the first members of the team are arriving at the Balcony. It is still a beautiful night – a sky full of stars, no moon at this point, and not a cloud to be seen anywhere. And maybe most important, still not much in the way of wind. So everything is going well for the climbing team. With the clear sky the temperatures are cold, so I’m sure they are eagerly awaiting the arrival of first light in about an hour and a half. Here at Base Camp I got a couple hours of sleep while Gopal and Deepak monitored the radios until 2:00am. Then they handed off to Padam. I awoke to the gentle sound of Nawang Thandup continuing to say prayers and burn juniper out by the puja altar. Soon the team will be starting up the Southeast Ridge on their way up to the South Summit. This will take several hours and will be full daylight by the time they get there.

Ellie at Base Camp

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

And here’s the second message everyone has been waiting for. I’ve just had word that the entire team except Vern, Bill, and Pa-Rita are back at the South Col. They are climbing into their tents and I suspect some of them are already asleep. I’ve also been told that the wind is picking up and blowing a lot more than it has in the last few days. So we’ll be standing by until we have news that Vern, Bill, and Pa-Rita are also safe back at Camp 4. I have also talked to Amy Bullard. She decided that her breathing would be better if she descended to Camp 2, and that is where she is now. She just had a nap, and will spend the night there before continuing on to Base Camp tomorrow. So she will be here to join our welcoming committee when the rest of the team comes to Base Camp the day after tomorrow.

Ellie at Base Camp

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

It’s 9:20 pm in Nepal. I’m standing at the South Col in front of my tent, with clear skies and a crescent moon. The team is all just crawling out of their tents and we are planning on starting out in ten or fifteen minutes. There are very low winds. We see a few people up toward the Triangular Face with their headlamps on, other people are getting ready. We’re looking forward to a good summit day. We’ll be in touch as we head up the mountain.

Dave Morton at the South Col

Also from Base Camp: the Base Camp team is assembled in the communications tent to give the Climbing Team a big send-off. I am here along with chief cooks Gopal , Padam and Deepak, our two liaison officers Narayan and Mukti, and our cookboys Sila, Kancha, Tshering Tenzing, and Lakpa. Nawang Thandup is outside lighting the juniper and saying prayers. I have incense burning inside as well. We will be taking turns all night listening for the radio and keeping track of the team. I plan to send reports in every 2 or 3 hours to let you all know how the team is doing. Outside we still have clouds, but we’re starting to see some stars peeking through above. It’s a good night down here as well.

Ellie Henke at Base Camp

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

Well as Ellie as expected the sat lines are totally busy this evening and she just called and asked me to do a quick posting. She says the team is doing really well and they had a great rest day. Right now they are finishing dinner and doing all their last minute preparations. The plan right now is to be ready to take off around 9:30 tonight. She thinks the sat traffic will have calmed down by then and plans to send cybercasts every couple of hours.

Good luck tonight! Kristine from the office

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

This will be the last report from May 21. By the time I write again it will be tomorrow. Step by step by step the team is making their way up the Triangular Face. It sounds like there have been some adjustments to oxygen masks, and some sorting out with people going different speeds, but everything is going well. It is still a beautiful night, although the moon has set behind Pumori so travel is strictly by headlamp. It will start getting light again at around 4:00 am. Our sherpas tending Camp 4 will be watching the glow worm of headlamps heading up the mountain.

Here at Base Camp Gopal and Narayan are entertaining all of us with stories (lies???) and views of the world. Unfortunately my Nepali isn’t good enough to understand most of it, but the laughter is good. We are drinking sweetened black tea and huddling around a nice propane heater. We even have a light overhead, run off of one of our battery banks. So despite being the middle of the night things are pretty cushy. Padam and the cookboys are presently sleeping, but soon we will be waking them up and trading off the radio monitoring duties. I’ll let you know whenever I get an official radio call from the team.

Ellie Henke at Base Camp