Everest 2007 Cybercast: May 21 - Almost ready at the S. Col

May 21st, 2007 by Firat

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

Namaste and Tashe Delek from the South Col. It’s now late afternoon of the 21st. We are sitting here in our tents nice and cozy, enjoying soup, resting, and getting some oxygen on board. I’m sitting in the tent with Tony and James, we’re all packing up and getting ready for our departure tonight. As it stands right now it looks like our weather is holding. We should have a pretty decent summit day. We plan on having a little more dinner here in the next hour and then resting for a couple hours, waking up about 8:30 in the dark, then getting packed up the rest of the way and heading out by 9:30pm. Right now we have calm winds, after a little cloud this afternoon on the summit. Now it’s cleared up again, so we’re all hopeful and looking forward to a safe summit and return to Camp 4 tomorrow evening.

We will be in touch whenever we can by radio, and Ellie will relay those messages updating our progress along the way to keep you all informed. We’re thinking of everyone back home and want you to wish us the best. That’s all from Camp 4

Dave Morton

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Everest 2007 Cybercast: May 21 am - First Night at South Col

May 21st, 2007 by Firat

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

Hello Friend, Family, and Loved Ones. This is Alpine Ascents reporting in from the edge of ”the death zone” – Camp 4 at 7,960 meters/26,100 feet. The weather up here is phenomenal. It was almost dead calm all night long. The whole team slept well. We had stars, moon, and we could also see some lightening flashes from storms down in India. Everyone slept well on the oxygen flow and woke up this morning to the sherpas bringing us dudh chia (milk tea). So everybody is very good, the weather is good, the altitude is great, we have a rest day, and we’re set and in position to go for the summit. We’re keeping all our fingers and toes crossed for good weather tonight. Please give us your best wishes as we prep for our big push to the top of the world.

Vern Tejas at Camp 4

P.S. From Base Camp: We are expecting the team to be leaving the South Col tonight around 10:00 Nepal time on their way to the summit. We will be bringing you regular reports every few hours as they head for the top. In the evenings the satellite connection sometimes gets jammed up with heavy use from India. If that happens Kristine Kitayama in the Alpine Ascents office has volunteered to take our phone calls and forward the news to you all. One way or the other we’ll keep you posted about how the team is doing.

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Everest 2007 Cybercast: May 21 am - First Night at South Col

May 21st, 2007 by Firat

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

Hello Friend, Family, and Loved Ones. This is Alpine Ascents reporting in from the edge of ”the death zone” – Camp 4 at 7,960 meters/26,100 feet. The weather up here is phenomenal. It was almost dead calm all night long. The whole team slept well. We had stars, moon, and we could also see some lightening flashes from storms down in India. Everyone slept well on the oxygen flow and woke up this morning to the sherpas bringing us dudh chia (milk tea). So everybody is very good, the weather is good, the altitude is great, we have a rest day, and we’re set and in position to go for the summit. We’re keeping all our fingers and toes crossed for good weather tonight. Please give us your best wishes as we prep for our big push to the top of the world.

Vern Tejas at Camp 4

P.S. From Base Camp: We are expecting the team to be leaving the South Col tonight around 10:00 Nepal time on their way to the summit. We will be bringing you regular reports every few hours as they head for the top. In the evenings the satellite connection sometimes gets jammed up with heavy use from India. If that happens Kristine Kitayama in the Alpine Ascents office has volunteered to take our phone calls and forward the news to you all. One way or the other we’ll keep you posted about how the team is doing.

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Everest 2007 Cybercast: May 20am - On the Move to Camp 4

May 20th, 2007 by Firat

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

Good Morning in cyberland,

It’s another exciting morning for us as the team moves on up the mountain from Camp 3 to Camp 4. Today they will be meeting notable landmarks including the Yellow Band, the Geneva Spur, and the South Col itself. Our weather has been very warm, to the point that there was discussion this morning about whether to wear down suits or not. With the higher elevations we can expect the temperatures to be cooler, but the sun on the mountain has been intense. Some will wear their suits, others are deciding not to. Last night the team slept on oxygen for the first time, and today they will be climbing using oxygen for the first time. They’ve already noticed how much easier life is with a few extra O’s. The night at Camp 3 was much easier than the last time they were there. So far the weather is cooperating with sunny skies, mild temperatures, and almost no wind. We are watching the forecasts as they are calling for winds in the 10 to 30 knot range at the summit over the next few days. When the temperatures are below zero that makes things a little more chilly but not impossible. We’ll see what it really does. So far we are on track for leaving the South Col for the summit tomorrow night, and hopefully reaching the summit on the morning of May 22 (Nepal time).

Meanwhile, here at Base Camp we have valley clouds that are staying below the elevation of the climbers. We have beautiful views of the higher peaks peaking through the clouds and bathed in sunlight. Base Camp is busy this morning and filled with the music of yak bells. Some of the teams that have already reached the summit are now packing up and heading down the valley for home. In the next day or two all our close neighbors will be gone and our camp will be a small island in the middle of the glacier.

Check back for more news from the team after they reach Camp 4 later today.

Ellie Henke
Base Camp Manager

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Everest 2007 Cybercast: May 19 pm - We Arrive At Camp 3

May 19th, 2007 by Firat

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

Hello Friends,

We finally made our move up the mountain, and we now have what we call “mountain inertia”. It was a really hot day, probably the hottest day of the expedition, coming up the Lhotse Face with one step, then several breaths, another step, several breaths. . . It was so, so hot. We got a bit of heat exhaustion but we were able to fix that with electrolytes and drinking. It felt like 100 degrees out.

Now we’re all tucked in at Camp 3. We are on ½ liter flow of oxygen tonight. Everybody has great appetites – it makes a huge difference getting to go on oxygen. We all feel a lot better than the last time we were here. We’re really, really excited to be moving up the mountain. It’s like our bodies are moving themselves now. We’re looking forward to tomorrow, to be going up the Yellow Band and the Geneva Spur, heading up to the South Col and spending a rest day there. At the Col we’ll meet up with all of our sherpas, we’ll have a whole rest day there together before heading up for our summit bid. The weather looks like it’s going to hold out really nicely. We’ll let you know tomorrow what we find at the South Col.

Amy Bullard at Camp 3

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Everest 2007 Cybercast: May 19 am - The Pieces Come Together

May 19th, 2007 by Firat

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

It’s a quiet morning here at Base Camp, but there’s excitement in the air. It feels like pieces of a puzzle all coming together to make the final picture. Our team of summit sherpas walked out of camp this morning at about 5:30 heading for Camp 2, where they will be in position for heading on up to the South Col tomorrow. Meanwhile at Camp 2 our team of western climbers is beginning their ascent up to Camp 3, where they will also be in position for heading up to the South Col tomorrow. Although it’s cloudy in Base Camp it is sunny higher up and should be an excellent day for moving on up the mountain. In addition to Lakpa, the sherpas chosen to assist the climbers to the summit are: Lakpa’s brother Thapkee, Chewang Nima, Mimgma Tshering, Fura Kancha, Nima Kancha, Tshering, Dorjee, Gyelzen, and Pa-Rita. In support at the South Col will be Lakpa Nuru and Passang Tsheri. It will be their job to melt enough water to keep everyone hydrated and any food anyone thinks they can eat. Most popular is usually RaRa (Ramen) noodles and fruit cups.

This time Camp 3 should be easier than the last time. Last time the climbers were trying to push their bodies to further acclimatization so they didn’t use oxygen. This time they are going for the summit, so they will begin sleeping on oxygen for the first time tonight. They are also more acclimatized from their previous efforts so life should be easier. They will be sleeping on about ½ liter flow tonight, and then will continue breathing oxygen as they continue on up to the South Col and on to the summit.

Ellie Henke
Base Camp Manager

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Everest 2007 Cybercast: May 18 - Up to Camp 2

May 18th, 2007 by Firat

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

Namaste once again. This is Dave calling in from Camp 2. The big march continues on. We’re planning on moving up to Camp 3 tomorrow. We looked at the weather forecast this afternoon and we’ve made the decision to start our final push. Today it’s been snowing on and off, it looks like the monsoon has begun its march and is moving closer and closer to us. We had very wet snow here at Camp 2 today and almost rain at Base Camp, which on the up side is going to make for some warmer weather for summit day (we hope). It looks like our winds should be tolerable on the 22nd, which at this point looks like the day we will be hoping for a summit, although these things may change in the next three days as we move up.

The team is doing great here. We’re enjoying a little bit of clouds and sun. The sun is dipping behind the Western Shoulder of Everest. Everybody’s in good spirits and is excited about moving up. There has been a bunch of summits in the last few days. The weather has been spectacular with just a little precipitation in the afternoon. Looks like on our summit day we should have perhaps a little bit more wind than there has been in the last couple days. We’re keeping our fingers crossed up here. We will keep you posted on our progress.

Dave Morton at Camp 2

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Everest 2007 Cybercast: May 17 - Up to Camp 2

May 17th, 2007 by Firat

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

Let the climb begin! The team is psyched to be on their way to the top. Kancha and Lakpa, two of our kitchen boys, woke us up this morning at 3:30. Gopal had breakfast on the table at 4:00, and everyone was suited up and ready to go by 5:00. By that time it was getting light, the dawn of a magnificently sunny and windless day. Everyone threw rice and said a prayer at the puja altar before heading up into the icefall for the last time. From base camp we could see a string of climbers as they made their way up through the “popcorn”. It was a long day for our team. They reached Camp 1 by about noon after about seven hours of climbing. But this time the day didn’t end there. After a rest and some lunch snacks they were on their way again, pushing on up to Camp 2 by 5:30 pm – 12 ½ hours of climbing. So this report is coming from base camp so the team can rest and get some food and drinks after their arduous day. We’ll have another report directly from the team tomorrow after they’ve had a good night’s sleep.

Also of note today were a pair of (unconfirmed BC scuttlebutt) Italian climbers doing a technical ice route up our side of Nuptse. We could see them up there today, and through binoculars it looked like they only had light day packs. We speculated that they were either up there for the day or were going to be doing a very cold bivouac. Later I was told that they were putting up fixed lines and would be going back up again in a couple days. So this will be future BC entertainment watching them work their way up a probable new route.

Ellie Henke
Base Camp Manager

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Everest 2007 Cybercast: May 16 - BC

May 16th, 2007 by Firat

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

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Everest 2007 Cybercast: May 15 - BC

May 15th, 2007 by Firat

Today found us preparing for our push up the hill, which possibly will come May 17, day after tomorrow. This will give the crowds a chance to settle out and the temperatures to continue to increase and the winds to continue to abate. Patience is everything now. Today we sharpened our crampons, put foam on our ice axe heads, caught up on email and other technological advances and went for walks to keep ourselves focused and fit.

Warner received a Fed Ex package the other day with two kites inside. The winds this morning were perfect for breaking these out and it was fun to watch Warner fly his kites like a kid in front of the crystal blue sky. Firat made the long journey over to IMG’s camp to play Dave Hahn in Chess. Dave is reputed to be the Chess superstar of all of Basecamp.

With the warming temperatures small rocks are falling off their ice pedestals and it has been one of our favorite activities to anticipate when they will be ready to go and give them a little assistance. Also there is a river forming between the icefall and our camp and we can hear the soothing sound of running water from our tents. I can’t help but think how nice it could be someday to exit basecamp on rafts!

Tonight our friends at Mountain Madness will be attempting to summit Mount Everest! This will be the first bid of the season. We are very excited for them and will be monitoring their radio frequency to hear how their progress is being made. It looks like a stellar night for a summit bid!

We’ll keep you posted and until then will be eating more bacon and playing more poker!

Good Night!
Amy

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