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Posts for Everest from 05/2011

Mt. Everest Expedition: Team Arrives at Balcony

Posted by: | May 20, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Everest
Elevation: 27,600'

3:21 am (Nepal time) arrive at Balcony.

No direct radio talk to climbers but Dawa at South Col relays that the team is all together and all doing well.

Breeze down here at Base Camp and looking up, I see some high thin clouds, a few clouds setting in on some surrounding peaks but word from above is weather is OK, not too windy.  During this stop they will change to a fresh bottle of oxygen and store their partially used ones in a certain spot to pick up, and possibly use on the descent.  They will be working with some metal parts on the regulators during the exchange process so it’s don’t touch any part with bare skin or congratulations, you now have some form of frostbite on your hand.

Next up, the climb to the South Summit (28,750 feet). Start up from the Balcony along the ridge to some very steep climbing, that on a dry year would be a number of rocky steps. This year conditions are very nice in that they are mostly snow covered making it a little easier and less chance of rock fall hazard.

Right on schedule. Right on track. Right on Dudes upstairs.

Another few hours till radio traffic but should have direct radio contact from South Summit.

Drop you all a note soon.

RMI Guide Mark Tucker

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Mt. Everest Expedition: Team Leaving the South Col

Posted by: | May 20, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Everest
Elevation: 26,000'

12:01 a.m. (Nepalese Time) - Team leaving the South Col

UP UP AND AWAY !

These guys are my supermen.  It’s now down to a handful of hours.  With all that has happened over the course of this expedition, success shows itself in many ways.

Summit or not these guys rock.

In a couple of days, when Dave, Linden, Kaji, Dawa, Yubarj and Tsering are back down here at Base Camp feeling good and all equipment removed from the mountain, that will be a huge success.

As they leave the South Col they start on kind of rolling terrain with some good-sized crevasses.  In the past the fixed line didn’t normally start till you got the first steep part, the Triangular face.  So some kind of markings like the sticks with flags were great but if it was hard ice everywhere you had a difficult time placing them.  GPS is sure an improvement but electronics can have some problems in the cold and one more thing to mess with.  The last few years the teams have made it a point to put a rope line to follow in this area for low-to-no visibility occasions.

As they start up it’s a constant mix of adjusting straps, pace, oxygen masks, gloves, ice axes and more.
While you hope you hit the clothing options right, it may be necessary to pull over and make the quick change so as to not sweat bullets or need to move to quick to stay warm.  And what about the other teams?  Are they in front, going at a pace that does not work for you?  Can you unclip from the rope and make a pass safely?  Is your oxygen mask clogging up and not allowing freedom of ambient air movement?  Is the wind now picking up and I need to put on some form of eye protection to keep from getting the dreaded frozen cornea?  Now that I have put on the eye protection is it all fogged up?  Better to see the terrain and risk the freezing?  How are my toes, what is going on with my hands?  Head to toe self survey, constantly observing my every move.  What are my thoughts, am I keeping focused?  How is my partner?  Where is my partner?  Are my Sherpa OK?  Do they have my next bottle of oxygen?  My oxygen!

Do I still have enough to get me to the Balcony (27,500 ft), the next location that I will expect to hear radio communication from the team?  And first semi-flat place for a short break and a oxygen bottle change.

That should take between three and four hours from now.  So hang in there, I promise as soon as I hear, you will too.

RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

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Mt. Everest Expedition: Audio from Dave Hahn at the South Col

Posted by: | May 20, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Everest
Elevation: 26,000'

Hey, this is Dave Hahn and Linden Mallory up in the tent at the South Col.  We have been brewing up for about an hour now.  It takes a long time to get some hot drinks here and get a little food down.  Since I talked to you last, we got a little forecast… in the evening…  Clouds had come down low.  The wind was blowing a little bit more than we liked it.  But now it’s close to 11 in the evening and the winds have dropped down and it’s clear sky.  Looks like a go for us.  We’re just trying to get ourselves as hydrated as possible.  It’ll help us deal with the intense cold out there.  If we’ve got plenty of hydration we’ll be feeling better.  We did have a good night. Tshering and Kaji are getting ready in the next tent.  Dawa, as planned, is going to be the lifeguard here at the South Col and make sure we do okay up there.  But everything is going ahead.  There are some climbers out ahead of us now.  That’s good.  We’ll probably be trying to walk in, I don’t know, 40 minutes or so.  We’ll try to stay in touch as best we can.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

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Mt. Everest Expedition: Dave & Linden Getting Ready for Summit Push

Posted by: | May 20, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Everest
Elevation: 26,000'

South Col - 26,000 feet

After the early dinner, and into the sleeping bag full of boot liners, socks, water bottles and miscellaneous items you don’t want frozen, which is another reason why it’s an uncomfortable place to be.

Wake up call 10:10 pm.
Some climbers get a couple hours of sleep, others not.  Lucky for the team, no interruptions during rest period.  Seems like the other groups are taking care of their own issues, or the South Col climbers are not yet aware of anyone in need of help.  Always a tough place to feel very relaxed, but in the tent and horizontal for a few hours will help get some strength back for the climb ahead.  I remember one time at the Col, a guy who had just come down from the summit the day as I arrived at the Col, he just opened up my tent, stuck his head inside and started talking to me and my partner for at least two minutes before he realized that he did not know who we were. Scary, I promised myself never to be that out of it.

They have been breathing oxygen while resting, so dry mouth and feeling a bit rough because of the extreme altitude, are par for the course. You just have to shake it off and start getting ready.  Fire the stoves for more tea, coffee, hot juice whatever you can choke down and don’t forget the calories, you are going to need them. It’s not optional, it’s mandatory to get some food on board, no easier way to make the summit almost unreachable than no gas in the tank. How many layers? Did I put new batteries in my headlamp? Are these my special summit socks I have been saving? Goggles, sunscreen, sunglasses? Top off the water bottles, lunch packed? Extra gloves, rip open hand warmers to get them started, knife in pocket? Did I pack my lunch and some treats in easy to get at pockets?  Camera, where’s the camera? Oh, right here where it’s supposed to be.  All this and more in under one and a half hours because it’s game time at midnight.

I wont bother them again until 12 a.m.  As news becomes available you will be the first to know.

This is so cool!  What’s next?

RMI Guide Mark Tucker

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Mt. Everest Expedition: Team at the South Col

Posted by: | May 20, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Everest
Elevation: 26,000'

(Mark Tucker, “Go ahead.”)  Okay, this is Dave Hahn calling from the South Col at 26,000 feet. I’m sharing a tent with Linden Mallory. In a tent of a 6 feet from us Tshering, Dawa, and Kaji came all the way up from Camp 2 this morning.  And what were perfect conditions. Like I say, we busted out at 2 in the morning, we were well up the wall.  We were almost at 25,000 feet before the sun hit us.  The conditions were just great on the face, the snow built up and then tromped down.  There’s been a lot of traffic to it from high camp, there not supposed to summit for the last couple of days.  So we were meeting all sorts of people we knew and people we didn’t know.  A lot of sherpas carrying very heavy loads up and down.  But we got here probably about 11 in the morning and all of us feeling good.  Popped up some tents and we’ve been sitting in the sun.  An occasional little breeze here. But conditions are very good; we are very optimistic about calling for tonight and supposed to summit.  Mostly what we are doing right now is melting snow and drinking water and trying to undo the damage of a day of climbing a vertical mile at 26,000 feet.  But like I say, very optimistic.  I think that the weather is going to play out just right for us.  One of the other climbers that are up here with us that are going to be on our summit day.  So all is good and we are going to try and keep you updated as much as we can.  (From Mark Tucker, “Okay, hope you guys got that.  Cheerio.”)

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

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Mt. Everest Expedition: Team at Geneva Spur

Posted by: | May 19, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Everest
Elevation: 24,000'

Top of Geneva Spur.

The whole climbing team is about twenty minutes away from the South Col.  Dave reports conditions on the route best ever.  Weather still perfect.  All members feeling GREAT.  Perfect timing for them to get settled in at the Col and start resting for the early start from the Col for the push to the top.

They will continue to use oxygen while at the Col. Main goal will be to keep melting water, and drinking, drinking, drinking. It is so important to start this next part of the climb well hydrated. Sleep will be a bonus but not a necessity; calories into the tank a must. They will have to plan on very short and tough breaks on the way to the summit.  Best to have as much of these elements in the bank stored up to withdraw from later.

Looking Good!

RMI Guide Mark Tucker

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Mt. Everest:  Summit Bid Begins

Posted by: | May 19, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Everest
Elevation: 23,750'

Well, I think we can say the 2011 RMI Everest Summit push has begun. 

Dave, Linden, Kaji, Dawa, and Tshering left Camp 2 early this morning under great climbing conditions.  They have all passed through Camp 3 and are
making good time toward the South Col.  Dave and Linden stopped at Camp 3 and strapped on bottles of oxygen while the Sherpa opt not to use O2 at this point.  They sure are amazing climbers.

All is good up here.  We will keep you posted.

RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

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Mt. Everest Expedition: Dave & Linden Rest Day at Camp 2

Posted by: | May 19, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Everest
Elevation: 21,000'

Dave and Linden are resting at Camp 2.  Kaji and Dawa up to Camp 2 with last loads of equipment to help support the summit push.  Dave, Linden, Kaji, Dawa, and Tsering up early tomorrow for the climb from Camp 2 to the South Col.  Yubarj will support the effort from Camp 2 and one of the three climbing sherpa are slated to stay at the South Col in support of the Summit team.

Bill, Sara and myself made the early morning trek to the Heli pad with a ship headed our way till it ran into clouds.  It started in Lukla, then returned to Lukla without Sara and Bill, but still on standby.  At these altitudes, and good sized mountains near by, best to fly a bit conservative, you know what I mean.  So Bill and Sara along with Lam Babu started hiking to Pheriche after lunch.  They kept an eye on the weather and a hand on the phone in case they could fly from either Gorak Shep or Lobuche.  Neither option happened and last I heard they were getting near Pheriche.  They were enjoying the hike today and have no problem trekking all the way to Lukla in three days. Maybe tomorrow, weather permitting they will fly out of Pheriche enjoying one of the most spectacular flights you can imagine.  Base Camp keeps getting less and less tents around but that’s what happens around this time of the season.

We are all getting very excited about the next couple of days. Forecast is good. Team healthy and strong. Camps in place. A bit of luck, will make good
chance at the summit.

RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

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Mt. Everest Expedition: Sara’s Thoughts on Her Mt. Everest Experience

Posted by: | May 18, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Everest
Elevation: 17,575'

Yesterday I decided to end my quest to summit Mt Everest, and although I am still torn and wondering whether or not it was the right decision, I thought that I would try and explain to you why.

Dave Hahn always says that he wants to climb mountains with people who climb with their head.  Now, I don’t always understand everything that Dave Hahn says (ha) and he says a lot of things (ha again), but what I think he means by this is that he wants team mates and climbers who think about the repercussions of their actions, who think about how they are physically feeling, and who don’t push themselves into dangerous situations.

Secondly, my dad ended his trip between Camps 2 and 3 (he says its closer to Camp 3, but whatever - ha).  The end result is that after May 3rd he wasn’t climbing with me anymore.  So, for the first time in all our adventures, I had to be climbing by myself.  Its been a bummer.  Why I climb is for fun, and to be with my dad.  And over the past 3 weeks its turned from being a fun experience to really more of a chore.  Dave and Linden are awesome guides and great people, but they are not my dad.

So, part of my job as a climber is to think (I know this sounds funny, but I know that a lot of climbers don’t think).  I have to think about how I am feeling, how strong I am, how much energy I have, and how much I “want it.” As we started out our summit bid climb yesterday (the 17th), I was feeling physically strong, but I started to doubt that risking so very much was worth the summit to me.

I don’t expect others to understand why I lost my desire to go for the summit and to take the risks needed to do so.  All I know is that you just can’t manufacture desire to do this.  So, as we got to our first break through the Ice fall I told Dave and Linden about my thoughts, and we decided to re-assess and walk back down.  What I also didn’t want to happen was to push myself to a very high point on the mountain, say 26,000 feet, have the winds blowing at 40 miles per hour, and me not wanting to go on.  Then I would have not only have put our entire teams’ summit chances in jeopardy, but I would have also created a huge safety situation.  People would have had to put their lives on the line to get me off the mountain, and I wasn’t going to allow that to happen.

After we got back to Basecamp yesterday, I knew I had to make a decision. The more I thought about it, the more the right decision became clear - but repercussions of that decision were so scary to me that it took me awhile to make it. I’m was (and am) afraid that people will be disappointed in me, that people will believe that I gave up without trying. As I sit here I struggle with the same thoughts, did I give it my best shot? Am I just giving up? The more I think about it though, the more I am reminded of the reason I love going on expeditions so much, and that is because I love to climb, not because I love to summit.  The summit is the icing on the cake, but you can still have a great cake without icing.  I’ve done some amazing climbing here, and I think the difficulty of the climbing and the way I’ve climbed safely and quickly on this mountain has been as good as anyone.

However, I still have a lot of regrets. The repercussions of my decision have made this last day a hard one. I feel horrible everything that has been “invested” in me over the last year to get me to this point and I will not summit.  For a year I have been training, buying gear, ice climbing, backpacking and getting ready for a summit bid on Everest, and then when it comes along I have decided not to go.  I know my teachers at school have made great sacrifices and invested a lot of time outside the classroom with me to allow me to go on this trip. I thank all the people who have been rooting me on, and sending me messages encouraging me on this climb.

But I also know that it is the right decision.  I do have regrets about this, and I know in the coming months that I will have even more, but I just don’t think that I am willing to risk what you have to risk to try to summit this mountain.  I also think that it is just too difficult for me to access those risks up high without my dad being there.  And if I assess those risks incorrectly, the costs are just too much.

So, all I ask of you is to know that I tried my hardest and please don’t be disappointed in me for not reaching the summit. Sometimes its really not about the summit of the mountain, but what you’ve learned and experienced along the way.

Perhaps climbing a mountain isn’t really about the mountain at all.

Sara McGahan

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Mt. Everest Expedition: Dave Hahn Checks in From ABC

Posted by: | May 18, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Everest
Elevation: 21,000'

This is Dave Hahn calling from Advanced Base Camp on Mt. Everest.  Myself and Linden Mallory came up today on our new formulated summit plan.  We went from Base Camp to Camp 2 today.  It was stunning to us the changes in the ice fall, there had been a massive avalanche that had come off the west shoulder, and came right down along the climbing route.  It actually made the route better by filling in the crevasses and knocking over all the little walls we were climbing over.  It was pretty sobering to think that that same avalanche had it come down when climbers were going though the ice fall, it would have killed many people.  As it turned out it came down at a time, sometime this last week, when nobody was in the icefall.  That was really something to see.

Linden and I came up through Camp 1 and straight up to Camp 2 in pretty good time and had good conditions. While we were walking there was cloud cover right from the start and from Camp 1 that was real helpful because it kept the sun off of us and light breezes as well so we didn’t dry out as much coming up here as we might normally have.  Tcherring also came up so the three of us are up and we hope that Kaji and Dawa are able to come up tomorrow and that will be the making of our summit team.  We are going to rest here tomorrow as planned. And take it easy at Advanced Base Camp tomorrow and hoping to go from ABC all the way up to Camp 4, skipping Camp 3 on the following day and be in place for our summit bid.

So we’ll see what the weather does.  We are keeping careful track of the weather right now.  It is snowing lightly here and Mark Tucker says it is snowing more heavily at Base Camp.  We are very interested in what the weather does down there because Bill and Sara are hoping to fly via helicopter from Base Camp to Kathmandu.  They weren’t able to fly today due to weather.  So we are keeping our fingers crossed for them tomorrow.

That is all for the moment.  We’ll be in touch.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

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