Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Today our Sherpa team secured prime real estate at
Camp 3. The super Sherpa chopped away ice for a nice flat platform and supplied, but did not set up the tent. It is best to wait till the day the team is ready to use the tent; otherwise, the elements may damage or blow the unoccupied tent away.
Sherpa plan to carry loads to the
South Col tomorrow; these guys are tough.
The climbing team is getting some exercise around Basecamp by day hiking, golfing, and playing horseshoes.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
Today we put what we've learned the last few days into action. We headed to a crevasse and practiced our rescue techniques using the complete system.
Going down in the crevasse was an incredible experience for everyone. It was written all over the team's faces in the great photos and big smiles that made this day just fantastic.
We are going to bed early and hoping for good weather for our summit attempt to the East ridge of
Mt. Francis.
Wish us luck.
All best,
RMI Guide Andres Marin
On The Map
Lam Babu and our all-star Sherpa team were walking out of Basecamp by 4 this morning, bound for Advanced Basecamp (ABC). Their plan is to use the days ahead to establish Camp III on the Lhotse Face and to begin carries to the South Col. It is a good plan and works well with the climbing team intention to head up for a last "practice" rotation on the hill, sleeping as high as Camp III.
We were going for that last difficult push starting tomorrow, but have now reconsidered. A cough has taken precedence, as coughs sometimes do in the month of May on
Mount Everest. We've worked with this particular cough for weeks already and have no fondness for it. The judgement call has come down to: sleep at 24,000 ft, gaining valuable experience in a tough environment while coming down in time for a last rest before the summit bid... Or get healthy and banish the cough before trying for the top.
Get Healthy won out.
We'll stay down while the Sherpa team is up this time (they'll be back to BC in a few days). We'll put a priority on getting the climbing team strong and we'll contend with a longer-than-expected rest while carefully examining weather reports... On the lookout for a suitable "window" between the Jetstream and the Monsoon.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
This place just keeps getting better and better. Today we climbed
Radio Tower!!! The weather was incredible and the views just fantastic.
We climbed this peak via the southside and gained the east ridge to the top. The entire group had the chance to learn a lot and had a great time while climbing our first summit.
After a long day we are eating dinner and planning a day of ice climbing and crevasse rescue that we have in front of us.
All best,
RMI Guide Andres Marin and the
Alaska Alpine Seminar
Cinco de Mayo and we are here with some nachos. No Margaritas, that will be later. Perfect weather, another beautiful day. Lots of prep work for the upcoming rotation. We took out the oxygen masks and regulators. They may use them if a night at
Camp 3 becomes available. So important to double check the equipment before sending it up the hill. Our whole Sherpa team will start out early in the AM for Camp 2 and stay up there until Camp 3 is built and loads are in place at Camp 4. The Sherpa team is such a great group of men, we cannot thank them enough for all their help.
The climbing team will rest one more day, then head up for the final rotation before the summit push.
Dave and
Seth have been doing fine work of all the details, what a couple of super guides we have leading this Expedition.
A big shout out to Karla, Happy B-Day!
Mt. Everest Basecamp Manager Mark Tucker
On The Map
Today we woke up with a blue skies and great temperatures, way different than what the weather was predicting.
Quickly we got ready and went for a hike to the Southeast Fork. Learning about glacier travel and the different terrain features with these incredible views is spectacular. What an environment to learn in! While at the glacier we checked our approach for
Radio Tower, which we are hoping to climb tomorrow.
All and all one more great day in a beautiful place.
Everybody in the group sends a big hello, hugs and kisses to friends and family.
All the best,
RMI Guide Andres Marin and the
Alaska Alpine Seminar
On The Map
It's a beautiful day here at
Everest Bascamp (EBC)! By that I mean its not snowing or windy, yet. We're taking full advantage by eating our fill, relaxing and doing some laundry. It's all part of the prep for our next rotation up on the mountain.
The past week at
Advanced Basecamp (ABC) was a great foundation for our acclimatization and the best part was getting on the
Lhotse Face. After all these weeks of prep it was great to feel like we were on a mountain as opposed to being down amongst the mountains. Our next trip up will be more of a test to see how our conditioning is holding up. But for now we're resting.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
On The Map
Our trip just keeps getting better and better.
Today we woke up with a crispy couple of new inches of snow in one of the most beautiful places in Earth,
Alaska. We enjoyed breakfast with our teammates and got ready to learn about snow anchors, belay systems and other technical systems. The weather is little stormy so we decided to stay around camp to train today.
After lunch we helped pack the bush plane runway and got to move our legs and exercise for a bit. The group is doing great and enjoy each other's company. Tomorrow we are hoping for a good window of weather to go climb.
All best from
RMI Guide Andres Marin &the
Alaska Alpine seminar
On The Map
It is tough to realize just how hard
Everest is on the human body until one comes back down to "normal" altitudes like 17,500 ft Basecamp. The first night of deep sleep convinces you that whatever you thought you were doing for twelve hours a night at 21,300 ft was not actually sleep. A plate of breakfast that you actually want seconds on makes you think of how easy the mountain would be to climb if you could have had your normal appetite up at ABC.
Life is easy for us today at Basecamp. Chairs with backs to lean against. Oxygen and air pressure in abundance. Cellphone connectivity. Showers and mostly clean clothes. And very little risk for a change... Unlike looking forward to a day on the
Lhotse Face or a morning in the Khumbu Icefall. Not so much can fall on us on our rest day and we aren't likely to step on anything that collapses without warning.
Lots of good things about life at
Basecamp... once the morning flurry of helicopter flights is finished, there is peace and quiet and a billion dollar set of views out every tent door. Today the views included jet stream winds raking the upper Lhotse Face, driving snow a thousand feet higher than the mountain itself. We are catching up on the news and trying to beat
Mark Tucker at a game or two, but he has all of the advantages while our brains are still fuzzy and our bodies are tired. Tomorrow.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Hello from the
RMI Alaska Mountaineering Seminar – Alpine Team! The weather cooperated yesterday and we had the opportunity to fly into Basecamp. Everybody was impressed by the great views. Flying into the Alaska Range is remarkable.
Once in
Basecamp we got busy setting up our camp, making dinner, and finally crawling into our tents after a long day.
Today we will be staying relatively close to camp doing some technical training. Its going to be a fun day!!!!
RMI Guide Andres Marin
On The Map
-640x480.jpg)
-640x480.jpg)
Good luck on your summit push. Your Sherpas and your entire team are heroes, very brave. Blessings for a safe summit.
ABQ Uptown #985 NM/AZ/CO
Posted by: Rachael C. Lujan on 5/7/2013 at 3:49 pm
Good luck to your team. Hoping you can summit.
Posted by: Kevin on 5/7/2013 at 10:16 am
View All Comments