Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Hey RMI, this is Linden Mallory calling from Island Peak Base Camp. We left Chukung and walked up to the head of Imja Khola Valley right at the base of Island Peak here. Surrounded by Ama Dablam, Lhotse, Nuptse, it's a pretty incredible place. Got in midday. We had a little bit of wind and a very, very trace amounts of new snow that came in late afternoon but they are clearing up right now as I call. And we are doing well. Bit chilly up here but otherwise everything is stellar. We move up to high camp tomorrow in midday in preparations of our summit bid tomorrow night. So we will check in from high camp. Hope everyone is doing well and we'll talk to you soon. Thanks.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Linden calls in from Island Peak Base Camp.
On The Map
Hello!
I finally get another chance to get a word or two in. Today was a rest day and we tried to do just that. . . rest as much as we could. We did a short hike in the morning that took us to the ridge line above us. There we could see three of the 8,000 meter peaks: Makalu, Cho Oyo, and Lotse. We also saw our first glimpse of Island Peak. It looks very steep, high, and cold.
Our hike took us to 14,500ft, which is higher than any peak in the continental United States. So, it was an exciting moment for us.
Later in the day we attended an information session presented by the Himalayan rescue association on the effects of altitude on the body. Besides learning about AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness), HACE (High Altitude Cerebral Edema) and HAPE (High Altitude Pulmonary Edema), we learned about HAFE (High Altitude Flatulence Expulsion). The latter one is very real to us as John has been suffering from it for days. Actually, I have been doing the suffering since I have been walking behind him on the trail.
John claims the food is to blame for his HAFE. So, I will share a bit about our eating experiences thus far. The tea-houses offer a similar menu for the most part. For lunch or dinner, the typical choices are some sort of rice (fried, steamed, or curry), some sort of noodles ( fried or with a tomato sauce), some sort of potatoes (boiled or fried), soup, or dal baht. Dal baht is a Nepalese meal of rice and a sort of lentil soup that is poured over the rice. It appears that the Sherpas traveling with us eat dal baht at every meal. Occasionally, the tea-house will have chicken. When that is the case, we order a special treat called chicken chile. It is a spicy chicken dish that is delicious. All of the food is very good, but the menu lacks diversity. The dessert is especially interesting and I have come to like it very much. They offer Snickers or Mars pie, which is just a deep fried Snickers or Mars (Milky Way) candy bar. Sometimes they also have a deep-fried Bounty (Mounds), which is my favorite. Mmmm, delicious. --Kim
P.S. A big shout-out to Mrs. Hartman's 3-5 classroom.
On The Map
Hello from Mrs. Hartman’s class!! We miss you but are excited to read your blog!! How high is Island Peak? Ranish wants to know if you like the curry. Are you staying warm? Are you having fun or wish you were back home? Is it really snowy where you are now or is there ice there? Are the yaks carrying your bag? Have you been wearing your harness or using your ice axe yet? Please keep us posted about how you are doing. We think your pictures are awesome! Are you staying well? We are thinking of you! Love, Mrs. Hartman’s class
Posted by: Lori Hartman's class on 3/28/2012 at 2:40 pm
Hello from Ms. Jerome’s 4/5 science class. WE miss you Ms. C. We have some questions for you.
How high are you? How are you feeling?
Which is higher Everest Base Camp or Island Peak?
How many tea house have you been too? What is your favorite dish to eat for dinner and lunch?
WE think you totally rock! Keep going!
Over and out! Ms. Jerome’s 4/5 class. xoxoxo
Posted by: Pam on 3/28/2012 at 11:38 am
Hey RMI, this is Linden Mallory calling from Chukung in the Imja Khola Valley, it’s a side valley off of the main Khumbu Valley. In the last days before Island Peak, part of the group headed off back down to Namche today and four of us are headed up towards Island Peak. We’ll be heading into Base Camp tomorrow to begin the climb. Everybody is doing well; the weather has been nice so far and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that it stays that way. We’ll check in with you again at Base Camp. Take care.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory checks in from Chukung.
On The Map
We are anxious to hear how things are going. So you summit Saturday, which means Friday night Nepal, which means Friday day EST. I’m confused and I’m at sea level.
Keep the Sat phone updates coming Linden
Posted by: john barsanti on 3/29/2012 at 9:14 am
Thanks for the update. We are going through withdrawal without our daily blog feeds from Linden and Dana Marie. Take care and keep looking upward.
Posted by: Thurston on 3/29/2012 at 8:25 am
The weather moved into Everest Base Camp yesterday afternoon, the clouds settling in around the peaks and snow beginning to fall. It continued to snow on and off again all evening and into the night. The weather did have a welcome side effect thought: the clouds above and snow on the tents made temperatures a bit warmer and it never got too cold last night. When we woke up this morning everything was blanketed in a couple of inches of fresh snow. We packed all of our gear up, said goodbye to the Sherpa team at Base Camp, and headed back down the valley.
The new snow on the trail actually made the walking on the glacier easier, filling in between all of the loose rocks and smoothing out the trail. After a cold morning in the shadows packing up, we quickly warmed up not long after Base Camp when the sun finally found us and we made good progress. We followed the trail back to Gorak Shep and onwards to Lobuche, where we stopped for lunch. Finally, we descended from the glaciers, rocks, and new snow above back down into the valley of Pheriche, reaching our tea-house here by late afternoon. It was a long day on the trail, with many miles to cover across difficult terrain at high altitudes, and the tea-house was a welcome sight when we finally reached it. The team was amazing today, toughing out the difficult sections of the trail and enduring the long final hours of walking to get here. We are all tired from the walk, and the many days up high, but happy to be here and heading downwards. We had a blast reading all of the comments on the Blog and want to thank everyone for their thoughts.
Tomorrow, part of the group continues descending to Namche as they make their way home while the Island Peak team heads up the neighboring Imja Khola Valley to Chukung, near the base of Island Peak, to begin our climb. We will check in tomorrow from Chukung. The connection up there is sporadic so we will likely be checking in via satellite phone for the next few days.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
On The Map
Corell and team, I just googled Island Peak…...WOW!! Go slow, be steady and dont look down! Im praying for a safe and successful climb. You are amazing and a lot braver than me! Ill be glad when you get home.XXOO,Nancy
Posted by: nancy on 3/28/2012 at 2:31 pm
So relieved to hear that all were well at Base and that you are headed back to Namche and Lucy, Corell and DM are on to Island. Please take care of yourselves and know that we are all thinking of you and praying for you. Truly amazing. Kathryn
Posted by: Kathryn LeBey on 3/28/2012 at 5:34 am
We woke to a bluebird day and enjoyed a view of Ama Dablam while we ate breakfast. But bluebird often comes at the cost of warmth, so after a breakfast of (oh, you already know what we ate) we bundled up and hit the trail. The first part of the trail lead us through a forest of evergreen and rhododendron and sloped downward to a bridge across the Imja Khola. Once across the bridge the forest gave way to scrub and the trail started up. It was easy to overlook the effort of climbing with stunning peaks vying with chortens and Buddhist memorials for our attention.
Mid-morning found us in the village of Pangboche. Our plan was to visit the Lama Geshe for a blessing and we arrived just as he was finishing up his morning clean-up and relaxing in the sun. We spent the next hour with him. He performed the blessing ceremony and we shared a cup of yak butter tea with him. I would gladly experience the ceremony again; but once is enough for yak butter tea. I should have taken Mark's advice.
Personal note: I have been accused of being a Buddhist shaman in another life and I swear the Lama Geshe and I had a connection.
Leaving the Lama, we wound our way through the village with views of walled fields below us. The trail was punctuated by many memorials for climbers and Sherpa. It was a reminder that the mountains belong to no one and that we are here as their guests. It is with respect and caution that we must undertake this trek and climb.
We stopped for lunch in Orso at a small place with a delightful sun room overlooking the valley. It was there that we met a man who was apparently suffering from AMS that was waiting for a helicopter to take him to a lower elevation. He said he had been waiting for about four hours already and his local guide was off trying to sort things out. It was impressive to see Mark assess the situation and take action. He had the guy drinking electrolytes, pressure breathing and forcing food down in no time. Within 20-30 minutes he was sitting up saying how much better he felt and talking to us. The helicopter showed up a couple minutes later which was impressive on a whole other level. In either case, both Kim and I feel lucky to have such a competent team leader.
As has been the pattern in the afternoons, the weather rolled in so we beat feet out towards Pheriche. It was a short hike, but included an appropriate amount of up before we rolled down into town. Not long after we arrived the other RMI team rolled in. We're now one big happy RMI family - if only for the night. --John
A big shout-out to Ms. Barnes 5th grade class today! We are taking a lot of photos of erosion for you.
On The Map
The temperatures at Everest Base Camp were a big concern among the group for the days, weeks, and even months leading into the trip. Knowing that, before dinner last night we pulled out a special surprise for the group: A First Ascent Down Suit for each member of the trip to use while at Base Camp. Needless to say, they were a big hit. We sat around the dining tent toasty warm, discussing the best ways to go about the daily tasks in our new Base Camp attire - from sleeping to brushing our teeth to using the toilet tent.
It was a crystal clear night here last night, every star in the sky shining brightly in the blackness above. Around us the mountain was alive with activity: the glacier creaked and cracked, rocks occasionally came crashing down distant slopes, and chunks of glacier from far off collapsed sending low rumbles through the valley. Despite it all we were comfortable in our tents, cozy warm in our sleeping bags and down suits and the night passed smoothly.
The sun finally roused us this morning and we sat down for a delicious breakfast. Not a cloud was to be found in the sky and we enjoyed the time to sit around and talk, with nowhere in particular to be. Around mid morning I headed out into the lower stretches of the Khumbu Glacier with the three climbers heading to Island Peak and we set up a small ropes course on the ice features of the glacier. We focused on how to climb with crampons on firm glacial ice, the best techniques for overcoming steep obstacles, and then jumped onto fixed ropes and familiarized ourselves with ascending a fixed line, how to use an ascender on the rope, and how to rappel. The climbing team was soon zipping around the ropes course, clambering up and rappelling back down the large ice fin upon which we were practicing. Once we felt comfortable with using the equipment and moving across the terrain, and sufficiently winded from the 17,000' elevation, we headed back to camp to meet up with the rest of the team.
We've spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in camp, resting from the days of hiking it took to get up here, and preparing for the hike out tomorrow. The team is doing very well, sending our best to everyone at home, and eager to share more stories from the adventures we've had thus far.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
On The Map
Great report. Down suits sound like a BIG hit. Good luck on trip down and congrats again .
All is well here on the home front. Hugh received his bray surprise at work and loved it. Taking him out 2nite. Very old man.
Posted by: John on 3/27/2012 at 9:21 am
Good fortune continues here in the Everest Region for our team. Clear morning with great views of Mt. Everest out our dining room window here in Deboche. Tomorrow's climb will take us out of the forest. I have mixed emotions on the thought of leaving trees for a while. The forest of birches, rhododendrons and conifers are nice to see at over 12,000 ft. Many times my program would mean it would be a couple months before I get back to trees, but the plan for me is a round trip from Lukla to Island Peak then back to Lukla before I head back up and settle in to the 2012 RMI Everest Expedition. That makes for trees again in my near future. I always look forward to spending time in high mountains (must be why I do this for a living) but I do have a soft spot for trees.
We took a few short hikes to get the blood moving, but took it easy in anticipation of the altitude change of tomorrow. A well rested body seems to have an easier go at the physical adjustment process we must endure as we go higher. This kind of approach has worked well in the past, so if its not broken why fix it. You can really set the tone for what is to come above by what you do below. We must take exposing ourselves to these altitudes seriously and give it the respect it deserves. That could be why the whole team is in great shape!
The clouds have moved in with a bit of a mist while we get ready for dinner. I just put in my request of grilled chicken with vegetable fried noodles, same thing as last night, once again " if it's not broken". Going to move over toward the hot stove and listen to some One Direction. Our direction............up.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
P.S. A special shout-out to Ms. Jerome's 4th/5th grade class.
On The Map
Mark
Wish we were there with you! Good luck on your 2012 season.
D&D
Posted by: Doug & Donna Fish on 3/26/2012 at 12:25 pm
HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA OMG DYING IN MATH CLASS BEST THING EVER. MUCH APPRECIATED MARK TUCKER!! HI DAD AND KIM
Posted by: Katie Gilman on 3/26/2012 at 9:54 am
The sun took awhile to reach us this morning, the shoulder of Nuptse standing 9,000' above blocked the sun rays and cast long shadows that gradually crept backwards as the sun rose. By the time we stepped out of the tea-house after 8:00 am the sun hit us and almost instantly began to chase away the nighttime chill. We left Gorak Shep in good spirits, eager to complete the final few hours of walking to Everest Base Camp.
The trail becomes notably less defined this far up the valley. In addition to seeing less traffic, the path is ever changing as the loose moraine settles and shifts with the passing glacier and the pull from gravity. Despite Everest Base Camp being a relatively short distance from Gorak Shep as the crow flies, no more than two miles, the trail itself is much longer as it twists and turns over the rough landscape, descending through boulder fields and climbing back up loose scree gullies. We picked our way along it, stepping from rock to rock and occasionally catching glimpses of the tent tops of Base Camp off in the distance.
About two thirds of the way to Base Camp the trail finally drops off of the side moraine bordering the glacier and crosses onto its surface. This low down on the glacier the surface is covered in rock that was pulled down from the mountain side further up and large features of ice, pushed up by the pressure of the glacier above, are interspersed with giant pools of frozen water that sit on the glacier surface from when the ice melts in the warm afternoon sun. The walking, while relatively flat, is tricky as every rock lies atop a sheet of ice below and the footing is continually shifting underfoot. Nevertheless, the group navigated the trail well and by midday we crested the final rocky rise and walked into RMI's Everest Base Camp.
Our Sherpa team has been busy working up here for the past two weeks, hacking away the shifting ice and rolling the rocks aside to create large platforms on the glacier's surface for our tents to sit on. With the creative eye of a designer, they set up a very comfortable camp here. Our dining tent looks right out at Everest, the lower stretches of the Khumbu Icefall filling the view out the door from inside. A series of large stone steps leads from the Dining Tent to the sleeping tents sitting in a semi circle on a small rise above. Just in front of them stands our Communications Tent, with direct sight to the mountain above for the best radio reception and good exposure to the sun as it tracks across the sky for the solar panels that power all of the equipment. The Kitchen and Storage Tents are just below, with a large stone path leading between them and the Dining Tent above.
The Sherpa team greeted us enthusiastically when we arrived, showing us around before we settled down for lunch. Kumar, the Expedition Cook, pulled together an incredible meal complemented with fresh baked rolls and steamed veggies. The change of pace from the typical tea-house food is refreshing and the food was excellent. After lunch we settled into camp, unpacking our gear in our tents and relaxing in the warm afternoon sun. We are all very happy to be here, pleased that we don't have to turn around and walk back to the tea-house this evening and enjoying the life around Base Camp. Everyone continues to adjust well to the altitude and hiked well today. We are spending tomorrow here in Base Camp, enjoying this place for a bit and covering some climbing training in preparation for those of us that are headed to Island Peak next. We want to thank everyone for the great comments on the Blog, we read them aloud over dinner last night and enjoyed hearing the snippets from home.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
RMI Guide Linden Mallory checks in from Everest Base Camp.
On The Map
Congrats to the whole team - what an accomplishment. Hopefully the good weather and fortune will continue for the trek back and for the girls climbing Island Peak.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Hogan on 3/27/2012 at 3:48 am
You did it!!!! And look at all of these wonderful and encouraging comments! You ladies sure are impressive. So proud of you, Mom. Happy yu made it safely to base camp and enjoyed a yummy meal. Stay safe! Xoxo
Posted by: Courtney on 3/26/2012 at 6:03 pm
Hey RMI, this is Linden Mallory calling from the Everest Base Camp Trek. I am calling from Everest Base Camp. We weren't able to push out photos and a written dispatch today so I'm calling from the SAT phone instead. Just to let you all know that we are all doing well and made it to Base Camp and everyone is so happy to be here. Keep your eye out for the dispatch tomorrow. We'll do our best to get it out if conditions allow. Besides that the weather's gorgeous and we are looking for to spending some time up here. Take care.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Linden Mallory and team arrive at Everest Base Camp.
On The Map
Wow!!! What an accomplishment! I am proud just to know all of you. It’s great to see all the hard work and planning pay off.
Posted by: Carter Sr. on 3/26/2012 at 7:33 am
Way to go girls!! Following your trip through the blogs has been amazing. Just got back from a walk in the pollen soaked air - tried to imagine I was breathing the clear air you all are, no matter how thin, and seeing your gorgeous views. Enjoy every moment, you all are truly blessed. We are all cheering for you back home!
Posted by: Michelle on 3/26/2012 at 5:52 am
What a wild storm....... a month ago. I have counted about thirty downed trees near the trail since Namche. Big trees ! Word on the trail was about a three day rain event then a big wind storm and there you have it, lots of lumber on the ground. If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it did it make a sound? How about if somebody writes a fantastic blog dispatch but it never gets posted, is it still a blog? Kim is so nice, at least she is not making me feel too bad for deleting (on accident) her amazing dispatch of yesterday. I thought I was in the dog house, but she seems OK. It could be different after we get the summit of Island Peak and my value goes way down, maybe I will hear about it then. Regardless, she has decided to give it another shot just for you all.
Enjoy,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
After arm wrestling the two guys yesterday, I finally won a chance to write the blog. I thought it was wonderfully written, but the men seemed unimpressed. The next thing I was told is that it was "lost" in cyberspace somewhere. Hmm. I seem to be outnumbered here. In any case, I'll try a new one today and see if it gets posted this time. . .
What a wonderful day we had! We awoke to bluebird skies and a gorgeous view of Namche Bazaar and the surrounding peaks. We departed just after breakfast and hiked up, up, and more up to Khumjung at 12,475 ft where we visited the Hillary School. We have with us a couple of special "flat" children inspired by the "Flat Stanley" book. One flat child took a peek at the school with us.
After a short stop at the bakery in Khumjung, we descended through an enchanting rhododendron forest down, down, and more down to our lunch stop in Phunkgi Thanga (nicknamed Funky Town by Mr.Tuck) at 10,800ft. With full bellies, we climbed up, up, and more up. During our climb, the clouds rolled in and a blanket of fog made our enchanting hike even more mystical. As we hiked, we could hear the gentle clanging of a yak bell calling out from the fog. An occasional person or yak would emerge from the fog, pass us, and then disappear again. Finally, we began seeing the occasional monk emerge from the fog and disappear, indicating to us that we had reached the Tengboche monastery (12,800ft). We will visit again tomorrow, hopefully when the skies are clear. Finally, we descended down, down, (well, just a little down) to Deboche at 12,325 ft. We are spending the evening warming in the teahouse while the fog begins to lift outside to reveal the surrounding hillsides. --Kim
On The Map
I can’t wait to see your pictures when you get back!!
Posted by: Pam Jerome on 3/25/2012 at 9:33 am
Very impressive. I’ve been telling everyone at Princeton about your progress, and they all think that you are so cool. Elise and I were hanging out last, and we decided that we must have the toughest, most adventurous moms in the world. Good luck with the summit tonight.
Ireland was great. We trained with coaches from the professional team in Galway, and everyone improved as players. We went 1-1 in our games. We won against a team of men who were about your age. Their fly half was, in his prime, the fly half for the Irish national team. But he was no match for the young Americans. The young Irish, on the other hand, did just fine against us. It was a close match, but their skills were much better than ours.
It was fun to go back to some of the same sights that we went to eight years ago now. We went to the Cliffs of Moher, and the burren. I built up enough courage to sit on the edge of the cliffs with my legs hanging over. It’s nothing compared to the heights that you’re reaching, but it was my own little Everest experience in Ireland. And I read my Lenten Confessional every day.
I love you, Mom. I’m proud of you. I wish I could be there.
Posted by: Philip on 3/30/2012 at 10:35 am
a little bit chilly? I bet it is FREEZING.
Good luck team
Posted by: john on 3/30/2012 at 5:02 am
View All Comments