Entries from Expedition Dispatches
A hot shower... Cotton clothes... Chairs with backs... An appetite... Easy temperatures... Brain temporarily free of Icefall fixation...
Must be rest day #1. Still decompressing from the last week on high and not yet laser-focused on the coming week, which will be higher still. I am tempted to call the past week a good one, since we each came down healthy and with some clarity and confidence as to what will be next, but to be honest, it was a tough week in several ways.
While things went as planned for Sara, in that she got stronger and more acclimated with each day of the past rotation, that wasn't the case for her Dad. Bill, although strong and fit, was hitting some sort of personal limit in living at Advanced Basecamp and venturing to around 22,000 ft. Ultimately, we chose to get Sara the experience she needed on the Lhotse Face while her Dad stayed below. We knew eventually that we'd need to reformulate a plan for going ahead with the expedition.
Sara did climb well and strong with me to 23,000 ft a few days back. She didn't seem particularly fazed by the massive exposure and steep angles. She did a good job dealing with the distraction of other climbers (mostly Sherpas going fast up or fast down) needing to pass on the fixed ropes and a single set of steps chiseled in the ice. She didn't seem any more bothered than I was by the novelty of two helicopters hovering a few hundred meters away on some rumored film project. Sara kept concentrating on clipping her safety gear past anchors and on setting her crampons securely and on breathing steadily with each new step even though she knew a medical emergency had taken a man's life just the day before on these same ropes and in these same footsteps. Many of the Sherpas and guides we met and spoke with had some involvement in trying to mitigate the sad circumstances of the day before and it was impossible to be so high on the world's fourth highest mountain without dealing with some heavy and sad thoughts on mortality. This was balanced by the incredible beauty and expanding horizons we were granted as we climbed higher... Everest, our next door neighbor for now, just kept getting more magnificent... Until it developed a bad case of snowclouds, as did Lhotse. Although we were in view of the first tents of Camp 3, which would have made a fine goal for the day, it seemed best to turn and get a little experience descending the steep face with a little less snowfall and associated sluffs streaming down the face. At our highpoint, I pulled my GPS from a pocket and we established that Sara had just crushed her previous altitude record from her climb of Aconcagua several years back. We "arm rappelled" back down the face and tiptoed on crampon points to get across the steep bergschrund at it's base. Then on easy angled glacier again, we made excellent time down to where Bill and Linden had come out to meet us above ABC.
Yesterday morning we dodged a few more snow squalls and dodgy snow bridges and we even spied a spectacular avalanche off the side of Nuptse during our journey from ABC to Everest Base Camp. It all seemed eventful and a little crazy and excessive, to be honest. Lam Babu and Uberaj joined us for the walk to Base Camp and Kaji and Dawa went all the way up to ABC with heavy loads and still caught us before we exited the Khumbu Ice fall on the way down. Tcherring and Tuck were in camp to greet us with smiles and handshakes and... even better, Kumar greeted us with lunch. We were tired but quite happy to be down.
Today, we sat together and developed that new game plan for the coming weeks. Bill won't climb up with us on these next rounds... he won't go for the summit and Sara will. It isn't what we wanted going into this expedition, but it seems like the smart plan under the circumstances. Bill will write of his thoughts on the matter in coming days.
Best,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
The team completed their second rotation at Camps 1 and 2 and returned to Everest Base Camp today.
We are glad to have everyone back down to rest and recuperate from their time up high. Even Yubarj, our Camp 2 cook, returned to Base Camp for a few days break.
Nobody will be heading out of Base Camp going up hill tomorrow from our camp so we are heading to bed tonight without setting the alarm. That is a nice feeling.
The team is looking forward to a warm shower and we are looking forward to hearing their stories from the last few days.
It was a nice day today here at Base Camp and I headed down valley for a little bouldering.
Once the team is rested we'll get them sending some dispatches with news about the last rotation.
Till next time,
Mark Tucker
Bill & Sarah - Great to hear the team is back to lower altitudes for what sounds like a couple days of deserved R&R. What an incredible few days it must of been. Thinking about you all the time and looking forward to the exciting days ahead. BK
Posted by: BK on 5/4/2011 at 12:40 pm
Hi Bill & Sara!
It was really nice to meet you guys on the way up to the M. Everest Basecamp! Fantastic to read about the big adventure through this blog! Keep up the good work - I am very impressed!!
Cheers from Lars
(Nebraska-Swede who you met in Pheriche & Loboche)
Posted by: Lars on 5/4/2011 at 6:47 am
The weather here at Everest Base Camp at 4:30 a.m. was snowing hard, so Dawa and Kaji decided not to carry loads to Camp 2.
Up at Camp 2 the snow was not so heavy, so Dave, Sara, Linden and Bill left toward the Lhotse Face at 7:15 a.m. After four hours and twenty-five minutes of uphill climbing Sara and Dave crossed over the 23,000-foot mark. Dave reports a great day of training, getting used to the steep terrain, and working with other teams on the face. This sort of familiarity will help them get to Camp 3 in good shape. The knowledge and technical expertise gained on these practice runs is invaluable. Linden and Bill turned around a bit before, and supported our two high altitude mountaineers back at C2.
While they were all together early that day, we had support from Lam Babu and Yubarj listening in on radio transmissions from Camp 2. One more night at Camp 2, then back to EBC for another rotation of rest.
Looking forward to seeing the team tomorrow.
Till next time,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Bill and Sara: we have been following your climbing progress and exploits, and wish you good health and safety. We had a great time at the WCAT party and you were there in spirit; Forrest and Matthew regaled everyone talking about the early broadcasts and the fun of working with you. Best wishes; John, Shelby and Forrest Cobb
Posted by: John Cobb on 5/3/2011 at 6:18 pm
Hi Uncle Bill! We are rooting for you so we wrote you a little poem…..
There once was a strong guy named Bill.
He decided to climb a big hill.
He just wouldn’t stop
so he got to the top.
And wondered….that was a thrill?——Sophie wants you to read this line sarcastically :).
Posted by: Emma & Sophie McGahan on 5/3/2011 at 4:00 pm
Hey Jim Whittaker! Happy 48th Anniversary of the first American on the summit of Mount Everest.
Nobody from any country is on top May 1st this year. Steady progress is being made in that direction, but I would think even with perfect conditions ahead, it will still be another week before anyone summits.
The Whittaker family is a big part of RMI. Jim's twin brother Lou, being the Chief Guide of RMI for years. His son Peter leading the charge at RMI now, and his brother Win involved in the family business as well. Last year I worked with Jim's son Leif on his climb of Everest.
On Jim's summit day he had a Sherpa climbing partner named Nawang Gombu. Gombu, as we all called him around Mount Rainier, would work the summers with us on Rainier. He was the youngest member of the 1953 expedition which made the first ascent of Mount Everest. In 1965 he reached the summit again, becoming the first person to climb Mount Everest twice. It was always a pleasure to work with him on the mountain. Just the nicest guy, and anybody who was lucky enough to climb or spend time with him, new they were touched by a very special man. I received the sad news of his passing last week. He will be greatly missed.
I had the honor of being part of the 1990 Mount Everest Peace Climb led by Jim Whittaker. Our goal was to summit on April 22, the twenty year anniversary of Earth Day. We did not get our first team to the summit until May 6th. Point being, that without much fixed line, and that early in the season, our hats go off to you Jim, for an amazing accomplishment.
We should all be so proud of our team, for the respect they are showing to Jim's mountain and the effort put forth to preserve his legacy.
Dave and crew did another climb up to the base of the face and back to Camp 2 for the night, they plan to give a go at the Lhotse Face tomorrow. Rest today for the Sherpa team, but just handed off supplies to be taken to Camp 2 tomorrow.
Till next time,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Way to go, team! Thinking of you all the time up at Camp 2 and beyond.
Saw Katie’s second LAX game against Holy Innocents on a gorgeous Saturday. She is such a trooper and it was a tough loss. Have to catch more games in the coming weeks.
Be safe and take our love with you.
Posted by: Mom / Grandma on 5/2/2011 at 6:52 am
News from the home front I thought you would want to hear….. Osama bin Laden has been killed by US forces in Pakistan. They have just announced tonight at 10:30 PM. Stay safe!!!!!! xxoo Stacey
Posted by: Stacey on 5/1/2011 at 8:29 pm
The weather could not have been better last night and early today. Right now it is snowing lightly. It can sure help to have stable weather conditions for any night at 21,300' and a major bonus to have calm weather for the first night of many at that altitude. The word from above is that the team did well during the night. So well in fact, that Dave was able to rally the team early this morning for a 7:30 a.m. departure and climb to just below the Lhotse Face. That section took about an hour and forty-five minutes. We would call that part of the day, the approach to the climb. Above where they stopped is a continuous steep climb to get up to Camp 3, which sits at 23,900' more or less. Dave reports that since we have been having daily snow, the conditions on the face have improved. What we saw in the earlier part of the month was blue ice on most of the face.
The previous dry winter has created a big gap between the lower angle slopes and the steep face, which is referred to as a bergshrund. If it were a wet winter with lots of snowfall, that gap could be filled in with snow making crossing much easier. At the last meeting of the teams, we decided to send up a ladder to be placed in that area if it seemed like it would help the climbers get on to the steep section. More progress was made by the fixing team above Camp 3. Sounds like the ropes are set to Camp 4, which is the South Col (26,000'), our final camp before the summit push. More work will be needed to improve the ropes from Camp 2 to the South Col but that is huge to have the initial set in place. Dave, Sara, Bill, and Linden plan on getting on the face tomorrow. This will be a taste of steep climbing at extreme altitude.
The team is right on track and fired up!
Till next time,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
SAYSEE!!! just wanted to say hi and tell you that i love you more than anything! and keep pushing and fighting and everything will be worth it in the end. you are so amazing for doing all that you are doing and i am so proud of you! we all miss you here and can’t wait to see you but for now we are here cheering you on! i think about you everyday and how incredible this is. know that you are in our prayers and you inspire me so much, it’s incredible! i really do love you more than you know- to heaven and back! you’re the greatest sara rose. -emma
Posted by: Emma Payne on 5/1/2011 at 5:37 pm
Hi Linden! Helped deliver my sissys baby 1 day old, in Georgia near the Tornado! Would rather be climbing in Nepal EXCEPT FOR HIS CUTE LITTLE FACE! GOING VERTICAL
Posted by: Hollyanne on 4/30/2011 at 10:30 am
The team climbed from Camp 1 up to Camp 2 (ABC) today in perfect conditions. They will stick to the rough outline for now spending three or four nights at Camp 2. While at Camp 2 their main objective is taking care of themselves by eating, drinking and resting. Over the next couple of days they will climb towards Camp 3 to stretch their legs and lungs and keeping with the climb high, sleep low philosophy.
Everyone is doing well and we look forward to seeing them back in Base Camp in a few days.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
continued prayers with you guys, good luck on stage 3,
love reading your personal “posts”, great stuff. Adam and Owen were asking about you both last night at dinner. God bless.
David
Posted by: david eicher on 5/2/2011 at 10:16 am
Amazing journey. I am so excited that you guys are making such outstanding progress. Thinking of you guys as you climb higher and higher.
Lowndes
Posted by: Lowndes Harrison on 4/30/2011 at 4:05 am
The Nisqually Glacier is the most easily viewed of all the glaciers on Mt. Rainier. Facing the Paradise Visitor Center, it runs four miles from the 14,410-foot summit down to about 4,500 feet in the Nisqually Valley. At about 12,500 feet the ice forms a giant cliff where the glacier breaks apart over a large rocky step and smashes itself back together 1,000 feet below. Usually unskiable, the heavy snows this winter have filled in one side of the cliff and a continuous line appeared, begging to be skied.
My friends Tyler Jones, Andy Bond and I had a random convergence in the Northwest after being on separate agendas for the winter. Tyler had been ski-guiding in La Grave, France, Andy spends his winters in British Columbia, and I had just returned from a trip to Haines, AK. Andy had recently been bombarding me with emails about how the ski conditions on Rainier were about to 'go off' so we all met up in Ashford, WA, to wait for some good weather.
After a few days in town, the necessary conditions stacked in our favor, and we took the opportunity to pull off a big line on Rainier. In the Northwest, a full winter of storms on an endless conveyor belt had been pounding the mountain with snow. Now, with an approaching high pressure system, we had a few days of guaranteed sunny weather. So on Thursday, April 22, we left Paradise in a snow storm hoping that the forecast would pan out as advertised and once at Camp Muir the weather would break. Typically we could each do the trip to Muir without the aid of GPS in any conditions. We have over 200 summits of Rainier between the three of us. But this year every landmark is covered in snow, making navigation impossible without the aid of electronics. A quick consult with the GPS was all we needed to find our way to Muir.
Once there, we packed into the tiny RMI hut that normally sleeps two. Poor Andy had to sleep on three coolers; it was either that or the snowy floor. The weather was pretty cold most of the night so there was no rush for us to start climbing until the sun came up. To our surprise there was another party climbing that day. They had left about an hour ahead of us and it was nice to follow their track for the first part of the day. We climbed up towards the Gibraltar Ledges route. This gave us a great vantage point of our desired ski route and I was able to take some pics in case we needed to use them as a quick-reference guide on the descent.
Once we caught up to the other party, we took our turn breaking trail towards the summit. Conditions were great and we were able to make quick progress to the top. Our total climbing time from Camp Muir was four hours on the dot. Not bad for carrying skis on our backs! On top we spent some time checking out the different aspects of the mountain and taking photos of the gargoyle-like features of rime-ice; created as water vapor from the recent storm cycle beat against the mountain, freezing instantly. The wind was howling, so soon after, we clicked into our skis and started downhill towards the top of the ice cliff.
The upper part of the mountain skied nicely. Rainier is like a big dome and the upper reaches aren't extremely steep and the snow was firm but edge-able. Once we dropped about 1,000 feet, however, the slope angle increased dramatically and the snow became even more firm. At 13,000' we could see directly down the glacier to the top of the ice cliff. From here we were committed, and any slip could result in a long slide off the cliff. Precise, controlled ski turns were necessary and we skied one at a time in pitches to keep an eye on each other.
The line through the ice cliff was fairly straight forward. We trended gradually right, through an ever narrowing gap between big rock cliffs and the edge of the ice. The snow conditions steadily improved as we dropped lower on the mountain. In total we skied about 3,500 feet of terrain in what we considered a "no-fall" zone. The stress of all the exposure relented bit-by-bit as we descended, and by the time we exited the ice cliff section we were relaxed enough to fully enjoy the pitch out from under the cliff.
We then threaded our way out of the large amphitheater formed by the ice cliff and through a myriad of crevasses onto the benign slopes of the Muir Snowfield. There were several groups of skiers there enjoying the fresh powder and sun. We stopped to chat before continuing on our way and they congratulated us on our journey. The snow was so good from here that we decided to drop below the elevation of the parking lot all of the way to the Nisqually Bridge at 3,500 feet. We knew that this could mean a long wait for a hitch hike back to the car but the day was going too well to worry about that. Plus, the lure of getting the longest ski run in the 'Lower 48' on top of a new route on Rainier was too much to resist.
I think we waited for a total of 15 seconds before a really nice guy from Fort Lewis Army Base gave me a ride back to Paradise to get my car. Our luck was good all day!
whoaaa i would love to climb and ski that!
Posted by: fortuna major on 4/28/2011 at 4:11 pm
It’s a beautiful day here at Everest Base Camp.
RMI Expedition Leader Dave Hahn and our team of climbers and Sherpa left Base Camp early this morning en route to Camp 1. The team made great time through the Khumbu Ice fall and up to almost 20,000'. They are now tucked in comfortably at Camp 1.
Their plan for tomorrow is another early start to climb up to Camp 2. The Western Cwm can get quite warm with its high ice walls and an early start will get them through with some cooler temperatures. The team will spend several nights at Camp 2 (21,000') to acclimatize. While at Camp 2 they will be accompanied by climbing Sherpa Lam Babu and Tsering as well as our cook Yubarj.
Two members of our Sherpa staff, Kaji and Dawa, went to Camp 2 a few days ago to ready the camp for the team’s arrival and have now returned to Base Camp.
I attended a meeting today here at Base Camp to discuss the plan for getting the rope up to the South Col and finishing the route work. Things went well at the meeting with a great amount of support and cooperation amongst the teams.
Life is good here on the glacier.
Till next time,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
Way to go team! Best of luck to everyone on this rotation! Each and every day I look forward to seeing a new post so thank you for keeping us updated! Stay strong and be safe—we are thinking of you always!
Posted by: Martin on 4/28/2011 at 6:38 pm
Today is our third and final rest day before we head back up the Ice fall to begin our second rotation. If all goes as planned, this rotation will consist of spending one night at Camp 1 and then four nights at Camp 2 before returning back down to Base Camp. Our plan after that is then to rest for a couple of days, then to climb back up to Camp 1 and 2 and sleep as high as Camp 3 before returning back down. This would be our third rotation and the final rotation before our summit bid. Then we will rest for a week or so. If all goes well, we will make our summit push sometime in the latter part of May.
Mentally and physically, this next month will be the hardest month of my life. I worry that I won't be physically strong enough to climb through all of these rotations, and that I might lose my focus. It's so mentally difficult climbing down when it took so much effort climbing up to that spot, but I do know that every time I do climb up to a point where I've been before I feel stronger and I can breathe easier. I also completely understand why we have to climb up and down for acclimatization purposes, but doing so has been a huge challenge.
As difficult as it may seem, the first month of this trip has been one of the most extraordinary experiences of my life and I know this second month will be just as amazing. I've met some incredible people, and never in my life have I been more breath taken at the place that I'm in. Base Camp has begun feeling like home.
I want to say hi to all my family and friends, and I want to thank everyone for the comments and support.
Sara McGahan
SAAYYY!! i love you so much and im so proud of you!! All of us have been following you on the blog and i am so happy you are experiencing this because it sounds truly amazing! STAY STRONG AND KNOW THAT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERDAY BABY.
Posted by: Margaret Walker on 5/1/2011 at 10:09 am
Sara, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your father! It is truly amazing and inspiring to me! Keep your spirits high and stay strong. When you are back Angela and i will have to hear all about this amazing adventure!!! xoxo Heather
Posted by: heather yager on 5/1/2011 at 5:24 am
After completing our first rotation on the mountain we are back here at Base Camp. It was a relatively warm day here at Base Camp, the clouds blew in early and snow came midday - big, wet flakes filled the air as we sat down to lunch today, covering everything with a thin but wet coating of snow. It has been another restful day here to relax and recover from our time spent higher on the mountain. With the whole team resting today, both our climbing team and our Sherpa team, we've taken advantage of the breaks in the snow to play a few games of horseshoes. Tshering Sherpa once again proved his ace skills, throwing a couple of impressive ringers, as did Dave (although his end of game review was tarnished by the errant shoe that managed to skip the pit and roll into the storage tent - the shoe emerged a few moments later by surprised but laughing Jaya, one of our Base Camp Assistants). RMI's chances in the Base Camp Horseshoes Tournament that Tuck organizes are looking good. Base Camp, which felt high and difficult a few weeks ago, is becoming more comfortable, and I'll venture to say that the air is even starting to feel a bit thicker here at 17,500' since we returned, a sure sign that we are acclimatizing well.
The time spent on our first rotation was a good introduction into the process of high altitude climbing. We navigated the Ice fall, established ourselves at Camp 1, and ascended the Western Cwm to Camp 2, also known as Advanced Base Camp (ABC). In doing so our familiarity with the route grew, ladder crossings became easier, and we anticipated the challenges of the Ice fall. We battled high winds, cold nights, and hot days. The rotation reminded me of the adjustment in perspective that takes place every time I head into the mountains. Visiting Camp 2 a few days ago, at 21,300', looking up the Lhotse Face towards the South Col and the summit of Everest far above, we discussed how standing in the same place in several weeks time we will only be days from the summit. But then the altitude was squeezing on the lungs, and simply walking across camp was a challenge in itself. I watched in awe as Yubaraj Rai, who climbed Island Peak with me several weeks ago and is our Camp 2 cook, grabbed a pick axe nearly as tall as he and started chipping away chunks of ice to melt for water. The thought of lifting the axe was tiring. It served as a reminder that despite making progress up the mountain, we have much preparation to do before a summit bid becomes a reality.
There is a notable, but sometimes difficult, mental shift that takes place when we begin climbing. Long expeditions like this require moving away from the hard charging objective-oriented mentality that predominates are training and preparation at home to a mentality that is focused on the process of the climb - as cliche as that sounds. With the ground that we covered between Base Camp and visiting Camp 2, we actually spent relatively few hours of the day climbing. The rest of our days were spent on the far less glamorous but equally important aspect of simply living up there. Resting, eating, drinking, sleeping, and dealing with the adversities that the environment throws at you. Because of this our first rotation was hugely important in learning to master the overlooked details of living above 20,000'. It is a trial in discovering what foods appeal up there, how challenging but important staying hydrated is, the awkwardness of pulling on a down suit in a tent, how to keep moral and drive strong during the hours of down time in the tents, the difficulties of packing up the pack in the early morning hours when temperatures hovered below zero degrees Fahrenheit, and how to readjust to the sky rocketing temperatures a few hours later when climbing up the Western Cwm. If these details are ignored the mountain and the altitude wears on the body to such an extent that the actual climbing becomes a challenge too great to overcome, the mountains just take too much of a toll. It's only after we've figured out how to manage these challenges that we can confidently strap on our crampons and climb upwards.
These are the often overlooked aspects of climbing up here that we faced on our first rotation. Although the distance and the elevations to which we climbed seem small in regards to the scale of the mountain that stands above us, our days up there were immensely productive and successful. By the third night the altitude was becoming easier, the cold less harsh, and the living up there more manageable. Since returning to Base Camp the whole team is already feeling stronger and more prepared and are looking forward to heading back up on our second rotation in a couple of days.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Hello, Linden! We Wallaces are enjoying your blogs! We are thinking about you way up there in the wild, blue, yonder and wishing you and your team well, safe, strong. We send you lots of love! Mary and Roger
Posted by: mary wallace on 5/2/2011 at 7:18 pm
Another great post and love the pictures! Enjoy the “thick” air of base camp and know that we are thinking of you all! And Bro - Happy Anniversary to you and Lisa! You are both extraordinary people!! Stay strong!!
Posted by: Martin on 4/26/2011 at 6:30 pm
Bill, Sara and team, This is the verse that popped out at me when thinking of you and your team. Ephesians 2:10 We are his creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them. What an amazing walk you are having. What a comfort to know all was planned, and who better to walk with? Praying for you, and enjoying reading and seeing all that you are doing. Janet Kresser
Posted by: Janet Kresser on 5/5/2011 at 7:37 am
We are a class of 5th graders in Taos that have been following the blogs as part of a social studies project. This new development made a really big impact on them when it was decided that Sara would go for the summit if possible, but that Bill would not.
Here are some thoughts that the students wanted me to try to share with Sara (their new hero) and Bill, and of course, Dave. As usual, the teacher disavows any knowledge of what might come out of her students’ mouths at any given moment…
- It’s good that he’s staying down because if he got hurt it could jeopardize everyone.
- It’s pretty brave of Sara to keep going without her dad. I hope they make it!
- I think that Sara is really strong and is doing her best. She’s always smiling in her pictures!
- It’s good that he’s not going, so now Sara doesn’t have to worry about her dad getting hurt.
- It isn’t worth the risk if he isn’t feeling up to it.
- Sara needs her dad on AND off the mountain. I am glad he’s staying safe.
- Even if he doesn’t go, I’m glad Sara’s going to try.
- Sara’s the awesomest climber in the world (except for Dave Hahn and a bunch of other old(er) people)!
- I think Bill is the bravest dad I have ever heard of. First of all, he’s up on Everest, which not a lotta people do. Then, he trusts his daughter and is there supporting her even if he can’t go himself. I think that’s very brave and I hope my dad would do the same for me to help me accomplish something I wanted to do.
Bottom line: Sara, you have a pint-sized fan club here in Taos cheering for you; Bill, I think they are ready to give you a “coolest dad on the planet” medal, and Dave, all of us send love and best wishes from home.
Posted by: Ms. E's Class on 5/5/2011 at 7:30 am
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