Entries from Expedition Dispatches
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Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest
Linden speaks with Dave Hahn at the South Summit.
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Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest
Linden updates us on Team Hahn's status as they make their summit bid on Everest.
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Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest
We had something of a celebration dinner in BC last night. As Peter, Ed, Jake and Gerry made it all the way down from the South Col to regale us with summit stories.
After all that, it was strange as anything to get up by myself early this morning - and to eat breakfast alone. I have become accustomed to nearly constant companionship in the past few months.
I walked out of basecamp and into a cloud at 4am. This didn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling - despite the fact that the cloud had kept overnight temperatures mild, and visibility was fuzzy at best. I like my glaciers frozen solid, and the lower Khumbu icefall was soggy this morning. The high humidity had me dripping sweat and the soggy-ness had me worried that snow bridges would collapse under my crampons. Life got better when daylight began to roll around and found me climbing out of the tops of the clouds. I was delighted to have the whole place to myself. It wasn't until I nearly reached Camp I that I began to meet dozens and dozens of very heavily loaded sherpas coming down along with the foreign climbers they guided to the summit in the preceding days. My work for the day became "congratulations" as I ran into many friends - tired - a little beat up from wind, cold and sun - but obviously content to have just completed their great goal of recent months... years... lifetimes. At Camp I, I made contact via radio with Linden at BC and Seth at ABC. Linden let us know the latest forecast and we all agreed that May 23rd was shaping up as our best summit chance. This meant that Seth, Melissa, Kent and Ang Kaji needed to rally at ABC in order to get on up to Camp III. We'd go ahead with the plan that had us all moving to Camp IV tomorrow. This was fine as all at ABC were sounding strong and ready. A quick check of my own watch showed that I was actually enjoying a day of good strength as well. I got my pack on and walked easily up the Western Cwm to ABC. I didn't reach the camp in time to see my teammates before their Camp II departure, but having made it up from BC in 5 hours, I was satisfied nonetheless.
Through the morning - our Sherpa team collected at ABC, and I was able to strategize with Tendi and Lambabu. I also got to hear their stories of the big summit day on the 19th and was quite impressed with the massive amount of work our Sherpa team had contributed. Tendi himself had spent 5 days at or above the South Col and on summit day he'd heroically initiated a rescue for an exhausted climber from another team. He ran out of oxygen himself in the long and arduous process of getting the man safely back to the Col. The rescue ended up involving a number of teams - ultimately Jake Norton and John Griber from our own team geared back up and finished their own marathon day by climbing back up to aid in the rescue effort. I began to understand where a few of the coughs I was hearing at dinner last night had originated.
My afternoon at ABC was spent resting - the midday heat was nearly unbearable - and preparing for a few hard days of climbing. My team reported good times on the Lhotse Face today and all were moving into Camp III tents in plenty of time to get their own rest for these next make or break days.
My team laughed its way through a 3:30 AM breakfast and hit the trail promptly at 4 AM. We trudged along by headlight with the glacier snapping and popping away, signaling again that we were among the first of the day to challenge the Khumbu Icefall. Traffic was sparse since most climbers are higher on the mountain now and going higher still. We represent the tail end of those bound for the summit.
I was pleased that my team was moving well...little talking was required as we switched off our headlights and clawed our way up and down the little ice walls that have now become familiar on the approach to the Khumbu. Subtly at first, and then a bit more obviously as we came into our first rest break, Erica's pace began to falter and things didn't seem quite so easy any-longer. This was perplexing at first, since conditions were perfect, the terrain was relatively easy and Erica's health was excellent. As planned at this point of the climb, where the Icefall steepens and the avalanche hazard to a group increases, I asked Seth, Melissa and Kent, along with Ang Kaji, to go slowly ahead. We'd stay in contact by radio. Erica and I finished our rest and moved upward, but by then, it had become clear that Erica was losing confidence in her ability to climb the mountain. Such moods come and go for climbers and I hoped this one would go soon. We determined to climb on up through the "Popcorn" section of the glacier and to reevaluate our situation at the Icefall's midpoint. Through the Corn, I was happy to see that Erica's strength and skills were intact... but clearly she had the weight of the world on her shoulders with some heavy decision-making going on. Her million dark thoughts were spawning a hundred or so in my own (less nimble) mind. I stifled the urge to "argue" Erica into an Everest summit attempt as we walked. I wouldn't do such a thing for an adult... I certainly couldn't begin anything of the sort for a seventeen-year-old. Everest is too dangerous a game... I've seen too many people die here... people who were rock-solid in their determination to climb the mountain while knowing full well the risks they took on. An individual's motivation for such a thing must come from within... not from their guide. I'd let Erica wrestle her own (very legitimate) demons. But that meant that I needed to take my own mind off of her demons for a bit, and so I climbed along with one eye on my client and one eye on the sun's first rays igniting the surrounding peaks. Seth, Melissa, Kent and Ang Kaji had prudently waited for us at the mid-point to check on our progress... and to make sure we negotiated the latest collapsed bridge on the way into the "Football Field". At first we just rested, ate and drank... the typical break. But then we came to the bigger stuff and Erica and I made the decision to descend. The mountain just seemed too big all of the sudden... the way they sometimes do. Erica decided she wanted more years, more mountains and more miles before next taking on Everest's summit and I certainly couldn't begrudge her any of those things. I barely scratched my way up the mountain for a first time at 32 years... I could not have done it at 17. We sent the others on up to CII and Erica and I worked our way carefully down to safety.
As we down-climbed, both our moods brightened...much as my ego would have inflated with another great summit guiding triumph, I was plenty satisfied that six weeks of good, safe climbing was instead followed by a smart and mature decision. We listened to my radio as yesterday's summit team made ready to leave the South Col on their descent to basecamp. All sounded well with them and we looked forward to seeing them down low. Our own team made their way on up to ABC.
Back in camp, I tried to rest away the bleary feeling that comes with 3 AM starts and I set about making new plans for my gang's summit bid. Latest forecasts show that a storm may encroach on our 24th of May attempt...so we may just can the proposed rest day at ABC on the 21st and move up for an earlier bid on the 23rd. I still hope to be of use to my teammates. I want Kent to get his camera rolling on the most spectacular vistas I've ever witnessed. I want Seth and Melissa to tag the top and I suppose now that my priorities have shifted and that Erica is safe in basecamp...I want to touch the top again myself. And so I'll move to CII on the 21st, and CIV on the South Col on the 22nd (they'll move to CIII tomorrow and then the Col on the 22nd, so we'll all be there together for an attempt on the night of the 22nd)
At least that is the plan. We shall see how my legs work. We shall see how the weather flows and how the luck breaks. Stay tuned.
Lots of Puja smoke in the air this morning at basecamp, lots of banging pots and cheering. Lots of people walking around with radio antennae held high. Lots of people smiling but bleary-eyed at having monitored climbers through a long night. I guess it was an exciting day for everyone in basecamp...the estimate being that at least a hundred climbers from perhaps 10 teams had gone for the summit overnight, but of course I know for certain that it was an exciting day for those of us on the RMI team.
Not only were we ecstatic to hear each of our climbers check in from the South Summit, the Hillary Step and the Summit in good time and in good strength, we are now more fired up than ever for our own attempt on the top. It was a day of meeting with the Sherpa climbers that will accompany us; taking a final close look at the extended forecasts and a day of getting packs rigged for climbing once again. In between all of that, my team kept listening in to make sure the summit gang was descending safely. Before lunch, we managed to put everybody through the shower one more time and got a little fluff back in the hairdos. I scraped off my fourth beard of the trip...not sure which number Seth and Kent were scraping off, but they were looking sharp and clean...and ready to go. Melissa and Erica are also eager, healthy and packed for an early morning Icefall transit.
The entire summit team is safely tucked away back at high camp now. They'll spend the night there before resuming the descent. We'll meet them at ABC tomorrow at mid-day. Ours is the normal up-at-3-breakfast-at-3:30-walk-at-4 plan...climbing straight through to Camp II with only a pause for rest at Camp I. I expect we'll get some good stories out of the summit team as we share ABC for the night. The following day, they will undoubtedly be down in BC while we take our single rest day at ABC. Then we move to CIII and on the 23rd of May up to CIV...making us ready for a shot at the top on May 24th.
We discussed our priorities today, along with our perceived strengths and weaknesses. We each know the points in the next week at which we'll need nothing but good luck to achieve our goals. We know who is guiding, who is filming and who is climbing and we all are aware that this climb will push of us to our limits. But we are ready. We want to try to climb the highest mountain in the world.
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Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest
All Team Members Safely Back at Camp 4 After Successful Summit
Voicemail 12:48 a.m. PDT -
Hi RMI, it's Linden calling. It is 12:42 a.m. your time - here in Basecamp. We just got the radio call that our entire team is back in Camp 4. They are settling in for the evening and are going to descend to Camp 2 tomorrow. Everyone made it back safe and sound. It sounds like they are happy to be back and in fine spirits. We will give you another update tomorrow when they get closer to Basecamp.
Group on Top at 8:00 a.m. - Nepal Time
All Five First Ascent Team Members and their Sherpa team were on the summit May 19, 2009 at the following times (Nepal Time):
Peter Whittaker - 8:00 a.m.
Jake Norton - 8:00 a.m.
John Griber - 8:00 a.m.
Ed Viesturs - 8:50 a.m.
Gerry Moffatt - 9:15 a.m.
They are descending to Camp IV now. More video, audio, and pictures to be posted in the morning.
Congratulations!
Update as team descends from Everest summit.
Team safely back at Camp 4.
Peter Whittaker and Ed Viesturs reach the summit of Everest.
Peter and Ed left for the summit at 10:45 p.m. Nepal Time / 10:00 a.m. PST.
Peter Whittaker checking in from 26900 ft. 12AM
Peter Whittaker from 27600 ft. 2AM
Jake Norton from the South Summit. 6AM
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Peter updates from the Hillary Step, very close to the summit.
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