Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Today we woke up in the dark around 3 a.m. and ate a quick breakfast of hot rice porridge and coffee. Several team members took a rest day while the guides and Leif did a carrry through the ice fall to Camp One. As Casey, Seth and I had not been thru the ice fall this season (and this being my first trip to Everest!) we felt a preview of the route would be helpful. Loaded with a light pack including items to cache which would be needed for higher up on the mountain, we started out in the dark and joined the massive line of Sherpa. The route is kicked in well and and the ladders were minimal with several ten foot crevasse crossings being the largest span. A little over halfway thru the ice fall, the sun broke over the mountain and we were greeted with clear blue bird skies.
We arrived at Camp One (just over 20,000 ft.) at 7:30 in the morning and congratulated each other on a trip well done. Our Sherpa team did a great job with camp site selection and we drank, ate and cached our gear. A little after 8 a.m. we started back down the ice fall hopping crevasses, crossing ladders and doing two short rappels. We arrived back at Basecamp (17,500 ft.) just after 10 a.m. during the heat of the day and sat outside enjoying the warmth while rehydrating and gazing up at the ice fall.
Greetings everyone,
The team has adjusted to our new home and daily routines. Everyone seems to be feeling well and we are all excited about heading higher. There has been plenty of training on the lower glacier and several acclimatization hikes that leave us feeling we are ready for the next step. Our new goal will be to ascend the famous Khumbu Icefall. We have already had a few small forays into the lower glacier and everyone did great. The Icefall starts just a few feet from camp and ascends a little over 2,000 ft to Camp One. Our goal will be to ascend the icefall as quickly, safely, and comfortably as we can. It won't be a race, but more like a slow, steady climb to camp. We are hoping it takes no longer than 6 to 7 hours for our first trip. If all goes well we will spend a few days at Camp One and might even venture up the Western Cwm to Camp Two. George Mallory himself named the Western Cwm (Cwm being a Welsh word meaning valley).
The weather has been interesting these last few days and it's beginning to snow as I type. Hopefully a few days of rest, some good weather and we'll be on our way.
Hope everyone is doing great back home and we miss you all (well, most of you anyway!).
This is Seth Waterfall broadcasting from Everest Basecamp. It's been another beautiful day here. We've had a few inches of snow each of the past few night and it has spruced the mountains up nicely. Everything is coming along in our preparation for our first acclimatization rotation. Today Dave went up to Camp One to check on the conditions in the icefall. He made great time and got some really good info on how we can move through the icefall efficiently. The rest of the group went out on to the Khumbu glacier and practiced our climbing and rappelling skills. It was sunny and warm on the glacier and all of the team members were able to run several laps on the 'obstacle course' that the guides set up. This practice is designed to get us familiar with our equipment and allow us to make adjustments in a safe environment. The next step for us will be to head up to Camp One and Two in order to build up our acclilmatization. But before we do that we still have several days of adjusting to the altitude here at Basecamp. It's a long process but this is necessary in order to give all of us the best shot at the summit.
Basecamp is rapidly filling up with teams from all over the world. The camp is just about full. There are only one or two teams that have not arrived. Yesterday we were delighted to see our friends Melissa Arnot and Dave Morton arrive. They are camped about a quarter mile up the glacier and they stopped by for tea after they unpacked their gear. We've had several visitors from most of the big teams. It's great to break up the day with a few visitors and share stories from the trek in.
We'll check in again tomorrow.
A three a.m. snowstorm blew through just as our Sherpa team was trying to decide whether to go ahead with a carry to Camp One. Tendi and the boys wisely decided to give it a miss. Ultimately, it was only two inches, but it changed the basecamp scenery immensely. Leif Whittaker and I took an easy rest day while Chad, Casey and Seth took Scott, Rob and Wendy on acclimatization hikes. Several of the team went all the way up to Pumori Camp One for a little altitude and a lot of views into the Western Cwm.
The big event of our day was Jeff Martin's planned departure for home. He has worked good and hard for a week now (on top of several months, pre-trip) to get our logistics off on the right foot, but now he is needed back on Mount Rainier. We said goodbye to him with a lively, latenight game of Texas Hold 'Em and a good and hearty breakfast.
Now that most teams have arrived, we were entertained with a steady stream of old friends passing through and telling their stories of travels and treks over tea. We'll continue our training for the icefall tomorrow.
After a final long day of walking we at last reached the end of the road today, arriving back at Lukla by late afternoon. With clear skies greeting us this morning we left Namche and dropped down the steep and dusty Namche Hill to the banks of the Dudh Kosi. Retracing our first days of walking several weeks ago, we wound our way along the river, through villages and fields of wheat and barley. With many miles under our feet already, and the altitude finally on our side, we made good time, quickly covering the miles between Namche and Lukla. The final hour was spent climbing the long but gentle ascent back into Lukla, arriving tired but happy, we sat down to a treat of apple struddel at our favorite bakery here in celebration of completing the trek.
The clouds have settled in on Lukla but a good forecast is issued for tomorrow. With luck we will hope on our plane first thing in the morning and be back in Kathmandu shortly thereafter!
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Categories: Expedition Dispatches Everest BC Trek
Despite the dark and heavy rain clouds that engulfed Lukla last night, the morning broke clear and sunny. After a quick breakfast we made our way to the airstrip in Lukla, sorted our bags into the proper piles, and awaited our airplane to arrive. By midmorning we were strapped into our seats, shooting down the small run way of Lukla and bound for Kathmandu.
Tonight is the Nepali New Year's Eve and Kathmandu is strangely quiet and busy in preparation for the holiday. We arrived back at the Yak and Yeti several hours ago and are enjoying some down time, showers, and fresh clothes.
It has been a long and exciting adventure here in Nepal and the team is pleased to be back. We look forward to seeing everyone at home soon.
Namaste,
Mark Tucker sending you this update from Basecamp.
Our Sherpa team had great weather for their trip to Camp Two with a big hunk of supplies for the teams nest at that 21,500 ft camp. They started out at 4:00 am this morning and returned to basecamp for lunch, these guys are tough.
The climbing team had a great day with a number of them getting their first taste of the Icefall's terrain and ladders. They went up the lower part, out of objective danger and perfected the techniques required for what will be there job for the upcoming weeks. Another group went to the top of Kala Pattar, a nearby trekking peak, at over 18,000 ft summiting without supplemental oxygen.
I spent a bunch of calories with about 60 people from many of the teams working on making a helicopter pad out of a glacier. Chopping ice, throwing rocks and moving boulders at 17,500 ft is a great test to see just how acclimatized you are.
Tomorrow Jeff Martin will head down valley starting his journey home to Ashford, WA. Jeff, more than anyone, has made this expedition become what it is, a top notch program, and a team to be proud of. This being my eleventh Everest Expedition I can say with great insight that the effort he has put in the planning and execution of this enterprise is superb. I forced him out onto the lower glacier for a few holes of wiffel golf this evening, it being our Masters Tournament, he opened a can of you know what on me, next time maybe I will whip him. The team wishes him safe travels and a big THANK YOU!
Cheers
We woke up to yet another beautiful and sunny day at Everest Base Camp. The team is still settling into the increased altitude and we are slowly ramping up our activity level in preparation for moving through the Khumbu Ice Fall. Today, we focused on ladder training as we will have numerous ladders bridging gaping crevasses and seracs between Basecamp and Camp One. Dave Hahn and Leif Whittaker decided to go for a short hike into the icefall to do their ladder practice while the rest of the team stayed in camp and created a simulated course. We rigged several ladders over the glacial rocks to simulate the icefall in which we practiced walking up and down the shaky ladders. For starters, we began in our trekking shoes stepping from rung to rung getting used to the shake and wobble of the aluminum ladders. Once everyone felt comfortable with this, we put on our stiff 8,000 meter boots and ran the course again. After this, we continued our progression and added roped hand lines while wearing crampons which best replicates the actual movement during icefall travel. With the addition of hand lines, we were able to steepen the ladder grade for both uphill and downhill travel and even practiced several "emergency" scenarios. One scenario involved stopping mid crossing and kneeling down on the ladder rungs to re-attach a crampon that had "accidentally" popped off. Although this was not a very likely scenario, it had the advantage of addressing a "possibility" while increasing confidence and agility.
Everyone did a great job showing skill and balance and we are all looking forward to moving higher onto the mountain.
Namaste from Namche Bazaar,
After a much deserved night's rest we left Chukung early this morning, leaving the high glacial moraines of the Imja Khola and making our way down the valley. Our good fortune with the weather continued, despite menacing clouds that rolled in yesterday evening. The morning was clear and warm, giving us amazing views of the mountains as we walked.
We soon left the cold reaches of over 15,000' and descended into a world of color again, first passing juniper and other short green shrubs, then into forest of pines, and finally into a riot of blooming rhododendron trees that accompanied us all the way to Namche - it is a far cry from the ice and rock of the Khumbu Glacier and Island Peak.
After over a week and a half in the high thin air of 14,000'+ the sudden immersion into blooming vegetation, thick air (and we're still at over 11,000'!), and the seemingly bustling streets of Namche has been notable. In Namche we treated ourselves to hot showers and an excellent meal. Despite a long day today the group is in fine spirits, happy to be making our way downhill and looking forward to making our way back to Kathmandu. Tomorrow we hike out to Lukla where we plan to catch an early morning flight back to Kathmandu the following day.
All is well here at Everest Base Camp and life is easy for now. We usually have breakfast around 8am (this morning we had pancakes) and relax in the warmth of the morning sun. The next few hours are spent on personal chores and taking it easy while our bodies adjust to the altitude. Lunch comes next and then is shortly followed by nap time or just relaxing in the tents. Dinner is at 6:30 sharp and dress attire is down jackets and insulated pants. Although the dining tent is quite comfortable being double walled, carpeted, and it even has a propane heater. Clearly we are not roughing it!
Everyone seems to be doing great and we are enjoying these few days of rest before we get busy. Today we had a gear review and dress rehearsal and then went for a short stroll through the lower glacier.
A special thanks tonight to Mark Tucker and Jeff Martin for providing a wonderful burrito dinner!
Namaste!
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