Update 7:21 p.m. PST:
Mark Tucker sent a message that the team is descending from Camp 1 to Basecamp. All is well!
Voicemail update 7:20 a.m. PST:
Hey, this is Dave Hahn calling from Advanced Base Camp once again. We finished our whirlwind tour of the upper mountain. You remember we went from here, 21,300, to nearly 26,000 feet the South Col and went to the summit this morning. And then all the way back down here to Advanced Base Camp. So a long day of climbing and an exciting day of climbing for myself, Seth, Kaji and Tshering. With Gyaljen playing lifeguard back at the South Col looking out for us and having some hot drinks ready when we got back there - which was pretty nice. And we loaded everything up, up there at the Col and came down with the pretty heavy packs down the Lhotse Face. It feels very good to be a little bit lower on the mountain but what a big day! Certainly intended to give a voice dispatch from the summit, had the sat phone up there but there was a little bit of a cold wind blowing from the north, made it hard to do things like work with your fingers with your gloves off and make phone calls and things like that. But we were able to talk to Mark Tucker down a base camp on the radio and Dan as well who was standing down there with Lam Babu and our whole Base Camp staff. So, that was nice to be able to connect with those guys, while we were up there. (broken transmission).
Conditions weren't all that bad, ended up a pretty good weather summit day but a little cold. Wind kind of goes with what we consider a good day. Anyway this was a good day. And now it's clearly the season is changed. And it's time to get off the mountain, it's heating up. The anchors we're melting out on our way down the Lhotse Face and we had to be pretty careful of that. So we're taking that as a sign that it is time to be heading down. Alright, bye for now. Thank you.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
RMI Guide Dave Hahn checks in from ABC after their summit climb.
The Expedition Skills Seminar – Muir led by Casey Grom and Adam Knoff made the prudent decision to remain at Camp Muir last night. A foot of new snow fell at Camp Muir overnight in addition to 10 inches yesterday. Casey also reports the temperature is hovering around 10 degrees which is keeping everyone busy staying warm. The Seminar is planning to head up to the Ingraham Flats this morning. The team wraps up their training and time at Muir tomorrow.
Hi Everyone!
We are back at 14 Camp after a great day carrying a load of food and fuel to the top of the fixed lines at 16,200'. Our team climbed strong and we were all excited to get a feel for the upper mountain and steeper snow and ice.
We arrived back in camp with enough sunshine left in the day to sit outside the tents and relax and rehydrate while our boots dried (and more importantly AIRED!) out.
The weather is looking good and we hope to move up to high camp soon and make our summit bid!
RMI Guide Solveig Waterfall & Team
There's a great German game show called "Stackenblocken" where contestants arrange objects on a desk at right angles. A judge then comes out with a framing square and a riding crop to punish the contestants who cannot make their desk "Stackenblocken". Well, the weather has been so sunny and warm here at 11 camp that the wall surrounding our camp was indeed no longer "Stackenblocken" and in fact leaned to the point where it comically collapsed... Fortunately for us there was no judge with a jockey's disposition and the blocks remained intact. We were actually able to rebuild it in a few quick minutes; turns out its not so hard on the second go around when all your materials are ready-made.
On another note, the team also spent a bit of the day retrieving our cached food and fuel from the 9,600' camp. We made such short work of our back carry that it really felt like a rest day. Good times!
More about our intrepid crew as our adventure unfolds...
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Update: 4:04 am PTRMI Guide Mark Tucker reports from Everest Base Camp that the climbing team has safely returned to Camp 2 (ABC). They will spend the night resting, eating and recovering from the summit climb. Tomorrow, Mark is looking forward to welcoming the team back to Base Camp.
Update:10:51 pm PT
The team has safely reached the South Col. Everyone is doing well. They are going to take a quick break before continuing down to Camp 2 (Advanced Base Camp).
Mark Tucker
Update: 6:46 pm PT
Mark Tucker reports from Everest Base Camp that RMI Guides Dave Hahn, Seth Waterfall and their Sherpa team, Tshering and Kaji have reached the summit of Mt. Everest! This marks Dave's 15th summit of Mt. Everest and the third time for Seth to have reached the summit. Tshering and Kaji have both made their sixth successful summit of Mt.Everest.
The team reported a beautiful day with a cold wind. They will spend about 30 minutes on top before starting their descent.
Congratulations to all!
Congratulations, felicidades! 15 th summit!!! Great. Regards from Costa Rica
Posted by: Silke on 5/23/2013 at 7:51 pm
Huge Congratulations! You guys were patient, waited until the right time, even when all others were making their summit bids, and you always seem to be successful. Great climbing. Bill Bussey
Update 5:23 pm PST:
I received a radio call from the team. They are now on top of the South Summit! Weather continues to be okay for them; a few clouds down here at Basecamp. Sun may have an impact soon in a very positive way.
RMI Guide and Everest Basecamp Manager Mark Tucker
Everybody made it to Alaska just fine with just one not-so-minor hiccup. One duffel never showed up and had one of us spending the afternoon at REI replacing missing items. As luck would have it, we got a call from a climber in Talkeetna who had picked it up at the airport by mistake. With that behind us we were ready for a beer and turned in after our big travel day.
Today we were busy getting the incredible amount of gear needed for this adventure ready for our flight in the morning. Everyone is excited about getting started. Me too, even after all these years.
More to come soon...
RMI Guide Brent Okita
Update 3:45 pm PST:Seth Waterfall radioed in after the team made the oxygen bottle switch at the Balcony. They are are well past that point and working their way to the South Summit. A bit of traffic but not too bad. Kaji and Tshering are right there with them and report not much wind and a beautiful morning is shaping up. Rough estimate of between one and three hours to top of the South Summit. All is going very well.
RMI Guide and Everest Basecamp Manager Mark Tucker
(The map shows a point at Camp 4 with the next point marking the South Summit.)
This morning we woke up early, broke camp and flew off the Kahiltna Glacier. We are now enjoying a nice meal at the West Rib Pub. The group is doing fantastic and we all looking forward to a warm shower. All and all and incredible time with everyone.
Thank you all for the fantastic time!!!!
RMI Guide Andres Marin
so cool! glad that you all summited safely and are sharing your experience.
Posted by: michelle on 5/23/2013 at 11:49 am
All your patience is rewarded. Congratulations and thanks for all the story sharing. Have a safe end of expedition and a nice journey home later.
Posted by: Eric F. on 5/23/2013 at 11:11 am
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