Yesterday I flew into Annapurna Base Camp. As the pilot and I made our way through the deep valleys from Tatopani, Annapurna I appeared, rising some 12,800ft above. Yikes! A beautiful jumble of rock and ice. I leaned over to the pilot and nervously asked him if he could return me to Kathmandu. He just laughed, assuming sarcasm...
After arriving in base camp and setting up my camp, I went for a slow jog in the evening toward the glacier (see picture) and got my first glimpse of the way to Camp 1. The route looks to follow an ascending traverse across a cliff face of rock and snow which has the advantage of bypassing a 2,500’ glacial ice fall. It does seem like the slightly better of two bad options - although the cliff still holds many things above you that could become hazards.
Tomorrow I’ll attend a Puja (a ceremony in which meditational prayers are offered to the Buddhas and holy beings to request their blessings or help), after which I’ll start pushing uphill. Currently it’s snowing here in base camp with consistent thunder. The weather forecast is predicting unstable conditions until April 4th. However, there seems to be an afternoon trend to the wet weather, which if it holds shouldn’t affect my acclimatization climbs to C1/C2.
Well, that’s all I’ve got for now!
RMI Guide Alex Barber
Namaste everyone
We certainly feel blessed with the weather we've been having, as today was another beautiful day.
Our daily routine has been breakfast at 7:30 or 8 and hitting the trail generally no later than 9. Then we hike 30-40 minute intervals until lunch, then head back out until we reach camp. Today was a little different as we stopped off to visit Lama Geshe who lives in Pangboche. He is a very high ranking Lama and generally gives blessing to the climbers and Sherpas headed to Everest, most of whom won't climb without his blessing.
After our visit with the Lama we finished up our hike pulling into another village that sits along this ever winding path to Everest. Pheriche is where we are and where we will spend a few days to acclimatize as we have finally reached the 14,000 ft mark.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Hey everybody. It's Billy calling in from Camp Cholera at19,600 feet here on the side of Aconcagua. We're all settled into camp and melting snow, filling water bottles right now. We are looking forward to dinner and early to bed tonight. Hopefully take a crack at the summit tomorrow. Right now the weather is partly cloudy and just a gentle breeze. Things are pretty nice, other than the fact that camp is bone, bone dry. We have to hike almost 20 minutes out of camp to fill garbage bags full of snow and bring them back just to fill water bottles. Other than that nuisance, things are going well, the teams in great spirits and hopefully that weather forecast holds true and we have a perfect day tomorrow. We'll check in again during the day and let you know how it's going. All for now, bye.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
RMI Guide Billy Nugent calls in from Aconcagua High Camp.
4:50 pm PT Update: Billy called in after the team returned safely to camp. A bit breezy but beautiful views on the summit. Billy's photos below.
Call from the summit:
Hey it's Billy here. I'm checking in from the summit of Mount Shuksan!. We are on top with seven climbers and three guides, enjoying perfect weather. Not a cloud in the sky. Views all the way down to Mount Rainier, out to the Olympic Range and the Puget Sound. We can see Vancouver, up into the Coast Range and over into the thickets of the deep North Cascades. Just spectacular today. We'll give you guys a shout when we are back in camp, safe-and-sound. All for now.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
RMI Guide Billy Nugent calls from the Mt. Shuksan summit!
Today the team got up a little early to make use of the firm snow to practice using our crampons, and we revisited how to self-arrest also. After our morning session we enjoyed breakfast and then relaxed near camp till lunch. The weather has slowly been changing here and shortly after lunch we decided to postpone our climb by one day as the forecast is showing a slight improvement for tomorrow evening. So that means another day of rest tomorrow!
Not much new to report here, but everyone is doing well and we have our fingers crossed that the weather improves enough to allow for some amazing views.
We'll check in again tomorrow before our big climb!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Am sure you are anxious to start the climb but glad you can wait a day to get better weather. Prayers and good thoughts for you all Love Mom and Granny
Hey this is Dave on Mt. McKinley giving an update for today, the 28th of June. We got up at 4 a.m. and made our move from 9,500' on the Kahiltna up to 11,000'. The weather cooperated, there were clouds down low but we were above it all. We reached camp by 10 a.m. since we got a nice early start while it was still cool. We built our camp at 11,000' and plan to establish a cache around Windy Corner tomorrow. Everything is going well and we will talk to you soon.
Namaste from Everest Basecamp.
Our first full day at Mount Everest began with saying goodbye to Scott's Dad, Jeff. As planned, he headed down valley this morning just after a sumptuous breakfast in our dining tent. The team enjoyed mild temperatures and an "easy" day resting and getting organized at 17,500 ft above sea level. We met for a strategy session in which we discussed plans for first week of the climb as well as for "big picture" plans for the how the rest of the climb might play out. Jeff Martin and Mark Tucker worked hard to buff out our electrical and communications systems (we rely largely on solar energy, satelite link-ups and handheld radios in these areas). Importantly, we gathered the entire team so that the American climbers could get to know the Nepali team members and vice versa. Tendi Sherpa and Lama Babu -along with our great chef Kumar- facillitated the introductions. We spent the afternoon resting and chatting. We intend to meet with the famous and hard-working "Icefall Doctors" who are currently putting in the climbing route through the Khumbu, and later we'll tour the Himalayan Rescue Association's basecamp clinic and meet the medical doctors. It seems abnormally hot and dry for early April, and each afternoon we've seen the air get murky with forest fire smoke from somewhere down valley. A quiet day has been punctuated by giant ice avalanches off the surrounding glaciers... keeping things interesting.
The sun hit camp around 7:20 am and the Team got a slow roll to the day. We ate a delicious egg and potato scramble before packing up our cache items. The calm and warm morning facilitated getting out of camp by 10:30. The terrain between the two camps is comprised of three traverses to gain the 1,600’ elevation gain. Between the first and second traverse is the Ameghino Col which provides a sprawling view of the Andes with several glaciated and snow covered peaks. It’s likely the most scenic and photographed part of the climb.
We were in Camp 2 at 18,000’ in just under three hours with about 45 minutes to relax and gather our cached items. A cache for those who don’t know is where a climbing team will bury their gear, food and fuel so weather, winds and birds can’t get to it. In our situation we cover our cache with rocks. The Team performed well and descended back to Camp 1 for some well deserved rest in warm tents, gently swaying in a light breeze.
There are reports of increasing wind starting on the 24th and lasting for 3-4 days. If we are all feeling good in the morning, we will move our camp to 18,000’ for the storm and batten down the tents for Christmas and a few rest days.
Thanks for following along, the Team sends it’s love to the family and friends back home.
RMI Guide Mike King
Merry Christmas and a happy new year! You’re strong and healthy and I know you can do it. Lots of love and hugs. Miss you and happy you are having a great time
June 28, 2015 5:18pm PST
Resting here at 14 after a big day yesterday. Clouds and sunshine are in and out along with the occasional bout of flurries. Nothing major to report. Now that we are poised and ready we are just playing a chess match against the weather. Hoping to get that window that will take us to the summit...
RMI Guide Billy Nugent & Team
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How long is your acclimatize period between C1/C2?
Posted by: Mary on 3/30/2015 at 6:34 am
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