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Now it gets interesting in Everest-ville. Chherring, Dawa Jamba and Kaji made a significant contribution to our team's potential success today. They got up around 2 AM, put on big packs at ABC and climbed all the way to the South Col, establishing what will be our High Camp at 26,000 feet. All three were safely back down the Lhotse Face and into ABC by noon. They'll hope to repeat that extremely big morning of work in the next few days... boosting enough tents, fuel, oxygen and miscellaneous heavy stuff up to the Col so that the door will be open for our summit bid.
Just when that summit bid will take place is uncertain at this point. To be sure, when Linden, Sara and myself came down from ABC yesterday we were bucking the local trend. There were dozens of our friends, fellow guides and Sherpas pushing up the lower mountain with summit stars in their eyes already. This season is turning out to be different from those in recent memory in that the weather window is open early and people are taking advantage. This has long been a hope for those of us who habitually attempt Everest..."If only the weather could be good enough, early enough so that everybody wasn't going for the summit on the same four crowded days in late May" Climbers are getting to the top now... we heard that Apa Sherpa got his record 21st summit of the mountain today... British climber Kenton Cool is already back home after a head-spinning and nearly unheard of three-week round-trip to the summit (we are on our seventh or eighth week). In the next couple of days it should get quite busy at the top of the world as the bulk of the assembled expeditions look to get it all done while the jet-stream seems to be otherwise occupied.
If it seems like I'm jealous then perhaps I am... but only mildly. A good shot at the top for others is not necessarily a good shot for us. Having just come down the mountain from our last round of acclimatization yesterday, I'm satisfied enough with our exertions and not yet restless and bored enough to be jealous of anyone else's. Although the three of us are each feeling strong and healthy now, we need a good chunk of rest and we cling to the belief that a viable weather window later in the month will be warmer and quieter than a viable weather window in the middle of the month... we want every single advantage.
That is why we were trying to get up to sleep at Camp 3 a few days ago. Without question it would have been a big plus for our small team to have the experience and confidence that results from an admittedly dreadful night in a tent at 24,000 ft. But it was clear to each of us that Sara was getting worn out in the most-recent effort to reach that camp... who knows why? Perhaps the last rest period in Base Camp wasn't long enough... perhaps the windy-night at Camp 1 deprived her of the sleep she needed... perhaps the hot sun in the Western Cwm or the cold morning at ABC drained her reserves... perhaps, perhaps, perhaps... it doesn't really matter. It is a huge disadvantage that younger climbers suffer from -that they don't always know their bodies well enough to know just why and when they'll be tired instead of burly. But in any case, Sara was getting worked by the climb to Camp 3... she knew it, I knew it, and Linden knew it. We all were completely clear that despite this, she could make it up to the camp under her own power and spend the night if necessary. But the day's goal no longer seemed to be a smart one of it meant getting our most important climber exhausted on the doorstep to the "death zone". It became crystal clear that we needed to focus on a bigger picture than a counter-productive practice night at Camp 3... we needed to get down, to get in a good rest and to get focused on a summit bid that fit our needs.
And so here we are... listening to other teams high up on the hill, cheering on our own Sherpa team of heroes, eating everything in sight, beginning to talk just a bit of things we might do in June, keeping Tuck occupied with horseshoes, card games and dice, enduring daily snow showers, making one another laugh and trying to stay focused on a big picture that involves going to 29,035 ft soon... and coming down safely.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
The mountain time is coming to a close. We managed to get everything stuffed into, tied to the side, or strapped under our packs and split freedom the moraine camp this morning. Loads were heavy, but we were moving with gravity, and we made it to base camp nice and quickly. It's only been a week up high, but after a week if rocks and glacier, the green of plants down low looks like it was done in technicolor. Base camp comes with perks: pizzas, caucasian pies, and cold fantas, cokes, and beers. We took the afternoon to sort gear back into duffels to be better set up for our coming flights, soak feet in the mineral springs, and enjoy a last bit of the mountain. The vans will be here in the morning for us and before we know it, we'll be back in town.
The trip is not over though. Still to come, adventures in Kislovodsk and St. Petersburg.
RMI Guides Pete, Mike, and team we're psyched to be done with boots
Hello,
Well, the phone call we got this morning was not the one we wanted. The news was that the flight was not going to happen and that the next scheduled update would be at 7:30 pm. The winds at both Punta Arenas and
Union Glacier were too high.
We made great use of the day despite the flight being delayed. We took a tour of Fuerto Bulnes, the first establishment in this area, founded in 1834. It is about 35 miles east of Punta Arenas and plays a very important part in this area's history. After some lunch we did a short walking tour of the city's cemetery which is filled with beautiful mausoleums. While a bit on the side of eerie, it was well worth it.
We were back at the hotel early and ready for the next update. When the call came, they said that the wind gusts in the last hour (53 knots) at the airport were a little too high, but they would call back in an hour and give us another update. The next call came as promised and while the winds diminished at the airport, the relative humidity at Union Glacier had increased 82%, and the flight was not going to happen tonight.
So the waiting game continues and we will start the process again tomorrow morning with the 7:30 am update. Hopefully tomorrow will be our day to fly.
Best,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
Yet another perfect weather day, calm and sunny… clear above and cloudy below. We ate breakfast in Karanga Camp and then said a temporary goodbye to two of our climbers. John Bobbitt aggravated an old knee injury and Erika Bobbitt wanted to make sure he got down safely. They set off for the Mweka Gate of the park as we set off for high camp at 8:30 AM. In an easy three hours, we had climbed the 2000’ vertical feet up to Barafu and begun to settle in. From 15,100 ft, we now had unobstructed views of our climbing route to the top.
The afternoon was taken up with resting and getting our gear and clothing ready for our planned alpine start. Chef Benson’s fine spaghetti dinner was served early so that we could get to bed just before sunset. We want as much rest as we can get before our 11:15 PM wake-up time.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team
Well, we have finally made it to Penitentes and finished packing up all of our junk that we'll need on the mountain for the next few weeks. The loads are readied for the mules to shuttle into basecamp for us and we are all very excited about hitting the trail tomorrow!
After a quick breakfast this morning at our hotel we headed out in Mendoza to pay for and secure the paperwork for our climbing permits. What sounds like an easy task is actually not so simple when you have to run all over town to complete each stage of the permitting process in a different building across town. Luckily for us everything went off without a hitch and after running a few more errands the team was checked out of the hotel and headed out to Penitentes where we have been staging for the rest of this afternoon/evening. Tomorrow we´ll leave the loads for the herrieros (muleteers) and catch a shuttle out to Punta de Vacas which is our trail head at the mouth of the Vacas Valley. The weather thus far has been quite comfortable so we´re hoping that it can hold for a few more days affording us a nice walk in to
Aconcagua Basecamp.
That´s all for now, we´ll check in via satellite phone tomorrow evening from our first camp along the approach.
RMI Guides
Billy Nugent,
Leon Davis, and the rest of the crew.
Today we broke down camp, said goodbye to the lovely Basecamp staff and began our climb to Camp 1 for the final time. The climb was easy as the trail was familiar and the weather was sunshine and light winds. Once we arrived we made quick work of setting up camp and fortifying our tent anchors with rocks due to the strong nightly winds we knew would be coming. After a delicious meal of mountain Pad Thai everyone went back to their tents to try to get some sleep at 16,000 feet. Tomorrow we move to Camp 2!
RMI Guide Walter Hailes
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons June 17 - 22 led by RMI Guide Hannah Smith made the difficult decision to turn around today at 13,500'. Hannah reported difficult snow conditions and a lack of established trail due to the new snow accumulations over the last few days. The climbers have returned to Camp Schurman where they will spend their final night on the mountain. Tomorrow the team will do some crevasse rescue training before descending to the trailhead and returning to Rainier BaseCamp later in the day.
The Four Day Climb June 22 - 25 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and James Bealer. The teams reached the crater rim at 5:30 am, they enjoyed clear skies and a light breeze during their climb. The route remains in good shape and teams were making good time on their descent. They were at 13,500' around 7 am heading back to Camp Muir. They will enjoy a short break at Camp Muir to refuel and repack, then descend the remaining 4.5 miles and 4,500ft to reach Paradise.
Congratulations to today's teams on reaching the summit of Mt. Rainier!
La cumbre! We’re happy to report that 100% of our team stood on top of
Cotopaxi at 6 am this morning! After two days of downpours, we slung our packs on just after midnight and stepped outside to see the lights of Quito glowing in the distance - the clouds had broken! Alas, it wasn’t long until a chilly wind decided to follow us as we climbed toward 17,000’ and the clouds came rushing back in. Fortunately it was short-lived when we got above the clouds at 19,000’ to see dawn on the horizon and a clear shot to the summit. After 5 hours and 45 minutes of climbing we stepped up onto the crater rim. We didn’t get the spectacular view of the crater we were hoping for (we did get the pungent smell of sulfur, though!), but a lot had gone right for us and we were psyched with our team’s effort to tag 19,348’! Mission accomplished. We said goodbye to our Ecuadorian friends and guides, Nacho and Jaime, this afternoon and will head back to Quito tomorrow morning for a final celebration before hopping on flights back to our hometowns.
RMI Guides Peter Whittaker,
Jess Matthews and Team
On The Map
The Kautz Seminar, led by RMI Guide James Bealer, was stopped by route conditions this morning. They reached 12,500' before making the call to abort their ascent. The team is currently working their way back to high camp. They have had a full week of training and will spend one more night on the mountain before concluding their program tomorrow.
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Thanks for the posts, Dave. I will be keeping track. Hopefully that weather window that normally occurs later in May still happens and isn’t going on now. Dave, did you ever meet my buddy Brett in Taos this year? Climb safe. Looking forward to the next post. Hans
Posted by: Hans Reigle on 5/12/2011 at 2:58 pm
Thank you, Dave, for this insightful description of a very complex venture. Our gratitude to all those who make this happen and our thoughts and prayers are with everyone. Sara, to get so far up to now is an incredible accomplishment all by itself. Rest well. Bill, is putt-putt available at Base Camp? Thinking of you all with much love.
Posted by: Mom /Grandma on 5/12/2011 at 6:29 am
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