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The
Road Back to Mt. Everest Expedition Dispatches |
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After a year of planning, working and dreaming, I leave for the summit of Mt. Everest on Saturday, May 17.
Before I go into the details, I want to acknowledge what a gift this past year has been and how fortunate I feel to be in this position.
The sun was so bright in my tent that I put my sunglasses on before getting out of my sleeping bag. The rumors of a foot of snow proved false this morning. I awoke to the sound of Lama Thame Sherpa chanting his morning prayers. I was back in base camp.
We completed a major milestone in climbing Everest – spending a night at camp 3 on the Lhotse Face. It was everything I remembered and more.
We are in our tents at 23,350' on the Lhotse Face listening to the snow gently falling.
Today we are comfortably resting at Camp 2. Everyone is in good health and spirits after a breakfast of toast and omlets.
Everest 2008 has had more surprises than a Dick Cheney bird hunt. We have had several successful round trips through the Icefall plus several nights at Camp 1 and 2. Now are ready for the key climb to Camp 3 for a night.
Then the summit!
I am finding the climbing on Everest quite different than on my previous trips.
The Khumbu Icefall – 2,000 feet of moving ice – serves as the gateway to almost all routes on Everest’s south side. It is incredible to think that the early Swiss and British expeditions made this ascent in leather boots with nails for crampons and trees for ladders.
Today we made our entry into the ice fall.
Continue reading "The Khumbu Icefall: Gatekeeper for Everest" »
The Lama said Thursday the 10th between 7:00 and 10:00 AM is best for the Puja.
OK - who would argue with that?
OK, left side is best. No, on my back. Right side - yes, that is it. Ugg, the crocodile roll begins.
The last night in a tea house was supposed to be comfortable - a quasi mattress, walls, a roof. But three hours of sleep was the best I could muster.
Alan describes the views of Everest from the summit of Kala Patar and his feelings about the upcoming climb.
To hear this Everest audio dispatch, just click on the play button. Thanks for listening and following Alan on The Road Back to Mt. Everest: Memories are Everything. This is about more than just climbing mountains....
Climb On!
Alan
The email read in part "can you see if his memorial is still there?" The trek to Base Camp takes you through 30 or more stone memorials built to honor climbers who have died on Everest.
This email was from the 80 year-old Father of such a climber.
Somehow snow in the trees make for a nice start to the day. We woke up Friday morning to a gentle snowfall. The trees were loaded and the ground was white. But the yak trains had already marked the trails as we left our teahouse for the next village.
We continue to move up valley. Everyone is in good health and we are right on schedule.
Her dark black hair was pulled back in a pony tail yet a few strand fell across her forehead as she looked up. Her four-year old eyes were as black as her hair and so large I could almost see my own reflection in them. I held out the crayons and she took them in her tiny hand.
Soon her big brother and a few other children came to see what she was getting. The oldest was wearing a uniform of sorts and I asked if he was gong to school. He nodded his head and then said "fish" as he looked at the Crayola crayon box. There was small fish on the box. I gave him four packages of pens and he smiled knowingly at the usefulness of the present.
My pace picked up as I walked away. They have so little and yet are so happy.
The air was surprisingly cool and fresh as I stepped out of the Boeing 777 onto the tarmac at Kathmandu. After almost two days of travel, I was here. My mind focused on seeing if my three duffels had made it across four flights, four countries and two airlines.
But a thin smile came across my face as I stepped into the airport and was greeted by a big Nepali grin. I moved quickly through customs and then downstairs. Grabbing a cart with a serious wheel malfunction, I moved near the door to the snake like carousel.
The Road Back to Mt. Everest began over a year ago. It had two parts: raise awareness and money for Alzheimer's research and climb five mountains culminating with Mt. Everest on April and May of 2008.
How time files!
Tomorrow I get on a plane and end up in Kathmandu on Saturday.
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I will be returning to climb Mt. Everest in 2008! Barring any more surprises we will be on the South Col route, the same one I was on in 2002 and 2003.
I am extremely grateful that our expedition leaders moved swiftly when the Chinese announced restrictions on the north side and secured permits and logistics support on the south as a backup for our team. Also, our entire team including our Nepali Sherpas have agreed to make the switch thus we will be climbing together.
Continue reading "Dreaming of Ladders - Return to the South" »
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This week we will probably get a decision if our Everest climb will take place. The situation for the north side has deteriorated with the violence in Lhasa and neighboring provinces. My thoughts are with the Tibetan people. As of today, Tibet is closed to all foreigners.
While very difficult, it would not be impossible to still make a summit bid arriving at the North Base Camp after May 10th as shown by the Altitude Everest team last year. They arrived at BC around May 10th and summited on June 14th but they were very lucky with good weather in 2007. They were also very, very strong climbers and leveraged the logistics of Himex and their ropes. So while not impossible, it would be very hard for "normal" climbers like me.
As I posted last week, it is not clear if teams on the South will be allowed above Base Camp before May 10th. A decision will be made this week. The normal acclimatization schedule calls for at least one night at 7000m or Camp 3 on the Lhotse Face. While there are other mountains we could acclimatization on, it makes the logistics more complex.
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On Friday, March 14, Nepal's Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation announced that all climbers on Everest's Nepal side will not be allowed to climb above Base Camp at 17,500' from May 1 through May 10. It is not clear if climbers will be allowed to go above BC prior to May 1.
While there was no mention of the limitations being related to the Chinese's more stringent limitations on the North, the connection is obvious.
This now makes a complicated situation even more complex. North side teams, including ours, have been investigating alternatives given the Chinese March 10th decision to refuse entry to all expeditions on Everest until May 10th - presumably after they carry the Olympic torch to the summit, weather permitting.
Continue reading "Nepal to Limit South Side Climbers from May 1-10" »
Everest followers may have heard that the Chinese government notified all North side expeditions on March 10th that due to "environmental concerns and over crowding" that they are asking teams not arrive until May 10th. There were no further public statements.
Other reports say they asked the Nepalese to close the South side. MountEverest.net publicly broke the origional story yesterday.
Continue reading "Update on Chinese Decision to Close Everest - updated" »
Three weeks, six hours, four minutes and … well you get the idea! I can’t believe that after a year of planning, training and dreaming it is almost time to leave for Kathmandu.
After 17 or more expeditions, I have everything I need so there will be only a few last minute purchases.
I will send another dispatch before I leave introducing my teammates.
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Hello,
As I mentioned a few dispatches ago, I will be speaking in California and Colorado and hope that you can join me at one of these events. In particular, it would be great to see you at the luncheon on Tuesday, March 4.
Regular readers already know that I am returning to Mt. Everest in April 2008 for a special cause that I am very passionate about. I will be attempting the north side with a small team lead by Ryan Waters of Mountain Professionals. I have been training extensively for the past year with climbs on Denali, Shisha Pangma, Aconcagua and Orizaba. However, This is more than just about climbing mountains.
Continue reading "Invitation to the Everest Presentations" »
We are back in Mexico City with some people flying home today. I will catch my flight early tomorrow. We had a nice descent from the summit of Orizaba yesterday. The snow was somewhat packed making it easier than if it had been soft or mushy. That was one benefit of starting so early and avoiding the hot sun of the afternoon. As promised, here are a few pictures of summit day. I will do a complete recap plus posts more pictures next week. Also I will provide the final details of climbing slide show for the Cure Alzheimer's Fund taking place in California and Colorado in March.
Alan does a live dispatch from the summit of Orizaba.
To hear this Orizaba 2008 audio dispatch, just click on the play button. Thanks for listening and following Alan on The Road Back to Mt. Everest: Memories are Everything. This is about more than just climbing mountains....
Climb On!
Alan
Alan reports from High Camp on the plans for summit bid that night.
To hear this Orizaba 2008 audio dispatch, just click on the play button. Thanks for listening and following Alan on The Road Back to Mt. Everest: Memories are Everything. This is about more than just climbing mountains....
Climb On!
Alan
Alan reports from High Camp plus some excitement when looking for a pair of contact lens in a pile of garbage!
To hear this Orizaba 2008 audio dispatch, just click on the play button. Thanks for listening and following Alan on The Road Back to Mt. Everest: Memories are Everything. This is about more than just climbing mountains....
Climb On!
Alan
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