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For
further information and different perspectives on our expedition see
coverage also at:
- capgemini.co.uk/everest2000
- mountainzone.com
- earthtreksclimbing.com
(a perspective from Chris Warner, mountain guide)
As I start to write some of this dispatch (on 19th April) I'm unsure
of how its going to reach you since in the last few days although the
expedition is making outstanding progress on the mountain we have experienced
severe technical problems with the computing technology supporting the
dispatch of text and digital imagery and the reciept of incoming personal
mail and also the extremely important weather data. In a matter of days,
we have had two hard disks go down and a screen failure which has taken
out 3 of our 5 computers. We are now back on line but a couple of mails
have been lost and there has been delay in outbound dispatches. Please
bear with us, although the human elements of this expedition are handling
the minus 20degC up to zero temperature swings very wel,l the computing
hardware is a little more temperamental.
15th April - Day 19
We are moving up from BC to Interim camp and then on to ABC in two groups.
This will ease the logistics pressure on Russ and the Sherpa team who
have moved ahead to establish these camps. The trekking members on the
team will go in the first wave since they have a tighter deadline. So
David Sayer, David Eaton and Natalia will be in the first wave. They
had a long slog in mediocre weather taking 7.5hrs to reach interim with
Natalia feeling the effects of altitude badly.
Meantime, down at BC the second wave where stripping tents in winds
gusting 40mph which was fun. BC will remain in basic form with a store,
comms. and cook tent so that we can retreat there during the expedition
as needed. It is manned with radio cover in the safe hands of Rom, one
of the sherpa team...
16th April - Day 20
Group 1 pull out of Interim camp to make for ABC at the same time as
Group 2 head out of BC for Interim. Wisely, Natalia has decided that
the AMS (acute mountain sickness) she is suffering due to altitude will
best be treated by descent. Group 2 pass her enroute during their ascent
to Interim in 5.5hrs feeling in good shape having climbed 300m to 6000m.
Group 1, having left Interim early in the morning, makes ABC in 7hrs
or so. All are well apart from the expected minor headaches. David Sayer
and David Eaton do particularly well, maintaining a good pace. David
Eaton is particularly thrilled he is the oldest member of the team achieves
a lifetime ambition of trekking to both sides of Mount Everest.
17th April - Day 21
The second group heads up to ABC and completes the 22km hike from
BC cruising in 5hrs. It's a hard 2 day slog from BC but we would expect
the climbing team to be doing it in one day as fitness and acclimatisation
improves over the next months. Enroute up the Rongbuk we have passed
amazing penitentes, ice formations caused by the effects of wind and
sun leaving 60ft high ice fins marching up the glacier with the 7000m
plus Changste on our right. On rounding the last bend in the glacier
and approaching the north col nothing prepares you for the awesome towering
walls of the north ridge and the north east pinnacles of Everest first
climbed by Russell Brice our expedition leader. Even though we are still
some 2 hours hike away from the ice face leading up to the North Col,
you have to crane your neck back at 45deg. to see the summit.
Russ and the Sherpas have done an amazing job levelling the moraine
rock fields to create a platform for a cook tent, store tent, mess tent
and comms. tent and space for 16 individual tents and a toilet. Back
breaking work.
18th April - Day 22
A ropey night for most with little sleep. Minor AMS headaches are
the order of the day and to be expected having reached ABC at 6460m.
It is a busy day today which includes a puja, the trekkers departing,
Russ and the team heading for the north col and the climbers establishing
themselves at ABC.
The puja went very well with good weather and fine views of the summit
of Mt. Everest. The sherpas led the celebrations, rice and tsampa was
duely thrown and the prayer flags were raised on their pole. Our ice
axes were blessed with yak butter and juniper smoke. Safe passage was
requested on the mountain. We were immediately blessed with the good
luck of two blackbirds landing on top of the prayer flags. David Eaton
and David Sayer pulled out for their 10hr hike down to BC. It was a
bit of an emotional departure as they had brought great colour and humour
to the expedition (and not a little amount of whisky drinking!)
Russ
and the Sherpas had a fantastically successful day putting in the basic
route to the North Col at 7060m.
19th April - Day 23
The morning was spent tuning up climbing gear, reducing weight where
possible and setting leashes on ascendeurs to the optimal length. This
is in preparation for some of the climbing team making a first push
to the North Col. Russ also gives us a full briefing on fixed rope technique
which is very different to Alpine rope techniques. It is essential for
the safety of the whole expedition that we all use the same methods.
As mentioned at the introduction to this dispatch today was the day
that our computing problems escalated. We lost 3 out of our 5 computers.
Tony worked to solve the problems but in this case they were insurmoutable
at this altitude without technical back up. The fall back is to bring
up the Base Camp computer.
Meantime, Andy (one of the professional mountain guides on the team)
and the sherpas do a load carry to the North Col. Andy is immensely
strong and we suspect he is part yak and part sherpa. A small drama
over dinner reminds us that this is a serious game we play. Indeed this
is the second time in a few days that the Himex infrastructure has been
called upon to render assistance to others in difficulty. Whilst at
Interim camp our radio facilities where needed to help arrange the evacuation
of a sherpa member of a French Canadian expedition.. This evening a
cook with a Japanese expedition needs treatment in our Gammow bag to
counter the effects of HAPE (high altitude pulmonary oedeama). The gammow
bag is a double skinned inflatable plastic chamber that a climber can
be placed in. When the bag is pressurised the effect is to reduce the
apparent altitude by several thousand feet. The japanese team do not
have a gammow bag, we have two.
As the expedition proceeds it becomes apparent that most other expeditions
recognise that the Himalayan Experience infrastructure for communications,
safety and medical cover is the best there is on the mountain. The problem
is that some expeditions rely on it and consequently come under resourced
and also put pressure on our resources.
This problem will manifest itself again. The installation of fixed rope
is a perennial issue but more later.
20th April - Day 24
Chris Warner leads a team of Tony, Jean, Graham, Daniel and Mark Whettu
to push to the North Col with a sub 5 hour target. Although ambient
temperatures are about zero or less there is little wind and consquently
when they get onto the ice and ropes on the slopes of the north col
its necessary to peel off goretex down to fleece and then again down
to thermal tops. The process is revealed as we gain height and the wind
stength increases. It is a very hard sustained drive through snow fields,
ice cliffs, traversing around seracs and crossing crevasses (which we
feel will later need ladders as the warmer weather causes them to open.).
We crest the col in 4.5hrs @ 7060m some 23,000ft feeling very satisfied
with our progress and celebrate with some hot tea. The weather started
to turn almost immediately, so we drop the load of sleeping bags and
gas and head for a 1hr 45min. descent back to the relative comfort of
ABC. Those that remained in ABC took a hike up to the bottom of the
fixed rope starting up the north col. A couple of the guys are a bit
under the weather. Dave is suffering a little with altitude and Ivan
is on medication for a chest infection but not serious. Overall the
expedition is performing extremely well and we have the best infrastructure
with the strongest sherpa team.
21st April - Day 25
A relatively quiet day for the climbing team with yesterday's north
col crew resting their legs. The sherpa's set off to put in the initial
route from camp 1 to camp 2 at 7500m on the north ridge. Tony spent
the morning thrashing around with the computer systems. We are now fully
back on line.
Everybody makes use of the time to wash smelly kit and smelly bodies
in the laundry with the best view in the world. Don't be getting any
ideas about are washing machines up here. A wash is an outdoor splash
in a bowl in subzero ambient temps. The trick of the day is managing
to wash your hair with frozen shampoo and then somehow get the hair
dry before it freezes and snap off!
Latchu our ABC cook has got the flu and will have to go down to BC but
Korbardu still manages to throw together egg, beans and bacon for breakfast
(although some of us did detect a few icicles in the beans, no worries.)
We have been adopted by a small bird (sort of fat bullfinch), which
hops around cheekily close. We also get visits from the odd pacrat (looks
like a small hamster). I chased one out of the comms. tent the other
day - he was looking to nest amongst the wires. Also, whilst passing
Jean's tent and closing it up to prevent snow blowing in, one jumped
out of his sleeping bag and shot between my legs before I could enquire
as to its intentions. Now we all check out our sleeping bags before
thrusting our feet in - not wanting a furry surprise (well not this
early in the expedition anyway!).
The pacrats looking for warm places and failure of our computer gear
is all down to the same thing - its damn cold! In fact its unseasonably
cold with night time temps dropping to lower
than 20degC below zero. Our latest weather forecast from the Met. Office
in Bracknell, UK tells us that the jet stream temps. on top of the mountain
are lower than minus 35degC. The wind is getting up and the snow is
starting to fall hard - it promises to be a cold and buffetted night.
And we're all here of our own free will. Sane or what?
That's all for now folks more to follow in the next few days Tony Kelly
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