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)

30th April - Day 34
Ivan, David, Chung and Kieron all head up early to the North Col to spend a night of acclimatisation. Chris leads them up in this endeavour (its is suspected that his full pack is due to several kilo's of Everest blend ground coffee being load carried, in addition to his cravings for popcorn Chris has come out of the closet regarding his coffee fixation - we're all trying to be sympathetic and help with his personal battles.).
Soon after they set off Lhopsang radios down from the Col saying that one of our tents had gone. Blown away, we suspected, in the severe wind of the night before. After some discussion it is realised that it was the tent that Tony and Daniel had been using the night before, a little disturbing for them, but a more immediate problem is the loss of all their high altitude climbing equipment.
A search is started, it could be anywhere from a local crevasse on the east face of the north col to several miles down the east rongbuk glacier. Later in the morning as our other climbing members reach the col successfully, Lhopsang radios again to say they have found the tent. It looks smashed up but the contents may be intact. It is in a crevasse that is difficult to access some 80m down the east face of the north col. Some extra is needed for extraction and so this is planned for tomorrow morning.

1st May - Day 35
The climbers at the north col have a reasonable night although a little windy. Ivan has a severe cough and so it is rough for him and anyone trying to sleep in the vicinity. They descended early in the morning and pass the tent rescue team of Russ and Andy who are setting up the rope to abseil into the crevasse. Tony follows Russ and Andy up the mountain to record the event with photo's. Daniel comes later to fit in with a plan for Russ, Andy, Tony, Daniel and the Sherpa's to spend the night at the Col again and hope for a weather window to get up the North Ridge and tag camp 2 at 7500m. Graham is also on the way up to the Col with a view to another acclimatisation night.
The rescue is a struggle but successful and by late morning the kit has been extracted by Russ and Andy with Chris assisting from above. Tony lends a hand in carrying gear back up to the North Col. By late afternoon it is snowing heavily and the prospects of moving up the North Ridge are beginning to fade.
The most disturbing discovery of the day is that the securing ropes on the tent that had gone into the crevasse had been cut. This is an almost inconceivable. The potential consequences being horrendous. Russ thinks he knows who may be behind this grotesque event but of course there is no proof. It's difficult enough climbing the mountain without having to worry about some headcase on the loose.

2nd May - Day 36
The night at the North Col has been relatively windless but the snow has fallen several feet deep. We awake at 5:00am to check out the conditions then hang on for a couple of hours to see if it stops. It is falling thick and fast and the decision to bale out to ABC is obvious. We need to make the descent quickly, although the risk of avalanche is slight, it is no place to hang about. Meantime, the crew back at ABC, Kieron, Ivan, Dave, Chung, in addition to a planned departure to BC for a rest, have cooked up a plan to pull out further than BC and try to organise a 4x4 to Xigatse to get some nights in a comfortable hotel. Its snowing heavily at ABC and likely to be snowing at BC. The team that has just come off the mountain may well go down to BC since the next 4 days are forecast bad weather. However the way the weather is looking the heavy snow may well pin us in ABC.
The decision of some of the guys to try and get out to Xigatse (assuming they can organise the jeep for the 12hr journey, which won't be easy) has caused some internal debate in the team regarding style, attitude, focus, committment etc. and rationale since although a warm bath and bed may be available it is no significant reduction in altitude which should be the primary motive for any retreat from ABC. Needless to say there are two distinctly polarised views of this move. We have been working closely from the start of the expedition with our good friends on the UK Terratorial Army Expediton Ian Andersen and Dan White and remarkably it turns out that Anna Powell (a Cap Gemini staff member) is intimately involved with Dan's brother in law. Even more remarkable is that the TA Expedition would like to record its indebtedness for technical advice on high altitude mountaineering to Anna who is an expert in this field having recently returned from scaling Machupichari.
Close of play today is heavily falling snow at ABC. Russell recalls from his 9 expeditions to the North side of Mount Everest that these are the coldest conditions he can remember. The small team remaining at ABC of Russell, Andy, Chris, Mark, Tony, Graham and Daniel enjoy a good meal cooked by Latchu who is back from a spell at BC to recover from a chest infection. We all retire to our subzero bedrooms to dive into sleeping bags shared with anything we don't want to freeze. At least our tummies are happy - Christmas pudding and Custard was the desert - mmmm, yummy.

more in few days
Tony Kelly
Advanced Base Camp - 6460m
Everest 2000 - North Side