Hey Everybody, I apologize for not updating the blog in so long but I hope to be updating again soon. After spending a week acclimatizing at Base Camp the team got ready to hike up to Advanced Base Camp.
The walk to Advanced Base Camp was broken into two days to cover the 15 miles and 1200m of elevation gain. As I have for the whole expedition, I took my place in the back of the pack and took my time hiking up to Interim Camp which is placed halfway between Base Camp and Advanced Base Camp. It took about 6 or 7 hours before I made it to Interim Camp. Camp was very basic and was just used to give us a place to sleep for the night before finishing the hike the following morning. It was another 7 hours of slow hiking before I arrived in Advanced Base Camp and weather turned bad about 30 minutes out. The wind picked up, it started to snow and it got bitterly cold.
At ABC I felt the elevation gain immediately just walking 20 yards from the mess tent to my tent. After 2 rest days I was better acclimatized to the height of ABC and things got a little easier. On this trip up to ABC the goal was to reach the top of the North Col and then return back to BC for 5 days rest. The route up the North Col is fixed with ropes anchored into the ice and to climb it you use an ascender and back-up safety devices in case of a slip or fall. It was a long, hard day climbing the North Col and at 7000m my muscles were screaming for oxygen.
Climbing the fixed ropes was good experience and kept the climbing interesting because you are always unclipping and clipping into new ropes and it requires constant attention. There were a few crevasses to cross and two of the larger ones were rigged up with ladders to allow for a safer crossing. On the steeper sections it became one step to 15 seconds of rest but I finally made it up, took a few photos and some video footage and headed right back down. The way down took about 30 minutes using a technique called abseiling and an hour after that I was back in Advanced Base Camp for a good meal and some hot drinks. We were lucky with good weather the whole day and that made things a lot easier. The rest of that day was spent resting and in the morning I left at 8am and got back to Base Camp at 12 noon to a relatively rich oxygen level and the comforts of Base Camp.
At Base Camp the shower heater was broken but I got a pail of hot water from the Sherpa cooks and made my own shower out of that. Getting clean is one of the best feelings here and putting on clean clothes is a huge morale booster. You can wash dirty clothes in buckets and then hang the wet clothes on your tent to dry during the day. I'm spending the days in Base Camp here resting and eating as much as I can to restore my energy levels.
Right now it looks like I'll be heading back up to Advanced Base Camp on Thursday, take a rest day Friday, climb back up to the North Col Saturday and sleep there, climb to 7500m Sunday, return to the North Col to sleep and then descend to Advanced Base Camp on Monday, and finally come back to Base Camp on Tuesday. From there I will be ready for my summit bid and will just be waiting for a favorable weather window. Not much exciting is happening here at Base Camp, although we did get a new toilet tent today because one of our two was in pretty rough shape so that’s good. I am running dangerously low on beef jerky but I have plenty of chocolate bars left to hold me over.
Unfortunately yesterday we received word that there was an avalanche on the North Col. Details aren't completely clear yet but it is thought that there was at least one fatality, but I'd rather not speculate and wait until the real information comes through. You can read about deaths and accidents on Mt. Everest all you want but yesterday I had a real weird feeling knowing that this occurred in a place I had been only a few days before and being on the mountain makes you feel a whole lot closer to the tragedy. My condolences to the families and I hope there are no more accidents this season. Well, I'm feeling strong and looking forward to getting back up on the mountain and ticking off the next objective of this trip. Thanks for checking in, Max!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Hi All from Basecamp (Just a little late)
I just got two posts from Max, one old and one current. Below you will find a post from Max that is about two weeks late, and above is the latest. Here it is in his own words...
It took about a week and dodging illness in some very questionable towns along the way but we've been at Base Camp for about a week now and life has been good. Everyone on the team has their own 3-man tent to sleep and store their gear in and there are two mess tents each equipped with a 32" plasma TV. They are run off of solar power and a generator. We have a huge selection of DVD's to choose from and every night after dinner the generator gets turned on and each mess tent watches a film. We are at about 16,000ft and I've had my bad days of headaches but I'm acclimatizing well and we've gone on a couple walks to higher altitude including one to 6000m which is just under 20,000ft and I felt great. Even so there are times when the simplest task leaves you gasping for air. Sometimes when you’re sleeping you will wake up abruptly trying to catch your breath.
During the day the sun is brutal and if you're not careful you can get some serious burns. Every morning before I leave the tent I put on a bunch of spf 70 sunscreen and a zinc based sun screen for my lips and nose. I've recorded the temperature in my tent during the middle of the day at 115 degrees but as soon as the sun goes down and the wind picks up the temperature drops big time and is well below freezing. A couple nights there has been snowfall and in the morning everything is coated with a fresh layer of snow. My sleeping bag keeps me very warm and I can't even zip it up all the way or I will start sweating.
We have a perfect view of Everest from Base Camp and it is amazing to look up at the tallest mountain in the world and know that I'm going to be trying to get to the top in a month. The scenery definitely can not be beaten. The Sherpas cook 3 excellent meals a day and there are barrels of snacks to grab during the day when you get hungry. I've even eaten watermelon a few times. Keeping an adequate protein intake is important and there is always a meat or fish served with every meal whether it's bacon, tuna, chicken or spam. I was hoping to go through my entire life without ever eating spam, but I have already eaten it on a few occasions here and because of the lack of options it has actually tasted decent. The meals are full of calories to help us keep our energy levels at their highest.
During the day to pass the time I've been playing Risk, reading books and talking with other members of the group. There are quite a few guys that I get along with and that helps to pass the time. Unfortunately one member of the group came down with altitude sickness and had to be evacuated all the way back to Kathmandu, but we received word that he has recovered and is on his way back to Base Camp soon.
The other day we had our Puja which is a religious ceremony that climbers undertake before attempting the mountain. The Sherpa's won't step foot on the mountain without a Puja first and it involves a Buddhist monk going through a prayer ceremony and then everybody throwing flour into each others faces and dancing. Today I went for a dip in a glacial lake and it was freezing but was also refreshing and a way to get semi-clean. I was a little hesitant at first because the sun wasn't out but some spectators on my team started a USA-USA-USA chant and I had to defend my country's pride so I stripped down to my underwear and dove in. Tomorrow we start our trip to Advanced Base Camp and we spend a night halfway before finishing the trip the next day. After a rest day or two we are going to make a trip to the North Col and then we will come back to Base Camp for some recovery and more DVD's.
As you may have seen on the news, there is a 13 year old climber named Jordan Romero attempting Everest from the same side as I am. I met him the other night and he's a very down to earth and humble kid. There are a lot of people criticizing what he's doing and despite whether I think he should be here or not I wish him the best. Time seems to be passing pretty quickly and we will actually be setting foot on Everest in the next couple days and I'm getting excited. Thanks for checking in, Max.
It took about a week and dodging illness in some very questionable towns along the way but we've been at Base Camp for about a week now and life has been good. Everyone on the team has their own 3-man tent to sleep and store their gear in and there are two mess tents each equipped with a 32" plasma TV. They are run off of solar power and a generator. We have a huge selection of DVD's to choose from and every night after dinner the generator gets turned on and each mess tent watches a film. We are at about 16,000ft and I've had my bad days of headaches but I'm acclimatizing well and we've gone on a couple walks to higher altitude including one to 6000m which is just under 20,000ft and I felt great. Even so there are times when the simplest task leaves you gasping for air. Sometimes when you’re sleeping you will wake up abruptly trying to catch your breath.
During the day the sun is brutal and if you're not careful you can get some serious burns. Every morning before I leave the tent I put on a bunch of spf 70 sunscreen and a zinc based sun screen for my lips and nose. I've recorded the temperature in my tent during the middle of the day at 115 degrees but as soon as the sun goes down and the wind picks up the temperature drops big time and is well below freezing. A couple nights there has been snowfall and in the morning everything is coated with a fresh layer of snow. My sleeping bag keeps me very warm and I can't even zip it up all the way or I will start sweating.
We have a perfect view of Everest from Base Camp and it is amazing to look up at the tallest mountain in the world and know that I'm going to be trying to get to the top in a month. The scenery definitely can not be beaten. The Sherpas cook 3 excellent meals a day and there are barrels of snacks to grab during the day when you get hungry. I've even eaten watermelon a few times. Keeping an adequate protein intake is important and there is always a meat or fish served with every meal whether it's bacon, tuna, chicken or spam. I was hoping to go through my entire life without ever eating spam, but I have already eaten it on a few occasions here and because of the lack of options it has actually tasted decent. The meals are full of calories to help us keep our energy levels at their highest.
During the day to pass the time I've been playing Risk, reading books and talking with other members of the group. There are quite a few guys that I get along with and that helps to pass the time. Unfortunately one member of the group came down with altitude sickness and had to be evacuated all the way back to Kathmandu, but we received word that he has recovered and is on his way back to Base Camp soon.
The other day we had our Puja which is a religious ceremony that climbers undertake before attempting the mountain. The Sherpa's won't step foot on the mountain without a Puja first and it involves a Buddhist monk going through a prayer ceremony and then everybody throwing flour into each others faces and dancing. Today I went for a dip in a glacial lake and it was freezing but was also refreshing and a way to get semi-clean. I was a little hesitant at first because the sun wasn't out but some spectators on my team started a USA-USA-USA chant and I had to defend my country's pride so I stripped down to my underwear and dove in. Tomorrow we start our trip to Advanced Base Camp and we spend a night halfway before finishing the trip the next day. After a rest day or two we are going to make a trip to the North Col and then we will come back to Base Camp for some recovery and more DVD's.
As you may have seen on the news, there is a 13 year old climber named Jordan Romero attempting Everest from the same side as I am. I met him the other night and he's a very down to earth and humble kid. There are a lot of people criticizing what he's doing and despite whether I think he should be here or not I wish him the best. Time seems to be passing pretty quickly and we will actually be setting foot on Everest in the next couple days and I'm getting excited. Thanks for checking in, Max.
Article from Outside Magazine
There was a large avalanche near the North Col on Monday, Tibet time. Before going further, remember that breaking news of accidents from Everest, especially from the north side, in almost every case is inaccurate. However, many teams are posting updates on their websites to inform family members of the status of their climbers. I do not have any direct links to the north so this is based on what the teams there are posting.
The early reports from multiple teams are contradictory. Some say it was a rock fall but most eyewitness are saying it was a large serac or cornice that collapsed near the fixed ropes.
The UK Telegraph is reporting that two climbers are missing and one is dead based on a text message from climber Josh Lewis.
The 7 Summits team has this first person report on their site plus several excellent photographs of the area:
At 2:30 p.m., Chinese time, a big avalanche came down from the North Col of Everest. In the opinion of witnesses, a snow cornice was broken on the crest above the North Col. At this time, about 100 people were on fixed ropes. The avalanche grazed the edge of fixed ropes. According to an eyewitness, sirdar "7 Summits Club" Mingma Gelu, they could see from the camp ABC that search and rescue operations began.
More precise information in one hour: no member of the expedition 7 Summits Club was next to these accident. According to preliminary information, 2 Hungarian climbers fell under the avalanche. One of them have taken already to the camp ABC, he is alive. The second climber has not yet been found.
Adventure Peaks has this report:
Everyone is safe and ok, Stu has telephoned in to inform us that there was a serac collapse (like an avalanche) on the North col this morning which apparently killed two people (Nationallity unconfirmed). Our groups at the time were safely in ABC.
These teams are reporting via their sites all the members are safe: WRET 6 Friends Chomolungma including a report on the Jordan Romero team, 7 Summits, Adventure Dynamics, Adventure Peaks. Remember that many teams have been having difficulty sending dispatches.
These types of incidents while, not uncommon on the north, happen more on the south side in the Khumbu Icefall. However, there have been multiple observations that this year is quite dry on Everest. Recently there have been extremely high winds on the North so all this could have conspired to create the unstable ice.
As for the rest of the season, usually major collapse such as this is a mixed message. With a major danger point removed, the route becomes slightly safer but there may still be other features about to fail. The route may need to be re-routed to avoid these.
Obviously we all send our thoughts to those involved, their families, teammates and friends.
Note, the image in this post is from an avalanche in the Khumbu Icefall in 2008 and not the one being currently reported on the North Col.
The early reports from multiple teams are contradictory. Some say it was a rock fall but most eyewitness are saying it was a large serac or cornice that collapsed near the fixed ropes.
The UK Telegraph is reporting that two climbers are missing and one is dead based on a text message from climber Josh Lewis.
The 7 Summits team has this first person report on their site plus several excellent photographs of the area:
At 2:30 p.m., Chinese time, a big avalanche came down from the North Col of Everest. In the opinion of witnesses, a snow cornice was broken on the crest above the North Col. At this time, about 100 people were on fixed ropes. The avalanche grazed the edge of fixed ropes. According to an eyewitness, sirdar "7 Summits Club" Mingma Gelu, they could see from the camp ABC that search and rescue operations began.
More precise information in one hour: no member of the expedition 7 Summits Club was next to these accident. According to preliminary information, 2 Hungarian climbers fell under the avalanche. One of them have taken already to the camp ABC, he is alive. The second climber has not yet been found.
Adventure Peaks has this report:
Everyone is safe and ok, Stu has telephoned in to inform us that there was a serac collapse (like an avalanche) on the North col this morning which apparently killed two people (Nationallity unconfirmed). Our groups at the time were safely in ABC.
These teams are reporting via their sites all the members are safe: WRET 6 Friends Chomolungma including a report on the Jordan Romero team, 7 Summits, Adventure Dynamics, Adventure Peaks. Remember that many teams have been having difficulty sending dispatches.
These types of incidents while, not uncommon on the north, happen more on the south side in the Khumbu Icefall. However, there have been multiple observations that this year is quite dry on Everest. Recently there have been extremely high winds on the North so all this could have conspired to create the unstable ice.
As for the rest of the season, usually major collapse such as this is a mixed message. With a major danger point removed, the route becomes slightly safer but there may still be other features about to fail. The route may need to be re-routed to avoid these.
Obviously we all send our thoughts to those involved, their families, teammates and friends.
Note, the image in this post is from an avalanche in the Khumbu Icefall in 2008 and not the one being currently reported on the North Col.
Serac Fall
Unfortunately there has been some bad news on Everest, but fortunately it does not involve Max. Below you will find the account of what happened from Adventure Peaks and above you can see a photo I used from my climb to ilustrate the route and what a Serac looks like. You can also see some climbers on their way up.
26th Apri Everyone is safe and ok, Stu has telephoned in to inform us that there was a serac collapse (like an avalanche) on the North col this morning which apparently killed two people (Nationallity unconfirmed). Our groups at the time were safely in ABC.
A serac is part of the permanent glacier and because a glacier is always moving (slowly) there is always an inherent danger that ice will break off and fall without notice, this is a rare occurance on the North side of Everest. On the South side of Everest, there is the famous Khumbu Icefall who's dangerous reputation is based on such incidents and one of the main reasons why Adventure Peaks avoids it by climbing from the North.
Our leaders will assess the incident along with other teams to decide if a change in the route is required and the re-fixing of lines. It maybe that this fall has cleared or significantly reduced the dangers.
In my opinion (walid here) this is a real stroke of bad luck for the climebrs involved, but should not impact Max's climb. The chances of a serac fall, as mentioned above, are small on the North Side and I am not too worried. Now all the teams and all the climbers will be very vigilant to make sure this does not happen again. As saying goes, 'man plans, and God laughs'. Best, Walid
Monday, April 26, 2010
Question from Dr. Mike Kristofik (Max's Dentist)
(Photo above is of Walid and Dr. Mike. Dr. Mike is the old guy and Walid is the good looking one...)Hi All. I just got a question from Dr. Mike and I thought I would post it and the answer...
Q.I am following the blog--but am wondering--what is 'expected day of final ascent "--They have climbed up north col, then back down--how close are they and how much acclimatization is left--my impression is they are really close--and wait for weather and bodies to be ready? How is decision made? individuals or team leader?--how long can they stay at this camp and wait before final climb---and what about the guys who went down to bc--do they try again? Lots of questions--Mike
A:The best time to summit is during the final two weeks of May. Why… First, the jet stream, which blows right over the summit needs to head north so that its not too windy. This is forecast usually in Europe and sent via email to the team. Second, they need to set up the route. This is being mostly done by the Sherpas who are already used to the altitude. They have an remarkable team of 19, which big, so they need 50 tens, 60 oxygen bottles…. Thirdly, they still need to make one more run up above the North Col for acclamitization purposes, maybe to 7500 meters. Once they do that they need to come back down again and rest for several days to recover. Once all that is done it is generally around May 10 or so and then they can sit back and wait for a good 4-5 day window. They can stay at base camp for as long as they want and at ABC for a couple of days only before a summit push. It is best if you can climb straight through and spend just one night at each camp going up.
Good question about who makes the choices. The way it used to be with Adventure Peaks when I went was that the individual makes his own choice and will only be stopped by team mates or the leader if he is really committing suicide. What I recommended to Max, which I am sure he will follow through with, is to choose a couple of good guys, make a little clique and they can decided together. If I were him I would leave all final decisions to myself. Generally the way it works is that people group up and when the weather looks good there is a mass exodus out of base camp. Max should also keep in mind that once he gets to high camp he should leave for the summit an hour earlier than everyone else so that he does not get stuck behind anyone. And he should sleep with his stove so it does not freeze. Both of these things lead to my not summiting.
Best to all, Walid
Q.I am following the blog--but am wondering--what is 'expected day of final ascent "--They have climbed up north col, then back down--how close are they and how much acclimatization is left--my impression is they are really close--and wait for weather and bodies to be ready? How is decision made? individuals or team leader?--how long can they stay at this camp and wait before final climb---and what about the guys who went down to bc--do they try again? Lots of questions--Mike
A:The best time to summit is during the final two weeks of May. Why… First, the jet stream, which blows right over the summit needs to head north so that its not too windy. This is forecast usually in Europe and sent via email to the team. Second, they need to set up the route. This is being mostly done by the Sherpas who are already used to the altitude. They have an remarkable team of 19, which big, so they need 50 tens, 60 oxygen bottles…. Thirdly, they still need to make one more run up above the North Col for acclamitization purposes, maybe to 7500 meters. Once they do that they need to come back down again and rest for several days to recover. Once all that is done it is generally around May 10 or so and then they can sit back and wait for a good 4-5 day window. They can stay at base camp for as long as they want and at ABC for a couple of days only before a summit push. It is best if you can climb straight through and spend just one night at each camp going up.
Good question about who makes the choices. The way it used to be with Adventure Peaks when I went was that the individual makes his own choice and will only be stopped by team mates or the leader if he is really committing suicide. What I recommended to Max, which I am sure he will follow through with, is to choose a couple of good guys, make a little clique and they can decided together. If I were him I would leave all final decisions to myself. Generally the way it works is that people group up and when the weather looks good there is a mass exodus out of base camp. Max should also keep in mind that once he gets to high camp he should leave for the summit an hour earlier than everyone else so that he does not get stuck behind anyone. And he should sleep with his stove so it does not freeze. Both of these things lead to my not summiting.
Best to all, Walid
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Made it to the North Col!!!!
Here is the newest update from Adventure Peaks. It is great news that the team sounds strong and that Max seems to be climbing well, best to all, Walid
23rd April Hi Folks, We've had a successful few days up at ABC despite the weather, it's not been the best, very cold winds and a couple of stormy nights. On the rest day most people walked to either crampon corner or the headwall.21st April saw Matt Dickinson, Jon, Josh & Simon reach the top of the North Col.Noel, Nigel and Helen retreated from 6850m.22nd April was AP's en-mass assault of the North Col, and it turned out to be a quiet day on the mountain for other teams. In no particular order : Brendan, Stu, Max, Stephen, Keith, Nigel (on second attempt), Torsten, Tim, Scott, Geordie, Mickey, Pete and Andy all reached the North Col at various points throughout the day. Barry headed down from 6850m and Heather turned around at 2.30pm at 6900m.Don & Jantoon had not been feeling too good at ABC so decided not to attempt the headwall this time around and will come up early from BC to tackle the North Col.Mark headed up to the North Col today, having also been a bit under the weather. He also reached 6850m before deciding to head back down.Matt Snook has apparently arrived back into BC after being evacuated back to Kathmandu earlier on in the trip. All the team are pleased to hear he is back and wish him well on his acclimitisation.Matt Dickinson & I and the Lahkpa Ri team will attempt to climb Lhakpa Ri tomorrow. We have had a quick recce to find a route out onto the glacier. This didn't take long and starts from the back of my tent, so short walk for me. :)Most of the group have descended down to BC today to rest for a few days, the remaining summit team members will head down tomorrow.
23rd April Hi Folks, We've had a successful few days up at ABC despite the weather, it's not been the best, very cold winds and a couple of stormy nights. On the rest day most people walked to either crampon corner or the headwall.21st April saw Matt Dickinson, Jon, Josh & Simon reach the top of the North Col.Noel, Nigel and Helen retreated from 6850m.22nd April was AP's en-mass assault of the North Col, and it turned out to be a quiet day on the mountain for other teams. In no particular order : Brendan, Stu, Max, Stephen, Keith, Nigel (on second attempt), Torsten, Tim, Scott, Geordie, Mickey, Pete and Andy all reached the North Col at various points throughout the day. Barry headed down from 6850m and Heather turned around at 2.30pm at 6900m.Don & Jantoon had not been feeling too good at ABC so decided not to attempt the headwall this time around and will come up early from BC to tackle the North Col.Mark headed up to the North Col today, having also been a bit under the weather. He also reached 6850m before deciding to head back down.Matt Snook has apparently arrived back into BC after being evacuated back to Kathmandu earlier on in the trip. All the team are pleased to hear he is back and wish him well on his acclimitisation.Matt Dickinson & I and the Lahkpa Ri team will attempt to climb Lhakpa Ri tomorrow. We have had a quick recce to find a route out onto the glacier. This didn't take long and starts from the back of my tent, so short walk for me. :)Most of the group have descended down to BC today to rest for a few days, the remaining summit team members will head down tomorrow.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Latest From ABC
Here are the lastest two posts from Adventure Peaks. Also a few photos from my climb showing the headwall to the North Col and the North Col Camp. Best Walid
21st April The first group of people will attempt to go up to the North Col tomorrow. Stu will take some more people up to the head wall tomorrow and then the final lot of people on Thursday. The Lakhpa Ri group will go on up on the 25th April and then head back down to BC on the 26th April.
19th April The team are now at ABC, everyone had the impressive views of Everest up close as well as the North Col and Lhkapa Ri. Overall people are fine, the odd cough but nothing major. They are having a rest day tomorrow. All team are doing very well. It has been very cold this afternoon with a very short spell of snow.
19th April The team are now at ABC, everyone had the impressive views of Everest up close as well as the North Col and Lhkapa Ri. Overall people are fine, the odd cough but nothing major. They are having a rest day tomorrow. All team are doing very well. It has been very cold this afternoon with a very short spell of snow.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
High Camps on Everest
Above is the route from the North Col to Camp 1, High Camp and finally the Summit.
Above is the route from ABC to the North Col
Here is a topographical map of these portions of the climb and below is a list of camps and their respective elevations.
Hi All, Above you will find a topographical map taken from Google Earth that shows the upper portions of Everest, a list of camps and their elevations and two photos. One photo shows the view from ABC to the North Col and the other shows the veiw from the North Col to the summit via the North Ridge and Northeast Ridge. The routes are marked on all the maps and photos in blue. I have not heard from Max personally, but if all is going well (which his progress to ABC seems to indicate) he is getting himself ready to really begin climbing the mountain. Let us all keep our fingers crossed for his healthy acclamatization. Best, Walid
Monday, April 19, 2010
Advanced Base Camp
Hi All, is Walid here again. I haven't heard from Max yet but I just saw on his tracker that he made it to Advanced Base Camp at 21k feet. Above is a screen shot of the web site that shows his track. You can check it out on the link to the right 'where am I'. Hopefully we will hear from Max once their satellite is working properly. Best, Walid
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Base Camp Video
Hi All, I took this video in 2003 and it shows the stone altar around which the puja ceremony is conducted. Here is some info on the Puja
The puja — blessing of the expedition — at Base Camp marks the beginning of the mountaineering phase of the journey. Puja is a ceremony officiated by a Lama and two or more monks in front of an altar built of stone. Those performing a puja ask the Gods for good fortune for the sherpas and the climbers as they attempt to summit the mountain. In front of the altar, offerings are made to the Gods: sampa cake, yak milk butter, fried dough, fruits, chocolate, and drinks. Juniper burns continuously in a niche in the altar. All the critical climbing equipment is blessed — harnesses, crampons, ice-axes, and helmets, as well as the expedition flag. Prayer flags are strewn for 100 feet in several directions. During the ceremony, the sherpas chant along with the Lama and monks, and everyone throws rice. The sherpas raise a pole with juniper branches on the top, and it is a sign of good fortune if a gorak (raven) lands on the pole. The ceremony closes with the participants sharing food, and finally with the climbers and sherpas smearing gray sampa flour on each others’ faces — a symbol of their hope that they may live to see each other when they are old and gray.
More about Base Camp later. I hope to hear from Max soon. Walid
More from Base Camp
15th April
Hi All, here is an update from Stu, one of the team leaders.
We've had our walk up the ridge, most people got to 6000m, some 5800m and some 5600m. Due to a dump of snow this made the ridge walk a bit more interesting than normal for people. :) We had the Puja today and everyone enjoyed it, especially the Tsampa fight, which left everyone including the lama from the monastary covered in flour. We will now be heading up to Intermediate camp on Sunday, a slight delay of a day but it does mean the sherpas will have ABC completely set up for when we arrive.
Friday and Saturday are rest days, so we may wander down to the Rongbuk.
Regards, Stu
Hi All, here is an update from Stu, one of the team leaders.
We've had our walk up the ridge, most people got to 6000m, some 5800m and some 5600m. Due to a dump of snow this made the ridge walk a bit more interesting than normal for people. :) We had the Puja today and everyone enjoyed it, especially the Tsampa fight, which left everyone including the lama from the monastary covered in flour. We will now be heading up to Intermediate camp on Sunday, a slight delay of a day but it does mean the sherpas will have ABC completely set up for when we arrive.
Friday and Saturday are rest days, so we may wander down to the Rongbuk.
Regards, Stu
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
How to Climb Everest
Hi Again, Some of you who are unfamiliar with high altitude mountaineering might wonder why it takes so long to climb Everest, 50-60 days is a long time to live in a tent. There are two reasons why. Firstly, It is imperative that climbers give their bodies time to acclimate to the low air pressure. The best way to do this is to climb slowly and in increments. As you can see from teh chart above, which depicts my climb from 2003, we climbed up and down several times, each time gaining a higher elevation. For example, Max will climb to the North Col camp probably in the next week or so and depending on how he and his teammates feel, they may spend a night there. At that point, however, he will not be ready to climb higher and must descend to ABC (Advanced Base Camp) or base camp to rest and recuperate. The second reason is that the team needs to establish the route and put in place their gear. Each camp must be set up and stocked with supplies so that when the final summit push is made (which lasts about 4 days) they can rely on each camp to have tents, food and oxygen ready. Because of the slow nature of climbing at those altitudes it takes many, many man hours to get all those tents, stoves, fuel, oxygen, etc up the mountain. It also takes a lot of time to get all that stuff off the mountain at the end.
So, you can see from my 2003 climb the duration of the climb and how I went up and down for the reasons mentioned above. Best, Walid
Bad Satellite Reception
Above are some photos of the hike up to Advanced Base Camp and the camp itself.
Hi All, I have just seen this on the Adventure Peaks web site:
12th April, At present they are unable to send or receive emails due to the angle and location of the satellite receiver. This situation should be rectified when they move up to ABC.
I was wondering why we hadn't heard anything from Max. It seems all is well. In any case, the early weeks of moving up and down the mountain are generally the least exciting. Though, it must be said, that the hike from Base Camp to Advanced Base Camp is terribly tiring. It is 15 miles long and goes from about 17k feet to about 21k feet. Over the course of the expedition they will do this hike about 4 times. The first time they will spend a night along the way to acclamate and rest, but the other times they will do it in one shot. It is pretty scary because you arrive at Advanced Base Camp dead tired and you haven't even started climbing yet!!!! I hope Max gets reception soon so we can hear from him how he is doing. Best to all, Walid
12th April, At present they are unable to send or receive emails due to the angle and location of the satellite receiver. This situation should be rectified when they move up to ABC.
I was wondering why we hadn't heard anything from Max. It seems all is well. In any case, the early weeks of moving up and down the mountain are generally the least exciting. Though, it must be said, that the hike from Base Camp to Advanced Base Camp is terribly tiring. It is 15 miles long and goes from about 17k feet to about 21k feet. Over the course of the expedition they will do this hike about 4 times. The first time they will spend a night along the way to acclamate and rest, but the other times they will do it in one shot. It is pretty scary because you arrive at Advanced Base Camp dead tired and you haven't even started climbing yet!!!! I hope Max gets reception soon so we can hear from him how he is doing. Best to all, Walid
Monday, April 12, 2010
Camps on Everest's North Face
Just to give you all an idea of the progression up the mountain here is a list of the camps that will be used by Max and his team and their respective altitudes. WalidAltitude Sickness
To the left you can see a list of illnesses that are common among climbers at Himalayan altitudes. As I noted before, Max will be going up slowly in order to prevent them as much as possible. The fact that he has not experienced them in the past is a major plus and he is taking the slow approach. Many young climbers get into trouble because they climb too fast because they are young, fit and over exuberant. Max and I talked about this and he is climbing slowly to save his energy and to keep himself fit and healthy. Best to all, walidBase Camp
Here is a picture from Basecamp when I was there in 2003 Hi All, Its Walid again. I have not heard from Max but I just checked on the team web site and found this:
11th April The group arrived at base camp 5300m today, decribed as very comfortable! They will now spend around six days acclimatising on walks from base campn upto about 6000m before moving upto ABC.
It seems that all is going well so far...
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Going Up!!!!
Hi All, Its Walid again, Max's friend. I have not heard from Max in a while so I am posting a pressure chart to show why it takes so long to climb the mountain. As Max goes up he will have less and less pressure to drive oxygen into his blood. To compensate his body will produce more red blood cells, but this takes time. At the summit he will have 27% of the pressure found at sea level, but his acclamatization and supplemental oxygen will compensate to some degree. Above you will see graphs showing the decrease in pressure as a climber goes up and the elevations of the various camps used on the mountain. I have also added a photo of one of the first times I saw Everest, which is along the same driving route that Max is taking. This should give a good idea of what Max and dealing with and seeing during this part of his adventure.
His climb really starts in Kathmandu at about 5k feet and ends at the summit at 29,035 feet. From Kathmandu to base came he will travel by bus and truck with the team and all the gear. It is possible to do this drive in a couple of days but that would put the climbers in grave danger because they would arrive at 17K feet too quickly for their bodies to adjust, which is why the trip takes six to seven days. As they ascend it is essential to stop that vilages along the way to let their bodies produce the life saving red blood cells they will need. The climber's rule of thumb is to ascend 1000 feet per day above 10,000 feet, which is essentially what they are doing.
While they stop at the various towns along the way they will take acclamitization hikes. This is important for two reasons. Firstly, the body prepares itself more quickly to the change in pressure if one exercizes a bit along the way. Secondly, it is important in this process to climb high and sleep low. This means that the body is not yet ready to sleep at the altitude they will climb to but is ok to spend just a little time there. Check out this link for a little more information: http://www.princeton.edu/~oa/safety/altitude.html
I will post more on the acclamatization process and Max's progress later and, of course, as soon as I hear from him I will update the blog in his own words.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Photos
Hi All,
This is Walid Abuhaidar, Max's friend who attempted the same route on Everest in 2003. During Max's climb he does not have access to the internet to update the blog, so he emails me the content and I post it. He also does not have the ability to post his own photos, but we just agreed that I will post a few photos from my trip to give you an idea where he is and what his surroundings look like, and when he gets home he will remove my photos and post his own. Let's all keep our fingers crossed for his safety and success.
Walid
This is Walid Abuhaidar, Max's friend who attempted the same route on Everest in 2003. During Max's climb he does not have access to the internet to update the blog, so he emails me the content and I post it. He also does not have the ability to post his own photos, but we just agreed that I will post a few photos from my trip to give you an idea where he is and what his surroundings look like, and when he gets home he will remove my photos and post his own. Let's all keep our fingers crossed for his safety and success.
Walid
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Kathmandu to Naylam
Naylam
Friendship Bridge
Zang MuThe team entered Tibet yesterday afternoon and it was quite the experience. We took a 7 hour bus ride from Kathmandu which wasn't the most luxurious ride but I was riding shotgun and got to see everything out the front windshield. One of my favorite parts of the ride was when we would come up behind another bus and there would be people sitting on the roof and the little kids would smile and wave. I'm sitting in there feeling bad for what these people don't have and meanwhile these little kids are happier than a pig in mud. We blew a tire at one point but the spare went on pretty quick and it was only a short delay.
The border is heavily guarded and the Chinese are super paranoid about everything. We had to cross a bridge called the "Friendship Bridge" to get into Tibet and on the bridge there were undercover Chinese waiting to confiscate any cameras they saw because they don't want anybody taking any pictures or videos. The four other Americans and I were at the back of the line, probably because the Chinese wanted us there. Along with the team, about a hundred porters were ferrying our teams supplies across the bridge and I have to say it was quite a depressing scene. There were men and women who must have been pushing 80 years old carrying full propane tanks on their backs and girls no older than 6 carrying 55lb bags of supplies. They use a piece of cloth that they wrap around their foreheads and tie that to whatever is on their backs. It has to be incredibly uncomfortable and difficult especially with some of the loads they were carrying. It's a double edged sword though because although these people are doing such a difficult job just to make a very small amount of money, it does provide them with a way to make money when there really isn't any other.
Most of the food in Nepal was suspect at best but in Tibet it is a little better. Last night there was very basic Chinese food -noodles, rice, and some veggies but it tasted pretty good. We left Zhang Mu at 7am this morning to drive to Naylam. My roommate Brendan and I slept late and rushed out of the room to meet up with the rest of the group. We gained a significant amount of elevation and it is definitely noticeable. Carrying my bags up the stairs to my hotel room was exhausting and I was out of breath by the 4th floor. We are at about 12,000 ft right now but by tomorrow I'll be feeling pretty good after acclimatizing for a full day. The internet here is carefully monitored by the government so there is no Facebook or blog websites. There is always a sense that you are being watched but the Tibetans are much more open to us than the Chinese.
After spending more time with the people of the group I am finding out that there are a lot of them have some great stories. One guy named Jantoon from Holland is attempting to be the first person to cover 9000m. He dove to 152m before arriving in Kathmandu and was planning to ride his bike to Base Camp which is absolutely insane. Due to Visa problems he wasn't able to ride his bike there but he plans on riding it back which may be even more crazy considering he will have hopefully just summited Everest. Another fellow named Josh is a very famous rugby player who won the World Cup. It's great fun to have conversations with these people and get to know them better. I also enjoy the Irish, Scottish and British accents and I'm picking up the lingo pretty quickly. I can substitute "Cheers" for a number of different words and I'm getting a lot better at understanding what they are saying.
I'm glad to have gotten out of the pollution of Kathmandu and into the mountains and start the acclimatization process. We are going for a walk later today to help our bodies adjust and then I'll be taking it easy for the rest of the day. The scenery is already out of this world but unfortunately I can't upload photos on these computers. Hope to be updating again soon!
The border is heavily guarded and the Chinese are super paranoid about everything. We had to cross a bridge called the "Friendship Bridge" to get into Tibet and on the bridge there were undercover Chinese waiting to confiscate any cameras they saw because they don't want anybody taking any pictures or videos. The four other Americans and I were at the back of the line, probably because the Chinese wanted us there. Along with the team, about a hundred porters were ferrying our teams supplies across the bridge and I have to say it was quite a depressing scene. There were men and women who must have been pushing 80 years old carrying full propane tanks on their backs and girls no older than 6 carrying 55lb bags of supplies. They use a piece of cloth that they wrap around their foreheads and tie that to whatever is on their backs. It has to be incredibly uncomfortable and difficult especially with some of the loads they were carrying. It's a double edged sword though because although these people are doing such a difficult job just to make a very small amount of money, it does provide them with a way to make money when there really isn't any other.
Most of the food in Nepal was suspect at best but in Tibet it is a little better. Last night there was very basic Chinese food -noodles, rice, and some veggies but it tasted pretty good. We left Zhang Mu at 7am this morning to drive to Naylam. My roommate Brendan and I slept late and rushed out of the room to meet up with the rest of the group. We gained a significant amount of elevation and it is definitely noticeable. Carrying my bags up the stairs to my hotel room was exhausting and I was out of breath by the 4th floor. We are at about 12,000 ft right now but by tomorrow I'll be feeling pretty good after acclimatizing for a full day. The internet here is carefully monitored by the government so there is no Facebook or blog websites. There is always a sense that you are being watched but the Tibetans are much more open to us than the Chinese.
After spending more time with the people of the group I am finding out that there are a lot of them have some great stories. One guy named Jantoon from Holland is attempting to be the first person to cover 9000m. He dove to 152m before arriving in Kathmandu and was planning to ride his bike to Base Camp which is absolutely insane. Due to Visa problems he wasn't able to ride his bike there but he plans on riding it back which may be even more crazy considering he will have hopefully just summited Everest. Another fellow named Josh is a very famous rugby player who won the World Cup. It's great fun to have conversations with these people and get to know them better. I also enjoy the Irish, Scottish and British accents and I'm picking up the lingo pretty quickly. I can substitute "Cheers" for a number of different words and I'm getting a lot better at understanding what they are saying.
I'm glad to have gotten out of the pollution of Kathmandu and into the mountains and start the acclimatization process. We are going for a walk later today to help our bodies adjust and then I'll be taking it easy for the rest of the day. The scenery is already out of this world but unfortunately I can't upload photos on these computers. Hope to be updating again soon!
Monday, April 5, 2010
GPS
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0vyLhvVL4W3AhsL3PL6bXMBBWf6RVIm14
This is the link to my GPS tracking site. I'll be turning it on at certain times during the climb to let people know where I am before turning it on at the end for the summit attempt. After 7 days, previous locations are deleted from the map to avoid confusion.
This is the link to my GPS tracking site. I'll be turning it on at certain times during the climb to let people know where I am before turning it on at the end for the summit attempt. After 7 days, previous locations are deleted from the map to avoid confusion.
Kathmandu
S0 yesterday I arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal and I can't wait until we leave here tomorrow. It's dirty and dusty and hard to breathe but on the bright side the hotel I'm at is actually pretty nice. There is a decent pool that's been great to cool off in because it's really hot during the day. When you leave the hotel there is a guy at the door who opens it for you and then salutes you- a little unnecessary but I won't complain. (Above is a picture of the Himalaya on my flight from Delhi, India to Kathmandu and below is a self-portrait of my time in the airport)
Yesterday I spent the day laying around by the pool and taking a bunch of naps to catch up on all the lost sleep. The bulk of the team showed up in the late afternoon and after we all met we went out for dinner. I barely made it through dinner and fell asleep more than a couple times and as soon as I got back to the hotel I passed out. Today I woke up at 6am and went walking around outside on the hotel property. There was a buffet breakfast that was OK but nothing spectacular. At 10am we all met up for a meeting and a demonstration on our oxygen system and how it works, how to prevent problems with it, etc.... I'm glad we went over everything and it was very informative. After that I went walking around to pick up some last minute things and get some money from the ATM because after tomorrow there won't be anymore.
All in all the team seems pretty good. There are 19 people on the summit team and about 5 others that will just be climbing to the North Col, so the group is pretty big by expedition standards. There is an interesting mix of people and some great personalities. Tomorrow we will be crossing the border into Tibet. We are planning to be at base camp on Sunday. That may be the next time I update my blog because it's a pretty safe bet there won't be any internet on the way. Well it's about dinner time here so I'm going to go try to find something safe to eat. I'm looking forward to getting this show on the road, thanks for checking in.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
http://www.adventurepeaks.com/news/everestnews2010.html
This is a link to the blog that Adventure Peaks will be keeping. They will update a lot more than I'll be able to even if the information is more broad. When we get on the mountain they provide updates on locations of climbers and that sort of stuff. I'm sitting in the airport in Delhi, India as I type this. Got here at 9pm last night and I've been sitting around the past 11 hours waiting for my next flight that leaves at 7:30. I'm in the Executive Lounge where they have computers and TV's and leather couches but I didn't find out I was business class on this next flight until 30 minutes ago. so the past 10 hours I spent on a hard plastic chair...oh well.
This is a link to the blog that Adventure Peaks will be keeping. They will update a lot more than I'll be able to even if the information is more broad. When we get on the mountain they provide updates on locations of climbers and that sort of stuff. I'm sitting in the airport in Delhi, India as I type this. Got here at 9pm last night and I've been sitting around the past 11 hours waiting for my next flight that leaves at 7:30. I'm in the Executive Lounge where they have computers and TV's and leather couches but I didn't find out I was business class on this next flight until 30 minutes ago. so the past 10 hours I spent on a hard plastic chair...oh well.
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