On to the Summit!!!! (From Max)

Hi all, here's the latest from ABC. The team is now at Advanced Base Camp getting ready to leave for the North Col tomorrow the . We got a good weather window so we shot up here to take advantage of it. We were planning for a May 24th summit day but a storm could mess with the weather that day so we are trying for the 23rd instead.

I'm happy to be headed up but I won't lie, I could use an extra day of rest here. If all goes as planned, tomorrow the 20th I'll be at 7100m at the North Col. The next day I'll make the walk up to 7800m. On the 22nd I'll make my way to 8300m where I'll rest for a few hours before waking up at around 10pm to start my summit day which should take between 14-16 hours. I will be using my GPS unit that will track my progress and you can access that through a link on my blog.

If things go the way I'm planning I should be summitting Sunday the 23rd anywhere between 6am and 10am and we are 10 hours ahead of New York so between 8pm and 12 midnight the GPS link may have me near the top if you want to check that out. I'm really looking forward to the challenge ahead and welcome the pain and suffering so I can see what I'm made of. Unfortunately I've come down with a pretty bad altitude cough thats been wreaking havoc on my throat but thats just another obstacle to overcome and I'm not about to let that affect me. Quite a few people have been getting sick and I'm not sure how many of the team will actually be attempting the summit. There have been a bunch of summits from the South side and some more from the North side the past couple days and the weather has been brilliant in the mornings on the top. I don't think I'll get much sleep tonight being so excited to finally give this a shot.

It's been 2 years in the making and a lot of hard work to get where I am now and this is the ultimate test. I could not have gotten here on my own and I have some people I'd like to thank for helping me along the way. First off, I have to thank my parents for all of their support in my endeavours. I don't think I'd be letting my kid do anything like this and I give them a lot of credit. Secondly I owe a huge thanks to Walid Abuhaidar who got me started in climbing and without him I would have never progressed as fast as I have. Only 2 years ago this was a crazy dream and now its happening. He has also done a tremendous job keeping my blog while I've been away.

I also want to thank those who sponsored me on this expedition. My Uncle Tom Rancich, his partner Elliot and their company VR Habilis that provides work for Veterans, my Uncle Mike and Aunt Jill O'Meara and their restaraunt Pazzo's Pizzeria out of Vail, Colorado, Gary and Diane Kvistad of Woodstock Percussion, Enfield Energy, Fire in the Gut fitness apparel- really awesome stuff, and Perfect Fitness- excellent products to keep in top shape. I can't thank you guys enough for all the help and joining my team. Also I really want to thank everyone who has been following my blog and my trip. It's a great feeling to know that you are being backed by so many people. My friends, my family, the commmunity, thank you for all the support.

Mohammed Ali was once asked how he knew he'd win a fight. He replied "If I'm willing to sacrifice more and suffer more pain than my opponent then I know I'll win" This is one heck of an opponent, with some factors outside of my control, but my real opponent is myself and I have sacrificed and suffered more for this than for anything else and I have never given up on anything I've set out to do and I will not give up now.

I look forward to catching up with everyone when I arrive back home.
Yours Sincerely,
Max O'Meara