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Our acclimatization and preparation are nearly finished. True to the forecasts, the jet stream is back in the Everest region. We could hear it roaring against the high summits last night from our advanced basecamp. There was some worry for Chad, Casey, Rob and Scott up at Camp Three on the Lhotse Face, but they called in at 5 AM to say that the night had been tolerable, with just occasional strong gusts playing through. Michael, Leif and myself left ABC for BC just as the Camp Three team began descending toward ABC. Spindrift avalanches fell continually off of Nuptse as we made our way down the Western Cwm. The Khumbu Icefall offered its normal challenges, except that there were hardly any people to pass or wait for at the ladder crossings. Like ABC and BC, the Icefall was deserted. Most Sherpa teams are resting or down-valley, most western climbers are taking it easy elsewhere and waiting for a "weather window". It was good for us to rejoin Mark Tucker and Seth Waterfall at Basecamp and to be back to Kumar's fine cooking. Our Sherpa team finished their carries to the South Col today, all will be in Basecamp as of tomorrow. We'll rest up, wash up, fatten up and begin looking at weather forecasts.