Cinco de Mayo and we are here with some nachos. No Margaritas, that will be later. Perfect weather, another beautiful day. Lots of prep work for the upcoming rotation. We took out the oxygen masks and regulators. They may use them if a night at Camp 3 becomes available. So important to double check the equipment before sending it up the hill. Our whole Sherpa team will start out early in the AM for Camp 2 and stay up there until Camp 3 is built and loads are in place at Camp 4. The Sherpa team is such a great group of men, we cannot thank them enough for all their help.
The climbing team will rest one more day, then head up for the final rotation before the summit push. Dave and Seth have been doing fine work of all the details, what a couple of super guides we have leading this Expedition.
A big shout out to Karla, Happy B-Day!
Mt. Everest Basecamp Manager Mark Tucker
Hello Dave : We meet at base camp about 3 wks ago. I was on a 3wk trekking & climbing trip. It was the adventure of a life time . I had many high lights of the trip , right at the top was getting to meet you and talk a little about mountaineering. I’m thankful for the time you spent with me . Good luck on the climb with your team , be safe & may God bless you and your team !!! Now go get #15. Grant
Posted by: Grant phelps on 5/8/2013 at 7:38 am
Collaborative efforts from all team members and Sherpas can only mean success!!!! The best of luck to all of you on the summit push. Looking forward to pictures of your successful ascent. Blessings your way.
ABQ Uptown #985 NM/CO/AZ
Posted by: Rachael C. Lujan on 5/6/2013 at 7:24 am
It's a beautiful day here at Everest Bascamp (EBC)! By that I mean its not snowing or windy, yet. We're taking full advantage by eating our fill, relaxing and doing some laundry. It's all part of the prep for our next rotation up on the mountain.
The past week at Advanced Basecamp (ABC) was a great foundation for our acclimatization and the best part was getting on the Lhotse Face. After all these weeks of prep it was great to feel like we were on a mountain as opposed to being down amongst the mountains. Our next trip up will be more of a test to see how our conditioning is holding up. But for now we're resting.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
It is tough to realize just how hard Everest is on the human body until one comes back down to "normal" altitudes like 17,500 ft Basecamp. The first night of deep sleep convinces you that whatever you thought you were doing for twelve hours a night at 21,300 ft was not actually sleep. A plate of breakfast that you actually want seconds on makes you think of how easy the mountain would be to climb if you could have had your normal appetite up at ABC.
Life is easy for us today at Basecamp. Chairs with backs to lean against. Oxygen and air pressure in abundance. Cellphone connectivity. Showers and mostly clean clothes. And very little risk for a change... Unlike looking forward to a day on the Lhotse Face or a morning in the Khumbu Icefall. Not so much can fall on us on our rest day and we aren't likely to step on anything that collapses without warning.
Lots of good things about life at Basecamp... once the morning flurry of helicopter flights is finished, there is peace and quiet and a billion dollar set of views out every tent door. Today the views included jet stream winds raking the upper Lhotse Face, driving snow a thousand feet higher than the mountain itself. We are catching up on the news and trying to beat Mark Tucker at a game or two, but he has all of the advantages while our brains are still fuzzy and our bodies are tired. Tomorrow.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Hello All,
This is Mark Tucker from Everest Basecamp! The boys are back in town. The team just returned from their rotation up high and their timing was perfect as usual. No sooner did they arrive here at Basecamp than it began snowing and blowing. The weather is not conducive to it being a shower day but tomorrow may provide suitable conditions. In other positive news the rope fixing team made it to the South Col so the flood gates, and the route to the upper mountain, are open. A bit of the Jet stream is in the neighborhood for the next few days but the push for rope fixing to the summit is in the works. The RMI climbing team is enjoying the thick air, seats with backs, and great food. Let the rest phase begin.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Hello, Dave Hahn calling down from Advanced Basecamp in the fog, 21,300'. Today was a beautiful day. Significant to us, in that a combination team of climbers building the route on the Lhotse Face succeeded in getting as far as Camp 3 and perhaps even a little bit beyond that. Fixing rope up the steep and icy Lhotse Face. We didn't want to get in the way of that today. We actually hiked up to about 22,000', towards the west shoulder. Certainly not all the way to the west shoulder, which is about 25,000' in some very steep, hard ice in that direction. But the part we could do today made for a nice hike and gave us a great view off the Western Cwm. Pretty amazing. With the exception of the snow that fell last week, it just doesn't appear to be any snow left over from the monsoon or the winter. Just bare ice up in this upper valley, and these glaciers are continuing to take a beating. On the good side, our Sherpa team, Tshering, Gyaljen, and Kaji, they successfully made a carry up here today, to ABC, carrying oxygen bottles for the summit bid. And then the three of them and Lam Babu, went back down to Basecamp. It's just myself, Dan, Seth and Yubaraj up here at ABC. All is well. Bye now.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
RMI Guide Dave Hahn called in from Everest Advanced Basecamp.
Beautiful pics and such interesting commentaries. I am really enjoying the updates every day - it sure beats watching the evening news on the TV. Wishing you guys continued good weather and safe climbing.
Posted by: Josephine Johnson on 4/30/2013 at 12:38 am
All the best! What a privilege it must be to see such a beautiful range of mountains!
This is Dave Hahn calling down from Advanced Base Camp, 21,300'. A good day for Seth, Dan, and myself and Lam Babu and Yubaraj up here at ABC. Seemed like it was going be a little stormy this morning. There were clouds around, but we ended up with a pretty good sunshine, pretty calm conditions down here in the valley. We went for a late acclimatization walk up to about 21,800', close to the base of the Lhotse Face. That was a right move for us anyway today, a little light activity on our first day at Advanced Base Camp. And then resting until noon. We can’t do too much differently right now, the route up the Lhotse Face is not fully established yet. There has been a few unforeseen delays in getting that route fixed. We’re okay taking it easy. We have hiking plans for tomorrow as well. And working this acclimatization round the best we can. That is all for tonight. Talk to you tomorrow.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
The RMI Everest Expedition is on track! Three super Sherpa went from Base Camp to Camp 2. En route they stopped at Camp 1 to offer some help to the team and carried the radio and electrical equipment up to Camp 2. After arriving at Camp 2, they put the puzzle together and bingo, loud and clear communication between Basecamp and Camp 2. A few days ago they carried a couple of community loads of climbing gear, and a strong team of upper mountain route workers placed anchors and rope up the Lhotse Face. With the team now nesting at Camp 2 and feeling good, it makes for another great day here on Mount Everest. It did snow a couple of inches last night, but a beautiful day with just enough wind to whip the loose snow around making for wild views. A little maintenance on the floors of the dining and communication tents today is routine when living on a moving glacier.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Hey RMI, this is Dave Hahn, Seth Waterfall and Dan Johnson. We're up at Camp 1, and we came up this morning through the Ice Fall in about five hours time. Good moving and great conditions today, just a beautiful morning. And coming into Camp 1, it seemed like we were on a different planet than when we were last here and it was snowing so hard and so cloudy and cold. So today we just had a nice calm, sunny day at Camp 1. Rested and relaxed, drank a bunch of water. And we're a little bit excited because we're moving up to Camp 2 tomorrow. Our Sherpa team established Camp 2 yesterday and built it up. Yubaraj and Lam Babu spent the night up there. It's about dinner time now. The clouds were starting to creep in. Late afternoon clouds, not bad weather. Later this evening we expect them to roll right back out again. So everything is going well on our second rotation. We're hoping to be up here for about a week this time. A little bit longer. But we've been in touch with Mark Tucker down at Basecamp and everything seems to be going well. All for now, bye.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
What a night to take in last evening! We had perfect conditions: clear, calm, and almost a full moon. It was a bit chilly, but that is what our puffy coats and pants are for. After so much unsettled weather, it was so peaceful you could almost think we were in the most tranquil environment on earth! Of course, the hanging glaciers and thousands of feet of vertical rock overhead remind us that "tranquil" is all relative in this neck of the ice.
The team was up early in the AM and sent up gear for the community effort to fix ropes to Camp 3. Our group plans on some training en route up to Camp 3 as well. We have two Sherpa at Camp 2 right now who are working hard and preparing to welcome the climbers to Advanced Base Camp in a couple of days.
The team continues to take care and plans for the long haul ahead.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
NIce swing Tuck. Bummed that I wasn’t able to play a few rounds with you at Base Camp this year but I saw the clubs outside the com tent and took a few practice swings. My duct tape balls couldn’t compete with whiffle balls. Safe travels to Camp 3.
Posted by: Elsie Bemiss on 4/26/2013 at 6:38 am
Your reports are uniquely super! Who is your writer? I’m in the movie business and always expect a highly paid ghost writer behind every writer as good as you and your partners.
Warm regards,
Wolf
Well it's another beautiful day in Basecamp. We're enjoying another rest day before heading back up the mountain.
The teams have all joined forces to equip the Lhotse Face with fixed rope for the next series of acclimatization rounds. As a small team we will do our part by bringing gear up to Camp 2. If the weather holds then the 'fixing' will start on the 26th. That will clear the path to the South Col and then teams will begin establishing camps there.
The Col is a long way off for us though as we have quite a bit more acclimatization to go before we'll be ready for heading to 8000 meters (26,000 feet). It's all part of the long process of climbing Mount Everest.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Hello Dave : We meet at base camp about 3 wks ago. I was on a 3wk trekking & climbing trip. It was the adventure of a life time . I had many high lights of the trip , right at the top was getting to meet you and talk a little about mountaineering. I’m thankful for the time you spent with me . Good luck on the climb with your team , be safe & may God bless you and your team !!! Now go get #15. Grant
Posted by: Grant phelps on 5/8/2013 at 7:38 am
Collaborative efforts from all team members and Sherpas can only mean success!!!! The best of luck to all of you on the summit push. Looking forward to pictures of your successful ascent. Blessings your way.
ABQ Uptown #985 NM/CO/AZ
Posted by: Rachael C. Lujan on 5/6/2013 at 7:24 am
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