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EVEREST 2011 NEWS

We are sold out for 2011' and we're getting pumped!

Team Roster  -   Climber Profiles & their photos 

Peak Freaks Everest Expedition from M. Scott Mortensen on Vimeo.

 May 13, 2011 at 04:00hrs Nepal Time Peak Freaks team members stand on top of the world!

Maintaining once again our 100% flawless safety record worldwide.

Digital Globe with Everest 3D follow Peak Freaks to the summit. Press release: 

May 18: 21:00hrs (Nepal Time) Post Summit photos are up -  showing sunrise and very light wind...we nailed it again..a perfect day!

As promised check out Tim's Facebook for photos of the sunrise view from the summit, summiteers, Sherpas and post summit celebration!   Enjoy!

Too very good friends of ours Tashi and Lhakpa Dorjee are flying to Kathmandu the same day as the team and they said in their 20 years of doing this trip on the 20th, they have never not gotten out. 

Tim tells them that they must fly with them then for the good luck.  :)  Becky

May 17: 21:00hrs (Nepal Time)-  Book'in it!   Just a quickie for those still following along. The team has now arrived in Namche Bazzar. Everyone except Tim and Javier who just left EBC today. The two are sleeping tonight in a village in between Tengboche and Namche Bazaar called Punke Tende (spl?) down by the river. They are enjoying the sound of the roaring river and the warm rich air. 

Everyone is still planning to make that bet for flying out of Lukla to Kathmandu on the 20th. Weather will once again have everything to do with it... Wish them luck!...    Becky

May 14: 21:00hrs (Nepal Time)- EBC PARTY and  #7 of the 7 Crux's of climbing Everest.

Peak Freak members went all the way from Camp 4 to the summit and all the way back to Camp 2 in one push. Today they climbed back through ice-fall for the last time and are all here safe and sound at EBC. Strong bunch!

It's starting to heat up now and because of this I had our team rise and shine early to get through it. Tonight we are all here in the tent having truly a great time. So far we have gone through about 10 bottles of wine and no one is counting the beer. So many good stories and laughs, everyone is on cloud 9 right now. Even the ones who turned back are completely happy with their journey as far as they made it. We are just one big happy bunch tonight. 

Tomorrow the rest of our Sherpas should have the clean up done and everything brought down. Upon their return we will have another party and then on the 16th we head out down the trail to Lukla and there will be even more parties. We will celebrate night after night in the villages and in our Shepa family homes. Fun times ahead.. 

The weather has been fantastic actually. We still haven't seen any wind from the short wind forecast that surfaced at one point that created a stir. We were confident we could work around it because our approach plan offered flexibility because we run small scale expeditions and have more resources. With small scale expeditions everyone has the opportunity to go at once if need be. No staggering missing the gap. It worked for us because back when the snow storm hit when we were at Camp 2 I had sent our team down the valley to do their pre- summit rest earlier than normal and our Sherpa staff kept working up through it all having everything in place when the time was right. Becky had a feeling by watching what was going on with weather systems that is was going to be a different season. The instability was a concern so we wanted to be ready for whatever we were handed and it paid off. 

So now, it's the final obstacle given in an Everest expedition. Crux #7 - that would be getting a flight out Lukla to Kathmandu in the spring when the monsoon weather starts to hang up here in the Himalayas. We are booked out on the 20th, just around the time the heavy rain is suppose to hit the region. We may opt for the Jiri hike out if it looks like we will be grounded due to weather. Again, we will keep things flexible.

So stay tuned.. the adventure by far is not over yet. Pictures will be downloaded on FB probably on the 17th or early if we can. Things are being packed up like our chargers and panels etc.

Over and out... Tim  

May 13: 21:00hrs (Nepal Time) Everyone is down and sleeping at Camp 2. Our Sherpa teams are switching positions. Some are bringing loads down and some rested at C2 and EBC while the push was going on and are now ready to finish cleaning off the mountain. This task should be complete by as early as tomorrow night. The yaks arrive on the 16th to move everything out of base camp to our cache. 

BIG NEWS!  Jangbu Sherpa (Georgina's personal Sherpa) had a baby boy while they were making their summit push. Jangbu is apparently out of control at Camp 2 with excitement. Not just because it's his fourth child but because there is much more to it. His previous three children are all girls and in his culture it is required to have a son to light the flame for  cremation for the father when he dies. If the father does not have a son it will cost him a lot of money to pay someone to light it for him. What usually happens is they have to give up their land in order to pay that expense. We are so happy for him. Jangbu works twice a year with us. He's a regular on both our Pumori and Everest expeditions. 

Photos will probably follow tomorrow or the day after and I would like to give a big shout out to all the families and friends at home for trusting us with your loved ones. We once again maintain our flawless safety record and at the end of the day that is the most important part of a successful expedition that should never be taken for granted or forgotten.

Tim will be doing an expedition debrief at some point. Right now he will be pretty busy closing the expedition and celebrating with the team. They have secured flights out of Lukla to Kathmandu on May 20th - they made the bet date!!

All the best to everyone, we hope you enjoyed the journey.    Tim & Becky

Photo: Jangbu Sherpa

May 13- 10:00hrs (Nepal Time) Safe and sound!... team is all safe and sound now at the South Col. They are going to brew up, grab a snack and head down to Camp 2 together with the trio who have been waiting there for their return.

I've cracked that bottle of wine now and will be headed off to bed shortly. It was a long day and night for me as well as many of you who have been following along step by step.  Talk to you  in the morning.....

 Becky

Where is everyone now?  (08:00hrs) NPT -They are on their way to the South Col, should be there in about 2 or 3 hours. They will rest and eat for about an hour then start their down climb to Camp 2 where they will stay for the night. Then if they are feeling good they can go down to base camp the next day or stay another night if needed at Camp 2.  

BG is at Camp 2 now and may climb down to base camp tomorrow or wait there to join with the summit crew. Roger stayed on at base to hear the news of the summit team and is just now (08:00hrs) NP packing up to head on down the trail to Lukla. 

Georgina, Kathy and Laura are also getting geared up to head down to Camp 2 with the summit crew when they are ready. I will report again when the summit crew has reached the South Col.  I can't report on our Sherpa crew's status of who is where because they are all over the place right now organizing empty bottles and carries of camp supplies back off the mountain over the next day or two. This is the second busy time of an expedition for our super heroes - cleaning the mountain off.

CORRECTION:  Ugh.. I hate doing this but Nelson Dellis made the very wise decision to turn back at the Hillary Step due to cold feet. This was extremely wise and you have no idea how proud I am of him for listening to Tim's stories on what will happen if you don't act on it in time and retreat. 

The Sherpas were so excited when they radioed that they rattled off everyone's names that were in the final push at the  balcony and added Nelson in error. It happens... 

WE HAVE SUMMITS!!!!!!!.... 11 stand on top!!!  

On top at 04:00hrs in almost perfect calm conditions stood Kevin Farebrother followed by the rest of the team. One by one they reached the summit. By 08:00hrs everyone listed stood on top of the world!!! 

1. Kevin Farebrother (Australia) 

2. Jan Sinivaara (Germany/Spain)

3. Pamela Pappas (USA)

4. Javier Carvallo Coneras (Bolivia)

5. Tsultirm Dorji Sherpa (Khunde)

6. Phu Tashi Sherpa (Phortse)

7. Palden Namgye Sherpa (Phortse)

8. Dawa Cheri Sherpa (Khumjung)

9. Dawa Chering Sherpa (Khunde)

10. Sangye Phuri (Gadanga)

11. Tsering Namgye Sherpa (Khumjung) 

 Tashi turned back to receive everyone upon arrival at the col and to offer his professional assistance if needed. The way we do things up here.

Base Camp was banging pots and pans and whooping it up when I was on the phone with Tim... Congratulations team, well done!

May 13: 04:08am (Nepal Time) Is it my eyes? Looks like Tashi's signal is going back down however I just called and there no calls indicating they are turning back. These things aren't completely reliable yet so I'm not concerned.

As well the weather is tipping more and more in our favour each couple of hours so that's good. Mind you it's only a report not local factors. ... Stay tuned.. Becky

May 13: 01:27hrs (Nepal Time) Georgina Miranda had also turned back, now at the South Col with Laura and Kathy:  

Moving ahead fast and furious is Pam, Javier, Nelson, Kevin and Jan and their accompanying Sherpas. We report on the Sherpas later on as they change positions as needed and there are a whole bunch of them so it would get overwhelming trying to keep track. Someone asked that question today so that's why.

May 12: 23:55hrs (Nepal Time) Kathy Seitan and Laura Ross

Have just now turned back from the balcony 27500' (8400 meters). We will get their story from them personally. A shout out to the two of them for giving it their best shot. They have a been an incredible inspiration to the team having been up here before and with their experience have kept everyone in line and true to their hearts.  Troopers :)

May 12: 22:00hrs (Nepal Time) SPOT...

Tashi's spot is working SPOT on.. He is sending signals frequently so you can see the team moving forward. 3D Everest is suppose to linking with Tashi's SPOT but I haven't been able to figure it out. Work in progress!   I'm not sure who is with Tashi but they appear to be moving fast. 

May 12: 21:00hrs (Nepal Time) We are going for it!

It was a long day at base camp with expedition leaders comparing weather reports. There was a wind cast thrown into the perfect picture scheduled for late the morning of the 13th. Our charts now show it as backing off to the 14th and it was calm when the team left around 19:00hrs. 

Meteorologist professionals remind me that reports are good but also work into the mix local factors including experience with patterns in this region and one of the most comforting is the observations the Sherpa people of the region make.  All checks out so our team is going for it and will turn back without hesitation if things change.

You're not going to get a report till about 14:30hrs (PST) as they are in the shadow of the mountain, between the South Col and South summit where radio transmissions can't get out. However we have ways to relay messages in the event of an emergency and our support team is standing by.

Enjoy this creative piece by Canadian climber Jerry Auld. I'm sure there are many climbers who can relate. 

EVEREST 3D..... read all about it......

First jointly created solution is photorealistic 3D map of Mt. Everest, helping current climbing team reach the summit while enabling spectators to experience it more vividly than ever before.

Longmont, CO – May 09, 2011 – DigitalGlobe, (NYSE: DGI), a leading global provider of high-resolution earth imagery solutions, today announced a cooperation with German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the German company 3D Reality Maps to provide a new range of high quality three dimensional data products.

3D RealityMaps will use the data, captured on an ongoing basis by DigitalGlobe’s fleet of earth imaging satellites and processed to three dimensional data by DLR, to create high-definition 3D maps of large-scale natural landmarks and other major tourist destinations worldwide. The maps are accessed and navigated using the company’s intuitive and easy-to-use 3D navigation software, available for free download at its website.

It is now being used by support personnel to track a 15-climber expedition, sponsored by climbing enthusiast and expedition management company Peak Freaks. The climbers set out to summit Mt. Everest in late March. The climbers are expected to reach the top of the world’s tallest mountain, standing at 8,848 meters or 29,000 feet above sea level. For more information refer here: Full press release:

May 12: 2011: 09:00hrs (Nepal Time) What's for dinner at 26,000ft (8000m)

I just talked to Tim on Skype, you can tell he is super stoked about the summit push for the team as he was talking incredibly fast. It was an impossible conversation because of the slight delay and all the chatter in the background with Sherpa radios going off this morning all at the same time and me wanting to settle some communication issues. Things like " Tell Tashi to check his spot and send a signal and send lots of them to test drive the new Everest3D Reality Maps program so we can take all of you flying with the team".  

Apparently there were a few summit pushes last night and there were turn backs because of wind, that's all I know, not who or anything like that.

So there ya have it... they will be diving into their MRE boil in the bag meals today loading up on fuel. Menu items will include things like:  Meatballs w/Marinara, Maple Sausages, Chicken Fajita, Pot Roast w/Vegetables, Buffalo Chicken and so on. We also have boil in the bag curries and lentils dishes for those who prefer spicy and vegetarian foods. Our high altitude boil in the bags and fish supplements and bars are the only thing we import from home. The rest we buy local as part of our green policy. 

I will be going to bed now and back with you here in the morning PST when they will begin their ascent to top. The wine is being chilled.  ....... stay tuned.. Becky

Photo: South Col

May 11: 2011: 20:00hrs (Nepal Time) All is good...Camp 4 - 26000ft (8000m)

Our team arrived at the South Col in good time and are all now at camp resting and sipping on oxygen.  They are going to stay here tonight and all day tomorrow while on oxygen giving them an extra boost rather than heading up tonight. The weather is still holding so this is the optimal approach allowing their bodies more time to get energized for the big push late on the 12th which should have them on the summit the morning of the 13th. 

 Over and out .... Tim

May 11: 2011: 11:45hrs (Nepal Time) Moving along...

Everyone is now at the yellow band and moving along well. Tim expects they should be there in about 2 or 3 hours.

Roger made the decision to turn back, Tim congratulates him for his wise decision. Roger is currently climbing down to Camp 2 with his personal Sherpa. Tim will update if there is anything important to add otherwise everyone will be resting at the South Col till it's time to climb again. I will report when they are ready to leave for the summit on their condition. 

Anyone at home thinking your loved ones should be calling you? please understand that right now they are focusing on putting one foot in front of the other and while taking care of their extremities it's not wise  :)   

May 11, 2011: 08:00hrs (Nepal Time) Team on the move to the col...

Weather is awesome!  Before the climbers left base camp Tim gave the team their recommended oxygen flow data so they can adjust it according to the weather. They will turn the flow up before the sun comes up to help keep them warm and back off once the sun comes out, which it has now. They will climb with it all day today to the col then rest sipping on it from here on out to the summit.

As I was talking to Tim a radio call came in from Roger, I listened in. Roger is having an unusual difficulty but I can relate. They have been into the climb now for about 2.5 hours but his ascent has been mostly without oxygen because every time he put the mask on he has a panic attack. Tim recommended he try pulling it away from his mouth for a bit every time he starts to panic until he gets used to it and if not he has some decision making to do. 

Everyone else seems to moving along as planned.  I will do another update in a couple hours to find out how Roger is doing and see if there is any more news.

Exciting!!!!!

May 10, 2011: 21:00hrs  (Nepal Time) Weather candy...

Incredible weather... Tim reports complete calm tonight. The team is resting peacefully at C3 tonight and today they were blessed with an amazing sunset. Our Sherpas all agree it's the best ever!

Here's a look at our choice weather window we managed to play into. We usually don't like to climb in anything higher than 20km/h, anything below that is ideal and especially with clear skies.   Thank you, thank you, thank you!

On the days before now you would have seen snow here and there and wind speeds of 20 to 30 and sometimes 40km/h

Metric reading:

11 0am

11 3am

11 6am

11 9am

11 9am

11 12p

11 3pm

11 6pm

11 9pm

12 0am

12 3am

12 6am

12 9am

12 3pm

12 6pm

clear

clear

clear

clear

clear

clear

clear

clear

clear

clear

clear

clear

clear

clear

clear

The green/blue you see in the satellite image is precipitation. It should move north/east of the Himalayas so we are sitting pretty. Plus that fact that this time of year most of the rain and snow flurries are at lower altitudes like base camp and below. But weather is weather so we won't for a moment take it for granted. 

One more down: Mark Schaible had to come down. Climbing at altitude is extremely taxing on the human body. If you've read Mark's bio you will know that he has that hard charging ability to fight his way back from life threatening lows a very small percent of people will ever experience. His story is quite unique, he's not just your ordinary climber, I encourage you to take a moment to read his bio. Altitude climbing unfortunately has kicked Mark. He quit eating, a common side effect of altitude and it's a good indicator that you're not going to be able to pull it off if it goes on for too long.

He has been surviving the past few days on juice crystals and power gels. He has wasted away to nothing and his dream to stand on top has come to an end. So close.... but hey... he got to see a view from a new perspective. Typically his high altitude views till now have been from the seat of a fighter jet at mach speed. I'm sure anyone that knows him will be very proud of his efforts especially under the conditions he has endured. 

Believe me other teams will have a series of turn backs in the days to come if not already. They usually won't report on them but we think it's a good opportunity to inform aspiring climbers who are following to learn of some of the set backs Everest climbers have to endure in the reality of extreme climbing. 

STEPS TO THE SUMMIT:  Camp 3 - 24000ft (7400m) 

Javier, Laura, Georgina, Kathy, Pam, Roger, Kevin (Wolverine), Nelson, Jan & BG are all sleeping at C3. I'm so pleased they had such a beautiful evening to wind down with- this will help them rest better. Another side effect from altitude is high altitude dreams, they are quite bazaar. If you don't get those it's likely because you aren't sleeping from another issue known as Cheyenne stokes, the high altitude version of sleep apnea. Your breathing slows at rest and your body tells you you need more oxygen waking you with a gasp every time you start to nod off. This was my worst enemy at altitude. 

A whack of our Sherpas are at C2 tonight. Tomorrow when our team starts to ascend to C4, the Sherpas will whip up behind them and grab their sleeping bags and will pass the team on their way up to have tea and beds ready when they check-into their accommodations at Camp 4 - 26000ft (8000m).

They will rest here and try to sleep as much as they can so they can start to push to the summit sometime between 9pm and 11pm depending on everyone's condition and how many other climbers are up there. From the chatter on radios Tim thinks there's quite a few up there tonight making a push so hopefully that's true and it will be quieter on our go. The other large commercial teams are apparently hoping for a later May window.  Mark confirmed there was a large stream of climbers moving up when he was coming down. 

So exciting..... I get goose bumps writing this blog today. Know that I will be on 24/7 when the team makes their final push and until everyone is back down safely at base camp.  

SPOT... Tashi's will be the one to follow but Tim warns us to not get concerned if the signal stops. This happened to Lucille de Beaudrap last year. Her batteries packed it in a the Hillary step and that's where the signal stayed all night. People started to doubt we were telling the truth that she was ok.  

May 9, 2011: 21:00hrs (Nepal Time) Bucket list complete!. 

Sadly Mark (Mango) Mangles came down from C2 today calling it the end of his climb. Mango has been suffering. He had dengue fever several years back and the last time he had an attack from it was 5 years ago and he is well aware of the symptoms. He thinks the heat he has endured and dehydration has brought on another attack. He was experiencing extreme loss of energy, fever, chills and body aches. He's been there before and knows fine well that with the stress his body is undergoing right now, it would be foolish to try to attempt the summit. So sad... he so much deserved his moment to stand on top. Mango has been an amazing asset to the team. So whether he has summit credit to his name or not he has succeeded with flying colours and has been outstanding team mate. His contribution in keeping everything running in the communication department and keeping the humour level high was very much appreciated throughout this expedition. He will rejoice when they stand on top and they will be grateful to him for his wisdom. 

Bucket List Complete:

When Mango was on his way down today between C1 and base camp he was telling Tim he came across a very old Nepalese climber being pulled by ropes through the icefall towards C1. First thought - how bazaar (%&$?).  Just as he was back at camp telling Tim a call came in from a buzz of Sherpa relays saying that the man had just died before C1. Tim said that both he and Mango stopped in the middle of their conversation in shock looking at each other. What the heck?

The oldest climber entered in the Guiness Records was Min Bahadur, Nepalese climber at the age of 76 in 2009. This man, Shailendra Kumar Upadhyaya was age 82. I understand his family have been informed at the time I got the news.  We offer our congratulations on his willingness to go for the summit of his country/world- trying to break the record and at the same time offer our condolences. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this time of mourning. 

Member update:

Our team is doing awesome. They are gearing up for tomorrow. They will be pulling out of camp at 06:30 not the time I previously mentioned. Tim said it will be too difficult to keep their extremities warm before the sun comes up and they don't want to burn batteries reserved for their electric foot warmers. Instead save those for the summit night. Makes sense. 

Martijn is on his way down. Something going on with him. He was having some gastro issues so he needs to retreat. More on him later. Everyone else is 100% and excited for the push. They are making bets they will be on a plane home out of Kathmandu on the 20th. Lets see how close they are. There are many variables to consider. 

I asked Tim for an individual update and he said he couldn't really give one as they are all quite simply just doing awesome. So there you have it.

Our official summit push starts tomorrow. First step being their night at Camp 3, move up to Camp 4 the next day, rest all day and leave for the summit in the night of the 11th topping out on the morning of the 12th.  Stay tune!   Becky

May 8, 2011: 21:00hrs (Nepal Time) Happy Mothers Day... to all the mom's out from all of us at Camp 2...

Our team has decided to spend one more day resting at Camp 2 instead of heading up to push to Camp 3 tomorrow. The wind was more than annoying last night keeping everyone awake at Camp 2 but worse up at C3. We saw this in the forecast and wondered how it would play out. They are happy our plan had them moving back to C2 to sleep. It's suppose to back off tonight so they should get a good sleep this time around. Our camp held up really well with the care everyone took to secure things. 

The days are blistering hot up there and the early mornings are extremely cold. You can always dress up for more warmth but it is harder to dress down and still have sun protection. Because of this Tim has reminded everyone it's imperative they get going really early, like 2 or 3 am when it's time to move up staying out of the heat. The heat sucks the energy out of them so they will have to work around this. I didn't get a temperature reading from anyone but I do know it can get unbearable starting mid May. 

I don't really have much to say about how everyone is at this point other than they are fine, resting, trying to stay warm, trying to stay cool, eating, drinking and will be lounging again tomorrow. Once they start climbing again I will report on each one of them on how they are doing. We have a rather large window of excellent weather so there is no rush. Just keeping ahead of the crowds will be our only objective at this point. Lucky to have this long window of weather this year. 

With all this time on their hands tomorrow, know that they will be thinking of all of you at home, especially the mom's out there.  Stay tuned... Becky

May 7, 2011: 21:00hrs (Nepal Time) AWESOME!!... members back at C2 from their trip to C3. 

Our Sherpas are all now resting at base camp. They are resting from their hard work they did in assisting in the role they played in preparing loads as agreed at communities leaders meeting. They also assisted in the unfortunate rescue of the deceased climber from another team a couple days ago. All is to plan and everyone did well.

Right now while they rest our members along with guides Javier and Angel and some personal Sherpas are all sleeping at C2.  All of them were up at C3 today. Tomorrow they rest as I watch a weather cell with some moisture in it to see if it will dump below Everest or on Everest. We think below. If all checks out they will begin their summit push progression the next day. 

Tim also confirms high winds that were predicted for last night hit. He said Camp 2 took a beating but all our tents are fine. Just a little stitching needed on the dining tent. 

Now you know why we called our members in Pheriche home on May 2nd. We have been watching this magnificent window of opportunity for sometime now. 

Tim was telling me that he was standing there watching two climbers thought to be Russian scaling the Nuptse face at a really impressive speed. I would have loved to have seen that. I can't remember the last time Nuptse was climbed and not any of them that I am aware of via the face. Wow!!!

Oh, our Liaison officer arrived yesterday with his L.O buddies. They left today with headaches.

 Have a good weekend everyone and check back here for the next steps of our Peak Freak team. I will give you an update on each members status tomorrow. 

Pssst.....Tomorrow morning the moms on our team are going to get a surprise delivery from base camp by Tashi Sherpa first thing in the morning for Mothers Day.  

May 6, 2011: 21:00hrs (Nepal Time) Still a beauty up there...

A few days back wind was predicted up high for tonight and blowing till early on the 8th. The team plans to climb to C3 tomorrow, hang out and retreat to C2 if the wind doesn't kick them too hard. If it does, no worries, go the next day when it is suppose to back off again. Time is on our side! Tim seems to think everyone can handle it. 

Everyone had a great day and are all sleeping peacefully at C2. 

We got word that Desh is stable and in good hands in Kathmandu hospital. He has to undergo surgery to deal with the two ulcer holes in his stomach. Tim said it was a blessing that his condition came to a head while here. Otherwise he would have been down in his home village where he lives in Solu Khumbu which is below Lukla with no help to get him out to a hospital. 

The mountains have brought considerable fortune to the people of the Himalayas. It's lure for climbing has brought aid projects, income, education, transportation, health and health care. Never mind the vibrant economy that spins off the industry in Kathmandu. It's a gear shop mecca with abundant trekking companies, hotels, restaurant and the textile industries. The Khumbu climbing scene alone generates 1.2 million a year in peak fee royalties never mind the hundreds employed transporting goods to the tea houses, purchasing power to by animals for carrying and helping till the ground for food. It's a great feeling to see that such a healthy sport can give back so much to a country and to know that we are part of it. All for the love of mountains, how cool is that?

That's all for now... back at ya tomorrow.... Becky

May 6, 2011: 10:00hrs (Nepal Time) Stellar weather!!!  as far as I can see. 

We are in good form up on the mountain. All camps are stocked. Our Sherpa crew is resting at EBC from all their hard work. The members team is having a great sleep in at Camp 2 this beautiful morning. It's a day off today with nothing to do but eat, drink and be merry. 

Unfortunately being merry does not include everyone. Matt Wozniak has been battling affects from altitude, it happens. You just never know who it might happen to or when.  He opted to rest at EBC when the team retreated to Pheriche this past week to work on getting his energy up. During that time there was a lot of analyzing on what exactly was going on with his body chemistry. The fighter he is, he wanted to at least try to push yesterday with the team but it was soon evident he had to retreat for safety reasons. 

Good effort Matt.... those who know him know that summiting Everest is certainly within his reach. He will be heading out down the valley tomorrow with great memories of this place, the journey and new friends for a lifetime.  

The team will certainly miss having him around physically but at the same time they know his support in a spiritual sense will be with the them.   Matt, you rock!

May 5, 2011:21:00hrs (Nepal Time) SUMMITS and record speed rope fixing!!!  C2 to Summit and back to C2. 

and....... we are in position and to plan :) 

Tim says, "Get this, the team of 6 fixing Sherpas left Camp 2 this morning, climbed to the south col, grabbed rope and oxygen and fixed the rope to the summit, climbed back down and were to stay at the col but they felt so good they climbed all the way back down and are now at time of this post back in Camp 2.  INCREDIBLE!!!!!    The route from the col is also in amazing condition. In previous season they typically have to negotiate rock and ice. This year it is compressed snow making travel the best ever..."

Awesome work team!

Our members are at Camp 2 and pretty darn proud of themselves. Roger had made a choice before leaving EBC that he preferred to stay one night at Camp 1 and will join them tomorrow at C2. 

Tomorrow is a rest day for everyone at C2 then they are going to climb to Camp 3, hang out for day and then come back down to Camp 2 to sleep.

Stay tuned.... Becky

May 4, 2011: 21:00hrs (Nepal Time) Extra hydration please!

Today was an emotional day at camp and some extra hydration was definitely needed.  It started with Tim holding Desh's hand to say good-bye. The doctors said they almost lost him twice in the night when his BP nearly disappeared. They said he was in such intense pain that prescribed morphine was likely affecting his BP to drop off.  

Thankfully the helicopter made it in at 07:30hrs today. It's thought he would not have survived if it didn't. Tim was hoping Desh's brother would be able to go with him but the pilot kept firmly holding up one finger insisting the weather and wind was too much for two passengers. Desh was most upset because he was abandoning his responsibility in the kitchen and the financial responsibility to bring home an income to his family this year. Tim said he wiped the tear from Desh's cheek and his and assured him that he would not fail in either of his concerns. 

Desh was met at the airport by an ambulance and Roshan was there to help do the paperwork at the hospital. They had to give him a blood transfusion and discovered that he had two holes in his stomach from the ulcers. What a trooper to endure such pain all for the sake of his loyalties. 

The other tear jerks started when Tim began to give his safety talk. The team has been packing all day to go up on the mountain again tomorrow. It's that time in the climb when he feels the need to help put their quest into perspective on why coming back home alive is mandatory. His tools to help hit home are his visual aids that hang on the walls of the dining tent throughout the expedition.  Anyone that has been to Peak Freaks camp knows what these are. Lets just say they are very graphic photos of what happens if a climber starts to lose focus on what's important and the consequences. 

When he started to discuss what's most important he said the room got a bit wet. Yup, he used all of you at home to resonate that message. He reminded everyone that family and friends are also in this journey with them. They have given their trust in you and your good judgement, their support and encouragement and that they have a responsibility to come home unscathed and alive. He also said they have the same responsibility to their guides, climbing partners and Sherpas and to Peak Freaks flawless safety record for never losing anyone to the mountains.  He said he really didn't need to be so harsh as they are a smart bunch but he still wants them to have memory of these words being spoken should things start to not feel right.  

The good stuff is that prior to his talk with everyone tonight you will be happy to know that  they were all pumped and ready to climb tomorrow as per the plan mentioned yesterday. Tim says camp was buzzing with whistling, jokes, singing and gearing up to get back on those crampons.  The weather is very stable right now up high for quite a stint. 

The route: Is fixed to the south col and our camp at C4 is also ready. The fixing to the summit is bumped back for a couple of days. Now expected to be completed by May 8. 

Everest Death: This news is now out so I will provide the link of the release made by the family. Our sherpas have been working very hard up high and that is a reason you haven't heard much about them lately. They were involved in the recovery mission. Our thoughts and prayers go out the Rich Hitch's family. Good work team!

Mountain Climber Rich Hitch dies on Everest.    Rich was "not" a member of Peak Freaks. 

May 3, 2011: 21:00hrs (Nepal Time) Busy.....

Busy day for an expedition leader. Who says there's nothing to do at base camp?  

Tim's day was spent preparing the team for their next move. Another oxygen mask rehearsal and discussions on weather and summit options.... Running oxygen to the HRA till their shipment comes in.... A few hours with Russell  Brice discussing the old days they shared in the early 90's on Everest and how the joint effort budget is working out.... Discussing how much more work is needed to get more cooperation from teams who arrive with the intent to surf off the backs of other expeditions, or lack of knowledge on the new communities effort to share expenses and manpower in this regard....

He was also running around camps in an effort to find teams that might have Sherpas going up to take some batteries to Willie for the bolt gun. Our Sherpas are all up on the mountain right now or coming down. He was happy to learn that our Japanese neighbours had someone going up so that worked out.  

There was a disturbing part in Tim's day today. That was when he learned that our long-time cook assistant Desh Kumar was taken down to the HRA clinic due to extreme abdominal pain. He has been keeping this secret because he was afraid. This happens often with Sherpa people who have never been anywhere outside of their Himalayan heaven. They are afraid to go to clinics for help. They have seen people go in and come out dead and this has a huge impact on them. They certainly still need more education in this regard. Surprisingly still today they are fearful of child birth in remote regions. The need for prenatal education is very much needed in Nepal. 

The Khumbu is getting much better but still like in Desh's case- he has never been to a city before. He has never seen the bright lights, the movement of a car or a hospital. He has only ever seen such things on DVD's that show  up the valley or on satellite TV and stories from his families and friends that have had that opportunity.  

Fear has resulted in a critical situation for Desh. Tonight he is at the HRA clinic and it's thought that he has an ulcer that he has had for sometime and needs to go to Kathmandu hospital. He is on IV and morphine, under the care of Dr. Dawa and Dr. Hasish, the two Nepalese "first time" doctors new to the EverestER this year. Tim tried to organize a helicopter evacuation today but the weather in Kathmandu wouldn't allow for it. They will try again tomorrow. Desh's brother who also works on our expedition will go with Desh as he knows Kathmandu and will be able to walk him through the steps of getting into the ambulance and admit him into  the hospital in an attempt to help relieve his anxiety throughout this ordeal. 

He is seriously dehydrated because we just learned that it has been too painful for him to eat or drink, no one knew! He's in good hands now and hopefully his pain will subside soon. We pray for clear skies tomorrow enabling a helicopter to get in. Tim said he couldn't help himself from pacing outside the clinic yesterday like an expecting father- feeling helpless. He will back over there first light to see how Desh's night went.  

Climbing:   Camp 3 push is in the works in the next day or two. It will be the typical progression, C1 or C2 depending on the individual. Then rest at C2 for one or two days, again an individual preference. Climb to C3 and retreat to C2. Or, some may decide to go back up and sleep. We offer a great deal of flexibility to our climbers when the weather and health of everyone looks good. Our high climbing Sherpa guide ratio allows for this. No one is set to a specific schedule as we prefer to offer a more of pure climbing experience if all our rescue implements are in place but not before that. 

Member updates: BG is getting over a bit of a cold, much improved today. Roger's cough is gone, everyone else is doing fabulous and again Tim shared with me his observations on what a strong team we have this year. He said they are tough bunch, they tromped back into base camp from Pheriche in epic time and none of them felt any fatigue as a result by days end. 

Weather- is is looking really good in the long-run. This has all our Freaks in the Peaks getting a tid bit excited... I had a conversation with Tim about how odd it is that there isn't a lingering jet-stream this year.  It has other long time Everest players befuddled too..... Oh well, we'll take it....... Stay tuned!

Photo: Desh-kumar Sherpa 

May 2, 2011: 21:00hrs (Nepal Time) - Home coming

Our team is making their way back to camp. Jan in Namche, Mango in Pheriche, Laura, Martijn, Kathy, Georgina, Pam, BG, Kevin, and Javier in Gorak Shep. Nelson, Matt and Mark, Roger in base camp. Everyone should be home at EBC in the next couple of days from their time away down in the valley. 

Then everyone will rest at EBC including our Sherpas who have been working very hard up on the mountain. They just dropped oxygen, stoves and tents at the south col. Camp will be buzzing with activity once again. Tim and the others who stayed at camp look forward to everyone's return.

After the team has rested they will be moving up for their Camp 3 rotation. The weather is accommodating and with a warming trend- so we are on.  Stay tuned!

Photo: Tim- "come on home team.... look'in good".

May 1, 2011: 21:00hrs (Nepal Time)- Quiet time...

Not much to say today as our team is enjoying time out. The weather seems to be pretty good up high with not much precipitation however our vacationers are down in the cloud experiencing flurries. Anyone in Lukla or Kathmandu like our second wave trek group are getting drenched while the four at camp are sitting in the fog, all signs of a warming trend. 

Our Sherpas were busy today carrying oxygen to the South Col (C4) and everything is moving along nicely. The team is on stand-bye down in the richer air for a return to camp on the 5th or 6th. Possibly bumped up a day. We will make that call tomorrow as we watch the forever changing weather to see if it fits with our long term plan.  

Photo: Peak Freaks- nice patio!  (photo courtesy Conor Robinson)

April 30. 2011:21:00hrs (Nepal Time)- Team on vacation- route to south col open.

Good news! The route the south col is complete and open today!  Peak Freaks Tashi and Paulden Sherpa joined with sherpas from Himex, IMG and Willie's team announced completion. Yesterday they had made it to below Geneva Spur, and today they gave us the good news. Way to go team fixer's! 

Remaining at EBC is Mark, Matt, Nelson and Tim, they say they are comfortable there. Everyone else has gone down into the snow zone in Pheriche. They reported a heavy dump of snow there all day. Tim reported that it also snowed at EBC but it melted quickly. Kathmandu reports persistent thunderstorms. 

The team holding out at Pheriche made contact with me saying they will be moderately active hiking in the area to places like Ama Dablam base camp and will keep their physical output low and cal up on goodies like deep fried Snicker bars- a Khumbu favourite. 

There is a lack of urgency to race up the mountain this year.  There aren't that many climbers as seen in previous years and the idea of sharing a rope should there be "one" perfect day for a summit appears to acceptable this time around. Still today teams are just now arriving so everyone is spacing out nicely.

Tim recalls in 2008 when the Chinese shut down Everest above Camp 2 till May 12th during the Chinese Olympics. At that time there were around 500 climbers at camp and still there was plenty of time to get everyone up to speed with acclimatization and be in position for the typical summit window timeframe. We will use this time to let the atmosphere warm up a bit more above 7000m and allow the Sherpas time to get the route to the summit in place, then watch out, weather permitting - Peak Freaks will be on the move.  

Georgina said she was talking to locals and they say the weather on Everest this year has been declared the worst in a long time! She also said that a man at the med clinic in Pheriche who has lived here 60 years predicts the monsoon is coming late.

The retreat teams cell phones are out of range in Pheriche for the 3G service to call home but they do have access to Internet. They will be using me to correspond back and forth with base camp for their call to start making their way home to base camp or be given permission to hang out and play longer in the richer air below.  Stay tuned ... Becky

Photo: Sherpa's hard at work. 

April 29, 2011: 21:00hrs (Nepal Time) Time for a rest...

The snow at the time of Tim's call was light, he described it as cold weather snow and not the heavy snow that was previously in the mix. Those cells have now broken up and disbursed at higher altitudes and pushed back eastwardly. 

At lower altitudes like Lukla and Kathmandu it will rain heavily for a bit longer.  It's still quite cold up high -40 ish with wind chill and the route is still being fixed with rope to the south col and higher so our team has made the decision to go for their extended rest down the valley at this time and come back up in about 6 days.  

Our 32 Sherpas are all busy doing what they do here.  Russell Brice came around today checking on the status of the recruitments from other the teams Tim and company were working on. We are still looking for help from the new arrivals. These teams are smaller so Sherpa support will be difficult but we are hoping they can contribute oxygen. It's estimated that we will need about 40 bottles for the Sherpa team fixing rope to the summit. 

Kevin, Mango, Pam, Georgina and Nelson are on their way down. The rest are hanging out for a day or so and may or may not go down. They are enjoying life at camp and are happy with their environment. I will be keeping track of everyone as they come and go. We are in no rush to get back up on the mountain at this stage. 

Sorry about the size of the group photo and the one of Matt. They were sent to me this size  so when I try to enlarge them they get distorted. If you could see- the top one is the entire team, all 13 members plus Angel and Javier. Tim took the photo before they split up from camp this morning. 

We are impressed how everyone is staying healthy and strong. Tim added that everyone is being very responsible in taking care of their health. He also said they are a well tuned group and they all should do well. 

Becky

A shout out from Kathy and Laura!  

"Hello to family and friends, I'm doing well. Hi Dad!" - Laura

"I send my love to my family, thanks for making adjustments while I'm
gone" - Kathy

April 28, 2011: 21:00hrs (Nepal Time) Annoying generators, bodies and life at camp.

We have new noisy neighbours!  A Japanese team moved in next to us today. Our base camp is located at the edge of the icefall so we are the closest for getting on up the mountain and back again. It's also quieter up here which is important to us and the access to untouched water is nearby. 

For those that who are new to following Peak Freaks we have always been the leading  "green theme" climbing team up here and have been promoting the same to other teams. We have only ever used solar power "never generators" and this is another reason we camp further away from the little city of EBC. Solar power is the only way to go for obvious reasons that the world is well aware of by now. You probably know where I am going with this, YES our new  neighbours have shown up with a generator... grrr... all is good though. I had a chat with them today and they have agreed to turn it off by 9:00pm, but still it's 2011!!!  

Ang Karsung found us a couple of new panels that we have added to our collection. One is so small and efficient that we use it up at Camp 2 making it nice and bright and quiet up there. The other new one at base camp has a USB and phone port built into it.  We also added warm insulated flooring in our ambient dining tent and a guitar. In the photo Nelson is giving it a go.   

A body surfaced up on the glacier today. This is getting to be quite common. The Ministry has been notified and it will be excavated out in the days to come. Another body was found in the glacier nearer to the main EBC village. The story is that a trekker went missing about 5 or 6 years ago. His family has been notified and they have requested a retrieval and return of his body. 

The glacier is spitting all kinds of things lost from the earlier climbing era. This is normal activity of a glacier as it moves but today with increased global warming and the activity of human movement in this region, we are seeing more of it. Makes you wonder how many lives have been lost up here?  How many were never reported?

Mountain Works: The ropes and oxygen are still being carried up the mountain. The expedition leaders gathered again today to discuss movement of ropes and oxygen supplies for the Sherpas who will be fixing the route to the summit. Who is supplying what and so on. It was learned that there are still 17 loads of equipment to go up so myself, Dawa Stevens and Willie Benegas walked around today and managed to get help from the other teams who are not aware of the new Everest community. The new community as it's referred to works as a whole in a group effort to fix the mountain since we all use it. It's better managed this way in many ways. Keeping the route clean from old and potentially dangerous ropes and sharing the load of fixing new rope on the mountain to name a few. It used to be and still is for some to arrive here and surf off all the hard work other expeditions put forth. We managed to get 12 carries organized, still five more to go. 

We are still on weather watch for this systems that is threatening to dump snow on us. It was beautiful this morning at camp, then some ominous cumulus clouds started to form and then went away. Everyone is doing good and will enjoy this time out while we weather watch. A second rope still needs to be completed up the Lhotse face for a down rope. Also I discussed with the other leaders that we may as well wait to fix to the section to the summit until after this threatening storm or we will be left having to pull ropes from the snow which is a lot of work. Wait and watch... Over and out... Tim

A large collection of photos will be uploaded on Facebook shortly showing life at base camp and the new snow on the mountain.

Enjoy!

April 27, 2011: 21:00hrs (Nepal Time) Camp 2 acclimatization complete, Camp 3 will have to wait.

Team Peak Freaks is back at EBC. Too much snow to move safely up onto the Lhotse face. It's a steep pitch and chances of an avalanche is considerable especially come Friday when we are expecting a storm that has a lot of precipitation in it, best to stay low and let the mountain settle out. The six day forecast doesn't look that great but it is subject to changes as it does in mountain weather.

The weather is turbulent this year, our Sherpas agree. Some have joked (or not) saying it seems like monsoon. Our experience here is that it's too cold for monsoon and we haven't seen any cyclone's in the making that would typically mark the onset of monsoon. Just lingering winter weather minus the jet-stream that would normally be hanging over the summit this time of year.

Whatever will be will be, we will work around it and that's mountaineering!

Tomorrow some team members will be touching base with home and sending out photos and emails. Or joining in on language classes. Tim has been studying a computerized Spanish class that Mango has shared with him. Javier will test Tim in conversational spanish.

Stay tuned for photo upload to Facebook tomorrow... can't wait :)

Photo: Sherpas organizing oxygen loads.

April 26, 2011: 21:00hrs (Nepal Time) Camp 2, cold and weight loss.

Everyone is now at Camp 2 snuggled in their tents that are surrounded by ankle deep snow. The talk today on the mountain is about how cold it is this year. Comparing our years of experience on Everest and area with this years temperatures, it's shaping up to be one of the coldest.

Life at high altitude has many different effects on the body. One interesting and important effect is the pronounced weight loss observed in climbers. Over the course of of 2.5 month trip on Everest, a climber can expect a 7-14kg weight loss. This is a result of some still vague knowledge on how and why exactly. It's not just the physical exertion of climbing, it's more than that. A person just sitting at camp and not climbing will experience the same weight loss. This has us questioning the use of sleeping in altitude simulation systems that are on the market today. Sure you might acclimatize quicker but how much weight in muscle are you loosing that might be better spent throughout the duration of the climb?

Add lower than normal temperatures and the shiver effect while living at this altitude- our team could be what we call stick men and women by the end of this expedition. Keeping 13 climbers, 3 western guides and 32 Sherpa staff fed is a huge undertaking.

Weather: Is not so great. It's been snowing off and on and it looks like it will linger for sometime. The biggest snowfall we are now watching should set in on the Friday the 30th of April.

This could put the breaks on the teams plan to climb to Camp 3. Should it snow the amounts now forecasted, the Lhotse face will need to settle out from potential avalanches before climbing.

What's next: Tomorrow the team will take walk to the base of the Lhotse face to have a look. It's always good to have a close look at what your next days objective will be. Visualization is a good thing, a powerful thing before getting into it.

Everyone is doing well. Climbing strong.

Photo: Dishing out some grub...

April 25, 2011: 19:00hrs (Nepal Time) Climbing and Happy Easter weekend!

I'm back in my saddle here at the office. Thank you for your patience during the quiet times. I spoke to Tim this morning and the team had a good fill of roasted chicken for their Easter dinner before heading up the mountain for a week.

They left base camp on queue yesterday at 04:00hrs. The temperature was quite cold in the early morning but by noon it was smoke'in hot. Because of this, four of them have decided to stay put at Camp 1 while the rest continued on to Camp 2. As soon as the sun went down it got very cold, about -20c and the winds are light. Staying at Camp 1 tonight is Pam, BG, Roger and Mark.

The team will start to work on two different schedules once they get rested up at Camp 2 and are fully acclimatized. Those who are ready will climb up to Camp 3 in about 2 days time, tag it, hang out to let their bodies adjust then retreat to Camp 2 to sleep and take a day off. While they are resting the second team heads up to Camp 3 to do the same and retreat to Camp 2. Then the first wave team after rested will move up and sleep at Camp 3 and retreat to Camp 2 or 1. While the second team follows the same progression a day later. All in all they will likely be up on the mountain for about 7 to 8 days.

Our Sherpas are working hard at getting Camp 3 ready for everyone. Putting in tents, stocking them with food and starting to ferry oxygen up to Camp 4. They will also in time start to move some oxygen and rescue supplies up to the south col. It's quite the feat for our Sherpas doing this work but they are the cream of the crop up here and it's all in a days work to them.

Our Sherpas aren't from Kathmandu. Only Ang Karsung our base camp manager and Mingmar Sherpa AKA my number #1 as I call him. The rest all live in the high altitudes of Phortse, Khunde, Manaslu and other high Himalayan villages. With their lifestyle there is no time to get soft.

Tashi Sherpa is our climbing Sardar. When he is not climbing he runs the family lodge with his parents in the Gokyo region.

Photo: (1) Tashi Sherpa- 6 x Everest with Everest in the background. (2) Tashi's family lodge.

Over and out.. Becky

April 24, 2011: 21:00hrs (Nepal Time) - Climbing & Tiger of the Snow dies

The Plan:  Tomorrow at 04:00hrs the entire team will be moving up to Camp 1 sleep, Camp 2 sleep, touch Camp 3 and return to Camp 2 to sleep then retreat to  base camp.

When they finish this rotation their bodies will be adjusted to the new altitudes and then it's just a matter of taking a good rest allowing our Sherpas time to complete stocking camps and carrying oxygen up to the South Col. While resting this will allow their bodies time to repair by stocking up on calories and getting oxygenated.   

Some of our members will likely move down lower in the valley to places like Pheriche or even Namche Bazaar to take advantage of the rich air.  

The South Col (Camp 4) ropes are being put in now or will be really soon. The satellite connection I had with Tim today was quite broken up so the details were a bit spotty.  He did say the Sherpa team fixing the ropes to the summit are still on schedule for having it complete by the 5th or 6th of May.  Last season Peak Freak member Lucille de Beaudrap summited on May 7th. Not to get too excited though. This little window can close hard if the jet-stream moves back down and it usually does. Wait and see.

However the entire team is doing fantastic! So far everyone is feeling great and climbing in good style.

Weather:    The wind is almost non-existent right now or in the next 6 day forecast.  Light snow at base camp and next to nothing coming down up at C2. The 

Other news:  Nawang Gombu dies at the age of 79.

KOLKATA, India – Sherpa mountaineer Nawang Gombu, the youngest on Sir Edmund Hillary's climbing team that first scaled Mount Everest in 1953, died on Sunday at his Indian home at the foot of the Himalayas. He was 79.

Friends and family were at Gombu's bedside when he died after a brief illness in Darjeeling, about 400 miles (650 kilometers) north of Kolkata, his son Kursung Phinjo Gombu said.

The first person to summit Everest twice, Gombu was considered one of the last of the so-called "Tigers of the Snow" — a small group of Sherpa mountaineers who scaled the Himalayas to bring fame and prestige to their ethnic community that originates from the mountains of eastern Tibet and Nepal.   Full Story

April 23, 2011: 22:00hrs (Nepal Time)- Thankful 

After a spell up on the mountain everyone is bonding with their Sherpas and feeling thankful for their new friends for life. 

Georgina Miranda writes: The trip up to Camp 1 was special because it was the first time I got to climb with my personal Sherpa, Jangbu :) He truly is one of the nicest, most patient, and kindest person I have met. He taught me the Nepali word bistahrai, which means "slowly". He said slowly, hopefully we will make the summit. That meant a lot to me. He taught me this word because I kept apologizing for going so slow through the ice fall, a place where you want to get out fast. Jangbu has summitted Everest 6 times, 3 times from the North and 3 times for the South. He is extremely humble and looks after me : ) I have nothing to prove up here, which is why I got a personal Sherpa... to have an expert by my side to help me navigate this mountain. I am going to learn so much from him I can tell. It has also been great to start building that bond as well. I think he just got a new camera, so we both took turns taking pictures of one another through the ice fall. My favourite was when he ran onto the five strung ladder above Camp 1 so I could take a photo of him....meanwhile everyone was trying to go around the ladder as it looked a bit tricky. Basically, Sherpas are amazing people, and we are so blessed for them and their incredible talent.

Overall the ice fall and the ladders where not a scary as I thought it would be. It felt good to be on the mountain finally. When I was tired going up and I though I couldn't go any further, I thought " you are in the Kumbu Ice Fall, a place you have dreamt about and wanted to be at for years, now suck it up, enjoy this experience of a lifetime, and keep moving :)." It worked, a little self tough love.
Yesterday we learned about our oxygen masks and had a safety talk. Tim and the guides are consistent in reminding up what we are up against and how we need to be smart about the decisions we make. As Tim said, Everest has never taken anything from him, and it should not take anything from any of us...not our lives, our fingers, our toes, etc.

So last night we all watched the Bucket List in our dining tent and when I got back to my tent I looked up into the most beautiful clear sky and gave thanks for my life, for all the amazing experiences I have had so far, for my family, my friends, for my job and sponsor, and for the chance to pursue a dream, this dream of a lifetime. I felt so blessed, so loved, and had the best sleep of the trip yet.   


Kathy Setian checks in:  So what have I been up to? A lot of practising on the lower ice fall. I am in an internet place and hands are freezing. We have been rappelling and using fixed lines. Tim Rippel is a true mountaineer. He wants us all to be self-sufficient in the mountains. Other teams practise walking on ladders at base camp. Tim had us go up into the icefall to learn. Everyone did great. Laura and I were rewarded with an ice cold Coke.. yum. My tent is pretty tight as you can see. Laura and I had a stuffy nose so we steamed with eucalyptus. 

Celebrity sighting! Met the icefall doctors. These two men are responsible for putting in a safe as possible route thru the icefall.  

I am thankful for my personal Sherpa, his name is Nymgal Sherpa. I feel very blessed to have him. Together we made good time going thru the icefall. We had high winds at Camp 1 so we hunkered down in our tents. The sherpas brought us our hot water and tea thru the storm. Felt very pampered. 

Weather: As predicted the winds have died down and it's snowing. A few climbers are down at Gorak Shep enjoying the bakery and time out from their tents. It's super busy down there we are told with many trekkers in the valley still. It will likely be like this now for the entire month of May as the excitement builds for summit pushes.

Route: Tomorrow the Sherpas will be moving up the Lhotse face. They were held back a bit by the wind up high. 

The Plan: Tim is thinking of holding the team back for a little bit till the new snow starts to settle giving the Sherpas time to make sure everything is in good shape at Camp 2 for their arrival.

Over and out... Team Peak Freaks...

April 22, 2011: 22:00 hrs (Nepal Time).. Bucket List

Showers, walk to Gorak Shep, laundry and just hanging out was life at base camp today. The winds are starting to die down and the temperature is getting much more comfortable. 

The rope fixing up the Lhotse face to camp 3 will begin tomorrow.  Peak Freaks Tashi Sherpa, one of two Tashi's we have on our team will be on the fixing team joined with other teams Sherpas. A joint effort as agreed on at the leaders meeting. 

Our DVD player broke down a few days ago so while the team was climbing Ang Karsung had his brother in Kathmandu buy a new one and put it on the plane to Lukla. It was then given to a porter who walked with it to base camp. The team is watching Bucket List tonight and are all happy and well.  Over and out... Tim

A shout out from Nelson to someone special:  "I love you Magdal! All is well and I miss you!"

Nelson sent out a great photo collection of time spent at Camp 1. They will go up on Facebook shortly.

PHOTO: Winds at Camp 1 

April 21, 2011: 2100hrs (Nepal Time).. Happy at BC

Winds still screaming up high so all members are back at BC and happy to have completed the first step of their climb. In the days to come they will move up to Camp 1, spend the night, move to Camp 2 spend the night, climb to Camp 3 and return to Camp 2 to sleep. They may do this over a 4 day to 7 day effort depending on weather, energy and health. 

Tomorrow the winds are expected to die down and the temperatures will rise. The team is looking forward to having a shower when it warms up. 

Right now they are watching movies in the dinning tent.  Over and out from EBC.

You can read "Three Cups of Deceit" here: www.byliner.com  by John Krakauer. Ugh...

Photo: Angel and team in the icefall.

April 21, 2011: 10:00hrs (Nepal Time)  Check...

The team has decided to come down. Some of them are going to walk towards Camp 2 to gain some altitude and check out the route while others will begin their descent back down and everyone will meet in BC for dinner tonight.  

They will rest for three day, do a weather check and get back up on the mountain. Details of the plan to come.

The big news reverberating around base camp and the globe among climbers is the Greg Mortensen fraud story that was just released called "Three Cups of Deceit" released by John Krakauer, an expose' on Greg's book "Three Cups of Tea"  The team said they are terribly disappointed by this news as I can only imagine many others are. 

April 20, 2011: 21:00hrs (Nepal Time)  Hunkered down in Camp 1. 

Team decided to stay one more night and see if the wind will break in the morning. Weather reports show not till Friday but it may start to settle a bit more by morning so they will stay wait and see. If not, they will collapse the tents and come back down to BC. 

Everyone is doing well. They spent the day reading, listening to music and maintaining the tents. All is good!

April 20, 2011: 10:00hrs (Nepal Time)- High winds - pondering the next move. 

Howling winds all night at C1. The team slept lightly having to keep one eye on the seams of their tents. Their tents did well  but there were a couple of teams that didn't. As a result of having tents set-up with no one to maintain them has its consequences with the loss of critical equipment when there's a storm. Wind or snow.  

The winds are pretty high this morning so the team is going to hold out and see if it will back off a bit later in the early afternoon. If not they will probably stay put and try again tomorrow.  

Just as Tim was giving me this update he got quiet and then responded with a wow!!!!... A big serac had just fallen from the direction of the Lola pass. He was bracing to see if they were going to get dusted but the wind blew the cold smoke towards Tibet. 

Let the fun of climbing Everest begin :)    Becky

April 19, 2011: 21:00hrs- CAMP 1 - Snoozing!

Thanks everyone for your patience. I am now back on track with the blog. I spoke with Tim this morning and everyone did really well getting to Camp 1. It took them between 7 to 8 hours. As per my predictions it is windy up there. We paid attention to the forecast and didn't have the Sherpas erect any tents and it was a good thing. The camp next to our didn't fair so well. 

Tomorrow morning the team will get up early and climb to Camp 2, hang out for the day to get used to the new altitude and then retreat to Camp 1 to sleep.  

Tim also said there was a pretty good snow storm at base camp but nothing up on the mountain for new snow.  My next update will be this evening PST- Canada to see how their night went last night in the wind.  Stay tuned!

April 18, 2011: 21:00hrs  - Let the climb begin!

 All the climbing members were tucked into their tents trying to wind down for the 3:00am morning call.

Some of them are really excited to get on the mountain and some are a bit nervous which happens the first time through. They will be woken in the tents by a Sherpa offering a hot cup of tea, gear up and begin the climb through the icefall to Camp 1. It will be a very long day for them. They typically move quite slow the first time doing this (5 to 6 hours) and after they have acclimatized they will bang it off around (3 to 4 hours). These times will vary considerably depending on how many climbers on the route and difficulty of the terrain.  

The plan: They will climb to Camp 1 and sleep there. The next day they will climb to Camp 2 and retreat to Camp 1 to sleep. The next day they will come back to base camp. 

The route: Is in good shape. Many of the large blocks the teams were dealing with last year have collapsed so it's looking good. 29 ladders were placed in the icefall and the longest one spans three ladders tied together. 

Route the summit: Russel Brice's team of Sherpas plus one of ours will be fixing the route the route the summit. Russel is anticipating getting this in place around May 5 or 6. Wishful but it doesn't always happen that way. The weather will call the shots and other variables like the unknown condition this far on the Lhotse face. From a distance it looks pretty good though. 

I'm leaving you! I will be blogging remotely this week so I just wanted to give everyone a heads up that if you don't see anything here tomorrow check on Tim's Facebook for updates so you won't miss a beat should I have a technical glitch. I will also be talking to Tim in their morning to see how everyone is doing and have a report for you. Either Facebook or here. 

Mountain Elevations and Distances     Watch SPOT 

Stay tuned, Becky

April 17, 2011: 21:00hrs- Everyone's home..

"Our team has returned to EBC from Kala Pattar. They were pretty excited about their night and the clear skies they were blessed with this morning. They said they were woken quite early by about 60 trekkers all making their way to the top for that infamous sunrise view of Everest. Jan said the village of Gorak Shep was insanely busy with trekkers and he was trying to stay clear of them as to not bring any bugs home to camp. The trek season seems to have kicked in all at the same time this year. It's humming with activity in the valley now. 

The team meeting went well. We got into the human waste talks again to hopefully make an impression on other teams to follow what is expected of them up here. The Nepalese government doesn't make any enforcements in that regard so we all do.  

Fixing the mountain talks also went well. There are three of us here with larger sherpa teams than the others so naturally we will be doing a larger contribution in supplying Sherpa power as before in getting the job done preparing the mountain for climbing.  Tomorrow our Sherpas will  head up with 9 loads of rope. There are 53 loads of rope needed to be placed up onto the Lhotse face to the south col.  

The helicopter pad also needs maintained throughout the season so each expedition will be contributing manpower to keep it in shape as well. It is on the glacier and like our camp, it will need adjustments throughout the climb as the glacier is constantly moving pushing up rocks and ice. 

Other than that, the meeting was entertaining with everyone taking shots at each other with jokes and so on. This is the first time each season leaders get some time together. By now we now we have our clients settled in and base details in place. So let the climbing begin!

Climb on!  Rest day tomorrow, a weather check and the team will be off and climbing April 19th at the crack of dawn to Camp 1, if not earlier to avoid the intense heat on the glacier.  Over and out, Tim"

Comforting words from experience:  Mark (Mango) Mangles who was here last year says that the icefall looks to be in much better shape than last year. 

Communications Mango also looked into the 3G situation further and did some testing. He says 3G service is there but there isn't enough power to push it to base camp. He walked back today from Kala Pattar with is phone on and monitored his reception. He said while near the tower in Gorak Shep he received the 3G signal but as he walked further up towards base camp at about 2klm he lost the signal and barely got 2G. 

Tim commented that earlier he was able to pick up the 2G signal at camp and now they aren't hardly getting anything. Likely from too many now at camp sucking the power supply and trekkers too. He topped up with Ncell minutes but his calls switch over to the local cell companies and "ouch" those rates are extremely high for international calls. Back to satellite :)

Photo:  looking the other way, Khumbu glacier and Ama Dablam spiking up to the sky.

April 16, 2011: 21:00hrs- Sleeping on Kala Pattar

'Today everyone made their way to Kala Pattar including a team of our Sherpas and myself who supported their carry of tents, food and cooking equipment and said good night. Then myself and the Sherpas came back to base camp to take care of others things like preparing for our expedition leaders meeting tomorrow. The Pow Wow we spoke of earlier where we'll all get into discussions on fixing the Lhotse face and the route the to summit with rope, equipment and Sherpa power. 

The team should have a great night up on Kala Pattar. The sky is clearing right now and the moon is bright. The full moon is April 18 but all the same it's close enough when reflecting off the snow. The next full moon is on May 17. Wouldn't that be nice? say no more :)

Photo: Courtesy Warren Bruce ABC on Mount Pumori with us this last October. This is close to the view our team may be blessed with tomorrow morning. 

" A Happy Yak is a Healthy Yak"  

If you recall we wrote earlier on how weak the yaks are this time of year. Well... look who I ran into today and who is making a big difference here in the Khumbu. His name is Dr. Lance Fox, veterinarian from the US and Everest summiteer who's here working a very cool project -  

In 2009 while he was at Everest base camp preparing to climb to the summit, Dr. Fox dewormed some of the Nepalese yaks used to carry equipment from the lower villages in the Khumbu region. This was made possible by the generous donation of Safe Guard® from Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health. Not only did Dr. Fox administer the product himself but he also taught Phurba Tashi Sherpa, an 18-time Everest Summiteer, how to administer the Safe-Guard®. This ‘yak clinic’ made possible follow-up doses to be administered approximately 6 weeks later.

In July 2009, one month after returning home to the United States, Lance  received information explaining that of the 200 animals treated, the female yaks were making more milk! This is the reason why he has decided to go back to this region in 2011.

There are thousands of yaks living in the area but only about 2500 yaks live and work at the altitude and target area encompassed by this proposal. Veterinary care in this remote part of Nepal is almost nonexistent.

While here this month Dr. Fox, Dr. Andrew Skidmore, Dr. Claire Windeyer, and Dr. Kristen Obbink) will conduct 9 yak health clinics in villages along the trekking route from where expeditions begin in Lukla, Nepal to base camp at Mount Everest.  At each of the clinics all of the yaks in the village will be de-wormed and field parasitology exams will be conducted to document parasite prevalence.  The local yak owners will also be educated about the importance of proper de-worming, as well as how to do it themselves (a follow-up dose will be left behind).  Intervet/Schering-Plough has once again kindly donated 3,000 doses of Safe Guard for the 2011 project. The team has to date this trip treated 400 yaks in the Khumbu. 

Photos: Courtesy Lance

April 15, 2011: 21:00hrs- Getting tweaked..

"Today we spent the day working with demonstrations on different things like stoves, how to light them and keep them lit. How and where to collect fresh snow in bags for melting. How to build snow walls around your tent vestibule to protect the stove from wind. The climbers stove is an essential piece of equipment while climbing. Without hydrating you won't get far.  

The tents have two entrances. One entrance is protected with snow blocks to prevent the stoves from going out. The climbers will melt snow and cook at this end of the tent. 

The other end is the entrance in and out. Before we settle in for the night everything is checked because you don't want to go out if don't have to and not "having to" is mandatory in some situations other than when it's time to climb again. Pee bottle at the front door and your outer boots. Climb in your sleeping bag, boot liners with you to keep them warm and to dry them from day time sweating. Anything else that needs to dry will also go in the bag with you. Yup, smelly is part of climbing. 

At dinner tonight I presented the game plan for the summit push. I prepared a schedule for the days we will be where on the mountain and a tentative summit push date based on our past 20 years of climbing here. Everyone was now looking at me with big eyes and the questions started. The biggest one - when we are going to summit? Of course at this stage we can't predict the exact date but it should be close. Once everyone is acclimatized to Camp 3 and the mountain is fixed with ropes, equipment, tents, food and oxygen then the weather will make the final call on the summit push. Statistics have it that most summits take place the third week in May. This is the time of year there is a transition in the weather patterns. The winter winds (jet-stream) get pushed off the summit by the incoming monsoon season. More on this later. 

What's next: Tomorrow everyone will go to sleep atop Kala Pattar. It's hopeful they will get some good sunset and sunrise shots of Everest while up there. This climb will not only help them with acclimatization for Camp 1 but it is also a very good mental preparedness exercise. When we are at base camp and climbing on Everest you don't see her and sometimes a climber looses focus on why they are here and Everest seems like such a huge task. The icefall gets intimidating, so many times up and down, headaches, tired.. for what?  

When you have the opportunity to stand back and have a look at her (for some) you can put your task at hand into better perspective. Suddenly the ice fall doesn't look so big, the Lhotse face looks inviting and the summit really is pretty close. The best part is if you can visualize yourself on the summit, chances are you will get there if health and weather permit.  

Over and out, Everest Base Camp- Tim"

PHOTOS: Lots of pictures on Facebook today, thanks Jan for sending those out....  Also don't forget to check Spot. Tashi Sherpa will be carrying the Peak Freak Spot throughout the climb. It will be interesting to watch a Sherpa in action compared to the rest of the team. You will see them on different schedules while working preparations of the mountain. 

Have a read on trekker Craig Law's blog  "Escape from Lukla"  on the Pilatus Porter. Hilarious... 

April 14, 2011: 21:00hrs- Looking good in the icefall.

Today went as planned, at trip in the icefall - except for Pam who wasn't feeling so well. She went to the HRA- EverestER to get their assessment on her stomach issues. The doctors think she picked something up probably about 10 days ago in the valley.  They have her on antibiotics now so she should be all fixed up soon. We'll keep you posted as I know she has a large following at home. 

KHUMBU COUGH: Another health issue has befuddled Tim and the doctors- Roger's cough is back.  Roger was with us on Pumori in October and suffered from a chronic cough. He was forced to retreat to Namche Bazaar where he managed to get it under control. Then he came back up and so did the cough.

Thinking it was a one time thing or a virus he came back this spring to pursue his Everest dream and unfortunately so did his cough. The doctors are scratching their heads. His oxygen saturation levels are perfect and everything else checks out, no signs of bacterial infection or anything else that would trigger it. 

It's thought this is just a bad case of the Khumbu cough brought on by the dry air and altitude. Some get it bad and some just a mild one. Typically everyone will get a mild form of it when they start climbing higher and it can stay throughout the climb and even linger for a few days after they go home. One reason constant hydration is so important when living at altitude. There are concerns that the current intensity of Roger's cough at this lower altitude will wear his energy down. The doctors are doing an excellent job trying to see how they can help him and get his cough under control. We'll keep you posted, like Pam, Roger also has a very large following at home rooting for him including the entire Pumori team he climbed with in October.

SUMMIT SUCCESS:  Conor Robinson has summit Island Peak!!!!  Congratulations....!!!  The Everest team is happy and proud for him. :)

The Plan: Everyone was pretty tired after today's skill review in the icefall. The team will take a rest tomorrow and then see if everyone will be up to making the trip up to Kala Pattar as a group or separate. The plan is move up to sleep at Camp 1 on the 20th.

Weather: It's cold tonight at base camp. It could drop down to -18c or lower tonight. The 16th looks to be warmer and clearer skies for Kala Pattar and then the winds start to pick up on the 18th for a couple of days. 

Route: Camp 1 and 2 are now pretty much stocked with everything needed but nothing is set-up yet. That will be another trip closer to the time when the team starts to work up the mountain. That way if a storm comes in wind or snow won't damage anything.

Your question: When watching the Everest documentaries you don't see the climbers wearing helmets. Why do your climbers wear helmets on Everest?  

Answer: The icefall the past couple of years has become very active with global warming. The result is a lot more debris falling, snow and rock and at times avalanches. If there is anything we can do to help the safety of our climbers you can be sure Tim will implement it. 

April 13, 2011: 21:00hrs- Great day!

Working in the icefall on climbing skills today. Tomorrow we'll get everyone up to one of the ladders and get acquainted with how to climb on them. We'll probably be back at camp around 1:00hrs (Nepal Time) and then take some time out. This means time to send out emails and photos home. The next day will be a rest day and then we'll take it from there. The Sherpas are now humping loads up to Camp 2 preparing our advanced camp. 

Advanced base camp will have almost everything we have here at base camp except the shower "brrrr.." who would want one anyway? There will be a dinning tent, kitchen tent, toilet tent and sleeping tents. Our cook stays up there throughout the expedition to prepare hot meals for our members coming and going. 

Trekkers: Lukla airport was shut down yesterday and today due to ugly weather. Because of it, no twin-otters could get in or out. 

Our first wave trek group was scheduled to fly back to Kathmandu today. They were just starting to find things to do in the village and prepare for another night when they were struck with some good luck. The good luck Peak Freaks always seems to get here. A small aircraft "Pilatus Porter" was in the area and took advantage of a small window in the clouds and got them out- without their bags but they will follow. So the good news is that they are all safe and sound back in Kathmandu. Good work everyone!

You have to appreciate these epic departures from this mountainous region. I always used to tell the groups I led that getting to the mountains is pretty straight forward but, you "never" really know how you will get out. It's always an adventure. :)

Photo: Tashi Sherpa taking inventory of climbing equipment and a Pilatus Porter. 

April 12, 2011: 21:00hrs- NOT 3G it's 2G says-

Mark (Mango) Mangles AKA McIvor, our techno wizard put his communications expertise from his military days to work today. He couldn't rest knowing there must be something missing in the failing 3G service. He went on a walk about to Gorak Shep and had a good look at the tower. His assessment from what he saw is that the service may only be 2G and not 3G.  I did some research this morning and anyone out there correct me if I'm wrong, but it appears 2G is much slower and therefore only good for voice or text. 3G is faster and is what is needed for data transfer in order to send photos efficiently. 

Mango tried to call Ncell but he couldn't reach anyone at that time who spoke English so he will be back on it tomorrow. 

Tim relayed this information to me however with his cell from base camp as he had 3 bars, probably because there was some sun today till about 1:00, however  it drained in no time so we were cut off. He then tried to communicate with his satellite phone but there is a snow storm right now and we couldn't communicate so we'll catch up tomorrow when things improve. 

He did manage to say that they had a great day working their technical climbing skills in the lower glacier and were hoping to get on the rock at Pumori tomorrow but now with the new snow it will be better to climb in the glacier again. 

I didn't get from him before we got cut off whether or not the route is completed to Camp 1. The icefall docs were just short of tying some ladders together yesterday so I'm thinking it's done. This will mean our stacked team of Sherpas will begin carrying loads and fixing camps with equipment. 

Expedition leaders haven't met yet to discuss rope and fixing procedures. Things like, who, how, when as they are all busy organizing the first stages of the expedition- establishing base camp, communications, and keeping our climbers busy with climbing skills, healthy, sorting gear and other duties. Soon they will gather for the big pow wow.

Photo: Hungry....One of Tashi Sherpas yaks spotted some grass.    Photo Courtesy of Warren Bruce. 

Tidbit: The yaks this time of year are very lean. They have wintered mainly on potatoes their owners stowed for them. It's a difficult time for them as they have to work hard in March carrying all the expedition goods to camps, trekkers bags up and down the trails and do it all over again the end of May when their bodies are not yet operating in full swing. 

Snow is also very dangerous for them. They can't see the rocks to properly place their footing and with large loads being carried they can crash hard and break bones. A broken yak is a dead yak and this is costly for the family that owns them. 

Once we had a yak slip on rock, his load shifted that was strapped to him with jute rope under his tail. The result was a broken tail which rendered him useless for work so he had to be put down. We paid our good friend Dawa Sherpa for his loss so he could replace the yak. No yak-ccident insurance brokers up here  :)  ... Becky

Ooops... a little text made it out just now to say the Sherpas are carrying loads to C1 tomorrow so that means the route to C1 is complete. 

The Napa Valley trek team made contact too. They are all safe and doing well, back in Kathmandu on the 16th weather permitting. Hopefully they haven't shaved their beards off before they send me some photos :)

April 11, 2011: 21:00hrs- Busy day!

The skies looked terrific early this morning so Kala Pattar was a "must do". The team all went to the summit minus Georgina and Jan. Georgina is nursing a cold and Jan has been having issues with a tweaked nerve in his neck from pre-expedition training, doctors orders are to rest.  Check SPOT tracker to see where they were: SPOT  I was busy organizing camp, tweaking solar panels, sorting mountain food and so on. 

ROUTE: The route to Camp 1 is not yet completed. There are some ladders that still need strapping together and fixed, hopefully tomorrow. That didn't stop Tashi and Paulden Sherpa who streaked up and flagged out Camp 1 and Camp 2 today, same locations as we usually set-up and are now back at BC. As soon as the ladders are in place our team of Sherpas will start hauling loads to fix camps. 

When looking at the photo provided by Nelson Dellis from the top of Kala Pattar, Everest looks to be quite dry. Dry is not ideal conditions. More snow is preferred for various reason. It fills in the crevasses and bonds to the ice that is sometimes blue ice on the Lhotse face.  Looking at it right now I see that there is some fresh snow on the Lhotse face so that is a good thing. 

ICE FALL: Tashi reports that the ice fall looks better than last year. This was music to my ears. Still we will try to lessen the risk factors by keeping the time our team is in the icefall to a minimum. To help with that, instead of climbing to Camp 1 and back down again for our first acclimatization climb, we instead will go up Kala Pattar and sleep there. Then we when we get on Everest we will go to Camp 1, sleep there instead of climbing back down to EBC.  

What's next?  Tomorrow we will start some technical training and assessment. If the weather is good we are going to go to Pumori Base Camp and work on some rock skills in our training grounds that we have established there for our annual autumn Everest Training Camp. If it's not so nice, then we will work in the ice fall on ice climbing skills. 

Your questions answered? We were asked why the 2 very large expeditions place their camps further away from the ice fall than we do. Answer: Quite simply they are so large that there isn't enough room here. Further back offers more space for their size.  

Conor Robinson: Leaving in about 3 hours to the summit of Island Peak... All is good!

Photo: Nelson Dellis from the top of Kala Pattar today.   

April 10, 2011: 21:00hrs- Trekkers coming- Trekkers going..

"Happy to see the four Napa valley boys all made it to base camp today. Paul, Mario, Roger and Carter made it to base camp. They were pretty stoked and so were we. Last we saw them was in Namche before they went off on another route and schedule. Tomorrow they plan on making a summit bid on Kala Pattar and hopefully the snow that we have been getting will break for them so as it not too slippery and the skies will open for some beautiful photos. Our climbers are biting at the bit to go up there themselves but I have encouraged them to stay put till the snow melts. We don't need any twisted ankles at this point.  

We had a good morning for the Puja ceremony yesterday but today it was flurries most of the day. It didn't build up to too much, but still a bit slippery so everyone is hanging low. Becky is watching the weather and when we get a nice day we will head out to the ice-fall and start our training session.  This will be in a couple days from now. 

The route still isn't quite complete to Camp 1. It looks like their are some pretty large chunks up there from where we can see. 

Life in camp is good and so is everyone.... over and out, Tim"

BG- Bengt-Goran Hakansson, team member from Sweden sends out a big Namaste to all his friends, supporters and family. He also sends us some photos of base camp and more. Check Facebook for the full collection and larger file sizes. 

Photo: Some of our Sherpas, the muscle of an expedition. Posed with Lama Mingma on the left.  

April 9, 2011: 21:00hrs- Life at camp Day 1

Tim checks in: Life at camp has started off with blessing from Lama Mingma and the rest of the day the Everest climbers were organizing and adjusting their tents while Conor Robinson and Melanie O'Toole climbed to the summit of Kala Pattar (5545m) and back. 

Tomorrow the trekkers will start out at about 07:00hrs to start their journey home while Conor joined with Phurbu Sherpa will climb Island Peak (6145m).  

ROUTE: The ice-fall is being worked on by the ice-fall doctors (Sherpa team hired to place the ladders and ropes through the glacier). They are just short reaching Camp 1. They will be on it first thing tomorrow to complete the route to (6100m- 20,000ft). I don't have a report yet on the condition of the route. We will probably have a look at it day after tomorrow ourselves when we start our training sessions. 

There are few head cold among the group and the consensus seems to be to just get on with it, get the cold and get it over it so they can be healthy at the critical stage of the climb.  

What did we have for dinner you ask?  Roast chicken, roasted potatoes, rice, mixed vegetables and pumpkin pie. 

COMMUNICATIONS: The problem we are having is the batteries are solar charged in Gorak Shep where the tower is. It's not getting enough sun to charge to them to capacity or even near for that matter. If it does start to get more sun we may also have troubles with too many people jumping on to use the service which will quickly suck the storage dry again. So we are kind of back to the old way again. Ncell may or may not improve the situation but really I don't see them putting more money into it just for 50 days of use by a select group of people.  Satellite remains the best option.

WEATHER: As per forecast: Slightly warmer and light precipitation in the form of snow. Nothing significant but holding this pattern for about a week. I would like to see much more snow to help fill in the crevasses. 

Photos are still being organized for dispatch...Kathy Setian sends out a message to her family to stay tuned here for her updates till we get more sunlight on the 3G storage... stay tuned... Tim"

PHOTO: Jangbu Sherpa having a look at the route. 

April 8, 2011- 21:00hrs-  EVEREST BASE CAMP- 5400m and no 3G.

Tim checks in with a very sketchy satellite connection and no 3G signal. The Chinese satellite was quite active when he called in making it hard to maintain access to the Thuraya satellite. It kept getting cut out by the Chinese one. Keep in mind they did just arrive and priority was enjoying the moment of reaching base camp. Tweaking of communications and antennas will happen in the next day or two. Today they were too busy enjoying Ang Karsung's food, experiencing camp for the first time and so on. He said the climbers rustled around in their tents; home for the next six to seven weeks and touched their gear bags they haven't seen for 8 or 9 days and for some 2 weeks if they haven't opened them since they home. They will be digging out those cozy comforts and photos from home.  There are two bags still lingering in the valley that are expected to show up tomorrow.  

Also arriving tomorrow will be Lama Mingma. The team will be rising before the sun hits the tents to attend their puja ceremony with the Lama around 07:00hrs. This is good timing because the support trekkers will be able to participate in this magical moment with their friends before turning around and making their way back down to more comfortable altitudes. Tristan unfortunately had to turn back at Dingboche with signs of not being able to adjust to the new altitudes. Her oxygen saturation levels were not so good, better safe than sorry. Her friends are hoping she will still be in Namche Bazaar when they reach there. 

Tomorrow's Puja is the final blessing before our climbers or our Sherpa put foot on Everest. This one will include all our Sherpa staff who have been busy preparing camp, rolling boulders around to make flat spots and wind shelters while everyone else was trekking in slowly to camp. The teams food and climbing equipment, boots and all will be piled around the stupa structure made of stone, kata scarves and prayer flags for this event. Juniper will be burning, smoke mixed with the rays of the morning sunrise should offer a mystical setting combined with the Lama's chants. Then there's the rice throwing which is sure to get a few giggles out of the first timers to the Himalayas. Later in the day Jan will be sending out photos after the ceremony to share with everyone here on the blog and Facebook. 

MOUNTAIN CONDITIONS: Tim says the glacier looks very dry and there is no snow at base camp. The flurries they have been experiencing in the valley has melted with the daytime heat. He said the air felt slightly warmer and this is a good indication that the warmer weather we have predicted is moving in. 

What's next?  Blessing, rest for a couple days, sort gear and start on the training sessions and eventually start working up to Camp 1. There aren't too many expeditions there yet but once everyone gets settled in from other expeditions they will begin walkabouts and get acquainted with their neighbours.  

That's it for now... stay tuned for tomorrow photos and report.   Becky

PHOTO: The tracker now has them at base camp...You can view and play with it of course by following the link SPOT. 

April 7, 2011- 21:00hrs - Namaste from Lobuche (4931m-16,300ft).

"Still pretty darn cold up here but Becky assures us that the weather is suppose to improve on the 9th. Warmer but still snow flurries. I saw some cumulus clouds starting to build over Everest today. This is typically a precursor to change in weather from what we have been having. The past few days its been clear skies in the morning and snow in the afternoon with below normal temperatures throughout the trek. It's time for change.  

At this point in time everyone is looking forward to checking into their tents at Chateau Peak Freaks and having some space to themselves to spread out. Exciting day for all.

The team has just finished up dinner and our sherpas are starting to nudge everyone to their beds so they can clean up and make their beds in dinning room. First light some of them will boot it up to base camp to prepare hot celebration meal for everyone's arrival tomorrow and the others will stay with us to prepare breakfast and then run to base camp. 

We left Dingboche and walked above Pheriche where some expeditions stay. We prefer Dingboche where the sun shines. It's dark and cold in the lower valley. 

We enjoyed a hillside walk with so many tremendous views of mountains like Jobo Lhaptshan north face, Nuptse, Pumori, Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam. 

Tomorrow dreams will come true... arrival Everest base camp! Over and out.. Tim"

SPOT is on track- oh so close, still no cell coverage till tomorrow around noon our time. I will be sending more photos from there. 

Photos: 

• Hot water anyone? 

• Memorial Hill we passed through today with Mt. Pumori in the background: Photos by Warren Bruce. 
  
  

April 6, 2011- 21:00hrs: Namaste from Dingboche.

Georgina Miranda checks in: Today we had breakfast and then headed to hike up to Nangkar Tshang

 5100 m/16,800ft, as an acclimatization hike. It took us about 3 hours to get up, we stayed up there for about an hour and had lunch and then  hiked down. The team did excellent and all made it. Special props to Tristan who made it considering her difficulties acclimatizing the same schedule as everyone else:( She had done great the last couple of days with Diamox, but today was a big day, especially for a girl that has never gone above sea level. 

The views from the top were impressive and we could see Makalu, Peak 38, and Ama Dablam....absolutely breathtaking!! The weather was good to us again, but chilly! We had some interesting conversations with Angel one of our guides, about general climbing physiology, climbing books, life and death, and about how great adventures can be. It made the hike up fly by. Today was about watching your own body closely and seeing what made it tick. Key things to look for was your breathing, pace, stamina, thirst, etc. I was a little nauseous and so I knew to drink more water and I felt better.

The last couple of days have been great though, and it's nice getting to know the climbing team better and learn more about why we are all here! The popular question I have gotten is what is next after the 7 summits...let's just say I have some ideas, but one step at a time. I need to get through this bad boy first. Everyone is doing really great though, pushing through, and with smiles at the end. Some of us are having funky dreams, not good ones per say, but not bad either, just weird. I forgot the weird dreams you have up at altitude...lol. My dad is still having fun, but definitely getting a workout everyday :)  

"Everyone did well and oxygen saturation levels have been tested and everyone is progressing to plan. This is typically the time some will start to experience headaches if they haven't been to altitude before. Taking time to go through all the steps for proper acclimatization at this stage is mandatory. Rule of thumb "go high, sleep low" That is the reasoning for climbing up to 5100m today to prepare for the higher altitudes tomorrow at Lobuche. 

Lobuche is at an elevation of 4935m, 500m higher than Dingboche so we are ready for the new altitudes we reach tomorrow. We have concerns of proper hygiene in the kitchens of this village so he past few years Ang Karsung and our kitchen crew come down from base camp bringing with them our kitchen equipment and food supplies and swamp out the kitchen in the lodge we use to better prepare meals for our team.  

Not much to say other than everyone is having a great time. Roger should be catching up to us real soon. I miss him and look forward to his arrival at camp.  Over and out, Tim."

Weather: It's still chilly but warmer than yesterday. The morning was beautiful and by 3:00pm the clouds came in again and it started to snow lightly. It looks like it will be doing this for the next couple of days. Becky informs us that the temperatures and winds will be improving on the 9th. The day after we arrive at base camp so it will be nice welcome for everyone. Snow still in the forecast but warmer. 

CRUX'S OF AN EVEREST EXPEDITION

• Getting a flight to Lukla on  time with bags all your bags.

• Getting to base camp acclimatized and healthy

• Facing the icefall and getting through it for the first time.

• Acclimatizing to Camp 3 - 7300m

• Summit Mount Everest

• Get back down to EBC safely with all your digits.

• Flight out Lukla to Kathmandu during the onset of the monsoon.

We can knock off two of the 7cruxes....

Photo: Climbing up Nangkar Tshang.  More photos on Facebook and see Spot for tracking and 3D Google Earth.

April 5, 2011- 20:45hrs:  In DINGBOCHE - Winter is still here!

Trekker Craig Law checks in: "Yesterday was a long day. We started with a 2am thunder snow. Woke up to an inch of snow on the ground and cold. Turns out it stayed below freezing the whole rest of the day. Our hike started in flurries and as we got down the path, it continued to get heavier and heavier. By the time we were heading down to the river we could barely see across the valley. With trail muddy, I managed to take a spill and although I’ll be taking a few Advil for the bruised spine, it was my ego that took the beating. We enjoyed lunch near the river (Had authentic Dahl Bhat...sherpa food of potatoes and veggies, flavoured with rice), then crossed another suspension bridge….(this one with hand rails way out to the side so they were useless for those of us who need Zanax to cross these things) and while talking to myself and hyperventilating, managed to get across…only to find the trip leader (Tim) right behind me….busted. So I turn to him and casually say “bet you cant tell that is one of my phobias, can you”. He was kind and said I did fine. Not fine would have been to crumple into a fetal position."  It was very cold but warmed up to the high 30s by midday with the sun. Wind was strong so a layer change was necessary for the last hour or so of the trip.

Lama Geshe was in fine form. There was no evidence of him having had a stroke this past year. This is a busy time for him and we shuffled off early to accommodate the crowds waiting for his blessing. No time for small talk or to catch up. There was a group waiting at the door and another one outside. Too bad as we usually have time to sit back and shoot the breeze with our climbers and tells stories of days gone by. 

There's a bit of chaos I'm told in Kathmandu trying to get flights in and out of Lukla due to the weather. Happy to not be in that line-up. There are a couple of expeditions on the same schedule as us. A day or two behind or ahead so everyone is spaced nicely. Tomorrow we will go for an acclimatization climb above Dingboche and return back here to the lodge. 

Communications: A shout out to family members at home to let you know you won't be getting a call on the new 3G service from your loved ones for a couple days as we are in a dark zone. The tower at Tengboche is not in line with where we are right now and we won't get the next signal till we get in the sights of Gorak Shep, the place where the highest tower is installed. Here is the schedule of where we are now and when you might expect a phone call again. 

• April 5: In Dingboche

• April 6: In Dingboche (acclimatization day)

• April 7: In Lobuche

• April 8: Arrival base camp - Ncell coverage day, possibly in Lobuche but can't promise anything. 

Weather: I got a call from Ang Karsung who is at base camp and he said they had a very cold night last night up there. Unusually cold spring this year. Tonight it's clear skies which is making it pretty chilly. It's expected to be around -15c tonight warming up above freezing in the morning and then another cold night. Winter is still be here.  

• Elevation and Distance Chart

• SPOT- check to see where they are now.  

• 3D GOOGLE EARTH: This will be real fun when they start climbing. Download the plug-in on your computer and play with it. 

April 4, 2011- 19:30hrs Nepal Time-  YAK PRESS: Climbers in Pangboche (3901m-13,000ft)- Trekkers are sleeping in a lovely village below Tengboche called Deboche (3734m- 12,368ft) situated in a rhododendron forest. 

Tim: "When we woke this morning in Namche Becky's weather prediction had come true. It snowed! What a beautiful day for trekking. Amazing photo collection will come out of Everest this year. 

Early tomorrow morning the trekkers will take a short hike back up the hill to Tengboche to join in on a chant with the resident monks in the monastery and by late afternoon will re-join with the climbers in Dingboche. Everyone is doing well. Dinner and pillow time, talk to you again tomorrow. Over and out, Tim."  

• What's "boche" you ask?  It means village. 

• What's "Khola" and "Koshi" ? names used for rivers. The difference in names is the direction in which they run. North-South or East-West.

Pangboche is the highest year-round settlement in the valley where the Imja Khola river, coming from the right, joins the Dudh Koshi river a little above the village. It has a famous gompa (monastery) which is thought to be one of the oldest in the Khumbu region. Buddhism is believed to have been introduced in the Khumbu region towards the end of the 17th century by Lama Sange Dorjee. According to the legend, he flew over the Himalayas and landed on a rock at Pangboche and Tengboche, leaving his footprints embedded on the stone. He is thought to have been responsible for the founding of the first gompas in the Khumbu region, at Pangboche and Thami.

This is home of our good friend Lama Geshe as well the monastery here houses the famous yeti scull.  I think Lama Geshi is now 83. He suffered a stroke last year and has just recently returned Pangboche. Tim is so looking forward to checking in on him. He has a special connection with this man who he believes has helped keep him and hundreds of others stay safe while climbing. It gets pretty intense with emotions during this time for the team. You will hear all about it tomorrow. Stay tuned! 

Photo: Namche Bazaar this morning: Thanks Mark Mangles (Mango) for this photo.

April 3, 2011- 21:00hrs Nepal Time - First views of Everest and lots of blessing going on.

Nelson Dellis in Namche Bazaar checking in:

So we’ve been in Namche Bazaar for the past day and a half. Namche is one of the larger villages in the Everest region and sits at about 11,000 ft.

We spent most of the day yesterday just resting from our long trek in. Took a nice hot shower and slept to help let my body recover.

Today we did an acclimatization hike up to a small village called Kunde where Edmund Hillary built one of the famous hospitals in the region. We ate lunch at Ang Nima Sherpa’s home – had some wicked garlic soup, egg fried rice, and then a few glasses of Chang (the local rice beer which is known to make you dizzy, which it subsequently did, hehe).

We then trekked to the neighbouring village, Kungjung, where Hillary’s famous Sherpa school resides (he built it 50 years ago).

We really got the Sherpa lifestyle experience today. The villages we visited today were the original villages where Sherpa’s were from. We saw them planting potatoes, Sherpa kids throwing yak poop at each other, met some of our climbing Sherpas, got necklaces blessed by a Lama (not the Dalai Lama, but some Lama)….oh and we got our first (well, second really) view of Everest. So amazing! It had a huge snow plume coming off if it due to the 100mph winds that are currently hitting the summit.

Tomorrow we have a big trekking day to Tengboche Monastery to get blessed, and then on to Pangboche for the night.

WEATHER:  It did not snow in Namche last night it was a prediction that didn't happen. Clear skies allowed Roger to fly into Lukla today but other flights were either cancelled or delayed due to high winds later on. 

FACEBOOK Photo Album: EVEREST 2011 is now up.  

SPOT:  Mark and Tim's seem to working just fine. You can see where they were today and where they are now. 

CRAIG LAW'S BLOG SPOT: Craig has some nice photos and descriptions on his personal blog. Have a look!

April 2, 2011-2100hrs Nepal Time

Wired in Namche Bazaar..  Everyone has arrived and are in good form.

Wireless internet and 3G is certainly changing the experience this year. I asked Tim if he noticed if people were working their gadgets more than interacting with the team. He agreed and admitted especially him after my harping at him trying to encourage him to get more tech savvy. He commented "there may be a lot more people hanging in their tents playing with their toys instead of being creative in the communal tent this year". At that moment he cut me off saying say he wanted to go socialize. 

Tim received a comment on his Facebook from someone asking if the new 3G service will cause line-ups and accidents on the Hillary Step with climbers stopping to respond to text messages?  Tim's response "I would be more concerned about frostbite and a blown away glove"  He assures us that it won't be a concern because the 3G tower was installed at Gorak Shep, 4klm down the valley from camp and it only has 4klm radius coverage which would be right at base camp. At the most it shouldn't work past Camp 1. He adds "once you go around the corner on the route the 3G signal should be gone and that's when we'll revert back to satellite phone and radios."

The team is enjoying the quiet space in Namche right now. Because of the current bad weather lower down the valley there haven't been a flights bringing trekkers and climbers in. They were one of (I think two) on April 1st that managed a window to get into Lukla. It's snowing tonight, the freezing level is down to 3200m, they are at 3800.

Tomorrow is a visit up to Khunde and Khumjung and lunch at Ang Nima's house. Everything is working to schedule and everyone is doing well. 

Thanks Craig Law for Tim's tech lesson this evening. Enjoy the photos of your loved ones and friends having a ton of fun. 

I'd like to introduce the support trek team. Georgina has brought her personal support network with her. 

SUPPORT TREKKERS INCLUDE:  Mylene Pelandre, Melanie O'Toole, her father Hector Miranda, Leslie Paulet, Tristan Ang and Steve Prentice and are joined with Josie Hofer and Leslie Paulet and Craig Law.  

Elaine Patterson is following her partner Kevin Farebrother and our friends from the past who are also following along are Paul Krsek, Roger Trinchero, Mario Trinchero and friend Carter Brookes who will be experiencing this journey for the first time and Conor Robinson who will be climbing Island Peak.  

Great bunch!   See the team list below for the complete roster: Plus we have a team coming in May 1 to see the team off to the summit. If you are interested or know someone who would enjoy this journey, there is still space and we are looking for  a few more takers. Give me a shout  becky@peakfreaks.com

PHOTOS:

1. A good part of the team trek team and climbers in Kathmandu at the hotel.

2. Dinner time in Namche Bazaar

3. Trekkers Paul, Carter, Roger and Mario in Namche with Tim and team. They are back!.. familiar faces from the past. Our 2008' team would remember these boys. 

April 1, 2011- 21:00hrs Nepal Time

Sleepy in Phakding. Day 1 of 8 on the trail.

The team is very tired. They were up around 4:30am this morning, booked on the first flight from Kathmandu to Lukla that didn't happen due to fog on the runway in Lukla. There was a very small window finally in the afternoon for them to sneak in but not till 2:30pm.  They intended to trek to Monjo and stay at Chombi's house but it would have been dark before they got there. So instead that are all nestled in at Chering's house in Phakding. "I love this women" She is a good friend and wicked harmonica player. 

The team plans to get up really early again tomorrow and start the hike to Namche. This is one of the longest days on the trek. It will take them probably 6 hours and the last hour is straight up. They should be in Namche Bazaar around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. 

This photo was taken and sent with Tim's 3G cell phone. A little grainy because there's no flash but it works :)

I have noted that not one of them remember to send a SPOT signal. As they days go by they will get more into the climb and eventually forget all about everyone at home, it's starting already- just kidding :)  They were obviously incredibly happy to be on the trail, taking pictures and chatting up a storm. In other words having a great time.  

Big thanks to Mango for tech teaching Tim how to use a phone. Larger photo formats will be going up on Tim's Facebook throughout the climb so don't forget to look there for close-ups.

FACEBOOK- click here to join.

Over and out, Becky

April 1, 2011- 09:30hrs Nepal Time

Team waiting at Kathmandu airport due fog in Lukla. Stay tuned!  

March 31, 2011- 09:00 Nepal Time

It was awesome!.. I spoke briefly with Liz Hawley and Tim on Skype this morning (Nepal time) and then the team in the background gave a big shout out. I'm loving the new technology we have today. The very early 90's were much different. Tim would go away to Everest and I wouldn't here a word till I saw him on the runway again in Vancouver. I never knew if he would even be there, or if there had been an accident till that moment. Two and half months is a very long time left to wonder. Way too many rambling thoughts that haunt you. It was a long haul. 

So, they are off to Lukla tomorrow morning, first flight, that's about 2 hours from now because I was late getting this post up. Everyone is stoked and bonding very well. Good team..  

Roger Wright and his wife Lorraine are in Kathmandu. They were up in the Khumbu together this past week.  Lorraine is not feeling so well so Roger is going to stay with her a couple days till she is better and catch up with the team in a couple days. He knows the way and the routine having been there in October with us on Pumori. He is acclimatized to Namche already so it will be an easy trip for him. 

Tim said he will call and let us know when the team lands in Lukla. Fears of this runway are right up there with the crossing of the ice-fall and I understand that, so I'll keep everyone informed.  

Team personal equipment is already headed up to camp on the yaks and base camp is all built and the sherpas are awaiting everyone's arrival.  The hike in will take 8 days from tomorrow. This is a special time for everyone getting acquainted with friends they will have for a lifetime.  

Today most members went on a city tour of Kathmandu. They had a blast!

Over and out, Becky

March 30, 2011 - 23:00hrs Nepal Time

Just a quick report from Tim as he had a big day today and his pillow has sucked him in. Almost everyone has arrived now. There are a couple stragglers who have late flights so he will catch up to them in the morning for a briefing then get those interested off on a morning city tour we have organized for them.  

Some members were out buying new cell phones to get linked in with the new 3G technology that we will test out this season on Everest. Tim gave his a go and came in loud and clear but we still don't know how the capacity will hold out in the Khumbu. Fingers are crossed as it's a considerable savings. Example: A satellite call is $1.85 to $2.00US per minute and the rates for cell international will be just pennies per minute.

We posted yesterday on the blog that there were 3 spots left on our annual Everest Training climb on Pumori in October but no quicker than it was uploaded the spots filled. We are now waitlist only.   More tomorrow, Becky  

Correction: Mark Schaible and not Matt (yesterday typo). 

March 29, 2011- Timalaya checks in:

"Ministry formalities today, Everest 2011 climbing permit is in hand. A full permit size is 15. Some expeditions run with several permits offering larger expeditions. We prefer small scale, easier to keep an eye on everyone and more personal. As a result we sell out early so if you are thinking 2012' you should drop Becky and email and get yourself on the roster real soon. 

We also provide pre-expedition training in the eyes of Everest on Mount Pumori. There are only 3 spots left this October's and we only offer one a year. 

Everest South 2012'    Everest Training- Pumori 2011'

I visited with other expedition operators today to discuss some changes in how we do business for the better. Things have come along way since we first started climbing here 20 years ago. 

I also met with Durga Aran, founding Director of First Steps Himalaya  and friend for 20 years. I am overwhelmed by what he has accomplished. Once a waiter, a very good one at that, worked at the Potata Guest house in the early nineties. He was lucky to step outside of Nepal and come back to help the children in his country. Good man, more on these projects later. 

The one thing we are learning is that some of the most effective aid projects in the Himalayas are the ones that are initiated and managed by the Nepalese themselves. Like Durga, Tsedam Sherpa, well-known by climbers and trekkers passing through Namche Bazaar has a little shop on the main drag where he sells mountaineering clothing. Over the years he has made enough money off mountaineering to build the lovely Zamling lodge. Recently he built a house next to his for homeless children of the Khumbu. He clothes them with clothing from his business, houses and feeds them. His daughter, now a teacher provides the children education. This entire project is funded by himself and his family. I am so incredibly proud to have Tsedam as my friend, honourable man.  

Once homeless children of the Khumbu	Tsedam, his daughter (right) and helpers (left)

New arrivals are Nelson Dellis and Mark Schaible and trekker Craig Law. The rest of us went out for dinner while Nelson and Mark headed off to their rooms to get some rest after their long international flights. 

I attempted to send a signal to set SPOT, but because I am in between the buildings here in Thamel, I couldn't reach the satellite. I will try a rooftop tomorrow.

It's still pretty quiet, a few more climbers milling about the streets but definitely much quieter this year. Everyone else should be here tomorrow. We have scheduled our expedition briefing for tomorrow evening and dinner to follow. Over and out- Tim "

March 28, 2011- Tim checks in:

"Martijn and Nelson are now here as well as Javier." 

"Our Sherpa staff have successfully built base camp in our usual spot. They have been battling keeping the snow under control. It's been snowing hard dumping quite a bit on the tents and making it hard to organize tent platforms. Flights have also been a cancelled in and out of Lukla today due to the precipitation in the Himalayas. Need snow, need water, can't complain.

I also checked in with Ncell the company who installed the new 3G network in Gorak Shep situated near base camp. Here are the tariffs:  A Nepalese Rupee today conversion today is: 1.00USD = 71NRS. Impressive savings over the satellite phone but we will still use them as backup."  

Prepaid International Tariffs

March 27, 2011

Tim reports from Kathmandu. He has arrived safe and sound and his skype check-in was brief. Generators are running as usual due to power conservation practices. 

Elizabeth Hawley keeps a close eye on Tim. Immediately upon his arrival the phone rings and they made a date. He has so far met up with Conor Robinson who is climbing Island Peak with us and BG from Sweden on the Everest team has also arrived. 

Remember you can check photos on Tim's Facebook.   

March 26, 2011 

Welcome to our Everest 2011 blog.

The one thing we love about this business is the interesting people we ge to meet and know over the course of an expedition and this year is no exception.

There are a couple of very worthwhile projects at which fund raising and awareness are driving some climbers to give Everest their best shot. We urge you to take a moment and read through some of their profiles. 

Other projects: Everest continues to be a place for learning. There are two studies some of our members will be participating in this spring. (1) High Altitude Cognition study and (2) a watch for the Bar Headed geese known to fly over Everest. 

Sherpa Culture: Our dear friend Lama Geshe is back in Pangboche. His home and the highest monastery in Nepal. Lama Geshe now in his early eighties, suffered a stroke last year. His prayers, outs and the people of the Khumbu have been answered allowing him to return to his home where he will continue to bless climbers and Sherpa families for safe passage on Everest this spring. 

Everest Logistics: Once again commercial teams are working together to purchase rope and finance a team of Sherpa's to fix the route to the summit jointly. The payment process will or should be in advance and shared by everyone, much like the ice-fall doctors who maintain the ice-fall ladders and ropes. The difference being the expedition leaders and guides will continue to control safety standards of fixed lines higher up by continuing to do it ourselves with a team of select Sherpas and guides. 

April 11-Moment of Silence: Russell Brice has initiated a moment of silence and collection for Japan this day. This date marks one month since the earth quake and tsunami. It's hard for some of us to be out continuing doing what we do when there are so many people at risk. 

Mountain Weather: It's been a dry cold winter. This is not exactly what we like to hear. This could mean the glaciers crevasses will be wide open. April 1st, the ice-fall doctors will start working in the Khumbu glacier and will be able to give us a report on expected conditions. Ideally we would like to see a lot more snow to help mend things and fill in the cracks. 

It's cold! The temperatures in Namche Bazaar are freezing, -2c and lightly snowing today. Looks like it will be holding similar trend for the next week. Sorry climbers, no T-shirts and shorts this time around. 

The Team: Everyone is on their way now in the next day or two. Tim is on his way arriving March 27, and Javier on the 28th and everyone else should be there on or before the 30th. We will keep family and friends and readers posted. 

The Itinerary: On April 1st everyone, trekkers and climbers, will be flying to Lukla and this will signify the official beginning of Everest 2011'. From here it is an 8-day walk to Everest Base Camp. We will be providing daily reports as they progress up the valley. We will also have three GPS Spot trackers sending signals to watch. 

Over and out, our first blog this spring-   Becky Rippel

Team Roster 2011

We keep our climbing team size smaller and our Sherpa team larger than most. We believe this will not only enhance our participants experience but more importantly allowing us to put priority on keeping risk factors at a minimum. We hope you enjoy following us this season- to the top- and back again.

SHERPA CREW

1. Ang Namgay Sherpa, Phortse

2. Palden Namgye Sherpa, Phortse

3. Tashi Thundu Sherpa, Khumjung

4. Lhakpa Sherpa, Solu

5. Phu Tashi Sherpa, Phortse

6. Pemba Nuru Sherpa, Solu

7. Sonam Phinjo Sherpa, Khunde

8. Mingmar Sherpa, Okhaldunga

9. Lhakpa Bhote, Mahakalu

10. Reader Lhamo Bhote, Mahakalu

11. Dawa Chering Sherpa, Khunde

12. Zangbu Sherpa, Godang

13. Ang Dawa Sherpa, Khunde

14. Tsering Namgye Sherpa, Khumjung

15. Dawa Cheri Sherpa, Khumjung

16. Lhakpa Tenzing Sherpa, Khumjung

17. Minga Noru Sherpa, Khunde

18. Chowang Karma Sherpa, Solu

19. Dami Sherpa, Solu

20. Thele Bhote, Mahakalu

21. Sangye Phuri, Godanga, 

22. Tsultrim Dorgi, Khunde

23. Shere Sherpa, Solu

24. Karsung Sherpa, Khunde

25. Lhakpa Gyaltsen, Khumjung

26. Desh Kumar, Solu

27. Sonam Dorji Sherpa, Khunde

28. Nawang Nuru Sherpa, Solu

29. Tsering Lopsang Sherpa, Solu

30. Ang Nima Sherpa- Khunde

31. TBA

32. TBA

33. TBA

Members bios and much more coming soon!