Everest Base Camp
May 17, 2007
Namaste,
Today, Mark Luscher had to end his trip and go down the mountain. He just could not keep his food down at high altitudes. He has lost 32 pounds. Things got better when we went down to Pheriche for a rest, but as soon as we came back up to Base Camp his problems continued and he had to make the hard decision to end his Everest trip.
Mark is going down the mountain with his personal Sherpa who injured himself in the Khumbu Icefall several days ago. He was crossing one of the ladders when his crampon broke and his foot went through the rung of the ladder, badly injuring his knee. He will be visiting the hospital in Kathmandu to assess the injury to his knee.
This is a huge disappointment to me because Mark and I have become very close friends. We planned this Everest trip together and we have climbed other mountains together including the Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia and Vinson Massif in Antarctica. Mark was well liked by everyone on the team and will be thoroughly missed, especially by me.
Today is a beautiful day. The Lhotse team (Dan, Paul, Bruce, and Phil) continued up the mountain for their final push to the summit of Lhotse. We will not see them again until everyone returns to Base Camp.
It looks like Terry and I will head back up the mountain on May 18 or May 19. We will be going just with our personal sherpas. Our goal is to move up the mountain and summit sometime on May 22 or May 23, depending upon weather and our need for a rest day.
I will file my next report from either Camp 1 or Camp 2 and will provide further details when they become available.
All my best to all of you.
Bill Burke