(This was supposed to be posted before the last audio report so that they would be in order, but this one was held up in Base Camp. It was to include a couple of photos, but they never arrived. If they do, I will post them. – Sharon)
Everest Base Camp
May 17, 2007
Namaste:
At 4:20 am this morning, Bud, Yury, Henry, Nick and Krushnaa moved out of Base Camp bound for the summit of Mt. Everest. Their schedule is as follows:
May 17–EBC to Camp 2
May 18–rest at Camp 2
May 19–move to Camp 3
May 20–move to Camp 4, rest at Camp 4, move to summit and return to Camp 4, or Camp 2 if possible
May 21–move to Camp 2 as applicable
May 22–return to Base Camp
Yury plans to take a rest day at Camp 4, so his schedule should be modified accordingly.
My plans have changed because of a forecasted increase in the summit winds on the date I had planned to summit–May 24. I now plan to leave Base Camp tomorrow morning, and I plan to summit on May 23. I have previously set out my schedule, so you can now change the dates back one day. Mogens will leave Base Camp on May 19, and will also summit on May 23 since he will not be taking a rest day at Camp 4.
It is interesting to observe climbers on the day before their move to the summit of a high altitude mountain, like Mt. Everest. Many climbers become very serious, quiet and pensive, much like a prize fighter contemplating a world championship fight. Others, exude nervous energy, anxious to get on with the challenge. Our team was no exception. Most of the team members that moved up today were in the former category. Nick, on the other hand, paced and talked nervously about wanting to get going up the mountain. He has a multi-blade, multi-purpose knife that he uses for his mountain guiding. To occupy himself, at the dining table yesterday, he took the knife completely apart, cleaned it and put it back together.
It was great to see the team off this morning. Every one of them has performed extremely well on this expedition, and, weather permitting, they should all reach the summit of Mt. Everest.
Bill