SummitClimb Everest - Lhotse International Expedition 2005: Mike O'Brien reporting in

Dear EverestNews.com, Hello from Everest Basecamp. Today, about half of us are in basecamp, with the other half of our team up at Camps 1 and 2, getting some acclimatization. Some of us are trying to recuperate from colds, coughs and other typical maladies before ascending again, while unfortunately another of our members (Ben) has a slight case of Pulmonary Edema and has decided that he is not able to adjust to the altitude at BC (5300m)and has left for home (Tacoma WA, USA), together with one of our strong Sherpas, "Gyeltsen Sherpa". Our first couple of encounters with the infamous Khumbu Icefall have been, so far, uneventful. The ice docs seem to have put up a good route.

Our team had its Puja (traditional Buddhist prayer ceremony for good luck on the mountain) a week ago, with lots of food and drink offered up and shared with all the members. The Puja was presided over by Lama Kanuori Sherpa, who also works in our kitchen, and who led an acclimatization hike up to Pumori Advance Basecamp the previous day. A man of many hats, he fills them all effortlessly, with grace and humor.

The weather is beginning to settle into a somewhat regular pattern, with early morning sun, followed by afternoon snow showers, leaving us tent-bound most of the days. A bright spot for our team - which has now had four members bow out with illness - was the action a few days ago of one of our leaders-in-training, Max Kauch. Max came across a climber from another Everest expedition in the Khumbu Icefall who had a badly broken leg. Despite many other climbers (not from our team) ignoring his pleas for assistance, Max and the climber's companions managed to rig up a splint from the aluminum stays of a backpack, and then radioed down for painkillers to be brought up. They carried him over 8 crevasses until a team of Sherpas came up to finish the carry to basecamp. Eventually, the man was successfully airlifted out. This was not Max's first duty as Good Samaritan; during the trek in he escorted (eventually carrying) a sick Nepalese porter from Dugla down to the clinic at Pheriche, returning to the group the same afternoon. Good work Max!

Everyone else is doing well, and we continue to slowly make our way up the mountain(s), with our Sherpas, having established Camp 2, where our superstar high-altitude cook, Pemba, is now serving Dal Bhat. Presently, they are hard at work on putting in a Camp 3 on the Lhotse Face, and just radioed down to announce that our SuperStar Sherpas: Gyaluk, Lhakpa Kongle, and Tenji had just finished chopping an ice ledge under a protected and safe serac where we can put 5 tents side by side at 7300 metres.

Last night, our sole Israeli member and leader-in-training, Eyal, celebrated Passover Eve and shared his Matzos and Manischewitz wine with us in Basecamp. Also yesterday our Portuguese contingent, Joao and Helder, baked us a wonderful cake in their solar oven, which they refuse to let anyone else touch for fear of breaking it. At the beginning, the Sherpas were a bit skeptical about the contraption, but now have accorded a grudging respect to

it for boiling water and might be pricing one for themselves! Thanks guys!

All for now from BC, Pizza for dinner tonight!!

Hi to Everyone at home, Mike O'Brien

"Chag Matzot Kasher Vesameach" - Eyal Wigderson

Dispatches

Below please find the team rosters for the Everest and Lhotse expeditions and the Everest basecamp trek.

FAMILY NAME, First Name, country of origin,  Trip Name, leader

EVEREST-NEPAL-EXPEDITION

MR. CLARKE, Clay, USA, Everest

MR. COSTER, Arnold, Netherlands, Everest, leader

MR. FRANKELIUS, Johan, Sweden, Everest

MR. MAZUR, Daniel, England, and USA, Everest, leader

MR. O'BRIEN (CHRIS), USA, Everest

MR. O'BRIEN (MIKE), USA, Everest

MR. VOIGT, Jens, Germany, Everest

LHOTSE-NEPAL-EXPEDITION

MR. BACH, James Anugata, USA, Lhotse

MR. BARILLA, Jason, Kripabindu, USA, Lhotse

MR. BARLOW, George, USA, Lhotse

MR. BOURDEAU, Pierre, Canada, Lhotse

MR. BROILI, Ben, USA, Lhotse

MR. EDMONDS, Shane, USA, Lhotse, leader

MR. FALAHEY, Blair, Australia, Lhotse

MR. GARCIA, Joao, Portugal, Lhotse

MR. GAUTHIER, Jowan, Portugal, Lhotse

MR. HAGGE, Malte, Australia, Lhotse

MR. KAUSCH, Max, Argentina, Lhotse, leader

MR. MAZUR, Daniel, England and USA, Lhotse, leader

MR. MERWIN, Mark, USA, Lhotse, leader

MR. MEYRING, Gary, USA, Lhotse

MR. SANTOS, Helder, Portugal, Lhotse

MR. THOMAS (JASON), USA, Lhotse, leader

MR. THOMAS (WILLIAM), USA, Lhotse

MR. THURLEY, Kay, Germany, Lhotse, leader

MR. WIGDERSON, Eyal, Israel, Lhotse, leader

EVEREST-NEPAL-BASECAMP-TREK

MR. AMBROSIUS, Kelly, USA, Basecamp Trek

MS. CARDINAL, France, Canada, Basecamp Trek

MR. DELISANTI, Rip, USA, Basecamp Trek

MR. EMERY, Tom, USA, Basecamp Trek

MS. MOORE, Melissa, South Africa, Basecamp Trek

MS. NEORR, Karen, USA, Basecamp Trek

MS. OLSEN, Colleen, USA, Basecamp Trek

MS. ROBINSON, Jenni, USA, Basecamp Trek

MS. ROTHENBERG, Maja, Germany, Basecamp Trek

MR. SCHAEFFER, Kelly, USA, Basecamp Trek

MR. STROHMAYER, Paul, USA, Basecamp Trek

MS. TE HENNEPE, Elselien, Netherlands, Basecamp trek, leader

MR. TONOZZI, Pat, USA, Basecamp Trek

Dispatches

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