Everest 2006: ANDALUCIA EVEREST EXPEDITION: BAD WEATHER AT BASE CAMP

The Andalucia Everest Expedition will delay at least one day their ascent to advanced base camp because of the snow.

Andalucia Base Camp.

Bad weather reigns over Base Camp.  It was a very cold afternoon yesterday and the night brought an intense snow fall that covered the multicolored tents with a layer of three centimeters of snow.  The landscape around is totally white with some stone peeking through the thick blanket of snow.  By the morning there are still some snowflakes falling.  At noon the snowfall ceases and even for a couple of hours the temperature is nice, but soon a strong, cold and nasty wind coming from the Rongbuk glacier settles in this inhospitable place.

The strong wind gusts lift the snow, shake the tents and increase the cold sensation.  It is impossible to be outdoors without the shelter of the mess tent or the individual tents.  Nonetheless, the food made by the Sherpa cook Yacare is very good and the Andalucians spend the day drinking abundant liquids to fight the effects of mountain sickness, which so far is nothing but light headaches.  In a clearing, the Andalucians have seen the splendid image of the North Face of Everest. 

Today, Wednesday 19, the Sherpas had to hire a herd of yaks to carry all the load to stock advanced base camp, however the members of the Andalucian team decided to stay one more day at base camp because there is a lot of snow on the road on the way to the intermediate and advanced camps and that can make the march difficult and slow.  The members of the Expedition have hired a couple of vehicles for tomorrow (60 US dollars) to be taken to the Rongbuk Monastery, which is 20 Km away for a ceremony of the lama monks to bless those who will enter the great mountain.

Around the zone of our B. C. there are, among many others, a French and a Korean expeditions, who have also delayed their approach to the advanced camp.  The group of Basque Jose Feijoo will also wait one more day for the weather to improve to continue with their planned schedule.  The news coming from base camp is that the snow is knee deep and that the wind has destroyed some tents belonging to other expeditions. 

Andalucia Everest 2006 Expedition is sponsored by Consejería de Turismo, Comercio y Deporte of the city of Andalucia, RTVA and the City of Sevilla as main sponsors, besides The North Face, Nervión Plaza, Estadio Deportivo, La Raza Group and Merkamueble. 

A LITTLE SHOPPING CENTER AT 5,150 METERS 

Just on the entrance of base camp there are around twenty canvas tents belonging to Tibetans which this morning, despite the snowfall, were visited by the expedition to kill time.  They are managed by Tibetans and they are place to have tea or to dine, buy tobacco, liquor, beer and sodas or even to sleep.  They sell the typical knives of the place, necklaces, bracelets, fossils, and large belt buckles which the women wear around here.  All terrain vehicles can also be hired here or yak herds for porting and there is a medical center.  Some Tibetan women also go among the group of tents to sell beer and sodas to the members of the expeditions.  On the peak of the climbing season on Everest, this is the highest shopping center of the world.

Translated from Spanish by Jorge Rivera

Dispatches

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