Everest 2007:  Alpine Ascents Everest expedition: Ice Fall Doctors

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April 25 - Base Camp: Another lazy day of sleeping in, eating and indulging in massages with the certified massage therapist next door… We are eating tons down here and we’ve discovered the fattening properties of Nutella and are devouring it by huge jars. After breakfast, 6 members tried ice climbing with me today on the gigantic ice fins near camp. Everyone showed natural talent with the new age leashless, wildly bent ice climbing tools and made it look easy but after two hours we were starving and promised to bring more snacks next time.

Gopal, our cook is back from Kathmandu where he had to deal with some family business. We were so happy to see him with his friendly smiling face and round belly greeting us with lunch today! Deepak, our interim cook will go to Kathmandu for some needed rest now. He was cooking for Pete Athans in Mustang on an expedition before this.

Dave went to a meeting with the SPCC (Sagamartha Pollution Control Committee) this morning to discuss the continued maintenance of the ice fall and it was demanded by the expedition leaders that they hire two more “Ice Fall Doctors”. More is better when it comes to those guys. They work hard maintaining ropes, ladders and anchors and take turns going up every other day.

Tashi Delek! Amy

Earlier: April 24 - Base Camp:   

Dear friends, family and loved ones,

It was a brutal rest day. Our challenges were many and our pleasures were few. It all started with seeing who could stay in bed the longest however once the sun hit the tents the heat was unbearable and we were forced out. A demanding four course breakfast was followed by either yoga or an acclimatization trek to the base camp bakery. Then there was the quandary of deciding whether to shower, answer emails or suffer though a session of massage therapy. Deepak (our cook) insisted that we eat sushi for lunch. That was almost enough to sustain us through the ordeals of the afternoon which included cards, walking the slack line, washing clothes and reading. In the evening had to partake of John’s powerpoint presentation of several expeditions. All said and done, it was so exhausting, we barely made it back to our sleeping bags before nine….what a day!

Weather has fallen into a familiar pattern with clear warm mornings and snowy afternoons. Team members are now sleeping well after the challenges of camp one and two. Though we have had some sore throats we have missed (so far) the major cold outbreak that has run though base camp. Stay tuned.

All the best,
Vern
 

Earlier: April 23 - Base camp    

Ahh… back in the land of amenities. The whole team is back in BC after a successful trip up into the Western Cwm. We spent a couple of nights in CI and a couple of nights in CII with varying degrees of sleep quality and quantity. Despite some sleeplessness (is that a word?) and a couple of headaches everyone was excited by the enormity of the environment.

Yesterday we took a walk half way from CII to the base of the Lhotse face. Everybody’s legs felt like lead as we made our way above 21,000’ for the first time on the climb… the next time our legs will still feel like lead but perhaps half the weight. It is a bit sobering.

Our Sherpa staff have been nearly running up and down from BC to CII over the past couple days and are on their last 2 days of carrying oxygen bottles. Later they’ll have a few days of moving those bottles from CII to the South Col. It’s a remarkable feat and as per usual the climbers are shocked at their strength. The trip down to BC from CII was pleasantly uneventful as the whole team climbed safely despite being a bit fatigued from the first acclimatization journey. The shower was quite popular despite the dusting of snow throughout the afternoon.

The next few days will be spent doing laundry, catching up on reading and will include plenty of poker games with Firat our Texas hold ‘em ringleader. If they haven’t already I’m sure the climbers will be sending emails to all their friends and family.

We’ll be in touch over the next few relaxing days!

All the best, Dave

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