Everest 2007:  Learning without Limits Everest Expedition Update

SAT BROADCAST # 2

Dear friends and colleagues.  Sorry in advance for my typos....altitude and cold fingers doing the best they can.

We are now only two days away from base camp of Everest. 

I have traveled from:

March 15th day 1

Luckla to Phakding. (9,500 feet)

March 16th Day 2

Phackding to Namche.( 11, 000 feet)

March 17th Day 3

Namche to Syangboche and back to Namche. (12, 000 feet)

March 18th Day 4

Namche  back to Lukla. Antoinette who decided to return home. (12 hours Hike)

The group continued on while I escorted Antoinette back to a safe altitude to fly home.  I was very proud of her for climbing to 12, 00 feet and having the mature and wise decision to go down.  She is a strong willed person and

I love her to bits.

March 19th  Day 5

I climbed from Lukla  to Tengboche Monastery at 12, 500 feet in 14 hours.  I was somewhat acclimatized so I rocked the house.  The Sherpas called me MANNY SHERPA because they saw me climbing back up so fast.  Little did they know my lungs took a beating. It was cool to see that my body was soaking up the available oxygen. Did the last part at night...spooky being alone> I also say a mountain leopard and this really scared me but he was

friendly.....I called him (or her)  SPOOKY.  Spooku followed me for a few hours being playful....it was good company after I saw the poor cat just wanted some attention.

March 20th Day 6

I climbed from Tengboche Monastery to Dingboche at 13, 500 feet and met up with the group.  Took me six hours as it was a steep way up thought a dense forest

March 21 Day 7

Dingboche to Lobuche at 15, 500 feet.  Cold place.  My damn caugh returned and put kick in me.  I think the fast climbing took its tool on me. 

March 22 Day 8

Decided to stay put at Lobuche as Chantale started vomiting from the high altitude and did not sleep.  I did not sleep either keeping an eye on her during the night.  A Canadian Climber died a few days ago in his sleep from High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE)  because his friends did not listen to his complaints of ill feeling and left him unsupervised during the night. 

SO.....I was on duty

March 23 Day 9

Chantale oxygen saturation is 67%  WAY TOO LOW......after two nights at 15, 500 feet.  I called the ball and decided she was to go down before having an unconscious person on my hands.  I have seen this before and I was not about to let anyone get hurt on my team.  We headed down today feeling good about our decision.  March Andre and Patrick move on to Base Camp with Samden

SHERPA.  They are doing well and are well supervised. 

March 24 Day 10 

We had the great honor to visit a friend of Samden Sherpa,   Geishin

Lama....man it was so spiritual.  He chanted to the gods above to keep me safe on Everest and gave me gift and keep safe medallion to wear around my neck during my climb.  This does not happen every dau that a Lama accepts to see a foreigner.  He took a long hard look at me...right into my eyes...I felt he could see my soul....then he smiled and accepted to see me. He chanted, placed holy rice on my head, asked me a few questions that CHIMI SHERPA translated for me.  He then placed his heavy, rugged, dark hands on

my head and said a prayer.  My spirit felt lifted and secure.

My cough has all but disappeared......

STAY TUNED FOR NEXT UPDATE IN A FEW DAYS

Dispatches

Manuel Pizarro
Founder and co-leader of Climb High Expeditions, was born in Valparaiso, Chile. His first language is Spanish and after immigrating to Canada in 1973, he learned to speak French and English as well. As a young man, “Manny” joined The Royal Canadian Air Cadets. It was in this environment that he learned his first skills as an outdoors enthusiast. Paramilitary requirements of being a pilot in this organization equipped him with reliable, essential, and practical experience with summer and winter survival skills.
In 1985, Manny started his climbing career on the smooth slopes of Mount Washington, New Hampshire. During these years, he merged his paramilitary knowledge with his ski mountaineering skills. His experience as an extreme alpine skier and ice climber gave him the confidence to challenge Mt. Aconcagua in Argentina. It was during this expedition that he met Jim Albert and both men became fast friends. Jim and Manny reached the summit on January 20th and 21st, 1995. Manny has since logged two more climbs to Aconcagua and is soon returning for a fourth time with clients from Montréal, Québec.
In 1998, Manny reached the summit of Surya Peak in Nepal (17,800 ft). He also participated in several high altitude treks in the Everest region, where he familiarized himself with the Base Camp and Kala Pattar Peak (18,445 ft). During this trip, Manny was commended for his assistance in retrieving the body of fellow climber Luther Jerstad who was part of the 1963 “All American Expedition” to Mt. Everest. Mr. Jerstad unfortunately passed away from heart failure during the trek to Everest Base Camp accompanied by his grandson. Dr. Cameron Bangs, a leading expert in frostbite research, was present during the ordeal and personally thanked Manny for his efforts.
Throughout the last decade, Manny has been leading expeditionary teams to some of the tallest mountains in the world. In 2000, he reached the summit of Mt. McKinley in Alaska (20,320 ft). In April of 2002, he reached the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa (19,450 ft). Altogether, he has logged over five thousand hours of expedition style climbing experience in several parts of the world.
With Manny and Jimmy, safety comes first. As they matured as humans and climbers, they began to see and feel the amazing parallels between climbing mountains and life itself. Although these endeavours are extremely demanding on the body and mind, Manny truly believes that they teach human beings the true meaning of determination, perseverance, teamwork, and conflict resolution, and above all, the value of learning from our mistakes. Painful lessons have taught them that to reach a state of glory, we must sometimes fall from grace, rebuild, and start all over again. And at times, Mother Nature was relentless with Manny and his teammates forcing them to retreat from their summit bids as the only way to survive. We embark on these projects because we love climbing and because we truly believe that our expeditions help people look beyond the limitations of their distinctive challenge, be it physical, mental, or educational. We aim to evoke imagination, courage and, perseverance in our clients. While it is true that we want to quench our own thirst for personal adventure, we also want others to benefit from our dreams in realizing their own.

Dispatches

Millet One Sport Everest Boot  has made some minor changes by adding more Kevlar. USES Expeditions / High altitude / Mountaineering in extremely cold conditions / Isothermal to -75°F Gore-Tex® Top dry / Evazote Reinforcements with aramid threads. Avg. Weight: 5 lbs 13 oz Sizes: 5 - 14 DESCRIPTION Boot with semi-rigid shell and built-in Gore-Tex® gaiter reinforced by aramid threads, and removable inner slipper Automatic crampon attachment Non-compressive fastening Double zip, so easier to put on Microcellular midsole to increase insulation Removable inner slipper in aluminized alveolate Fiberglass and carbon footbed Cordura + Evazote upper Elasticated collar. Expedition footwear for mountaineering in conditions of extreme cold.  NOTE US SIZES LISTED. See more here.

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