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April 6, 2007: Everest Base Camp 17,575 feet
The team has made it to Everest base camp! A most unlikely place for a
settlement of hundreds of people, we are camped on the Khumbu glacier itself,
just at the base of the Khumbu icefall to the east. To our north is a steep
talus slope at the base of the Lho La glacier, and this talus is consistently
breaking away and creating impressive rockfall. To the west, off the east wall
of Pumori, are regular serac fall and ice avalanches, all of it creating a
soundtrack which some of us will be enjoying for several weeks to come! To our
south the Khumbu glacier flows away to the warmer environs from whence we've
come.
Our eldest team member, Laxman Kamath, has impressed us all with his
perserverance. Today he chose to stay in Gorak Shep with his amazing Sherpa
friend Ramesh to hike up Kala Patar. Tomorrow he will begin his descent to
Lukla with Ramesh and Teddy. The rest of the trekkers will stay the day at
base camp and head down the next day. Everyone has done so well, and many have
broken personal altitude records! The trekkers will meet again a couple of
days down the trail and come on home into Lukla together. We've been a great
team.
Tomorrow the Khumbu climbers and Everest climbers will begin preparations for
moving into the icefall. There are dozens of tents to be distributed to
different camps, hundreds of pounds of food to organize, ropes, ladders, and
all manner of climbing equipment to be sorted, and Willie somehow knows where
everything is and where it all goes. Casey is a regular socialite here at base
camp, aquainted with most of the Sherpas from previous expeditions, and is
possibly planning a lot of high end functions in the weeks to come. With any
luck he'll remember us, the little people, when these "cocktail parties" of
sorts come around.
Base camp life is off to a good start with competitive rounds of
Mountaineering Monopoly, and the magical appearance of yet more and more
decadent meals. The climbing team has a long residency ahead of themselves
here, though much of their time will be spent high on the mountain. The Khumbu
climbers will spend the next week climbing to camp two and back, then
returning to Lukla. The trekkers will begin descending tomorrow and the next
day, and for another ten or so days Jaime will be writing the dispatches from
base camp.
So on that note, this is Teddy signing off! I will return to Lukla with the
trekkers, then hightail it back to base camp where I will spend the remainder
of the expedition as base camp manager, writing daily dispatches and
maintaining contact with the climbers on the mountain. We're staying warm and
healthy, some of us looking forward to the oxygen rich air below, and all of
us enjoying the many and great rewards of our efforts. Goodnight.
April 5, 2007: Gorak Shep 17,000 feet
Hello friends at home! The team has made it to Gorak Shep, the last stop
before tomorrow's destination of Everest Base Camp. We headed north from
Lobuche further along the moraine, toward the boxed end of the valley from
which the Everest climb begins. We are in good view of the Khumbu icefall, and
just over the Lho La pass to our north lies the country of Tibet. We are
surrounded by the mighty peaks of Pumori, Lingtren, Khumbutse and Nuptse, and
just out of view to the east are Everest and Lhotse. It's really quite
spectacular.
The trekkers had an early morning start in Lobuche, arriving in Gorak Shep by
8am, in plenty of time to climb the 18,500 foot "hill" of Kala Patar. From
Kala Patar all of the aforementioned mountains are in beautiful, clear view.
It's summit provides one of the best-known panoramas of the glaciers and peaks
that surround it. We were back for lunch and have been lounging around since
then, with plenty of time for suckas gettin' schooled at more rounds of
hearts. It's hard to declare a preliminary contender for the crown, but Grant
has thus far been most consistent. However, be it known here-in that Erin
plays a mean hand for someone so darn sweet, and gives the boys a run trying
to keep up with her on the trail, too.
The climbers are busily engaged in cards at present, and the numbers suggest
Mustafa will take this game. They are all healthy and strong, and Willie and
Casey feel confident about the ability of their team as a whole. A lot of
experience on this trip, with four of the clients having previous experience
on 8,000 meter peaks. Good assembly of climbers!
Some of the trekkers are feeling the altitude and resting accordingly, but we
have no major concerns. We're off to base camp tomorrow, for some of us a
final destination, for others the start of a big climb on a big mountain.
All's well here, goodnight.
Background
Mountain Madness will return to Everest in Spring 2007 with
a commercial expedition led by Willie Benegas, The final commercial team will
be announced soon... But they have several clients. They will again attempt from the South (Nepal) side of
the mountain. Christine Boskoff, owner of Mountain Madness sadly passed away
in 2006.
The Climber: Willie Benegas
| Born and
raised in the wild heart of Patagonia, Willie Benegas, along with his
twin brother Damien, have pursued a long apprenticeship in the
mountains. As one of the "young bucks" of the world-class North Face
team, Willie has pushed his craft on the big-walls of Yosemite, the airy
summits of South America, and the loftiest peaks of the Himalaya.
The boundless duo, now
hailing from Berkeley California, completed their first major new ascent
with a route up Patagonia's West Face of Pilquitron (VI, 5.9, A3) which
is still unrepeated. |
©
David Keaton |
At 20, they climbed Fitz
Roy's impressive Supercouloir as well as routes on Guillaumet and Poincenot.
In the following years, Willie has ticked off the South Face of Aconcagua, a
new route on the North Face of Pakistan's Nameless Tower (VII), record speed
ascents in Yosemite valley, and attempted major new routes on the legendary
North Faces of Thalay Sagar and Jannu.
But simply overcoming
technical routes or highest summits is not enough for this 30 year old
climber. He gathers equal satisfaction by introducing others to the
wide-world of mountain experience. To help fulfill this goal, Willie and
Damien established Patagonian Brothers Expeditions specializing in South
American guided climbs and treks. They also lead expeditions for Out There
Trekking (UK, OTT) in Africa, South America, and on Himalayan giants such as
Cho Oyu.
Willie has many plans for the
future, but he often gets the same question; why do you climb? When asked
about the draw of high places, he says "a mountain adventure will carry over
into many facets of your life, teaching about yourself, your co-existence with
nature, and respect for other people's cultures."
Willie's Brief Resume below
FILMS:
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2001 OLN "Outlaws of the
Aconcagua Trail"
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1991 "Swimming with
whales" discovery channel
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HIGHLIGHTS:
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Nameless Tower "Book of
Shadows" VII 5.10+ A4 WI4, 1995
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Mt Kenya all massif towers
in 16 hrs, 2002 |
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Mt Cuerno 17.600ft South
Face First Ascent 5.7 WI 3 4640ft in 4.36hrs R/ trip solo, 2000 |
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Fitzroy Super Canaleta VI
5.10b A1 WI 3,1987 |
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Atensoraju 19.328ft. new
route North ridge/face "The Pandora Box of Artensoraju:" 5.9 WI 3, 1998 |
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Oshapalca new route South
face "My Message" 5.7 WI 4/5 2.400ft., 2000 |
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Aconcagua World record
ascent/descent 54miles 13500ft elevation gain, 2000 |
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First Ascent Argentina Andes
"Welcome to a Dream" V 5.11 A4+.,1999 |
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Patagonia Exploration, first
ascent "Swept by the Wind" 5.13a, 1,000ft. |
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Patagonia 62.5miles
endurance run first place 9.35hrs., 1986 |
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The Nose VI 5.11 A1 16
ascents, ten one day ascents. |
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South Seas (VI 5.10 A5) |
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Sea of Dreams (VI 5.10 A5) |
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Regular Route (VI 5.10 A1)
twenty times. Fastest time was 3:30 |
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20/20 Classics Climb's in
twenty days of the 50 Classic's Climbs of North America Book. Ascended
60,080ft, traveled 137 miles on foot, 2hrs in canoe, and climbed 241
pitches. 1993 |
ABOUT WILLIE: Born and raised
in the wild heart of Patagonia, Willie Benegas has pursued a long
apprenticeship in the mountains. Willie has pushed his craft on the big walls
of Yosemite, the airy summits of South America, and the loftiest peaks of the
Himalayas. Willie completed his first major ascent in the winter of 1987 with
a route up Patagonia's West Face of Pitriquitron (VI, 5.9 A3 W2/3), which has
still not been repeated. At age 20, he climbed Aconcagua's impressive South
Face, as well as Fitzroy. In the following years, Willie "ticked off" the
first ascent of the North Face of Pakistan's Nameless Tower "Book of Shadows"
(VII, 5.10+ A4 W14), made record speed ascents in Yosemite Valley, and
attempted major new routes on the legendary North Faces of Thalay Sagar and
Jannu. In 2001, he set the world record speed ascent/descent of the highest
mountain in the Western Hemisphere, Aconcagua (22,831 ft.), summited Everest
for a second time, and ran the legendary Leadville Ultra 100-mile Race. In the
spring of 2002, Willie reached the Top of the World yet a third time. However,
simply overcoming technical routes and conquering summits around the world is
not enough for this 34-year-old climber. He gathers equal satisfaction by
introducing others to the world of mountain experiences and exploration.
Willie has many plans for the future, but he often gets the same question, why
do you climb? To this he simply says, "A mountain adventure will carry over
into the many facets of life, teaching yourself about yourself, your
co-existence with nature, and the respect for people's cultures."
 |
Millet One
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Expedition footwear for
mountaineering in conditions of extreme cold. NOTE US
SIZES LISTED. See more here. |
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A cold
weather, high altitude double boot for extreme conditions The Olympus
Mons is the perfect choice for 8000-meter peaks. This super lightweight
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upper lined with dual-density PE micro-cellular thermal insulating
closed cell foam and thermo-reflective aluminium facing/ Insulated
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See more here. |
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