Alpine Ascents Mt Everest 2010 Expedition: Deboche

Today we woke up in our guest house in Deboche and had a leisurely breakfast before setting out on our hike up the valley. The high winds over the summit of Everest are blowing the signature 'plume' cloud we see over the summit. Most of the day we were hiking under clear skies, with a cool breeze, perfect hiking conditions. We stopped in the village of Pangboche for hot cinnamon rolls and tea before arriving at our destination for tonight, Pheriche. We will spend the night here then hike up to Lobuche tomorrow, then base camp the following day. We have been resting very well on our dropback eating double portions and sleeping long periods Everyone is doing well and anticipating our arrival back in base camp for our final rotation up the mountain!

Earlier: Sherpas Summit!

We just heard from our rope fixing team of Sherpas who called down and reported they were on the summit! This effort has been coordinated with several other teams, and now that the route is "in" we will be awaiting some nice weather in the following weeks for our summit rotation.

Our "red" team is just now arriving at Camp 3 and will plan to spend the night there then join the rest of the team in base camp day after tomorrow.

Included in this cybercast (at the top) is a slideshow of recent photos taken of Alpine Ascents climbers over the last few days climbing in the Khumbu Icefall, the Western CWM (near Camp 2), and on the Lhotse Face. Enjoy!

Earlier: Winter turns to Spring the world round and in the mighty Himalaya; the great peaks of the world emerge from their snow covered slumber. This Spring as in past years, climbers will walk past the blossoming rhododendron, in pursuit of the world highest mountain. While preparing fro everest is an arduous task, we are always excited at to get another season up and running, as we have been doing since 1990 !

This morning ( March 25, 2009) we load boxes ( years ago we made boxes that work well for the flight and yak travel ) of food, gear, communications equipment into the van and will make our way to the airport. These same boxes will eventually be strapped to the feisty yaks, and make there way through the Khumbu region of Nepal to Everest base camp.

Meanwhile staff in Nepal started preparations weeks ago, purchasing and checking Oxygen bottles, procuring gear and food supplies, checking lodging and dining tents and cordoning off our 2010 base camp home. Given the terrain at base camp, our Sherpa team must make platforms for every tent, a tough task at 17,500 feet. Our Sirdar and co- leader Lakpa Rita Sherpa oversees this portion of the prep. Lakpa recently summitted Mt. Kilimanjaro, becoming the first Nepalese and Sherpa to summit the highest mountain in every continent.

Along with our climbers, a group of trekkers will walk with climbers to base camp, stopping at villages, monasteries and visiting friends along the way. This always makes the trek in festive while allowing all to absorb Sherpa culture and experience the warmth and hospitality that have always been a part of this cultural sharing.

So onward and upward we go, into another Everest season and we look to share our experiences with you via this cybercast page. Our trekking team will be lead by Todd Burleson and Winslow Passey ( Winslow will also be leading some team members on a summit attempt of Island Peak). Lead climbers for our Everest ascents include a very skilled and experienced group of guides including Vernon Tejas, Lakpa Rita Sherpa, JJ Justman, Garrett Madison and Michael Horst, with the legendary Ellie Henke as BC manager.

This years climbing team ( please see team roster and bios)  have been prepping, training and climbing for months leading up to the expedition. We do hope you will join us in sharing our good wishes and Namaste’s and follow along as we track the 2010 Everest season.

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