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Trip Summary: All of our members who planned to use bottled oxygen reached the
summit with 4 expert Sherpas on 20, 26, and 27 May, 2012. This was 100%summit
success. Also our advanced basecamp trekkers and North Col climbers had a
lovely time. We had delicious food and excellent equipment throughout the
trip.
One of the biggest highlights of our trip occurred when Doctor Janice Smith,
the oldest ever Australian (age 68), reached the summit of Everest with Tenji
and Gyalje Sherpa.
This was our 7th successful Everest Tibet expedition, and we send our hearty
congratulations to everyone!
Another big highlight of the trip was the perfect sunny and windless weather
during the last week of May.
The Tibet side of Everest is known for its stunning views of Everest, much
better than the Nepal side. The Tibet side of Everest is also less crowded and
less expensive than the Nepal side of Everest. Also the Tibetan culture is
very exotic and changing rapidly, so now is the time to see Tibet in its
original form.
Our team met in Kathmandu and began the 5 day drive up to basecamp, takingrest
days and acclimatizing as they went. Some of our members enjoyed a visit to
Lhasa before we all met up in Everest basecamp.
Upon arrival in our very comfortable basecamp we spent several days resting,
eating delicious food, and hanging out in our comfortable heated dining tent,
and adapting to the altitude, then we moved up to the "intermediate camp"
which lies along the trek to advanced basecamp (ABC). The trek to ABC is also
known as the Golden Highway, because of all of the beautiful mountains atop
the valley walls along the trek.
Arriving in ABC we rested and did some ice and rope practice on glaciers
beside the camp. After a few more days of rest, we climbed up to the North Col
where camp 1 is located at 7000 metres / 23,000 feet. The climbing was all on
good snow and fixed ropes. The trail was well packed out and there was no
vertical climbing. There were fixed ropes on all of the steep sections. Then
we walked down to basecamp for an extended rest period, eating delicious food,
watching movies, relaxing by the heater in the dining tent, etcetera. For fun
several of us walked down valley to explore some lower altitude Tibetan
villages and enjoy the famous Tibetan hospitalitywith numerous cups of butter
tea, fresh fruits and vegetables, and samplingthe local barley porridge .
During our next foray up the mountain we retraced our steps to ABC and the
North Col, aand then walked all of the way up to camp 2 and slept there for a
night as an acclimatization exercise. The trail to camp 2 was steep and wind
blown, but there was no vertical terrain, we were able to walk all of it,
aided by fixed ropes. Then we returned to advanced basecamp for 3-4 days of
rest and relaxation.
Finally the weather was looking right and we worked our way back up the
mountain, to intermediate camp, abc, camp 1, camp 2, and finally camp three.
On summit day we crossed over numerous steps, some with aluminum
laddersattached, and finally topped out on the highest point on Earth. The
weather was very clear relatively warm, and there was almost no wind. We
snapped a few photos and headed down, basking in the amazement of our good
fortune andwhat we had just accomplished.
5 June
From
left Gyalje Sherpa(Climbing Sherpa), Fred Carter (Husband of Janice Smith).
Dan Mazur (Expedition leader), Janice Smith oldest Australian female (68 years
old) to summit Everest,, Tenji Sherpa (Climbing Sherpa) in Kathamdnu
29 May
Team back safe on the North Col.
28 May
Team back safe in camp 3.
Hi this is a message from the 7000m North Col. It’s a beautiful sunny day
here, there’s one other tent here besides ours.
It’s beautiful here. The sun has been out and it’s been calm winds for about a
week with summit days everyday and conditions are excellent.
We’re clearing all the camps off the mountain.
This is our lowest camp, tomorrow we’ll be removing this one and heading down
to Advanced basecamp. The yaks are coming tomorrow. We’re going to pack up and
go to Kathmandu.
Everyone is doing fine.Thanks for following our expedition.Goodbye.
Earlier:
This is Dan Mazur checking in 27th of May. We're in Camp 3 at 8,300 meters.
It's windy and gusty up here. A lot of really large cluds. It's our third day
up here. We've been supporting our team of French, Swiss, Australian,
Malaysian, and American...
Jan Smith is down at Camp 3. We're really pleased about that. She's okay.
She's sleeping right now. Two Sherpas brought her down
Tenji and Gyalje
Sherpa.
She did a fantastic job. She's really exhausted. She reached the summit
about 6:30am. She turned 68 years old the 26th of May. She did an amazing job
and really demonstrates what you can do when you really put your mind to it.
You are never too old to climb Mt Everest I guess. At 68 years old, she's the
oldest Australian, man or women, we know about. She did an amazing job.
I'd also like to take this moment to share a thought that is about Mr. Lincoln
Hall who our SummitClimb team found in 2006 resting just below the summit
early in the morning. Our team turned around and helped with so many other
people to bring him back down. He lived another 6 years and died of cancer.
What a sad way to go. But lucky he lived another 6 years after we were able to
get him down from just below the summit of Everest at the "Mushroom Rock" at
8,600 meters. He was an incredible guy and we will miss him very much. We'd
like to pay our respects to Lincoln Hall and what he did--an amazing
Australian.
I'd also like to say our SummitClimb team in the last 2 days climbed 3 peaks
[transmission garbled]...Everest Nepal side and Everest Tibet side. It was an
incredible task. All of our team worked really hard. Incredible members from
so many countries, along with great leaders, Sherpas, great workers and
logistics and people from all walks of life and offices. We worked really hard
to put a lot of people on the summit with no casualties. We couldn't have done
it without all of you following us and following our progress. We're really
proud of what we did. It was an incredible effort and we're so proud of
everyone.
Thanks for following our expedition.
Wish us luck getting down. We're going to rest overnight up here at Camp 3 and
then start down. It's still extremely dangerous to get down from here. We'll
be moving slowly, carefully, walking down the mountain being careful and
watching all the ropes...Hopefully in the next 2-3 days we'll be back in ABC.
We'll be checking in.
Thank you very much.
28 May
Team back safe
in camp 3.
27 May
Jan Smith,
oldest Australian female (68 years old),
joined by Tenji
and Gyalje Sherpa
summit!
26 May
Hi, today is the 26th of May. Beow
Lim and Pasang Sherpa just summited! The time is 1:15 p.m. Chinese time.
Josette set off for the
summit. Last night she came back because it was too cold and decided to go for
it during the day. She’s up there now trying to get the summit.
Tonight Jan, Gyalje and
Tenji Sherpa are going for the summit after dinner. Today is Jan’s birthday!
She is 68 years old.
Thank you, Bye.
Earlier:
Hi this is the dispatch for the 24th of May. We're up in Camp 2. It's very
windy. It's evening. We just had our dinner. We used oxygen with dinner today.
Some of us took 5 hours, some took more. Josette walked from ABC all the way
to Camp 2 in one day--incredible--without oxygen. We're all together now
like one big happy family...Jangbu is on the North Col acting as our radio
man; he's also going to help with rescues and helping carry equipment down.
Right now it's a gorgeous sunset across the
Tibetan plateau...
Ok, tomorrow our plan is to get up early and
walk to Camp 3. Wish us luck and hope we get some good weather.
Thank you. Good Bye,
Dan Mazur, Expedition Leader
This is a dispatch for the 22nd of May:
We're here at ABC. We rested a couple of days.
It was great to have Jacques and Jangbu come down after summiting. We
congratulated them and celebrated. Tomorrow, the 23rd of May, the rest of us
are headed up the mountain...We're going to head up to the North Col, off onto
Camp 2, Camp 3 and hopefully to the summit! We will keep you updated. Thanks
for following our expedition.
Earlier:
Dan Mazur with a second dispatch, the 20th of May: Talked with Jacques and
Jangbu on the phone at the North Col. They are doing fine. They reached the
summit this morning at 5:30am. They will be down here on ABC tomorrow. We send
all our congratulations. They did a great job.
Earlier:
Hi, this is Dan Mazur, the SummitClimb Everest Tibet leader, calling in a
dispatch for the 20th of May. I’m calling from Advanced Basecamp.
On the 19th of May we had a busy day. We were in camp 2 in the morning and
packed up to go, hiking up the hill. A large team next to us decided to pack
up and go down the mountain. They had heard a bad weather forecast, so
everyone on that team went down, including all of their staff. We decided that
we would go with them because it would be the wise, prudent and conservative
thing to do.
We’ve heard there is supposed to be a good weather window on the 24th and we
hope to have some assistance in verifying that with wind speeds, altitude,
etcetera.
Jan, Beow, Tenji, Josette, Dan, Pasang and Gyalje went down to the North Col
and eventually basecamp. However, Jacques decided he wanted to continue going
up. Jangbu joined him and we received a call on the radio this morning that
was relayed from Gyalje on the North Col that they had reached the summit! It
was hard to understand the call because of the wind speed and it seems like
Jangbu seems to have laryngitis and has lost his voice. But it sounds like
they reached the summit, are doing OK and on their way down.
We’ll have more updates for you as they come in. Thank you very much for
following our expedition. Bye, bye
May 18 from Dan Mazur:This is a dispatch from the 18th of May we're at 7,600m
at Camp 2. Everybody is here...Weather was good today. Had a really nice walk.
The last couple of hours before we got into camp it started snowing making
things a bit challenging. Thankfully we're here now. We plan to wake up early
tomorrow and head to Camp 3. Thanks for following the expedition. Bye.
May 15: Hi, this is the 15th of May. We're in ABC. Everyone is OK. Our Sherpas
are going to Camp 3 today to carry a load of oxygen and will be coming back
down to ABC today. Our members are going to rest today in ABC and watch the
weather and we're hoping to go the summit! Thank you. Dan
May 14 from Dan Mazur:
We're in camp. The weather is beautiful.
Everyone is doing fine. We're headed up for ABC.
May 10:
For the past few days, life at Everest Base camp has been a period of rest,
recuperation and preparation. At present at EBC-Tibet we have Dan, Jack, Jan,
Josette, Geoff, Beow and our dedicated team of Tibetian cook and helpers. Our
capable sherpas are already in Advance Base camp, preparing the high camp.
In theory, we should be making plans for our second acclimatisation rotation
to high camp i.e., camp 2 or camp 3. In reality, we have to also account for
our biggest challenge- the weather. For the past few days, the weather has
been typically tibetian on this side of Everest i.e., at EBC we had alternate
days of a windy day, snowing next, sunny next day, cloudy, and then sunny
again. At EBC we can see the magnificent view of Everest from our campsite.
For these past days, on the high mountain the wind has been ferocious. We can
see the wind plumes trailing the peak of Everest daily [maybe, 50-80km/hr
wind].
That being the situation, we designed our own individual program for a few
days. Josette and Geoff trek back up to Interim base camp then ABC, to take
picture of the Rabula pass, it looks into the seldom seen Kangshung side of
Everest. They came back today, happy on their mini-diversion and task
accomplished. Meanwhile, Dan, Beow, Jack and Jan did daily 2-4hr trek around
the EBC camp. We have trekked up a frozen river, trek to Rongbuk Monastry for
a chinese meal (6hr return), climb up west and east side of EBC- up to
300-400m higher.
The learning from this few days of rest is the notion of flowing with nature
and accommodating the weather. Climbing a mountain is not just wanting to do
what you want to do, we need to work along side the great forces of nature and
to apprerciate and to respect mother nature.
May 6 Dispatch from Dan Mazur:
Back in Base Camp resting. We've heard the rope
fixing team has made it to Camp 2, 7500m and working toward Camp 3, 8300m.
We're biding our time in Base Camp, staying
warm and staying healthy and fit. We hope to have a crack at the summit as
soon as the rope fixing team gets the job done.
We've have snow several nights, but morning
dawns with lots of sun and no clouds and no wind. Conditions are getting
better. It's warmer.
We're all optimistic.
May 4 Dispatch from Dan Mazur:
We're fine and resting in Base Camp, hoping for
better weather. It's snowy and windy up high. We're watching the forecast...
Earlier:
Hi this is the dispatch for 21st April.
Today we walked up from interim camp up to ABC at 6400m. It was a long and
beautiful walk on the miracle highway surrounded by towering iced pilgrims and
it was really impressive. We had great sunny weather and then for the last
hour the snow started to come in so it made it even more realistic.
We got to our really comfortable ABC camp with a heated tent and our own
sleeping tents and everybody’s comfortably tucked in. Dave and Drew decided to
stay down at interim camp.
Hi this is the despatch for Everest Tibet for the 20th April.
Today we rested in interim camp at 5800m and we took it easy some of us took
walks, took photos there’s a good view of Everest and basically we all relaxed
and read books.
One of our members Peter decided that he would stay at Basecamp and we have
two staff down there looking after Peter, one cook and one kitchen/porter
guide, hopefully he’ll come up and join us soon. If not our Advanced Basecamp
trekking group will be back down in a few days to rejoin him.
Thanks a lot for following our expedition and I will keep in touch. Thank You
This is the dispatch for the 19th April.
Today we took a rest day, in our camp at 5800m the weather was really nice,
warm, sunny, a little bit of light winds, no snow and a couple of our members
came up from base camp today to join us so we had a nice group around the
dinner table, some good conversation and we plan on taking another rest day
tomorrow to acclimatise.
Thanks for following our expedition
Hi this is the dispatch for 18th April. All the team hiked up to interim camp
at 5800m, the weather was good and it was a long walk to the east Rongbuk
glacier and a very beautiful walk.
Some of the team members decided to stay at basecamp and rest a bit and come
up tomorrow.
Thanks for following our expedition
17 April -
Hello family and friends. This is Steve reporting from Tibet base camp.
We are sad that our friend Vladimir had to go back down last night to be
checked by a doctor but happy to hear he has cleared the border and is safe in
Kathmandu.
Today (17 April) was a rest day and the team is in high spirits ready to move
higher to Interim Camp in the morning. The big excitement today was the
arrival of the yaks and their departure with our gear for higher camps. It was
sunny and windy all day with spectacular views of Everest. We can see across
the west ridge to Nuptse in Nepal as well. Of course the highlight of every
day is the good food and the hot showers. The wind is a bit chilly so speedy
dressing at the end of the shower is mandatory.
Yesterday (16 April) we walked down the hill a bit to the Rongbuk monastery
where we descended into a deep low room and the lama blessed each of us, We
then went to an upper level outdoors and held a Puja ceremony, Our endeavor
was blessed by the lama and we threw tsampa (barley flour) to be blown by the
wind. Dave presented a large medical kit to the lama for use by the monastery
and surrounding people which was greatly appreciated.
After the Puja we walked over to the tent village and drank tea and had noodle
soup for lunch and spent a nice couple of hours joking with the proprietress.
The group is all watching Hunger Games on DVD now and will soon retire. Best
to all our families that's all for now from Tibet base camp.
-Steve
15 April -
Well here we are at Base Camp. But I wouldn’t say it’s camping. It’s more like
glamping (glamour + camping= glamping). We arrived last night at around 6pm to
our well and truly established glamp site and after dumping some stuff into
the tent, we came to the mess tent for what was, by far, the best meal I’ve
had on this trip. The Sherpas did a sensational job and continue to do so.
After dinner we just had a social time in the mess tent before retiring for
some sleep…but that sleep never really happened for me. Going from sunny
Australia to the base of Everest is a bit of a temperature shift, so it was a
bit tricky to sleep when it was about -5°C outside. And whoever wrote “-30°C”
on my sleeping bag is definitely gonna get a slap in the face from me. So it
was a difficult night, plus the diamox (alt sickness pills) still require at
least two toilet breaks at night, if not more.
In the morning, what a view! Looking at the North Face of Mt Everest on a
clear day. How good. It’s quite an impressive sight because if you didn’t know
already…it’s a pretty big hill. Just a rest day today at Base Camp. Had a
shower which was borderline disastrous. I half expected the clothes I left
outside to be blown down the valley as she is blowing a gale (it was either
that or leave them inside to get wet).
Things are looking good though as it’s lunch time so I am gonna have to love
you and leave you. Til next time.
Whitey, Ben White from Sydney Australia
Earlier:
12 April -
We reached Tingri at 4200 metres. It is a bit windy, but everyone is fine.
Dan Mazur - expedition leader
11 April -
Hi, this is Dan Mazur writing from beautiful downtown Nyalam, Tibet, at 3700
metres. Our departure from Kathmandu on the 10th went well, and we crossed the
border from Nepal into Tibet efficiently and smoothly.
We took a rest and acclimatization day in snowy Nyalam, exploring the town and
surrounding hills. The weather is normal, not too cold, a mixture of light
snow and light wind.
Our Tibetan hosts have been extremely friendly and very welcoming. Everyone in
the team are doing well, becoming adjusted to the altitude, and very healthy
so far!!!
Earlier:
Expedition:
Team Rosters:
Everest Tibet -
Dan Mazur - US/UK (leader)
Ms. Josette Valloton - Switzerland
Ms. Janice Smith - Australia
Jacques Puyo - France
Beow Lim - Australia
Everest Tibet Training Climb -
Steven Coffman - USA
David Howard - Australia
Dru Dubois - Usa
Badri Vijayarghavan - USA
Vladimir Shakirov - Russia
Advance Base Camp Everest Trek -
Gustavo Grillo - Brazil
Jeffrey Botz - USA
Peter Blaquiere - Australia
Daniel Ashbolt - Australia
Ben White - Australia
Everest Tibet Climbing Sherpas & Staff -
Gyalje Sherpa
Tenji Sherpa
Jangbu Sherpa
Pasang Nurbu Sherpa
Samdien - cook
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