Mt. Everest 2005: Alpine Ascents Everest 2005: Summit Team down to Base Camp

Update: June 1 Summit Team at Base Camp
    
Apologies to everyone in cyberland for dropping the ball on summit night. I had been awake forever and ever and we agreed that I could go to sleep while someone else would send in the final cybercast when everyone got back to the South Col. Dave had the equipment for sending it, but they had just arrived at Camp 3 and it just slipped through the cracks. So, sorry about that.

The climbers did get back to the South Col safely, arriving around 4:00 pm. They had a bit of a rough night, with the wind blowing and Vern having some breathing difficulties. David describes gusts of wind blowing the sides of the tent in, making it hard to sleep even after the exhausting effort of going to the summit. So they were glad to get out of there in the morning and head down to Camp 2.

Today both Vern and David arrived in Base Camp by late morning, while Chewang and Thapkee stayed at Camp 2 to help bring loads down from Camp 4. David enjoyed a leisurely afternoon packing and taking a shower, while Vern hurried to pack his stuff to start walking down to Debuche. As I write this he is already walking down the trail.

So here in Base Camp we are eagerly awaiting news from Camp 4 and whether they will actually be trying for the summit tonight. Stay tuned for the adventures of the second summit team of Dave, Lakpa, Jose Luis, Esther, Tony, Danielle, and five sherpas.

Ellie

Dispatches

Vern Tejas, Willi Prittie, Dave Morton, Jose Luis Peralvo, and Lakpa Rita Sherpa will lead the Alpine Ascent team on Everest this Spring. They will attempt the standard South East ridge route.

GUIDE STAFF (BIOS)
Lakpa Rita Sherpa Senior Guide & Sirdar	Vern Tejas Senior Guide	Willi Prittie Senior Guide
Dave Morton Senior Guide	Jose Luis Peralvo Senior Guide	Ellie Henke Base Camp Manager
CLIMBERS
Nigel Clark	Esther Colwill	Ron Farb
Kevin Grant	Cathy Groninger	Kent Groninger
Mostafa Mahmoud	Jeanne Stawiecki	Dianette Strange-Wells
Tony Van Marken	David Liano	Danielle Fisher

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