Mt. Everest 2005: Alpine Ascents Everest 2005: Update: June 3 Camp II

Update: June 3 Camp II
    
So the uncertainty and days of waiting have passed. We are back in Camp II and everyone's excitement and satisfaction is growing by the hour. Coming back down to a more livable altitude and sensing the closeness to BC has definitely added laughter and smiles.

Tonight everyone hung out in the cook tent with the Sherpa and began to remember some of the spectacular moments on summit day as well as some of the more humorous moments. A couple of members of the Singapore team who also made the summit yesterday joined us for the laughs and conversation. Inevitably the talk turned to those that were missed at the summit. We had a wonderful team and unfortunately it wasn't quite as big at the summit but we were thinking of you all.

Tony, Danielle and Esther all deserve a great deal of credit for this summit. This was an incredibly frustrating season due to the overwhelmingly bad forecasts and seemingly poor summit possibilities. Each of them kept hanging in there keeping positive about a break in the chances. Climbing Everest is largely a mental game and they all stayed in it despite the tough breaks. And perhaps most importantly kept smiling and laughing throughout.

Tomorrow night Tony would like to write an account of our summit day. I'm looking forward to it seeing as how he hasn't stopped writing during this entire expedition. We'll also send off some summit pictures.

We're up at 4 am to get through the icefall early and then showering and drinking beer in the afternoon! We'll be in touch with Tony's account tomorrow.

All the best,
Dave

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

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.

A cold weather, high altitude double boot for extreme conditions The Olympus Mons is the perfect choice for 8000-meter peaks. This super lightweight double boot has a PE thermal insulating inner boot that is coupled with a thermo-reflective outer boot with an integrated gaiter. We used a super insulating lightweight PE outsole to keep the weight down and the TPU midsole is excellent for crampon compatibility and stability on steep terrain. WEIGHT: 39.86 oz • 1130 g LAST: Olympus Mons CONSTRUCTION: Inner: Slip lasted Outer: Board Lasted OUTER BOOT: Cordura® upper lined with dual-density PE micro-cellular thermal insulating closed cell foam and thermo-reflective aluminium facing/ Insulated removable footbed/ Vibram® rubber rand See more here.

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