Mt. Everest 2005: Gavin Bate Live from Everest

Hi all, Chris here, I'm just off the phone with Gavin from Gorak Shep (Gavin's base camp)* and all is boding well. He was excited with the climb now ahead of him but was also full with mixed emotions. He was telling me how loneliness has set in, this has been made worse by the departure of the trek group. He has had a fantastic time with a great bunch of people. All bar one (due to illness) made it to the top of Island Peak. The conditions where tough, but good weather prevailed however the summit ridge - a knife edge, was narrower than normal. Summit fever pushed the team on and resulted in smiles all round on reaching the top.

The trek team left Gavin two days ago with our head sirdar Chhongba Sherpa and will arrive in Lukla today. Some are then travelling back to Kathmandu with the majority walking a further two days to Bumburi where they will be installing the Hydro Electric Project for our charity Moving Mountains.

Gavin is now focused on the climb but does miss the craic and company of the group. He has changed his climbing plan due to the number of teams. He reports that Base Camp is a hive of activity and certain potential bottlenecks on the mountain could prove problematic due to the number of climbers. The obvious bottlenecks are the ice fall - where one crevasse this year needs 7 ladders lashed together to span it! The Lhotse face and of course the Hillary step just shy of the summit. So far there has been one rescue when a climber broke his leg in the ice fall.

His plan is to set off on the 24th (this date is set on the advice of the head Lama) from Gork Shep to Base Camp and then to Camp one on the 25th. Then follows a series of climbs up and down to camps two and three. He hopes to have all his kit in place by the 10th May. He will then drop out of altitude before his summit bid.

He has had numerous puja's or blessing from a number of Lama's who look and advise him on his journey ahead. One has told him that his birthday (21st May) will be a good day to summit - Gavin was shocked by this, as not being a fan of birthdays, he never told anyone of this big day, the lama included!

Gavin sends a big Thank You to everyone who has been sending in good wishes and for all the support that people have given to Moving Mountains.

He hopes to send a voice message soon.

Best Regards, Chris

*Gavin is using Gorak Shep as his base camp as opposed to the traditional camp at the foot of the mountain. It was the camp used by Tenzing in 1952. It has caused quite a stir amongst the climbing fraternity as all now wonder why stay camped on the ice for three months when you can return to GS for home cooked food and R&R between climbs!