Mt. Everest 2005: Gavin Bate: Summit attempt planned

File photo Everest on a better day ©EverestNews.com

Prep for Camp 1 :Gav prepares for Camp 1 climb tomorrow and hopefully on to the top! Still no reports of summits this year from south side - plenty from the north.

Gavin Live from Base Camp: Gav May 25th

Earlier Update: Gavin just off the phone and left an update for everyone.

Basically the weather looks like it is turning now for the better. On the North side several people have summited but on the south side no one has made it up yet. Teams have tried but so far all have failed due to weather and the lack of fixed lines above the South Col. Yesterday there was a large meeting between all the teams at base camp and the commercial teams are sending up ten Sherpas over the next three days to get the fixed lines set in place in a bid to open up the higher camps and summit route.

Gavin himself is presently in Gorak Shep and is heading to Base Camp tomorrow. If the weather holds he will then go straight to camp two then camp four with a provisional summit attempt on the 28th / 29th May. Some teams are looking as far as the 2nd / 3rd June for summit attempts which is unprecedented in Everest history. Usually the summit window - when the high winds lift off her summit, last for a short time in May.

Gavin is in great form and feeling good. Yesterday he walked down to Pheriche in two hours and met Helena and the trek team who are coming up to Base Camp to meet him. Helena was reporting on the Moving Mountains project in Bumburi and showing Gavin loads of photos of the work which has been undertaken. The wiring of the houses is nearly complete, the power house, which we thought would be the size of a shed is now nearly ready and the size of a house! Half the generator is also now in place and all is boding well. The work done by the trek teams has been fantastic and very soon the villagers will have electricity for the first time in the regions history.

Gavin himself sends a big thank you to all who have been involved and to everyone who is following his story and donating to make this project and all the others in Kenya happen.

Gavin is currently packing up a lot of his kit. As soon as he comes of the mountain he has to quickly get back to Lukla and then on to the village for the opening ceremony of the HEP and the Gompa (monastery) MM has been building. He then has to get back to Kathmandu and into London for his connecting flight to meet up with the Elbrus team in Moscow then after that he flies directly to Tanzania to meet the Kilimanjaro and Aficamp teams. So he's now scratching his head wondering what kit to pack for the next three months of expeditions in Russia and East Africa.

Well that's all for now. Hopefully the audio blogger will be up and running again soon and we'll have some more updates from the mountain!

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