Mt. Everest 2005: Mountain Madness Expedition: High winds still prevail on top of Everest

Update: Dispatch #25 - May 16, 2005

High winds still prevail on top of Everest. Dean and Eric returned to base camp today from their two night stay in Lobuche. Now we will wait at base camp for the weather to improve. According to various weather reports the winds seem to diminish after the 19th. Our tentative plan is to climb to camp 2 on the 18th. Tomorrow we will prepare for our summit push. We plan to set up a mock-up of the "Hillary Step" at base camp, so our climbing team will know what to expect on summit day.


In addition our success depends on the dedication, strength and experience of our Sherpa team. We are fortunate to have such great friends!


Our Climbing Sherpa team is:
- Lhama Jungbu from the village of Kari Kola and has summited Everest 9 times. He has two sons.

- Mingma from the village of Kari Kola has summited Everest 4 times.

- Pasang from the village of Kari Kola has summited Everest 3 times. He has 1 daughter and two sons.

- Undi from the village of Kari Kola has summited Everest 2 times.

- Lakpa from the village of Namche has summited Everest 1 time. Lakpa is our Sirdar who is in charge of our Sherpa staff.

- "Super Mila" from the village of Kabra has summited camp 2 three times. He's our camp 2 cook, but also helps stock camp. He has three children. Mila always comes with a big smile on his face!

Over and out,
Christine

Dispatches

Since 1994, Mountain Madness has led 29 team members on successful expeditions to Everest's summit.  This year's Everest expedition will approach the mountain from the Normal Route--ascending through to the South Col from the Khumbu Glacier, and continuing to the summit via the Southeast ridge.

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