Mt. Everest 2005: Waldemar Niclevicz Brazil on the Top of the World: the short story

06/08/2005

79th day of the 10 Years of Brazil on Everest Expedition

Katmandu (1400m)

We are already in Katmandu!

Dear Friends!

Exactly four days after our arrival from the top of Everest, my friend Irivan and I came yesterday to Katmandu, exhausted, without having a day of rest.

On June 2 we reached the top of the 8,848 m. of altitude of Everest; on the 3rd we descended from camp 4 (8,000m) to camp 2 (6,400m); on the 4th we descended from camp 2 (6,400m)  to base camp (5,400m); on the 5th we went from base camp (5,400m) to Pangboche (4,000m); on the 6th we went from Pangboche (4,000m) to Lukla (2,800m); and yesterday we flew from Lukla to Katmandu.

What was harder was to cover the approximately 80 Km from base camp to Lukla in just two days, because we didn't have time to rest after the summit attack.  Our legs ache, our entire body is very tired, but at every moment we spend in Katmandu the feeling of satisfaction grows when we remember we stepped on the Top of the World.

Our plan was to come back to Katmandu in helicopter, along with other climbers, in a flight that costs around 7 thousand dollars and lasts a little more than an hour, but right on the day when we arrived to the summit of Everest, June 2, a helicopter that attempted to make the trip could not take off after picking up the climbers of the Korean expedition, the blades were damaged and that bunch of old Russian tin called MI-17 has to lay forever at the bottom of Everest (like another one, the same model, that fell on base in 2003).

We came running to Katmandu because of our rush to go back to Brazil.  The delay of the expedition made our compromises accumulate (for example, I have confirmed meetings with companies for the next week).  Also, since we are at the end of the season, the flights are full, with hundreds of tourists going away, nothing better than to be here to guarantee a place.  And we had, we are arriving to Curitiba at 11h30 in the morning of next Sunday, the 12th.

Not as a consolation but a big happiness and satisfaction (in the middle of this rush), we are receiving a lot of messages and the first honors because of the success of the "10 Years of Brazil on Everest Expedition".  

Irivan and I would like to thank everybody for your support, especially our sponsors, Banco do Brasil, Try On, Wise Up, and Terra.  This victory comes from the effort of everybody and we think Brazil deserves, always, to be on the Top of the World.

We had the happiness yesterday to be received by Silvio and Rose (and their "girls of Nepal"), as they did when we got to Katmandu, two months ago.  Silvio and his wife are making a nice job here in Nepal since five years ago, recovering girls from prostitution with rehabilitation programs, making then recover their dignity and returning them to normal life.  Actually they have almost 40 girls, from 3 to 28 years old, in their house in Katmandu.  The support is also great from all the Brazilians who live in Nepal (around 15), to make Silvio the Brazilian Consul in Nepal, and we hope that happens soon, because he always aids any Brazilian in trouble here.

Yesterday we had dinner in Silvio's house, with around ten other Brazilians who live here.  The "girls of Nepal" made honors to our conquest presenting different dances for us, and we ended up telling them the details of our climb of Everest, making clear that the truth is that "we climbed a more difficult mountain which is inside of us", and that our "psychological and spiritual" effort was much more important than the "physical" one.

In the main picture Irivan and I in front of the congratulations banner that we received when we arrived to our hotel in Katmandu, an honor from our friends in our agency Thamserku Trekking.

Below, I am explaining to the "girls of Nepal" how we climbed Everest, also known as Sagarmatha (the Roof of the Sky).

In the middle that is how I look now with 11 kilos less (that's right, "eleven" kilos less!!!), because of the effort given during the climb.  A fact that contributed a lot to make me lose so much weight was that during the two months of the expedition I had to take antibiotics three times, because of infections in my throat, which weakened sensibly my resistance.

The last picture shows the Russian MI-17 helicopter that lost sustentation on June 2 and has to remain forever at base camp in Everest.

Thanks a lot for your support, Viva Brazil on Everest!

A big hug,

Waldemar Niclevicz

Translated from Portuguese by Jorge Rivera

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.

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