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Entry 4
April 14, 2007
Namaste from Kathmandu, Nepal. I arrived in K-du after 34 hours of travel from the time Jenny and the kids dropped me off at the airport in Phoenix and I stepped in the front door of my hotel. All of my bags arrived safe and sound. First hurdle accomplished! Last night I met several of the team members and had a wonderful dinner and celebration. Last night was the Nepal New Year, 2064, so this place was absolutely crazy with people and parties. The next few days I will spend time relaxing and hanging out in K-du; organizing gear, site seeing, and meeting the other team members as they arrive. We will be leaving on the morning or April 17th for Llasa, Tibet.
One of my favorites things about traveling is meeting different people from around the world. I sat next to a woman from Israel on the plane from LA to Bangkok who was educated in the US at Stanford and Harvard and is now a lawyer in her country. We talked about many aspects of life and I am always humbled to hear about others perceptions of America and Americans. I also sat next to a woman from Bangkok to Nepal who was a senior writer for a major magazine in Thailand and in her broken English and my zero knowledge of Thai, we also had a wonderful conversation. It's times like these that make me want to travel more and expand my knowledge of the world around us. Last night I had dinner with people from New Zealand, England, Sri Lanka, Sweden, and the US. Incredible!
I wanted to thank all you that have sent emails and support my way. I can't wait to get on the hill! Cheers!
Entry 5
April 15, 2007
Namaste! I hope all of you are doing well. Not a whole lot new to report from K-du but we spent last night enjoing the festivities of another New Years party. I have always wanted to spend New Years in NY City in Times Square with millions of crazies but last night I had the Nepalese equivilant to Times Square with 20,000 crazies! The main street was closed down and there were live bands, people hanging off balconies, climbing street poles, throwing objects, you name it!
Today was spent visiting the "monkey temple" in central K-du. The temple is over 2,000 years old and it is where both Buddists and Hindus come to pray. It is a way for our team be blessed for the climb ahead and to also learn about the cultures and way of life of these amazing people. It makes me appreciate and have an exceptance and tollerance of other religions I may not be accostomed too. Sometimes we get caught up in what religion is right or wrong and we forget what is important for each individual. All I know is that I was blessed in some way or another for what lies ahead and I am thankful for the opportunity. We were guided around the city today by a friend of mine I haven't seen in six years. His name is Kami Tensing and he was our climbing sirdar for our 2001 Everest Expedition. The last time I saw Kami was in the White House when our team was invited to visit President Bush in the Oval Office.
Cheers for now!
Entry 6
April 16, 2007
I finally met the last few members of our team today. We will have another member of the climbing team from Northern Ireland, Geoff. He was a member of an Everest expedition last year in which he made it above 27,000 ft. before turning back due to sickness. He brings a lot of knowledge to our team and I look forward to getting to know him better. I also met Philip and his wife Anna as well. Philip is from Nice, France and Anna is from Sweden.
The majority of the day was spent packing our gear into large plastic drums to be trucked into base camp. Tomorrow morning we will get up early and fly to Llasa, Tibet at 12,000 ft. The flight will be about 45 minutes and then we will have an hours drive to our hotel. I am looking forward to going to Tibet for many reasons. It is such a holy place with beautiful people, temples, and country side.
What a small world. Last night as we were waiting in the lobby of our hotel before going out to dinner I ran into my friend and climbing mentor, Craig Van Hoy from Portland, Oregon. He is one of the greatest American climbers and a wonderful person. I climbed Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Ranier with him over the years.
It's getting closer to game time!
Entry 7
April 17, 2007
Hello from Llasa, Tibet at 12,000 ft. Our team just arrived in this beautiful country. We are staying in the Himalaya Hotel that is very close to the Patala Palace where the Dali Lama lives. We will go there on a tour tomorrow and be blessed once again for our journey. We will be spending the next three nights here acclimitizing before we head off to Shigatze, Tibet.
So far my experience has been wonderful. Meeting incredible people, eating different foods, visiting holy sites, and thinking about the work that lies ahead. The internet so far has been the most frustrating thing I have ever had to deal with. Yesterday from Kathmandu, I worked on the computer for two hours and ten minutes and lost all of my work. If I was at home it would have taken, no joke, at least 15 minutes and it would have worked. I will continue to do my best with posting stuff and sending pictures when I eventually get the opportunity. Once we get to base camp or have access to a laptop computer I will be able to start sending photos.
Cheers for now and thanks for all the emails.
Entry 8
April 18, 2007
Today we spent the majority of the day at the 7,000 year old Drejung Monastery. This is the monastery where the Dali Lama used to live and where 7 of the 13 former Dali Lama's are burried. There used to be 7,000 monks living here in the past but now there are only 700. I was amazed to find out that boys as young as 8 years old come here to spend their lives. From there, we spent some time at the very old Lhasa Jukang Temple where many former kings are buried. It is a very old and sacred temple where many monks come and pray. Our team feels blessed and honored to have visited such holy places.
I was wondering if I would be able to find anything in China made in the US. So far the only thing I have been able to find is Budweiser and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer along with some other hard liquors. What do you think my chances are of finding any cars, appliances, or clothes!
I have learned so much about the culture and history of Tibet and China since I have been here. It is so fascinating. For all the schools that are following along, it would be a great lesson to find out how and why Tibet was taken over by China. It is a very controversial story and one that should be understood by all.
During my journey, I will be collecting data for Dr. Ira Goodman and the Heart Institute in Phoenix. Almost everyday I take my heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen saturation levels, along with the time of day and current elevation. I will continue the study all the way up the mountain and hopefully on the summit as well. We are all interested in seeing the data, especially as I move up in elevation and work my body to extreme levels. Once all the data is collected I will share all the results with you.
I am also sending back my GPS coordinates to Phoenix Country Day School, were Betsy Youngman (8th grade science), Marti Deangera (6th grade science), Chris Palmer (librarian), and my wife (8th grade math) will be using the data to map my progress. Together, they will create maps, graphs, etc., for all the students to follow my progress. I look forward to seeing the projects they put together.
Cheers!
Entry 9
April 19, 2007
Hello all. Guess what! You are not going to believe it but I spotted a Chevy and a Buick today, both with Chinese lettering on the back. I also found Wrigleys spearmint gum, Mars, Snickers, and Twix candy bars, an old Michael Jordan poster, and a Shaquille O'Neil, Michael Jackson, and Curt Kobain t-shirt. Too funny!
Our day began with a visit to the Potala Palace which is probably the most famous building in Tibet. It was built in the 7th century and was the former home to several of the Dali Lama's. One of the most famous was the 5th Dali Lama who is buried in the palace in a 10,000 ton GOLD stupur (tomb) that was so beautiful and decorated with many other jewels and gems. The palace is one of the most amazing buildings I have ever been in.
After lunch, Gavin and I went to the Braille Without Borders school which is a school for 32 blind children. Several years ago Erik Weihenmayer and severel other friends, including Gavin, took six of these student up the north side of Mt. Everest to advanced base camp. Five of the students were there today and we had a wonderful visit. One of the older students just released a music CD with a recording company and he sang a beautiful song for us. Most of these children are shunned by society but they become well educated and make a great life for themselves after graduating. It was a touching moment to be around them.
The schools in Tibet are all state schools and I tried to visit one today but the guards would not let me in. All the students wear uniforms that look like athletic warm-ups with matching tops and bottoms. The kids in the primary grades wear light blue and white, the middle school age kids wear red and white, and the older students wear dark blue and white. It really looks impressive and most of the students ride their bikes to school so they were all parked along the buildings. The kids were at the end of the school day when I saw them outside playing games, playing on the swings and other playground equipment, and sweeping and mopping up from the day.
Tomorrow we will be leaving in the morning to drive the second largest city in Tibet, Shigatse. It will be a six hour drive and we will be going up another 1,000 ft. to help with our acclimitization. I know it seems like I have been on a vacation until now but when you climb Mt. Everest from the north side it is very important to take our time getting up to 17,100 ft. at base camp. When you climb Mt. Everest from the south side one spends several days in Kathmandu before spending 10 days trekking up the Khumbu Valley reaching an elevation of 17,500 ft. From the north we go from Kathmandu at 4,000 ft. and go to Lhasa at 11,800 ft. in a day so we need to spend these three days acclimitizing. I feel strong and I am staying healthy. Several members of our team have been suffering a bit with sickness but hopefully it will only last a few days. After we drive to Shigatse we will spend two days there before we continue on.
Hope you are enjoying my updates and as always, I appreciate all the emails. Cheers!
Entry 10
April 20, 2007
Hello everyone. I am writing from a really big internet cafe in Shigatse, Tibet at 12,300 ft. There are 125 computers in the cafe and most of them are being used by young adults watching movies and gaming. It will be the last time we have quality internet for the rest of the trip.
Our day began at 9:30 am and we drove from Lhasa to here in about six hours. The drive was beautiful up the river valley. We stopped for lunch in a very small town and had some great laughs and ate yak stew with potatoes and rice. After arriving at the Gang-Gyan Orchard Hotel we set off for the spiritual Ta Shi Lhun Po Monastery. This is the monastery where the Penshung Lamas are from and study. They are almost the equivilant to the Dali Lamas and have as much power when the Dali Lama dies and they are in search of a new one. We got to witness all of the 500 monks eating and chanting all together in the dining hall. Absolutely fascinating! I thought the cafeteria at my school got crowded at times! We had a wonderful team dinner tonight at a Chinese resteraunt. It was served family style with all 12 of us eating together for the first time. The food was not as good as Pei Wei but extremely authentic!
Since we have been in Tibet there have been some interesting things happen to me. I couldn't understand why everyone would stare at me while walking down the street. Finally, I would watch their eyes and they would look down at my legs. Then it dawned on me that I was the only one wearing shorts in Tibet. Centuries ago to just up to a few years ago it was not polite to wear shorts in public. Plus, most Tibetan people have very little to no hair at all on their bodies and I am, as our guide mentioned, "As hairy as a yak or yeti!" When I was in the market I had two little kids come up to me and stroke my legs and laugh while running off. I even had an older woman literally pull on my eye brows in amazement. Too funny!
Tomorrow we head off to Shegar for two days. It will be about a seven hour drive with and an elevation gain of about a thousand feet. I know that after we spend these two days in Shegar then the real work will begin as we head off to Mt. Everest base camp. We will then spend the next month trying to reach the summit. I am really enjoying our team and think we will have much success. Our climbing team really consists of 6 people while we also have 6 others traveling with us to various heights on the mountain. Two of them will only go to base camp, one will travel to advanced base camp and three will be going up to the north col. The six of them will be leaving us around May 5 and head home as we continue on.
Once again, I appreciate all your emails, positive thoughts, and prayers. Peace to all.
Entry 11
April 21, 2007
Hello everyone from Shegar, Tibet at 13,900ft. Today we left Shigatse at 10:40 am and pulled in at 4:30 pm. The ride through the Lhasa River Valley on the Friendship Highway was very pretty. It was endless skyline of dry, rocky mountains, with no wildlife growing on it at all. The striations in the rocks were amazing and the multitude of colors so vibrant. The sky is so big. We passed many villages where the locals were plowing fields with yaks getting ready to plant new crops. This region grows many vegetables, potatoes, and nuts. The drive added many exciting moments as we went through several 17,000 ft. passes with the steep slopes of the mountains coming all the way down to the road, tossing an occasional rock in our path. We also had to dodge several goats, cows, chickens, donkeys, and sheep just taking their good old times crossing the street. At times we had a thousand foot dropoff to our one side with the Lhasa River raging below. We had one hairy moment as we rounded a bend and were met head on by a huge tanker truck on a one lane road. Our driver, in our Toyota Land Cruiser, locked up the brakes and we turned sideways as we headed towards the edge. Luckily he left go of the brakes just in time to steer us back straight again. I have to say it left the four of us with our hearts in our throats! After that is was straight forward for the rest of the night. We had another great team dinner of our mysterious Chinese food but it filled our bellies. I have only been away for 11 days but it seems so much longer. One thing I haven't done is shave since I left. I actually have shaved a goatee probably to my kids liking but definitely not my wife's! As a kid I was a red head so when I grow my facial hair is comes in red and I have to say a little grey! Tomorrow we should get our first look of Everest on our little hike up the local valley.
Cheers until the next one.
Entry 12
April 22, 2007
Hello everyone. Today was our "rest day" here in Shegar, Tibet. Therefore, we took a 12 mile hike up the valley to the top of this amazing fort built centuries ago by the 1,000 or so villagers that lived in Shegar. It's called the Shegar Choide Ganden Lekshe Ling Monastery. The fort was built in order to protect themselves from the Mongolians who swept through this land looking to conquer all of Tibet. The hike took four hours to the top gaining a little over 1,000 ft. in elevation. It is important to keep moving on rest days in order for our bodies to recover more quickly for the harder days ahead. During our climb to the top we caught our first glimps of Mt. Everest about 45 miles away by the way the crow flies. It was clouded over on the summit but we got a great look at the NE Ridge that we will be climbing in a few weeks. We also saw Mt. Cho-Oyu the 6th hightest mountain in the world. I have to say it brought tears to my eyes to see Mt. Everest again and the first time from Tibet. It's hard to believe that we leave tomorrow morning for basecamp at 17,100 ft. I have been dreaming about climbing Mt. Everest for many years and finally I have the opportunity to make this dream a reality. It's been six years since I have climbed on and around Mt. Everest from Nepal, so it's game on from here on out!
The first thing I am looking forward to at basecamp is getting into the 50 lbs. of food I brought from home. The first thing I am going to eat is a bag of beef jerky, followed by chocolate covered espresso beans, and wash it all down with a handful or two or three of sweedish fish! I also brought sour patch kids, peanut butter cups, my favorite trail mixes, protein powder, almonds, Cliff Bars, and many different flavors of drink mixes. Yak meat, rice, potatoes, and vegies have been OK until now but this will be heaven! Many people have asked me if I brought anything sentimental or for good luck, and I have. Jenny, Adam, and Lindsey put together a beautiful photo albumn with some of their own personal thoughts. I look through this every night and read their every word. There is no better way to go to sleep! I received a necklace of dZi beads from my friend Andy McKean and I haven't taken it off since putting it around my neck. I was also given a dream box from my friend Michelle Garland in which I was to put a saying in it that would bring me good luck. I wrote on one side of the small piece of paper "Summit Safely" and the other "Return Home". Also in the box is a good luck stone given to me by Darol Kubacz, and some holy rice blessed by the Dali Lama in India. This was given to me by my Nepalese friend Kamil Tenzing. I keep this in my backpack which is always with me. Finally, I have to say I have some bad news for you and funny news for me. Two nights ago I took my last real shower, with hot flowing water, shampoo, and a bar of soap until the first week of June! I say funny because I know many of you are cringing as you read this and I just have to accept this part of the expedition. I will however use my Huggies wipes and a hot towel to shower every few days when the opportunity arises. Therefore, as you wake up every morning and use more hot water and shampoo than is needed, please think of the stench that will be permeating here on Everest! Cheers.
Entry 13
4/25/2007
Hello from Mt. Everest basecamp at 17,000 ft. Our drive from Shegar to BC was about five hours long up a winding, dirt road. Half way up we crested a ridge at a little over 17,000 ft. and got an increbible, full on view of Mt. Everest and three other 8,000 meter peaks. There are 14 of them in the world! The view of Mt. Everest from our camp site is absolutely stunning. She is so majestic and beautiful. It's hard to imagine all the work we have ahead of us the next month in order to reach the summit!
After arriving in BC in early afternoon we began settling in to our tents and unpacking all of our gear. I have approximately 150 lbs. of gear to sort out in order to call this place home. I first strung a set of prayer flags inside of my tent along with several kata's (yellow silk scarfs for good luck) that were given to us along the journery. The prayer flags are five different colors represting various forms of life, blue (sky), red (fire), green (land), white (ethor gas), and yellow (steel/iron). The prayer flags will be flying around all the campsites at basecamp and all the way up the mountain. Basecamp is a very dry, rocky place with very little to no vegetation. The winds start to pick up around noon and blow nonstop at various speeds until around 9:00 at night. So far the skies have been blue, tempertures ranging from 80 degrees during the day to zero at night. The weather will be the same for the next few days and we are expecting to get a heavy snowfall over the weekend.
Our next door neighbors here in BC are a team from Korea, Chile, and a mixed team of Australians and Americans. This morning we had to say goodbye to two of our teammates. Matt and Jane are now making their way back to the UK and their families. Last night was a special night for Jane as she celebrated her birthday. The sherpas made a chocolate cake with white icing and candle for her special day. We also bought a bottle of non-alcoholic champagne back in Shigatse to help celebrate as well. The night was topped off with a box of chocolates and a lot of laughter. I have spent the last few days relaxing, organizing, eating, and sleeping the day away. I took a little hike yesterday with Gavin and Geoff just to get the legs pumped for all the work we have ahead of us. Tomorrow we begin our hike up to Advanced Basecamp at 21,000 ft. We will leave early morning and spend the enitre day hiking to our interim basecamp at 19,000 ft. We will spend two days at interim camp and then move on up to ABC. Once we get settled in at ABC we will spend four days there relaxing and acclimitizing to the new altitude. Then we will do our first carry of climbing gear, clothing, oxygen bottles, and tents up to the North Col at 23,000 ft. This will be absolutely painful and miserable! Depending on how we feel, we may spend a night or two at this altitude and one day walking a little bit higher. Truthfully, I can't wait for the opportunity. After all of that we will come all the way down to BC to relax and get stronger for the summit push.
We have had a change in the technology that we are using up high so I would appreciate it if you would email me now at, everest@project-himalaya.com and remember to put Kevin in the subject line. Our entire team will be using this format until we get off the mountain. If you have sent me an email in the past three days, I would appreciate you resending them to the above email. Also, please visit our expedition leader's website at www.project-himalaya.com for some wonderful pictures and dispatches as well. Click on Everest 2007 Dispatches from his home page. Thanks again for all your emails and support. Cheers for now!
Entry 14
4/29/2007
Hello everyone from Advanced Basecamp at 21,000 ft. All of the climbing team are doing really well but life at this altitude is work, even doing the smallest of tasks. I spoke with my wife last night after taking a 30 ft. walk to Gavin's tent and she thought I just ran a marathon I was so out of breath! Plus it was hovering around zero degrees which didn't help the cause. If you could see me now, you would think the cat dragged in the worst varmit in the neighborhood! I am reminded daily of how ugly I continue to look. I am almost certain some of you would walk right past me without recognition, be scared out of your wits if you did, or just love me for who I am! Even though I haven't changed clothes or bathed in quite some time I am still brushing my teath!
We left basecamp four days ago and began our 14 mile hike up to ABC. The first day we hiked 8 miles to interim basecamp at 19,000 ft. We covered this distance and elevation change in just under 5 hours. It was the first real work of the expedition since we carried heavy packs and laced up the boots. After arriving in camp ahead of our yaks, Gavin and I huddled up in a tent to stay warm as the temperatures dropped and the snow began falling. We shared tents for the first time so Gavin and I set up our "palace" which would be home for the next two days. We ate dinner in our tents since we didn't have dining tent. Breakfast and lunch the next day was outside sitting on rocks in a beautiful bed of yak dung and mixed with straw! Dinner was again in our tents as the temperture dropped around zero. After relaxing the entire day acclimitizing, it was off to ABC early the next morning. I have to say this was one of the most beautiful days in the mountains I have ever spent. It was Mother Nature at her finest as we climbed up the glacial moraine, high mountains all around us, huge ice pinacles on both sides of us, and a crystal clear sky. The six of us stayed together all day and shared many stories of past climbs. We arrived in ABC after five and half hours of hiking. It was all work once we arrived. We picked out our tents and starting setting up shop. The temperature dropped dramatically around 4:00 pm as the sun set behind the mountain.
Our camp is nestled tight against the mountain with a beautiful view of the north col and west ridge of our climb. We will spend the next four days here acclimitizing to the altitude. We will take small hikes around the glacier and up to the head wall which is our first big challenge. This is where the climbing will begin. This morning we had our puja ceremony. This is a Buddist ceremony in which we ask the mountain for our blessing to climb her. We have our ice axes, crampons, and harnesses blessed in order for us to have save passage. It is a touching momemt for all climbers and something we will always remember. It is also a time in which we have snacks as a gift and drink brandy, beer, and wine as part of the blessing. It's amazing how fast a buzz comes on at 21,000 ft! To all of you back home, may you raise a toast of your favorite drink in honor of our team! Cheers for now.
Entry 15
April 30, 2007
Hello everyone. Today was a great rest day. Gavin and I took a two hour hike up towards the north col trailhead and watched many climbers going up and down. We can't wait to go up in a few days weather permitting. As of now, we may get dumped on with 10-15 inches tonight, so the face up the north col will be too dangerous. There were two Russians that made the summit today and the fixed lines were also set just below the summit.
Our climbing team of six will be accompanied by our seven climbing sherpas. Our sherpas are all from Nepal, from various villages in the Khumbu Valley. They are very strong climbers and six of the seven have made it to the summit of Mt. Everest already and some of them with multiple summits. It's very humbling to be served a meal by someone who has stood on the summit of Mt. Everest five times!
Our climbing sirdar Nawang (leader of the sherpas) was the one who performed our puja ceremony yesterday. He is a lama in his village back in the Khumbu. Many of you have asked me about the animals in this area. We have seen many different species of birds. There are black crows, sparrows which make a laughing type sound (ha, ha, ha, ha), the Himalayan Griffen which is a very large bird that looks like a hawk with a 4-6 ft. wingspan, and finally the dreaded pigeon. I have been to all corners of the world and there are always pigeons. This should be the universal bird! We have also seen blue sheep which actually look like small deer and they are really brown. And finally, we see yaks on a daily basis as they continue to bring supplies up for teams.
Advanced basecamp is a very interesting place. There are about 30 different teams from around the world totaling several hundred people. The terrain is a large slab of ice with every size of rock imaginable on top. At night the ice is constantly shifting with causes the ground to moan, squeek, and crack below us. We are tucked up against the hillside so there are occasional rock slides that come down and funnel below us. The temperatures have been in the extremes, 90 degrees in the tents during the hot, sunny afternoons to below zero at night. Sleeping in the cold at night creates unique conditions in the tents. Every exhale creates water vabor that freezes on the inside of our tent walls. I also drool during the night so my beautiful waterfalls over the edge of my pillow and sleeping bag make for an interesting morning!
I want all of you to think about the next time you get out of nice warm shower and steamy bathroom, with a towel wrapped around you, and feeling that bit of cold before you get your clothes on or into bed. Maybe it's 70-80 degrees. Imagine what it is like to go from our dining tent at night with the temperatures around 40 degrees inside the tent, to having to go back to our tent and strip down to our long undies and slip into our tents and sleeping bags when it is zero or below. Not too inviting! The other crazy thing at altitude are the wild dreams we have during the night. If you can imagine the wildest dreams you have ever had, multiple them by ten. The other night with all the 30 yaks outside of our tents and their bells ringing around their necks, I had a dream I was being chased down the valley by all the Salvation Army people that sit outside of the malls and stores during the holiday season, ringing their bells madly at me!
That's all for now. Please keep sending your emails, thoughts, and prayers our way. Cheers!
Entry 16
5/2/2007
Namaste to all. I hope all of you are doing well, especially those of you suffering from the heat in Phoenix! The past two days have been days of long hikes up high in order to help with our acclimatization process. We hiked up to the beginning of the fixed ropes at the base of the head wall going up to the North Col. This elevation of just under 22,000 ft. is equal to my all-time high on Mt. Aconcagua in Argentina. It's hard to imagine I have another 7,000 ft. higher to reach the summit.
The fixed ropes are a reminder that the real climbing now begins. This is were we have to be focused every step of the way and any miss-hap can result in severe injury or even death. We have also been going over all of the gear, clothing, food, and oxygen system we need to take up high. We went over how the regulators and face masks connect to the oxygen bottles that we will be using from camp two at 24,700 ft. to the summit. It's not a complicated system but at high elevation the mind does weird things to our memory!
Many of you have asked about the type of food we have been eating. You have know idea what I could do for a Coke, sushi, pizza, a big juicy hamburger, or a salad with all the fixings! Instead, we have been eating more rice and potatoes than you could imagine! For breakfast every day, we have eggs, pancakes, toast, porridge, and several choices of cold cereal that we put hot water over the top. For lunch, it can be anything from this nasty green vegetable that is a cross between spinach and bamboo shoots, hot dogs that are so small they could starve a cat, several types of bread that I put peanut butter on or an occasional jam, potatoes cooked any way you can imagine, and spam! For dinner, it can be any combination of rice or pasta with the mystery sauces, some occasional chicken, yak meat that looks green during the day hanging in the kitchen tent, and the ever surprising potatoes. For dessert we have had canned fruit that is always heated up, banana friters, pears also heated up, and popcorn. To say the least, we have been shedding some pounds!
Today we got about five inches of snow dumped on us so our plans to go up high tomorrow will be made in the morning. If we go up high we will spend three days above 23,000 ft. before we come back down and head to basecamp for a possible shower and much needed oxygen. During our time up high I will be calling in my dispatches to my wife using our Thurya Satelite phone. She will take my messages and transfer them to my website. The technology we use up high is amazing and never really predictable. Please be patient if you don't here from us for a few days. Your thoughts and prayers are always appreciated and much needed the next few days.
Thanks again for all the wonderful emails. Cheers.
Entry 17
5/6/2007
Namaste to everyone! We are now back in ABC after spending the past four days and three nights at the North Col. Our bodies are tired, hungry, and smelling awful. The weather has been really unpredicable and miserable to say the least. When we left ABC four days ago at 10:00, it took us almost two hours to reach the fixed lines and start going vertical with our 40 lb. packs. The temperture was just below 100 degrees F as we clipped into our first rope. There was no wind and we knew the snows would begin falling when the sun went down in several hours, so it was a race against time and all the people on the ropes. At any given time there could be 20-100 people on the ropes all moving at different speeds and feeling many different ways.
After five hours Philippe, Gavin, and I reached the top of the fixed lines where our tent was set up in a unique position. It was below a gigantic overhanging serac just on the edge of a 1,000 ft. dropoff. I guess it could have been worse since we were shielded from the wind! We spent the first four hours boiling water with our one stove and three different size pots. We had to collect a large bag of ice and snow in order to boil for water. Boiling water at 23,000 ft. takes several hours just to fill six water bottles and make some soup. Our first meal, without utensils because the sherpas forgot to bring them up, was tuna on crackers, some cookies, a candy bar, and the wonderful noodle soup we passed around in the pot taking turns slurping it up!
The three of us would also make our tent as cozy as possible. Believe me, it looked like a tornado went through our four foot by six foot space. Maybe like some of your own bedrooms! I being the smallest got stuck in the middle and spent most of the nights sliding towards the tent door or vestibule where we did all of our cooking. Philippe was curled up in his small corner, with all of the food around him, deep in the snow indentations. Gavin on the other hand had the other side of the tent and being the "giraffe" of the group was spread out on top of both of us. Three in a tent for three nights is terrible to say the least!
The second day was mainly spent in our tents doing nothing but eating, laughing, and eating and laughing. However, the third day we got out for a long hike and went up above the North Col and headed up towards Camp 2. We went up to almost 24,000 ft. to help aclimatize for our summit push in a few weeks. The weather was stunningly beautiful as we climbed up the snow field. We got some incredible views of the route all the way to the summit and down the valleys towards the south side in Nepal.
Today we got up early and headed down the ropes back to ABC. We left at 8:00 and dropped our packs at 10:00 for some well needed food and yes, a COKE! Needless to say it is so much faster going down but the work is still tiring especially in the heat. We will go all the way down to BC tomorrow morning and spend at least five days there getting some well needed rest, some good eats, and I promised my team I would even take a shower and shave. It's only been a month! We are all feeling a little weak from the lack of appetite at altitude.
Once again, I appreciate all the emails, thoughts, and prayers. Cheers!
Entry 18
5/9/2007
Namaste to you all. We are now back down in BC at 17,000 ft. and enjoying the "thicker" air. The 14 mile hike down from ABC took us about seven hours with our heavy packs. Since we arrived a few days ago, there has been a miracle. I have shaved for the first time since April 11th and washed my hair since the 20th! I almost scared the cook help when I came to dinner last night. The team said I look like I should be on a tennis team at a club somewhere. In all honesty, it feels great and the shower will follow sometime soon!
Today we flew a kite in BC for several hours. The sherpas also joined in because some of them had never seen one before. Too much fun! Gavin and I took a two hour hike to keep our legs fresh. We went looking for fossils in the river bed but didn't find anything. We also visited the memorials of past fallen climbers. This is a humbling time and a reminder that even the best and strongest of climbers can take nothing for granted.
I was asked the other day by a student in Pittsburgh, if there was one item amoungst all of my "stuff" that I would consider as a luxury. Yes, it is my iPod Shuffle. I have about 900 songs on it, half of them being U2 songs because BONO rocks, and I listen to it every night when I go to bed. When the wind is howling between 50-80 mph at times, it is the only thing that can keep me sane! I also enjoy linstening to it when I am reading during the day or during our short hikes.
I wanted to clarify something from my last dispatch regarding the tempertures we have been facing during the day. The range in temperature has been 113 degrees F in the heat of the day and minus 23 degrees F at night. When I mentioned the day we climbed up the fixed ropes to the North Col, it was a clear sunny day with no winds. This condition creates an extreme amount of heat radiating off the snow, therefore creating almost 100 degree temps I actually sunburnt the tip of my tongue and fried my lips. On the other hand, by the time the sun went down on the other side of the mountain by 3:00 pm the temperatures dropped dramatically and it actually began to snow around that time and throughout the night. So timing is so important when moving in the mountains and we have to constanly be prepared for "change".
I was also asked to talk about the technical aspect of climbing. When we are climbing on fixed ropes there are several really important pieces of equipment we need. The first is our harness that we wear around our waist all times. It's like our seatbelt to the mountain. Attached to our harness are several important pieces of gear; an ascender or jumar, a "cow's tail", and a belay device. The jumar is a device that we clip onto the rope, slide it up with our hand, but it will not allow us to slide back down the rope. It is kind of like a break and if we get tired we can just sit back in our harness and take a break. If we slip on the ice it will react the same way, keeping us from falling down the mountain. The "cow's tail" is a backup for the jumar and it is a caribiner attached to our harness with a piece of rope. It will not stop us from falling all the way down the mountain but it will only stop us at the anchor below us. Our belay device is one of two things, a figure of eight or an ATC. These devices help us or another climber go down the mountain very slowely in a safe manner. Another important piece of equipment everyone uses are crampons. Crampons are the big metal "teeth" that we attach to our boots. They are very sharp and allow us to stick to the snow and ice. Most crampons have 12 teeth on them with two of them pointing straight out in the front in case we need to climb with our feet perpendicular to the mountain.
In my next dispatch I will talk more about the physiology of climbing and what happens to our bodies at altitude. It will be fascinating! Until then, I appreciate you following along and sending me emails at: everest@project-himalaya.com. Remember to include Kevin in the subject line. And for wonderful photos and other dispatches, please go to www.project-himalaya.com and click on Everest Dispatches. Cheers!
Entry 19
5/11/2007
Namaste to all! We are still down in BC preparing ourselves to move up high in probably a weeks time. Since moving back down here the weather up high and all around the mountain has really turned for the worse. The winds high on the mountain have really been screaming.
Yesterday we watched the linticular clouds form over the summit all day long which indicates winds well over 120 m.p.h. We estimated at times they could have been close to 200 m.p.h. Down here at BC the winds have been constant all day but we still manage to take a hike up high on the surrounding hills to keep our legs strong and our lungs and heart working hard.
We receive our weather forcasts twice a day from a company out of Switzerland and as it stands right now there will be two breaks in the weather over the next three weeks. The first one will take place from May 14-16 and the one we will be shooting for will be from May 24-26. Since the second window of opportunity is still far out we don't anticipate it changing much more than a day or two. Therefore, we will plan on leaving BC around the 17th and move back up high each day placing us at 27,400 ft on the 23rd for our summit push the following morning.
Like I said this is the game plan for now but it may change slightly in the week ahead. We have a "team meeting" every day to discuss strategy and talk things through just like any office staff or excecutives of a company would!
That's all for now folks. Keep in touch and us in your thoughts and prayers. Cheers.
Entry 20
5/12/07
Namaste to all! I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend. We are still in BC waiting and watching the terrible weather up high and down here. It's supposed to last a few more days before the first good weather window. The past few days we have not been able to see Mt. Everest from BC. It's the game we have to play!
Physiology of our Bodies during Climbing:
Every day, several times a day, everyone on our team tests their blood oxygen saturation. We do this using a little device we put over our finger and in a few seconds gives us a reading of how much oxygen is present or available in our red blood cells. A typical reading at sea level for the majority of the population around the world would be 98-100% on a daily basis. As one excercises or moves up in elevation this level changes. For example, when we first arrived in BC at 17,000 ft our readings were in the 80%. If one was to have a reading like this at sea level they would be taken to the hospital immediately!
As we moved up in elevation, especially between 21,000-24,000 ft our levels dropped to the 70's%. For a climber working hard, with heavy packs at this altitude, these values are still normal and OK. The day we arrived at the North Col at 23,000 ft there was a woman from the Phillipean team who was really struggling and we checked her stats and they were 52%, dangerously low. She was suffering from pulmonary edema, when your lungs begin to fill with fluid, so she was put on oxygen and sent down to a lower altitude to help her condition and she eventually was fine.
Another thing that is going on in our bodies as we move up in elevation is a process by which our bone marrow begins to dump immature red blood cells into our blood stream. This in return will help improve our blood oxygen saturation. Also, as we move back down in elevation, like we are now in BC, there are more oxygen molecules for our body to absorb, improving our blood oxygen saturation levels once again. Therefore, we sleep much better, cuts and other sores heal much better, our appitites improve, my dreams are back to normal (thankfully), and we just feel better.
Now, when we go back up to higher elevations, hopefully to 29,035 ft, our bodies are much more prepared and able to handle the altitude changes. In theory this is how it is all supposed to work. We are all genetically different and that plays a big role as well. I hope this explains a little more of the physiology of our bodies at altitude. Please let me know if there are any other topics you would like me to discuss.
Thanks again for all the emails, thoughts, and prayers. Cheers for now.
Entry 21
5/16/07
Namaste to all. I hope all of the mom's had a wonderful Mother's Day. We are now ready to pull out of BC tomorrow some time after breakfast and begin our climb up another 12,000 ft to the summit of Mt. Everest. We have now spent ten days in BC and we are more than ready to move on up!
During our time in BC I read two different books. The Jury, by Steve Martini was a wonderful book and one that I would highly recommend for those of you that like law, mystery type stories. The other one I read was the King Rat by James Clavell. Too slow for me and would pass on the recommendation. We have many more books to pass around but two books for me in this period of time is plenty!
So far, our team's game plan to hang tight and be patient is really working to our advantage. Our sherpas have been working hard up high getting all of oxygen bottles and tents into place and the weather is becoming more stable up high. The bigger expeditions are finished or will be finishing their summit attempts before we reach ABC in a few days. This means less people on the mountain and less waiting on the fixed lines on summit day. There have been apporximately 40-50 summits from the North Side so far. Unfortunately, there were two deaths on the mountain yesterday as well, reminding us that we need to be on top of our game and focused at all times.
When I began writing this dispatch inside of my tent, it was a little over 100 degrees in my tent and I was only wearing a pair of shorts. Right now, only 20 minutes later, it is snowing, really windy, and 52 degrees in my tent. Crazy and yes I have put on more clothes!
Our plan at this point is to leave tomorrow and make a summit attempt on May 24th or 25th, weather permitting. We will spend tomorrow night at Interim Basecamp, the next two nights at ABC at 21,000 ft, the following two nights at the North Col or Camp One at 23,000 ft, one night at Camp Two at 25,700 ft, and the last night at Camp Three at 27,300 ft.
We haven't decided what time we will take off for the summit but it will be sometime between 10:00 pm and midnight. If all goes well on our summit attempt, we will return to Camp Two for a night then down to the North Col or ABC depending on how we feel. As you can tell we have a lot of work ahead of us the next ten days or so. Please keep our team and the other teams on the mountain in your thoughts and prayers. After we leave for the North Col we will no longer be answering your emails and my dispatches will be posted by my wife from my phone calls home.
Cheers for now.
Entry 27
5/23/07
Down to BC but not Out!
Namaste to all! I hope all of you didn't wait up through the wee hours of the night waiting for our summit information. Mother Nature was at her finest, reminding us to be patient once again.
We spent a long day yesterday going from 23,000 ft up to camp 2 at 25,000 ft. As we started our ascent just above the North Col the winds began to pick up from 15-20 mph the entire way up the snow slope. By the time we reached our camp the winds were 50-70 mph and knocking us all over the slopes. It was very difficult climbing and by the time I got in my tent I was very cold, especially my hands and one foot. I spent the next few hours in my own tent boiling up water, trying to eat what I could, and getting warm.
The winds inside of my tent were screaming the entire night. I thought I was going to get launched a few times but the sherpas had our tents really secured. I was finally in my sleeping bag wearing my down suit and all of my warm clothes, inner boots, and breathing bottled oxygen. The oxygen was beautiful because it warmed up my bottle and helped me sleep, with beautiful dreams, for almost 12 needed hours.
I finally woke up around 6:30 am to the same screaming winds as when I went to bed. Our entire team spent the next hour discussing the game plan talking back and forth on our hand-held radios. It was an easy decision for Kirsti, Gavin, and myself to go back down considering the weather forcast for the next few days is predicting winds to be close to 100 mph between our high camp and the summit. Ten years ago I turned back less than 1,000 ft from the summit of Mt. Aconcagua due to high winds and we did not get another attempt since we were out of fuel and food. The decision today was easy because I will get another attempt in a little over a weeks time hoping the weather window will hold true. Coming home with all of my fingers and toes is the most important thing for me.
There are many climbers up high right now fighting for their lives and trying to stay warm. Our teammate Philippe made the decision to go up high this morning and try to push for the summit tomorrow morning. He is very strong and smart and will make the right decision as to continue on or join up with us tomorrow.
As for now the four of us, including Geoff who has been down at ABC recovering from some food illness, will be going down to BC tomorrow for at least three days to recover and then head back up for a summit attempt around June 1-3. Please keep in touch to the upcoming dispatches and find out our game plan. The one nice thing about being patient is we will be the only ones on the mountain on our next summit push.
Again, thanks for following along and for all your thoughts and prayers.
Cheers!
Entry 28
5/26/07
Namaste to everyone. I hope all of you are doing well. We have been back at BC the past few days getting ready for our last summit push. We will begin to head back up the mountain on the 28th . So far the next weather window looks like it will be from June 3-5. Hopefully it will hold true to give us a better opportunity to summit.
Today, Phillippe returned to Base Camp. On the 24th he took off with two of our sherpas in the marginal weather conditions and made the summit around 6:00 am. He took a huge risk considering the weather conditions and the many difficulties other climbers endured on the mountain that day, including one death and a lot of frostbite, but he deserves a lot of credit for his success.
There are only two teams left on the mountain waiting for another summit attempt. We will be working together with the other team from Australia and hopefully we will have great success.
Please keep following along and sending us your positive vibes. Cheers
Entry 29
5/28/07
Namaste to all. Hope all of you had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!
My weekend was spent down at BC getting ready for our final summit push. During this down time I read another book, The Third Option by Vince Flynn, and I would highly recommend this book. Now my reading is over for the trip!
As of today we have spent 35 days at or above 17,000ft. This can't help but take a toll on our bodies but seemingly we have held up well.
Tomorrow morning Gavin and I will set out one last time up to ABC. This time we will make the 14 mile trip in one day instead of staying at Interim Camp. Kirsti and Geoff left this moring for IBC and we will meet up with them at ABC tomorrow afternoon. After all the round trips from BC to ABC we will have walked a total of 84 miles with an elevation change of 24,000 ft.
As of this morning it looks like our new weather window will be June 3rd or 4th. Our game plan will be to arrive at ABC on the 29th and spend the 30th as a rest day. We will then move up to the North Col/Camp One on the 31st, Camp Two on the 1st, Camp Three on the 2nd, and a summit attempt on the morning of the 3rd. We'll check the weather once more when we reach ABC to determine if this plan will move to the 4th or not. Irrespective this will be our last summit attempt as we have planes to catch on June 9. Stay tuned for all the details!
We had a wonderful evening with Phillippe before he left for Kathmandu yesterday morning. He was very tired but extremely proud of his incredible accomplishment. He gave us a detailed description of his journey to the summit and some helpful hints as well. We all plan on following in his footsteps!
We had some fun thinking of the things we will NOT miss about being on an Everest expedition...... Here are the one's I can post.......
WE WILL NOT MISS......
1. Sleeping on a 20" by 1" foam mat.
2. Changing clothes every 20 days.
3. Peeing in a bottle at 3:00am.
4. Emptying said bottle at 8:00am.
5. Squatting over a bucket.
6. Porridge and eggs for breakfast EVERY DAY.
7. Waking up and wondering what the bad smell is...... and realizing it's me.
8. The hike betweens BC and ABC.
9. Wearing gloves, a hat and headtorch to dinner and to read at night.
10. Going to bed at 7:30pm.
11. Not knowing the results of American Idol, the NBA Play off's or the FA Cup.
12. Getting up in the morning and wearing the same clothes you slept in....and wearing them all day.
One final thing... We chose a team theme tune from my iPod..... "Staying Alive" by the Bee Gees....
Cheers for now and please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
Entry 30
5/31/07
Namaste to all!
We have finally decided to make our last attempt for the summit this season
on June 4th. The weather window is better than marginal but not the best.
The monsoon weather is finally beginning to move the jet stream off the
summit so hopefully our attempt will be a safe and successful one. Our
expedition is officially over on June 9th and if we could stay until the
11th the weather is supposed to be perfect at that time for about a week.
It's just the name of the game!
I hope all of you continue to follow along the next few days and wish us the
best. It is now time to put it all together, mentally and physically, and
string 4 or 5 perfect days together. All of our training will be put to the
test and we will need to dig deep in order to achieve our ultimate goals!
Cheers.
Entry 31
June 2, 2007
The following information is courtesy of Duncan Chessell, the expedition leader for DCXP.
"We have been carefully watching the weather over the last week, trying to work out when
the jet stream winds will shift away. Finally the jet is heading north out of our way!!! Hooooray.
As the week progresses the Jet shifts north and according the Mario from Meteotest our forecast
experts in Bern, Switzerland, things should get better for us until at least the 11th of June.
Our teams moved up to the North Col and were prepared to go for a marginal window on the 3-4-5th.
This would have been tough in high marginal winds but the team was ready to take on the challenge.
We hoped the jet would shift and the winds weaken as they ascended, which is happening. So they
are being rewarded for being in the right place at the right time. If we had waited in BC for perfect
conditions we would miss our chance by the time we walked up and climbed toward the summit.
So it would seem the old adage “fortune favors the brave”, might be true this time around for our teams.
Lets hope they have a safe ascent/descent and the weather gods continue to smile for them.
So often in mountaineering you just have to go part way up and poke your nose out and have a look
at conditions, and with luck things go your way, the sun breaks through and your up. If you're really
lucky an obvious wx window hangs around for weeks and it is no big deal, but this is rare."
If the current trends hold the plans are:
June 2 wait at North Col camp for last winds to fade
June 3 climb to Camp 2 at 7650m.
June 4 climb to high camp at 8200m
June 5 SUMMIT (Nepalese time...this would be the night of June 4th for us)
Please keep checking back as we will post as soon as we hear anything.
Entry 31
June 3, 2007
1:30AM (Phoenix time): Kevin called to say the team has arrived at Camp 2. Everyone feels great and the weather looks like it will hold for the next two days. They will be on oxygen now until they summit. He will try to call tonight when they arrive at camp 3. Then they will go for the summit on Monday night around 9PM (Phoenix time).
Entry 32
June 4, 2007
2:30AM (Phoenix time): The team is at high camp, elevation 27,300 ft. The team feels great and their spirits are high. The plan is to rest and then take off for the summit between 12:00 and 2:00 PM (Phoenix time) and reach the summit tonight. Hopefully we will get a call from the summit, but it may not be until they are back down to Camp 2. I'll post news as I hear it.
Entry 33
June 4, 2007
I just read a dispatch from Duncan that Kevin made it! I will write more when I get details, although it will take several hours for him to get back down and call.
Entry 34
June 5, 2007
6:45 AM (Phoenix time): After 18 hours, Kevin called from Camp 2 where he will spend the night. Physically and mentally drained, but extremely happy.
Entry 35
June 6, 2007
1:45 AM (Phoenix time): Kevin called from Advanced Base Camp. It was another long day of hiking, but he's glad to be safely down. He'll hike to Base Camp tomorrow and he should be in Kathmandu in two days. Back to Phoenix in one week...hard to believe!
Entry 36
June 8, 2007
Kevin has finally arrived in Kathmandu after some interesting delays. He will soon send a dispatch detailing his climb to the summit and the days that followed. He is scheduled to arrive home on the 12th. From now on, please send emails to kcsummits@gmail.com. He just recently had the chance to check his emails since coming back down, and he had over 100! He was so excited to read them all.
Entry 37
June 10, 2007
Namaste to all! I hope all of you are doing well. WOW! What a week. I want all of you to think about the craziest week of your life and multiply it by what ever number you feel would compare to what I have just went through! I appreciate you spending the time to read this long dispatch recapping this past week. I can’t begin to explain the physical, mental, and emotional roller coaster ride it's been. So sit back and enjoy this ride!
June 1st and 2nd
This is the day we plan on moving up Mt. Everest, from ABC for the last time, for what we think will be a June 4th summit attempt. We plan on moving up the mountain with one of the other two teams left on the mountain. They are the DCXP team from Australia and led by Duncan Chessell. We have gotten to know them well over the last few months and I was really excited to climb and move together as one big team. Duncan had already made the summit on May 23rd with half of his team so this time he would remain at the North Col on summit day and monitor the logistics for both teams by telescope and my expedition leader, Jamie McGuinness would go to the summit and handle all logistics up high.
We had been watching the weather every day for the past week and we decided to make June 4th our summit attempt. The weather conditions to this point were just bizarre. There were two tropical storms, one from the east and one from the west, that were holding the jet stream over top of Mt. Everest. Every day there were mile long plumes of snow blowing off the summit and along the summit ridge. It was frustrating to watch knowing we would turn into birds or kites up there! Finally, we decide to go during a possible two day break in the weather. We could see another break in the weather beginning June 11th but there was no way we could stay that late.
We left ABC around 9:00 am, carrying heavy summit loads, and began heading up to the North Col at 23,000 ft. for the last time. Everyone from both teams moves up quickly and establishes camp before the afternoon weather hits us hard. Gavin and I establish our tent and Kirsti and Jamie take the other. As we are settling in and brewing up hot water and Ramon noodles, we get a radio call from Duncan about the weather. He reports that the weather will be taking a turn for the better over the next few days but it will mean moving our summit date to June 5th now. Which means, we will now spend two days at the North Col and not one! Of all the camps on the mountain this one had been my least favorite because I just could not sleep there for some reason. So Gavin and I made it our best to pass the time for the next two days.
June 3
This is the day I was looking forward to the least. Gavin and I woke up at 6:00 am and began brewing and getting ready for the days move up to Camp Two at 25,000 ft. The last trip up the snow ridge was the day of really high winds. The day was long and hard without oxygen. Today, the winds were around 10-15 knots and it was sunny. I decided to go in my lighter clothing instead of my down suit and Gavin and I decided to only take one sleeping bag between the two of us to conserve weight. However, it was my sleeping bag we decided to take since it was lighter and only rated at 0 degrees, so I got stuck carrying it! Needless to say, I was carrying a pig (40 lbs.) to Camp Two. The hike up ended up being better then normal and all four of us arrived in good time and feeling strong.
The entire trip we had been one or two to a tent. Tonight however, the four of us were in one tent and the three altitude sherpas who came up with us would be in the other. Four is cozy and warm but also a huge pain in the butt with all of our gear just sprawled out everywhere. Kirsti and Jamie brought up there big cozy sleeping bags and Gavin and I were left with my "cold" one. Therefore, we decided to sleep Jamie and Gavin out on the ends with the two warm bags (since they are the biggest of the four of us) and Kirsti and I in the middle with all the sleeping bags opened up and laid across us like blankets. We also slept on oxygen at a low flow rate using just one bottle between the four of us. Since we felt like sardines in a can, were sleeping on oxygen, and were using good sleeping bags we really slept well and warm despite the minus 20 degree temperatures and OK winds.
June 4th
We woke up around 6:00 am and were out the tent doors by 8:30 am to move up to Camp Three at 27,200 ft. This was a day I was really looking forward to for many reasons. It would be my all time high in elevation, it was the first time I would ever use oxygen during climbing, and it would be the final day before our summit attempt. I started out breathing my oxygen at 2.5 L of flow per minute. Oxygen not only helps you perform better at altitude but it helps keep you warm in the cold temperatures. The weather was beautiful, clear skies, light winds, and the temperature was around zero. We knew the climb would be around 4-5 hours and I was really excited! Gavin and I stayed together the whole day and pretty much both teams were traveling in a long line together. As we pulled into camp three we were greeted with the harsh reality of what can go wrong at altitude. Sadly to say, two weeks earlier as a Czech climber reached Camp Three and was preparing for the evening, he fell over from a stroke or cerebral edema and died right next to his tent. Unfortunately, there are regulations about moving a dead body without proper procedures, so this man was lying right next to the fixed lines we came up. It was the first time in my life where I had to see this unfortunate tragedy.
After arriving, Gavin and I had a small tent to share and so did Jamie and Kirsti. Before settling in, I got two new oxygen bottles each for the two of us to use for our summit attempt. We would sleep that night on the oxygen we had left over from our trip up from Camp Two. We would also have one extra bottle of oxygen for our summit attempt that would be carried by our sherpa. After settling in around 3:00 pm we knew it was all business since our summit attempt was going to begin in less than 8 hours. Gavin and I brewed liter of water after liter of water to make sure we were well hydrated and prepared with our water bottles for summit day. We also filled our bellies with Ramon noodles, tuna and crackers, Pringles, and several types of energy bars. Summit dinner of champions!
As night settled in, it just got colder and colder and now we only had my lightweight sleeping bag and that was it! We knew it would only be a few hours of suffering and we would be able to "snuggle up" to stay warm. We were finally done brewing up water at some time after 8:00 pm so it was a few hours of very interesting rest/sleep. Gavin and I had ourselves about 80% ready when it was time to walk out the tent door sometime after midnight. Needless to say, we did not sleep that night! June 5 The plan was to have the DCXP team leave around 11:30-midnight, Kirsti and her sherpa, Mindu, leave around 12:00-15 am, Gavin and I leave around 12:30-1:00 am with our sherpas Nima and Pesong, and Jamie take up the back end. Everything worked out well with the departures and this was done to help with the spacing of all the people along the summit ridge. In all, there were 5 climbers for DCXP plus their 4 sherpas, and our 4 climbers and 3 sherpas for a total of 16 people. This is so much safer and better than 50-70 climbers going to the summit all on the same day, like many days on Mt. Everest.
After leaving the tent and seeing all the headlamps up above me, I got really excited at the opportunity being presented to me to climb to the top of the world! I strapped my crampons to my boots, hooked up the first oxygen bottle, turned the regulator to 3 L of flow per minute, walked over and clipped in to the fixed line, waited for Nima to clip in ahead of me, Gavin, Pesong, and Jamie to clip in behind, and we were off. Leaving in the dark, cold, starry night was absolutely stunning! Temperatures around minus 36 when we left and I was as warm as toast!
The initial part of the climb is incredibly steep. We start out going straight up for about two hours through and area called the exit cracks which top out at the summit ridge, just above 28,000 ft. As we pulled out, I felt extremely strong and all I could do was stay focused on the trail ahead of me and the headlights above me. I made it to the top of the exit cracks in a fast time losing site of the headlamps behind me and gaining on the ones in front. Someone from DCXP was moving out really fast and I watched his headlight to see what was beyond. After reaching the summit ridge I could now see down the other side, the Kangchung Face of Mt. Everest. It is a stunning wall of 12,000 vertical ft. of rock and ice. At this point on the summit ridge, it is quite a way to the summit, filled with many deadly obstacles! But it was time to bring my "A" game and get moving so I wouldn't freeze!
Fairly soon I caught up to Kirsti just before the area called the First Step. She told me she was cold (even though she is always cold!) and that Mindu wanted her to turn around because of the wind. I told her not to turn around yet because the winds were fine. I moved on with Nima and cleared the First Step and just kept on going. Half way between the first step and the second step is an area called the Mushroom Rock. It's just a big rock that looks like a mushroom but is significant for many reasons. It's a great time marker, it is wide enough to sit a few people, and it is also were I changed out my first oxygen bottle only after using half a tank. I would pick this bottle up on the way down and use it in an emergency. This allowed me to use a new bottle and lose the weight of the other, approximately 8 pounds.
This area of the ridge was extremely steep with an 11,000 ft. drop off to my right and we were walking on ledges only 4-6 inches wide at times. It was still dark from Mushroom Rock to the next and possibly the most dangerous and most difficult obstacle on the ridge. It is called the Second Step and this is where the big "traffic jams" happen. Climbers sometimes wait hours to go up or down this 100 ft. rock obstacle. Therefore, they either turn back, get bad frost bite, or just lose precious oxygen waiting. However, on this day I was the only one at the step. It was all mine! So I took my time and really concentrated on what needed to be done and done safely. At the base of the step and far down the 12,000 ft. slope to the right was once again the reminder of dead climbers just frozen in time.
(Kevin at the Top of Second Step Looking Down - Jamie McGuinness)
Once I completed the Second Step the sun began to come up in a blaze of glory. The sky began to glow and set the horizon on fire! I could see the curvature of the earth as the sun's rays glared off my goggles. I also looked back and saw the headlights of my teammates all spread out over the ridge and I didn't know who was who. I kept moving on, feeling strong, and knowing the next obstacles were the Third Step, the summit snow field, and the steep ledges just below the summit. As I approached the Third Step, I could watch the majority of DCXP going up the summit snow field and begin their traverse towards the ledges. At this point, I began to realize I have an incredible opportunity to reach the summit myself but I was still and hour or so away. At the base of the Third Step I really needed a drink so I dropped my pack for the first time to get my water bottle. As I was drinking, Mark from the DCXP team came over the Third Step with his sherpa and he joined me for a gulp. It is so hard to drink water at 28,500 ft. when you take off your oxygen and try to breath and drink at the same time! I congratulated Mark on his summit and down he went and up I headed.
Just on the top of the Third Step were the frozen bodies of several climbers. Once again climbers are reminded that even though the summit is in the grasp and the taste of it is eating at you, you can't mess up! The summit snow field is several hundred feet of very steep and dangerous terrain. Half way up I turned around once again to see who was still coming up. I only counted 3 people so I had no idea who turned around with their sherpa. I also watched the snow plumes building off the summit as I went up and the clouds above my head had been moving down for quite some time. This could only mean high winds were moving in. After reaching the top of the summit snow field, I began traversing the steep ledges, the DCXP team was coming down from the summit. Since we were on 6 inch wide ledges, the congratulations were short and sweat! I proceeded on around the ledges and up to the summit plateau.
From here it was only a 30 minute walk to the summit. When Nima and I finally reached the summit at 7:30 am I was filled with many emotions. I gave Nima a huge hug and I felt the tears begin to come and my bottom lip tremble with emotions. All I could think about was Jenny, Adam, and Lindsey. I had to compose myself because frozen corneas are not a good thing at 29,035 ft.! At this point my thermometer on my pack was reading minus 36 and the winds were strong. I wanted to have a summit day in which I could sit and relax, take a million pictures, video tape, and have a nice cup of coffee from my thermos. However, Nima took three pictures of me and together we took about 3 minutes of video. I have to say that Nima is an incredible climber but he is the worst photographer on the planet! Of the three summit photos, one has me chopped in half vertically, one has my head completely cut off, and the only usable one has his finger in the corner! I had him take some video I really wanted but he zoomed in so close on me that you could see the stitching in my down suit, or read 2-3 letters on my chest at a time, and practically look down my throat through my oxygen mask. Too funny! 
(Summit of Mt. Everest, June 5, 2007, 7:30 am - Nima Chiring)
(Sitting Next to Mushroom Rock - Jamie McGuinness)
After our brief cinematography session and only 10 minutes on the summit we headed down. As with any mountain, the summit is only half way but this is Mt. Everest. I looked down the summit plateau and saw the other members of my team coming up but I was not going to wait. The weather was cold and changing and I knew I still had a long day ahead of me. As I greeted Kirsti, Mindu, and Jamie, we exchanged congratulations. I was so glad to see Kirsti push through and make the summit. However, it was a bitter sweet moment. This is when I found out that Gavin had turned back earlier in the morning. It was Gavin who invited me to come along, we had been together every step of the way for 45 days, and we shared a thousand dreams about being on the summit together. At this moment I had the same emotions go to my eyes and lip as I did when I stepped on the summit. I was truly crushed for Gavin and could only hope he was OK.
I would spend the next 11 hours going from the summit of Mt. Everest all the way down to 25,000 ft. to Camp Two. On summit day I got up at midnight and finally arrived back to the "safety" of my tent at 6:45 pm in high winds and cold temperatures. Needless to say, I was absolutely exhausted! Gavin descended all the way down to ABC during the day so it was Kirsti, Jamie, and I in the tent. All we did was hydrate and share stories before we passed out around 8:00 pm.
June 6
The three of us had a so-so night of sleep due to the 40-50 m.p.h. winds and freezing temperatures. We woke up at 6:00 am and were out the tent door at 8:30 am. Our goal was to get down to ABC by the afternoon. The winds were really strong when we started but where tamed by the time we headed down the snow sloped towards the North Col. We had so many wonderful conversations and sharing of summit stories as we descended. After reaching the North Col the weather really changed. It got fairly warm, the clouds moved in, and snow started falling. It felt like we were in a winter wonderland!
After descending the last section of the mountain and unclipping of the fixed line for the last time, I walked out the middle of the snow field, knelt down on one knee, put my head on my ice axe, and said a prayer thanking the mountain for it's safety and success. I got up, looked back at the mountain one last time with a tear in my eye. I finally arrived back at ABC around 2:00 pm and Gavin and I were reunited. He shared with me his summit night and what took place. Gavin is one of the strongest people I have ever climbed with but his summit day was not there physically for him. It happens to best of us at times and it was unfortunate for him on that particular day. It was early to bed that night since we had the long, 14 mile walk out the next morning in order to catch the Jeeps out at noon.
June 7
We woke up at 4:30 am to get on the trail by 6:00 am. Kirsti, Gavin, Jamie, and I made the walk out in 6 hours and when we were greeted by the Jeeps, it was absolute heaven. It was the first time in 46 days that our butts didn't have to sit on a hard plastic lawn chair, a cloth sling back chair, or a chair with only 1 inch of foam. It was heaven to say the least! June 8 Arrived in Kathmandu and finally slept in a "real" bed after 47 days!
Cheers!
