Hello All,
I apologize for not updating more often or more frequently. This has been caused by two main issues. The first being that I have been technology impaired for most of the trip. The new Satellite Phone/Wi-Fi system I purchased to insure connectivity to the world has been a a big fail. The new Sat Phone was defective from purchase and therefore I have not been able to use it all on the trip. Hopefully the new sat phone will reach me before the trip ends. Second, being the leader of the trip I have been really busy. We have had an amazing trip so far. I will try and update you from Dingoboche which was the last post that actually got published.
The team has consisted of Six distinct groups.
1) Piotr, Bart (Poland) Martin, Farji (Indonesia), Tor (Sweden), are all going for Everest with Oxygen. We recently spent 5 nights (6 days) acclimatizing. We moved from BC to C1, C1 to C2, then did a day trip to the base of the Lhotse face as they were fixing line to C3. We took a rest day at C2 then went and spent a night at C3. It was a tough night as we were 3 to a tent, but the team did well and the next morning moved to C2. A few of us went down to BC to take advantage of a hot shower and some good food. The team then moved down to Pangboche to rest and recover. That is where I am writing this update.
2) Hari (USA) is going to attempt to climb Lhotse without O2 and he did the same schedule as the group above with the goal of spending an additional night at C3 after we departed C2. He made the decision to turn around due to the winds on the Lhotse face and descended back to C2. He then made a marathon effort to descend from C2 and catch up with us in Pangoboche.
3) Eric and Brad (USA) are both going to attempt Everest without O2 and they came up to C2 two days later then the rest of the team. They did make it to C3 to spend a night during the the high winds and descended yesterday to C2. They should be arriving in BC as I type this today.
4) We also have a research team with us from USA and Sweden. Markus (Sweden), Andrew(USA) left after having climbed Lobuche East (6100m) and spending a few days in BC. They are now safely ensconced in the USA. The remaining members of the research team, Susannah, Jacob, and Hari (USA) have been gathering data up and down BC from various teams. They are a part of a project called Triple E.d. Everyday decision making in Extreme Environments. Jacob and Susannah are acting as Base Camp Managers and doing a great job in that role, while Hari is attempting to summit Lhotse.
5) Jerry Sisk(USA), summited Lobuche East and was going to try and go through the ice fall with us, but decided it was not something he wanted to do. He wanted to be able to spend time with his son when he arrived at Lobuche a few days later.
6) Michael, Brad, and Bryna (USA) arrived in Everest BC approximately April 21st and spent a few days before descending back to Lobuche BC and then summiting on April 25. They then joined Jerry and flew back out to KTM.
As I mentioned earlier, it has been a busy trip and full of different schedules and agendas.
The team is doing really well and our acclimitization is nearing completion. We are targeting a summit window sometime between May 17- May 23 if everything goes well with weather and health. The lines have been fixed above the yellow band at this point and we are waiting for the winds to die down to get to the fixed lines to the summit. Once that occurs I will have a better idea of how we will manage the various summit attempts to ensure maximum safety for all members and sherpas.
We are not entering the hardest part of the expedition, the waiting period.
Thank you all for your support.
Climb Hard, Climb High, Come Home,
Chris Klinke
Pangboche, Nepal
I apologize for not updating more often or more frequently. This has been caused by two main issues. The first being that I have been technology impaired for most of the trip. The new Satellite Phone/Wi-Fi system I purchased to insure connectivity to the world has been a a big fail. The new Sat Phone was defective from purchase and therefore I have not been able to use it all on the trip. Hopefully the new sat phone will reach me before the trip ends. Second, being the leader of the trip I have been really busy. We have had an amazing trip so far. I will try and update you from Dingoboche which was the last post that actually got published.
The team has consisted of Six distinct groups.
1) Piotr, Bart (Poland) Martin, Farji (Indonesia), Tor (Sweden), are all going for Everest with Oxygen. We recently spent 5 nights (6 days) acclimatizing. We moved from BC to C1, C1 to C2, then did a day trip to the base of the Lhotse face as they were fixing line to C3. We took a rest day at C2 then went and spent a night at C3. It was a tough night as we were 3 to a tent, but the team did well and the next morning moved to C2. A few of us went down to BC to take advantage of a hot shower and some good food. The team then moved down to Pangboche to rest and recover. That is where I am writing this update.
2) Hari (USA) is going to attempt to climb Lhotse without O2 and he did the same schedule as the group above with the goal of spending an additional night at C3 after we departed C2. He made the decision to turn around due to the winds on the Lhotse face and descended back to C2. He then made a marathon effort to descend from C2 and catch up with us in Pangoboche.
3) Eric and Brad (USA) are both going to attempt Everest without O2 and they came up to C2 two days later then the rest of the team. They did make it to C3 to spend a night during the the high winds and descended yesterday to C2. They should be arriving in BC as I type this today.
4) We also have a research team with us from USA and Sweden. Markus (Sweden), Andrew(USA) left after having climbed Lobuche East (6100m) and spending a few days in BC. They are now safely ensconced in the USA. The remaining members of the research team, Susannah, Jacob, and Hari (USA) have been gathering data up and down BC from various teams. They are a part of a project called Triple E.d. Everyday decision making in Extreme Environments. Jacob and Susannah are acting as Base Camp Managers and doing a great job in that role, while Hari is attempting to summit Lhotse.
5) Jerry Sisk(USA), summited Lobuche East and was going to try and go through the ice fall with us, but decided it was not something he wanted to do. He wanted to be able to spend time with his son when he arrived at Lobuche a few days later.
6) Michael, Brad, and Bryna (USA) arrived in Everest BC approximately April 21st and spent a few days before descending back to Lobuche BC and then summiting on April 25. They then joined Jerry and flew back out to KTM.
As I mentioned earlier, it has been a busy trip and full of different schedules and agendas.
The team is doing really well and our acclimitization is nearing completion. We are targeting a summit window sometime between May 17- May 23 if everything goes well with weather and health. The lines have been fixed above the yellow band at this point and we are waiting for the winds to die down to get to the fixed lines to the summit. Once that occurs I will have a better idea of how we will manage the various summit attempts to ensure maximum safety for all members and sherpas.
We are not entering the hardest part of the expedition, the waiting period.
Thank you all for your support.
Climb Hard, Climb High, Come Home,
Chris Klinke
Pangboche, Nepal
