Climbing Mt. Everest

Kathmandu monkey temple
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Mt. Everest

March 30 - May 24 1994

I joined an International Mountain Climbing (IMC) expedition out of Germany for the climb up the Messner Couloir on the North side of Mt. Everest.

3-30-94 Wen. - Chicago OHare - Day 1

The post office
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9:24pm What a day so far! Two messages when we came home from coffee.Oh great, now some alarm is going off and damn if it isnt really, really loud. Of course, no one even moved a muscle including us. The whole place could be on fire and nobody cares. If that isnt American society I dont know what is. OK back to the messages. Some lady from Korean Airlines named Ms. Chung, who Ill of course refer to as "Connie" said there was more changes in the airline schedule. I gave her a call and she faxed the changes. The free overnights didnt come through in Seoul or Bangkok or as Connie says "Banco". She said it would be better to overnight in "Banco" on the way home instead of Seoul. This meant another flight change but what the heck. Weve now changed a dozen times in two days whats one more. She actually was a really nice person and went over everything thoroughly. The new schedule is fine and called to tell Connie it was a keeper. We continued to pack our boxes for the trip. We are using the same setup at we did for the Aconcagua trip of three X-ray boxes taped and tied together. My set is 2/3 full so theres more room for more stuff later and they arent too heavy. We answered more phone calls and finished stuffing the duffels full. Earlier we got our gamma globulin shots and drew each others blood for hemoglobin and hematocrit and also EPO levels. I dont think mine will be too great since I didnt use the altitude chamber hardly at all because of my head cold. I got to hate that thing anyway. I get way too claustrophobic.

Local street in Kathmandu
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Soon we had everything loaded in the car. We had a feeling we were leaving something and Stan had forgotten his headlamp. We located it quickly and were on the way. After we drove for about an hour I discovered I had forgotten my "pee funnel". Its actually called a "Fresh-ette". This was major to me. We stopped in Bloomington and tried at the airport FBO to get one. No luck. Then I called all around the town with no luck. Next I called the Chicago climbing stores that I knew of. I called North Face to get a correct number for another store. I got a girl named Julie who said, "is this D.D. from Skydive Chicago?" I then had to explain about the student jump programs the offer and she wanted me to be her skydiving instructor. Oh nice but I need my pee funnel. OK on the road again and still bummed. We got to OHare an hour earlier than expected. We hauled everything in and lined up for check-in. No trouble with that and the security stuff. We found out the flight we were on lands in Anchorage to re-fuel. Stan thought to try the Anchorage REI store. He checked to see how long of a stop it was and found out it was an hour and ten minutes. I called the local Chicago REI and got the phone number. One quick call and I found out that they had it in stock. The first guy I talked to didnt think they would deliver to the airport. He put on a lady and she said they could work something out. I mentioned the 7 summits deal and she said a local women had just completed it. Before she said who, I said "its Dolly Lafever" and told her we climbed in Antarctica together. Im really glad Dolly got a chance to get to Australia. The lady was so glad that more women are climbing and was glad to help me out. They are going to leave it at the KAL desk for us. Wow, Im a happy camper now. I cant believe I forgot it. I must have left it in the altitude chamber and never taken it out. Time to celebrate. We headed out for the bar and drank a couple beers. Once back in the waiting area the guy from KAL came over and wanted to know who is delivering the package and what is in it. I told him it would be from REI and after I told him what it was he thought it would be no problem. He got a little red in the face and walked away.

On the way to Tibet
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3-31-94 Thur. - Lost Day

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4-1-94 Fri - Seoul Korea - Bangkok Thailand - Day 2

Our lunch stop along the way
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6:30am Long flight! It took around six hours to get to Anchorage last night and we landed at 2:10am. Yippee when we walked off the airline a KAL employee handed me a paper bag with the pee funnel in it. You have to be a women mountaineer to appreciate these things. We were scheduled to be here for around an hour. Some of the shops were open even at this late hour but most everyone just found a chair and took a nap.

Stan and I were really tired and both of us were asleep before we took off. The movie was "Line of Fire" but we had already seen it on the QE2. We woke up and ate some sandwiches then fell fast asleep and actually slept good considering the seats were the worst in the world. All the padding was gone and they were really hard. Woke up and watched another movie. Some Bruce Willis thing. Hot towels for the third time followed by juice. Picked up a cool Korean Air toothbrush in the restroom. There were razors and other stuff also. Breakfast was really pretty good. Surprise of the morning; the coffee WASNT mud!! That has never happened on any of our other international flights. The flight attendants all look like clones. Same hair, same makeup, same yucky outfits. The flight was around nine hours and soon we were landing. Stan saw the sun come up brightly then set again. The airport is very large but not much going on yet. We wandered up to a nice transit area were they are serving coffee, rolls and juice for the KAL passengers.

A local with a puppy
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Strange language. I cant figure out any word or letter. Luckily most all the signs are in Korean and English probably due to the 1988 Olympics. The TV is on with Good Morning America running. The date on the TV is March 31st but its April 1st here. There are some conflicts between North and South Korea going on right now and the news program is now highlighting that.

7:55am Observations around the area.

A lady just spied the trash can smoking and took it upon herself to "search and destroy". The operation was successful after she quickly whipped out a smoldering coffee cup and smashed it deftly with her boot covered foot. We were proud of her.

Carlos with DD
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Its breakfast time and the lady near us is sucking down "sopa". It looks like noodles with radishes and fish parts floating around. Looks like lunch to me and I wonder whether its hot or cold.

The room near the toilets is translated as the "scrubbing things room"

The KAL people are taking down the complementary stuff now. We only have to wait another 4 to 5 hours until we catch the next plane to Bangkok.

9:40pm Bangkok Thailand. Our flight took off right on time. Better seat cushions but we were only two rows from the smoking section. Oh boy, "Line of Fire" was on again. The flight lasted six hours and was boring. Stan slept and I read. WE got to the airport and the pilot announced that it was 95 degrees out. Very hot and humid. Passport control was slow but no problems. Same with customs. The guy ask asked us about our boxes but let us through. We go some local currency which is called the Bhat then looked for the luggage storage. We decided to check out the airport hotels before we checked in the luggage. There are guys all over carrying folders of local hotels. One of the guys showed us one of the Rama Gardens and quoted $140 with transportation and breakfast. It was only ten minutes from the airport and is very nice. Its much nicer then the usual hotel we stay at but it will probably be quite awhile before we stay in luxury again. At the hotel we relaxed while the hotel staff brought up the boxes. Time for a hot bath and new clothes. Had a drink and then went for dinner then right to bed afterwards.

Acclimatization hike
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4-2-94 Sat. - Bangkok - Kathmandu Nepal - Day 3

10:15am We both slept great and the breakfast buffet was huge. Of course the coffee has turned international and hence undrinkable but thats expected. The city is really busy and Ive already seen two McDonalds in the short drive to the airport. It seems like therere thousands of motorcycles, truck and cars. The motorcycles look particularly death defying. They dart in and out between the large buses and trucks. Looks like everyone must wear a helmet though. We unloaded and hauled the boxes into the security area. First they X-ray and then they tied a heavy nylon band around each item. It will really help the boxes hold together better. The next line was the airline check-in and it was moving very slowly. When we got up to the front we paid the 200 Baht tax to get out of the country. Confusions about our luggage now. First we had too many pieces. Then we were over weight. We ended up paying a 20kg over fee of $96.00. You have to go to the excess baggage window and pay there then bring the receipt back to get the tickets and boarding passes.

The town toilet!
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Later. Were now on the plane and its another very full flight. It looks like there are a lot of trekers on the plane and even a few Buddhist monks. One of them just pulled out a video camera and hes video taping the other monk guy putting his stuff in the over head compartment. My entire image of monks with rice bowls is blown!

3:30pm Kathmandu Nepal. We made it and what a wild ass ride into this place. We first went over one set of mountains turned right then flew over some houses. Just past the houses we made a hard left and continued straight. Then the pilot low hooks left for the airport. We were on the right side and all I could see out the left was roofs and windows of the houses. What a landing! Went through passport control with no problems. Our bags were right there and we got through customs in good time.. After we walked outside, Mingma Sherpa was there waiting for us. We got in the bus and started for town. We drove through some crazy roads. Cows everywhere with dogs and people all over the street. Garbage is the food of choice for the cows it seems. We soon turned into the Gara Shankar hotel. There is a sign welcoming our expeditions. The Cho Oyu trip is leaving the same time. A Mexican climber, Carlos is leading that climb. Our expedition leader Peter met us. Peter said he saw our pictures in the newsletter Rob Halls company sends out and ask us about our trip. Stan and I got our room and dumped our stuff. We changed and grabbed the guidebook to walk around. We found the streets we were looking for and saw the hotel where our friend Robert was staying. They left yesterday for the South side of Everest. We then walked to the hotel where Rob Hall was staying. They left last week and will be back late May. We decided to buy some postcards and look at some of the shops. You can probably find everything you need here to get by on most of the treks. Checked out the ice screw prices where we found the Russian screws going for $5. Walked all over and Kathmandu is a typical third world big city. Loud and dirty. The only thing here is you dont feel youre going to get robbed all the time. Im sure its possible but the people are quite friendly. Made it back to the hotel and had a 35 cent Coke at the bar. The room has one bed and its hard as a rock. I think its just plywood with sheets. Peter said there will be a meeting at dinner and that we will stay in Kathmandu until the 5th or 6th.

Evil child
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11pm. Took a nap then cleaned up for dinner. Met a couple of the climbers and ate a good meal. Later another climbing group came in. One of the members was Vaughn Whitby, Roberts brother. We told him we tried to see Robert at the hotel but just missed him. He will be on the North side also. Tomorrow is on our own and we will explore around the city. Meeting tomorrow at 7:30pm.

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4/3/94 Sun. - Kathmandu - Day 4

10:30am Just got back from the "Monkey Temple" which is really the Buddhist temple of Swayambhunath. It took us about 30 to 40 minutes to get there and was a very interesting walk through parts of the city. We took some streets that were all cut up due to construction. Lots of different animals being butchered. I think some goats and water buffalo. What a mess! Lots of people in the upper stories of buildings looking out the windows. I dont think the sanitation is too good. It really smells everywhere. The garbage trucks were out picking up trash. As we walked toward the river I noticed all the birds. At the river I saw why; its just a huge garbage dump. Huge pigs are running around loose. On the North side of the bridge there are the concrete funeral ghats where they burn the bodies of the dead people. At the base of the temple hill there are a lot of prayer wheels and a huge staircase. The monkeys are running around along with many goats and mangy dogs. Lots of beggars as expected. There are huge Buddhas at the base and more about half way up to the temple. The monkeys were playing on the railing by sliding down the rails. The stairway was built in the 17th century and the work on the stupa itself was started in 460 CE.

Yaks!
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Really an awesome sight climbing the steep stairs. The gold topped stupa with the staring eyes looking down on the city. There is a prayer wheel around the stupa along with prayer flags strung from the top. There are other Buddha shrines surrounding the area. There were lots of other shrines on the hill and much activity. Blasting music coming out of all the doors and these damn Japanese tourist ringing a bell for some reason. I just noticed in my guide book that there is a goddess of smallpox. Yuck! I can understand fertility but smallpox. Stan started feeling bad so we left quickly. We did find a lucky coin while we were climbing down the stairs. We took a taxi back to the hotel. Exciting weaving in and out of all the people. Ive noticed its normal to let small children run around with no pants on here. They just let it fly when they have to go to the bathroom. Another frequent but gross sight of Nepal.

Small boy with big yak
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1:30pm Finished a buffet lunch at the hotel. Most of the team showed up and the Germans dont speak English. One of the female climbers is the team doctor. Lots of story telling and I figure the climbing community is very similar to the skydiving clan. You quickly catch up on the in-crowd and whos doing what in the sport. After lunch we found the post office which was only a couple blocks down the street. We bought some stamps and mailed the post cards wed written last night. The mail deposit was through a mesh fencing and dropped into a burlap bag nailed up. At least I thought that was it. If nobody gets these things well know I just dropped them in the trash. We continued walking past the royal palace where we saw a wonderful fish pond. This is really an amazing place where there is lots to see and experience. We walked back for a nap before dinner. Damn started my period. Well better here then on the road I guess. Team meeting tonight with all the groups together.

DD at Xigar
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4-4-94 Mon. - Kathmandu - Day 5

7pm No nap today. Walked this morning after breakfast into the Durban Square area. Along the way we saw the hospital. The windows were broken but it seemed to be quite occupied and busy. We wandered through a market which surrounded a temple in the square. The Durban area was interesting. The bad part was getting surrounded by sellers and "guides." The buildings are very old and build around the 12th century. Erotic art is prevalent on some of the buildings. Really strange stuff but interesting. Saw some of the team members along the way back to the hotel. Checked out some of the climbing stores also. We should look for a set of ice tools for next year. Good buys on the used equipment here. After lunch we headed out again to sight see. This time we went in the opposite direction towards the Bodahmath stupa. Its the largest in Nepal and one of the largest in the world. According to the guide book it was around a 7 to 8 kilometer walk to get to it. On the way we got lost once and had to backtrack but we finally made it. Getting lost was part of the fun and we found ourselves walking narrow paths in the rice fields with a lot of the native people staring at us. The stupa was tucked in the buildings and it quite spectacular. It was built around 600 CE. We walked around and spun the prayer wheels for good luck. We decided that we would take a cab back. For 100rs we got a cab to our hotel. The driver turned out to be a mad man trying to run down everyone in the roadway. Death defying and exciting all for one low cab fare. We got back in near record time. The order of the night was to eat and then pack up for tomorrow.

Everest base camp
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4-5-94 Tue. - Kathmandu - Kodari - Day 6

9:40am Were on the way! The bus is loaded up to the gills. Lots of yellow and black IMC trekking bags. I finished packing after breakfast. I think I have the right combination of clothes to take for the road. Some people arent taking too much. As we piled stuff outside Dagmar, the doctor took the "before" expedition photos. We were each presented a white silk scarf for good luck. There are a total of 21 of us all packed in the bus. The countryside soon takes place of the city scene. Lots of farms everywhere and as usual, half built buildings. Ive seen only three gas stations the entire time weve been in Kathmandu. They must keep them well hidden. They must make these buses for miniature people. Im fairly short and they are uncomfortable. The tall guys are now pretzels. On the door of the bus between the drivers cabin and passengers it says, "We Welcome Your Saggetion". Hello up there, I have one small one. Oh never mind.

First look at Everest
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1:50pm Stopped for lunch at a small village by a river. Plenty of Nepalese food including dalbaht, spicy something, vegetables of some sort and a Coke. Well see who gets sick first. The bathroom was the most unique Ive seen. It was under the porch out back. The concrete floor had a hole in the corner that dropped into the river. There were animals out there also and this stupid rooster kept crowing at me. Well, at least it didnt smell! We all piled back in the bus and headed out into the beautiful countryside. We followed the river for a long time. Some of the things I saw:

Yak herder negotiations
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White-water rafters.

Little carts on a cable that you pull your self over the river on.

Many small foot bridges.

The river banks are built up to fight erosion. The stones have a mesh wire around them to hold them together.

Everst from base camp
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The fisherman we saw were fishing using hand spears while they waded.

I found why the people write things on buildings such as; "Vote for Cow" or "Vote for Sun". The people running for the position, use a symbol so the illiterate people know who to vote for. Sounds like a good idea to me.

5:30pm Were sitting in front of the guest house in Kodari, Nepal. Stan and I just finished the "circuit" where we walked up to the solar power station on the top of the hill above the road which IS Kodari. Very primitive here but friendly. I dont think my nose will get used to the smell of human waste but I guess Ill have to. The solar panels create enough electricity for the city to have lights from 6pm to 10pm. The guest house sits right on the road. There is room here for 14 people and are 3 in our room. Its really just a barn I think. The walls are cardboard and we dont have glass in the windows. The bathroom is a little latrine like thing thats totally gross. Of course it empties down the back and into the river below. Everybody here spits all the time. The little kids are really cute though. Their toys are so primitive, mainly hoops and sticks. Lots of furry puppies all around with chickens pecking at them. One of the kids is leaning over my shoulder watching me scribble. Hes really adorable. The two year old has a Batman cap on and a red fuzzy coat. Most all are wearing flip flops or sandals.

Getting the yaks ready for a load
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When we got here we walked to the Friendship bridge which crosses the river into Tibet. The border closes at 4pm and the guards were not there. Im not sure when we leave tomorrow but Im already tired of that bus. At least the road was intact because we had heard it was closed. Meal tonight was dalbaht, spicy something, vegetables of some sort and a Coke. Yep, same as lunch and I have a feeling I better get used to it.

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4-6-94 Wen. - Kodari, Nepal - Xangmu Tibet - Nyalam Tibet - Day 7

Feeding the yaks "power bisquits"
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This morning Stan asked, "Did they start the stove or is the building on fire?" Quite the possibility in this place which is just a large tinderbox. We got out of the sleeping bags and made a trip down the ladder stairs to check it out. There was a chicken nesting right above the stairs staring at us as we made our way down. The smell was from a small fire the women had made. In the dark little room she was teaching her children out of schoolbooks. Most all of the children outside of Kathmandu are taught at home like this.

Camp B & B
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9:00am Were all sitting here waiting to cross the border into Tibet. Right now the Sherpas are loading the trucks with the equipment. Damn, some old guy just walked up to me and got in my face and yelled "Hasa". Im not really sure what the heck he said and now theyre all staring at us. This is getting on my nerves.

12:00 Still waiting at the border but this time were in Tibet. We took off in a truck where we drove about half way up. The truck made a load noise and stopped. A spring broke on the rear axle of the truck. We walked about 45 minutes into the town. Kind of cool really. We were last leaving the truck and went up a steep cut off from the road. We walked the road a bit then the two natives in front told us to follow them. We made a great cut off again and beat everyone up to the village. We got everything stamped OK and all the paperwork filled out with no problems. Now they are loading the Chinese trucks up. Of course there is the usual confusion and yelling as expected. The mountains are soaring about the town. Its very nice out now and the sun is getting hot. I drank a ton of water and need a place to pee. Cant really stop in the local 7-11 store and ask for the bathroom key. Thank God for my pee funnel since I could pretend I was a guy and lean against a building like all the rest of the people around here. Well, there is much screaming and yelling so we must be going to do something now. These Chinese guys cant drive worth a shit. Its time for us to eat some lunch so were going to follow one of the Sherpas.

On the way to ABC
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After a great lunch we loaded into Toyota Landcruisers or better known as "Jeeps" here in Tibet. Nobody know which to get into because there are a lot of these running around here. We did hop in one and the driver starts yelling "Cho Oyu" at us. Sorry buddy, but were staying in the truck. Both groups are going to the same place next anyway so there is no difference really. We took off with the leader of the Cho Oyu expedition and two porter guys. The road was spectacular. The shear drops were at least a thousand feet in some spots. The road wasnt too bad except for one section where it had washed down mud and rocks. That section was closed this morning and just opened back up. It took about an hour to get to Nyalam. We had to stop to change a tire along the way. Nyalam is a bunch of nothing really. The altitude is 12,440 feet here and is full of pigs and dogs running around. The guest house were staying at is one notch up from yesterday but thats not a lot. The Everest group is all in this place and the Cho Oyu is in the regular hotel. Stan and I have one room to ourselves. Being married does have its advantages. We walked around a little which doesnt take too long. The toilet is public and is at the end of the street. Kind of a dump chute made out of concrete that of course runs in the river. As we walked down the street this little kid was swinging a long stick at a plastic thing. As I walked past he whacked me behind the knees hard. Wicked move for a very strong three year old. We went down the street for tea and supper. I cant believe we didnt have dalbaht all day. We ate tons of great food here. We got some money exchanged at 8 jwon to the dollar. A large beer is 5 jwon. Such a deal! We then headed back to the guest house to hit the sack. Tomorrow is hiking in the surrounding mountains.

Yaks on ice
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4-7-94 Thur. - Nyalam - Day 8

Went for a hike today. After breakfast we got our lunch sacks. The snow was falling lightly so we didnt take off right away. Some are anxious to get hiking but I had a little headache. I peed two liters last night and am a little light headed. I tried to drink a lot and took a couple Tylenols. We left after the others and walked down the road to get across the river. We kept a moderate pace and were climbing at around 1,000 to 1,100 feet per hour. At the top of every hill were prayer flags. We kept going and climbed through a section that looked like the Canaletta on Aconcagua. We met the Sherpas at the top of one hill. They said the others were at the summit having lunch. This mountain is just like Mt. Harvard in Colorado, it keeps going and going. We stopped for lunch at around 12:30 at the 14,470 foot mark. I was getting tired. I think I peed three or four times on the way back and once down. Thats very good because it means Im acclimatizing good. Lunch was crackers, boiled bread, two hard-boiled eggs and a can of ham we brought. We met Michael on the way down and never did see the others. Michael started out later than us due to the fact he didnt feel well. It didnt take too long for Stan and I to climb back down. We took some photos of the animals in the public toilet.

Our Puja
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Time for a clean up. There is a large red thermos in our room. The wife of the guy who owns the hotel brings hot water to us in them early in the morning. We washed up using the water and a basin in the room. I decided it would be a great idea to wash my hair. Stupid me, I start pouring the thermos on my head which is scalding hot. Ouch, ouch, ouch. Stan dumped some of the water bottle into another and mixed the hot water to a normal temperature. Much better. Yea, clean hair!

The possessed child which Ill now call Damien tried to spear Stan with a mop. I know he did it on purpose. We were walking down the ladder-like stairs and he dropped it through from above. Most all of the other kids are quite friendly. Their cheeks have a rouge color to them. Its a burgundy tint that looks almost unnatural.

A look at the North Col from ABC
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There is nothing in this small town. When we looked at it from above its bigger than we thought but I really dont want to walk around. Stan went and got a couple cokes. Theyre a buck each, which is 8 jwon. The huge beers are only 4 or 5 depending on where you buy them. There is a small disco a couple doors down. Matt went last night and said it was pretty lame but then what do you expect. We have two more nights here before we got to Tingri or base camp but I cant remember.

I dont think anyone would believe the places weve stayed, especially the toilets. The one right by the guest house is totally medieval. You walk down a very narrow passage to a door with a slit in it. Inside is dark you can see the light coming through the floor. There is a narrow place to squat over and let er fly. Totally gross. My bandanna has come in very useful in places like this. I think I only will use this place in an emergency and walk down the block to the concrete place. The rooms are accessed up a ladder-like stairway. They havent been cleaned in years but have a strange ambiance about them. The curtains in here have palm trees on them and sail boats. The ceiling is fabric with balloons and clouds. Well at least there is hot water in the thermos. The last place just had newspapers stuck to cardboard with a grass-like matting for the ceiling. So far were healthy thats really important.

8:00pm Just had a dinner of potatoes, side dishes and noodle soup. Of course we all had plenty of beer.. They have Chinese bottled water here called "Parle Bailley" that we call Hello Dolly water. There were five children with their heads in the door begging for food tonight. I dont think they have ever washed. What beautiful smiles and mysteriously colored checks. Walking down the street its hard to see how these people live in such squalor. I can see being here for a couple days but anymore would be shear torture. At least at our guest house we have electricity. "Damien" was out with his luggage cart with a case of bottles. Stan went down to the public toilets and by the time he got out Damien had distributed the empty bottles in the middle of the main street. Wonderful child isnt he?! Stan is now listening to the short wave radio and just picked up Australia.

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4-8-94 Fri - Nyalam - Day 9

5pm Breakfast was interesting. We had peanuts, boiled bread, fried bread, cookies and an omelette. I never thought I would like Nescafe but it tastes good in the morning. Of course I never have eaten peanuts with chop sticks either. We went for another hike today. On the way we crossed a narrow bridge across a river gorge. It was about 125 feet down. We saw a Tibetan lady herding yaks across the bridge. She whistled and yelled at them the entire time. Stan says they all had snotty noses. We headed up the steep mountain to an altitude of 15,400 feet. We started at the bridge at 10am and at around 12:50pm we were at the top. A pace of 1,000 feet per hour is fairly good at this altitude. The others probably do better but were happy with this pace. It was really windy and I didnt eat or drink enough today. I ate some candy and water after I bonked at 14,700. Climbed a bit with Gert. He was ahead at first but we soon passed him. We headed down and made it back in 1 hours. Thats really fast for me. I had good tunes on my cassette deck.

When we were walking back to town I saw some cows eating paper. They came up on the steps and eat out of the garbage in town. It started snowing as we approached town and is still snowing now. We met one of the Sherpas on the walk through town. He has diarrhea and needed medicine and blames the Chinese food. Another of the porters came up too. We went to lunch at 2:30 for a really big lunch. We had these black things called mya, glass noodles that look like worms, mushrooms, eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, potatoes, rice, soup, french fries and watermelon. Stan and I split a beer and drank some tea. I took some pictures of this place. The floor is bare concrete with narrow benches and three wood tables. The plywood store front doesnt go all the way to the top so there is a three foot opening near the top of the wall. The kitchen is back in the alley like place. Michael has the flu and stayed in bed all day except for a brief walk up about 100 meters with Matt. The guys from Austria, Wolfgang and Thomas are feeling better and ate a lot at lunch. Dagmar and Heinz are out climbing and are healthy. This place is a good one for acclimatization because of the peaks surrounding it on every side.

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4-9-94 Sat. - Nyalam - Tingri - Xigar - Day 10

3:30pm Were at a border check in the middle of nowhere. A native Tibetan is staring in the window watching me write. I think she wants food but I dont know. We must seem rather rich and arrogant in our Toyotas and our fancy clothes to them. All our trucks are here waiting. Weve given our passports to the Sherpas for the check. Interesting day so far really. We left around 9:30 from Nyalam. The truck has me, Stan, Matt, Mingma and the porter and driver. The guy in the right seat has an "MTV Rock n Roll Inaugural Ball" hat on. We drove up the hills and up to a pass of 16,750 feet where we stopped to pee. Prayer flags and yak horns everywhere. We drove to Tingri for a lunch stop. They had beer and some soft drinks here. The cookie wrapper had printed "Fancy Smell Biscuits" with some Buddha like guy on it. This place is a kick. On the front of the building there is a goat head stuck up and a small cow is trying to get into the potatoes they serve the customers. I bet the kitchen is really a sight.

Were approaching Xigar now. The Hotel Qomolungma is in the middle of nowhere. Its really desolate out here. I think we past the base camp turn off a little while back.

8:00pm Xigar (Chegar) 14,300 feet. We drove past the hotel and into the city. Since our liaison officer (the "Lets Go" man) is Tibetan we got to stay in town which is much better than out in the boony hotel. We walked up to the Xigar Dong which was an ancient fort. It is now ruins because of the destruction by the Chinese. We walked through the village and up the hill towards the monastery. The monks spoke a little English and we talked a bit. The little kids kept holding there hands out wanting "gombe" which is money. They also had fossils and other relics to sell to us. Stan got a small piece of a nautilus shell fossil. Gert bought a really nice entire nautilus shell. This area was all underwater in ancient times believe it or not. We walked up into the fort area. Total destruction of most the walls but the immense size of the original fort is still evident . We walked up to around 15,300 feet. Since it was late in the day we didnt go much farther. The view of the city was spectacular. The "gombe" boy was very persistent on getting us stuff the buy. Stan earlier had given some money to a kid to buy some pants. They were all after us them. Walking through the city I noticed puppies everywhere. The yaks and pigs roam the narrow streets and most live under the houses of their owners. We took some photos of the children and walked back to the hotel. On the way back we stopped at the "7-11" for a bottle of Sprite. I was talking to these boys and suddenly one pulls a puppy from his pants. I had him say "puppy" and his "namu was Spike". He repeated everything. Finally when I was going to go I said "See ya and he did the same. We all had a good laugh.

This place on the mountain is like a fairy tale. I think most only dream of places such as this. Of course experiencing the culture and people highlights everything. Well, back to reality and our hotel. It reminds me of "Stalag 17" because its an old communist barracks. Its quite military and very stark. We are on the second floor in this concrete block building. All the walls and floors are concrete. We did get a thermos of hot water which is all we really need to wash up. No bathrooms anywhere but I brought the empty Pearl Bailey bottle so Im OK for peeing. We cleaned up and went to the mess hall for dinner. The Red Army definitely designed this place. We had three round tables with beer at each of the place settings. The food was very good. Much like what weve been having at the place in Nyalam. Rice and a zillion side dishes. I ate at least three bowls full. We all toasted to the climb and drank our beer. Here at 14,300 feet it hits a little quicker. Everyone is in good spirits and seem ready to go. Tomorrow we leave to cross an 18,000 foot pass and then to base camp.

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4-10-94 Sun - Everest Base Camp - Day 11

17,000

3:30pm Were here! Well, I am in mind and body. Stans body is here but he thinks hes in a hotel and doesnt know what year it is. I called Dagmar over and she said wait two hours. If he was coherent I wouldnt worry but hes not making any sense. Last night he was up with vomiting and diarrhea four times. He really didnt get any sleep to speak of. The jeep ride up here was really rough but it took 4 1/2 hours instead of the usual 7. It was an epic journey that I really didnt want to repeat again if possible. Well see how well Stan recovers. Most of the stuff made it OK but the duffels got wet and kind of soaked the books. We have ten tents up. Stan and I have two of them. Were using one for just gear and sleeping in the other. The base camp is rather bleak and windy and very dusty. Havent seen the mountain yet because of all the clouds. The big news today is a dead Sherpa cook boy. He had cerebral edema and didnt go down fast enough. He was part of the Italian team. We had tea and cookies at around 2pm. Peter discussed the current mountain politics. Peter has given the Canadian team 3 kilometers of line for fixing ropes and paid for yaks to transport of their supplies. The Canadians will be working with us all the way. There is an international team led by Russell Bryce which is the team Vaughn is on. There is an Italian team and also a small four man team here. All the tents look nice together. The cook tent and dining tent are adequate and we have tables and chairs here and at ABC. So far I dont have any complaints. Peter seems to be a good leader and is well organized so far. The team is good and if Stan and Michael were feeling better it would be perfect.

Everything is getting dirty quickly with the blowing dust and yak dung. The wind is quite cold and its gets chilly real quick outside. The inside of our tent looks like weve been camped here a week already. Its a total mess. Were here for about 5 days while the yaks go up and back with loads. We load our gear on for the second trip up to ABC. There are a group of Taiwanese here also with an expedition. I really thought base camp would be a mess but its not too bad.

6pm Just had tea and bread. Actually feeling OK considering were above 17,000 feet. Stan is a little better. The leader, Eherhardt from the Cho Oyu expedition came over with Ang Rita. All of their members are sick from eating momos at Tingri. Thats the one thing Stan ate. Not one of our members ate them except Stan. Thats got to be whats wrong with him. Peter said he was sick with food poisoning from eating them a two years ago. He was sick for a couple days.

7:45pm Dinner was good! Rice, dal, vegetables, potatoes and oranges. We talked a bit about the mountain. Then when it was time to have tea, Peter shouted, "Chomolungma!" We ran out of the tent to view the most impressively huge mountain Ive ever seen. Not really any snow on it from this side and it looks pretty scary to me. Its so massive and overwhelming from here. We are still around 25 miles away. Hope the weather holds for us.

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4-11-94 Mon - Base Camp - Day 12

17,000

Slept fairly well for 17,000 feet. Stan is much better today. It had to have been momo flu. Last night one of the cook boys had to be taken down to Pasang because of altitude sickness (HAPE). Pasang is 3,000 feet lower. Today the Sherpas and Peter are organizing loads for the yaks tomorrow. Russell Bryces group will come in today. The advance party has set up luxurious cook tents and dining room. They look like chalets. There is a trekking group coming in today which is accompanying the American expedition. Peter went tot a team meeting last night. They talked about garbage control and cleaning the toilet out in base camp. The toilet is already full up and its the start of the climbing season. So far our camp is comfortable and I like the expedition members. We dont have the best stuff for our camp but then again we didnt pay 40 to 60 thousand each to be on the expedition. We went for a short hike today. Not really much to see and was very windy which is the norm here. Later we tested the oxygen systems in the dining tent. We hooked up the climbing masks and the sleeping masks to make sure they work. The mask is so big on my face it almost covers my eyes up. There is a hat like thing that the mask hooks on to thats quite obnoxious. Everyone is concerned about transporting the oxygen up to the camps. I think Im going to worry when I have to. Taking things day by day gets you through an expedition.

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4-12-94 Tue - Base Camp - Day 13

17,020

10:30am Slept like I was at home, amazing. The group gear yaks are coming up today. They take 2 or 3 days to get up to Advanced Base Camp (ABC). The yak bells are so nice. Some of the yaks were behind our tent last night and ring when they move. They all have a special tone since they are handmade. The wind whistled across the bottoms of the larger bells last night creating a very odd sound. The yaks dont make much sound at all. The herder this morning was feeding them by hand by ramming these round balls of food down their throats. We call the herders "yakkies" and they camp in a small yellow tarp and wear yak skins for clothes. As for washing up, they are attempting a new world record for never using soap and water. Dinner last night was good; potatoes, spam, cauliflower, tomatoes and apples for dessert. Michael seems to be better and Stan is fully recovered. I have the "stereo system" hooked up. We brought along little speakers that hook in the cassette deck and have them tied to the ceiling to the tent. Starting to get warm in the tent. The sun doesnt hit it until now. Some food for thought, the sun doesnt hit the North face until around 12pm.

5pm Lunch was tasty; tomatoes, salad, bread, cheese, fish (sardines) and potatoes. The Austrians are sick with stomach problems. Heinz and Mark went for a hike this afternoon. The scree doesnt really appeal to me. Alan came over from the Canadian expedition. He had heard that I was the "skydiver planning the next world record" and wanted to chat. I explained how the team is picked, what we look for in the people and we discussed how similar mountain climbing and skydiving are. Lots of waiting and patience and planning.

The yaks havent come yet which is bad because its too late for them to go today. I tried washing a T-shirt out in the glacier stream. Very cold and gritty. I really dont think it helped. The weather here is still very cold when the sun is down and it must be brutal up on the mountain. Peter said it really doesnt get better until the 20th or 25th.

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4-13-94 Wen. Base Camp Day 14

16,930 30.42 +0.08 (barometer reading from my Avocet altimeter watch)

2:40pm This morning the mountain was spectacular. No wind and perfectly clear skies everywhere except the summit. A huge plum of white is streaming off the summit indicating extremely high winds. The temperature dropped during the night and its still cold now. We climbed a little hill and looked at the mountain through binoculars. Really is something and looks nearly impossible to climb from here. All shear rock and little snow. The yaks got here and loaded up. It took forever. I think they are union yakkies. They kept packing up the loads feeling the weight then putting them back down again. Then another guy would do the same thing. The yaks were hilarious. The ring their bells and swing their heads around. The herders look like a modern day "Gengis Khan" Their skin and fur clothing is topped with these crazy looking fur hats. They have a knifes and pouches strapped on their belts. The loaded yaks and yakkies took off at around 1:30. Peter, Mark, Kazi (a Sherpa) and another porter went with them. Lunch was wurst, toasted pita with cheese, french fries, cauliflower, carrots and an orange. The wind is picking up now just when we want to walk a bit but that is typical here. We walked up the moraine a little ways. Not much to really see. On the steep scree slopes there were pillars of scree and dirt with huge rocks on them. Kind of neat how they balanced there.

6:47pm A yak herder just stuck his head in the tent. Scared the shit out of me. Damn, Im glad I had clothes on. He was begging for food and other stuff. Stan earlier gave them a box of crushed Pringles, a couple Carnation breakfast bars and some peanut butter crackers. That ought to keep them happy. We took our sponge baths and I washed my hair. Felt great to get a little clean. We then broke out our Easter candy that Dad and Kitten gave us. Tastes great here.

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4-14-94 Thur. - Base Camp - Day 15

16,820 30.42 +0.15

1:15pm Last night we went to a party over at Russell Bryces place. Very nice cabin tents with floors. There was even a real stereo system and lots of hot rum and popcorn. The Canadians came over also. Some guy that looked like Edmund Hillary walked over and asked about our route. I really wanted to tell him "Im going to just follow the guy in red pants (Stan)" but I didnt. Around here I feel like a total amateur to these guys. I felt much more comfortable talking about skydiving. Met the Canadian team most of whom have been here for six to seven weeks already. They started trekking around Nepal then three weeks at base camp hiking before they went to ABC. The climbers are now putting in ropes at around 7200 meters. They will all come down to recuperate below here at around 14,000. Afterwards it will be a push to the summit without oxygen. There is a lady named Chantelle who is in the Bryce group who is going to attempt to climb without oxygen. All the guys are in love with her. She is beautiful and highly experienced with nine Himalayan expeditions completed. I was so surprised when she knew my name.

This morning there were yaks running everywhere. Breakfast wasnt too good since it was choco muscli and then rice milk stuff with apples. Not too tasty so Stan brought me a breakfast bar. We decided to go on a hike and walked up to a beautiful frozen river. We hiked further up and saw a small shelter built by the monks. I found a mani stone half buried in the dirt and put it with the others near the hut. What a view the monk would have of Everest. Really neat retreat hidden from everyone. We walked further and I got a good shot of the main Rongbuk moraine.

6:00pm Hotter than hell in the tent today. Stripped my clothes off and read Shogun. The wind shifted form the north to the south so at last we can open the tent without all the dust blowing in. The wind was ferocious this afternoon so we didnt go back out after lunch. Getting lazier and lazier up here. Its important just to breathe. My pulse just sitting here is around 100 to 110 beat per minute.

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4-15-94 Fri Base Camp Day 16

16,830 30.42 +0.13

12:37pm Boring! Wanted t go for a hike but with the crummy weather we decided not to. Lucky we sorted gear when it was nice out two years (correction days) ago. All this resting does me no good. Matt was going up to the intermediate camp now know as B&B - Bed and Breakfast but the weather got too bad. More yaks came up yesterday. Michaels hopeless singing is amusing but sort of sounds like a yak herder to me. Everything is now so filthy I cant imagine being clean ever again. Damn I need something to do. Its crazy out. Its snowing now and yesterday it was 112 degrees in the tent with it wide open. Now closed up it 61 degrees.

7:00pm Weather cleared then it got cold. Boring, boring day. I havent heard our yaks come back. The other guys yaks are still here "resting". Lunch was OK with mini-wieners, chapaties and hot lemon drinks. Its sort of relaxing not paying attention to everyone at mealtimes. They all speak German so we dont have to really participate in the chit chat.

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4-16-94 Sat. - Base Camp - B & B - Day 17

18,300 -0.81

7:26pm Got up at around 8:30am for breakfast. Yaks were moving but nobody seemed to want to do anything. We were all packed and ready. Sitting, sitting, waiting an more waiting. I started reading another book today. The wind picked up so we are huddled in the cook tent. It seemed that the yakkies didnt want to go at all. Finally they started loading at around 1:30pm. We then started up at 3pm. Rocks, more rocks and yak turds the sights on the famous Mt. Everest trail. We climbed up a steep hill that gave us most of the gain in altitude for the day. At the top there were a couple yaks laying there in the rocks resting. Its been snowing off and on the entire way but it didnt obscure a beautiful view of the Rongbuk glacier. Huge crevasses and deep blue ice with the dirty moraine laying on top. We walked into a camp site used by the Italians and Taiwanese. We went about 30 more minutes and crossed a frozen river to reach our camp. I started first by leveling a tent platform in the sand. The yaks threw off their loads and soon we had our tent up. These tents do go up quickly compared to others weve used. They are Sierra Designs. Were now waiting for food and tea which will probably take awhile. I guess we go to ABC in a couple days. It was supposed to be 2 days but the yakkies said its 3 days on the trail or one entire rest day at base camp. OK no problem there its better for acclimatization.

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4-17-94 Sun. - B & B 2 - Day 18

20,210

Altitude sickness. Yuck. Long way to go today. It took 6 hours to get here. I threw up once and I dont think it is the last. Beautiful scenery the entire way. Huge seracs everywhere. I really cant write. Im not well.

Advanced Base Camp (ABC) Day 19

4-18-94 Mon. - ABC - Day 19 21,020

Cold and very windy here. Slept poorly like not at all. Didnt really eat today. Feel better then yesterday though. Last night Stan brought in tea and tomato/rice soup. It stayed down OK. Slight headache last night and took two Tylenol, one Decadron and Diamox. This morning felt weak but got up and puked. Should have stayed behind but couldnt figure out how I was going to get stuff up the hill. Took a Diamox and Vicks for my nose. For breakfast I had a lemon drink, tea and plain toast. The walk was not too tough but Im still feeling the altitude. Mingma said it would take 2 hours but it took 3 . Very high winds on the final leg. Had to be gusts up to 50mph or so. I only threw up once today. Im really fighting it. Stan wants me to got to Base camp but I dont think I would walk back up if I had to go all that way. Who knows. We setup our tent slowly in a snow gully area. Everyone else is on the rocks. Snow to me is so much nicer. Its a little bit of a ways from everyone but thats nice in a way. We anchored with ski poles and more rocks. Stan got the bags from where the yaks dropped them. That was a huge job considering the altitude. We moved in and will rearrange tomorrow. Peter, Kazi and Mark climbed up the North Col. Peter said it was harder then Gasherbrum II. Very steep and crappy snow. Mark climbed without a load and was in tears his legs hurt so much. Oh great. Thats comforting. Peter cached a couple tents up there and said the Canadians are really super and offered to set up camp. Its very, very windy up there. Im not sure of the plan but I need to get acclimatized for about 5 days. I hope they get a dining tent up soon. We went for supper and it was only cabbage, butter sandwiches and meat. Im sure that was the "appetizers" but we were so frozen that we climbed back in the tents.

4-19-94 Tue. - ABC - Day 20

21,030 30.40 -2.45

12:56pm Slept a little last night. Headache on the left side of my head. Stan didnt sleep too good either but hes been snoring for the past 30 minutes. I dont know what I want from this climb. Im tired right now. Ill have to give it a couple of days. We had our puja here. The Sherpas are Buddhist and they make an alter with prayer flags and a piece of cedar attached. They burn incense and have a fire with extra branches. On the alter are rice, butter, milk and a basket of offerings to the mountain gods. Ang Rita helped Ang Nema say the prayers. Ang Rita has summited Everest 8 times without oxygen. We were given some rice to throw at the appropriate times. There is lots of rice throwing in the ceremony. Glad its outside. Then we each got a yellow string that was blest by the high lama. It is for protection on the climb and we tied it around our necks. We drank this milk stuff that was poured in our hands and then threw more rice. We drank tea and then passed around the basket full of goodies. Russell Bryce as there with his Sherpas along with all of us. We saw some people coming down the fixed rope on the North Col. Looks scary to me Very steep and difficult. Take each day one at a time.

4-20-94 Wen. - ABC - Day 21

21,040 30.42 -2.43

4pm Finally a nice day. Its about 90 degrees in the tent. We took a spit bath and put on new underwear today. Yahoo! Slept badly again. Thats four nights in a row with very little sleep. Finally figured out it was a tension headache. In the middle of the night I tried various medications including Tylenol, Diamox, Anaprox, and Decadron. It then dawned on my to take a Fioricet and it worked like a charm. I could feel the tension release around my head and slept great for four hours. I think that more then Ive had in four days. Woke refreshed and looking forward to breakfast. I told Stan last night I was going to Base Camp. Glad I tried the Fioricet because I would have the same damn headache and walked a zillion kilometers down the mountain. We ate then sorted gear to carry up to the glacier under the North Col. We just walked today to 21,430. Only 400 feet or so but I got winded. We walked past the Taiwanese camp and Eric Simonsons Camp just above ours. Russell Bryce is just below us in their cabin tents. Stan and I walked up past the Canadians team village and through the moraine to just about the glacier. We decided to come back. My lungs hurt from breathing hard. Everything is still so difficult and I have to tell myself to go very, very slowly. My heart rate has been 120 to 140 bpm resting but is now down to 72. Its so easy to get anaerobic here. Heinz carried a bottle of oxygen and some personal gear up to the glacier. Thomas also carried some personal stuff up. I felt good just to get me there. I took Heinzs picture with the plume off Everests summit in the background. Stan and I headed back down. When we past the Canadians they invited us in for some tea. We accepted graciously and talked about this and other expeditions. There shelter was super. The had two propane heaters inside with a floor. Everyone had there Gore tex jumpsuits on that were really tricked out. We had a lunch of yak, french fries, cocktail weenies, chapaties, and cabbage. Wolfgang looks under the weather. His lips are very blue. Mostly everyone is ready to got up to see the North Col. I might carry stuff to the glacier and cache it then start up. It depends on how I feel after the carry. Peter said if you carry a 15kg load first time you would be shot for five or six days and maybe have to go to base camp. Really is very tough first time. Yeah right, I love pain and suffering just to get a good view. Well probably make five or so carries before moving up. The gear must be kept to an absolute minimum. One day at a time and just pretend this is a job. A lousy job but a job. We got back to the tent for a cat bath and clean clothes. Well, sort of clean clothes since its the underwear that counts. Rearranged everything but theres still a mass of clothes behind me but the other half of the tent looks good. Ill just relax reading and listening to music. Only 38 days until skydiving again!

4-21-94 Thur. - ABC - Day 22

21,040 30.42 -2.45

5pm I got a little sleep last night but woke up with tons of mucous running down my throat. My sinuses are all clogged up and I have a headache. I think I swallowed a ton of this stuff. Yuck! Didnt feel like breakfast so I slept a little longer. Stan readied himself to make a carry to the glacier and try the fixed ropes. I had no energy or will power so I stayed in bed. A little later I grabbed a packet of grits and a breakfast bar from our food stash. Fixed some breakfast and talked with the guys. Michael, Dagmar and Peter were there. Peter, Mark, Kozi and Mingma are going up to sleep at the North Col and then up to Camp 2 to put up the tents on the platforms the Canadians have dug. Peter is not feeling well and lost his temper with the Sherpas for not taking more and leaving early. Mark didnt look all that good but is going up. Heinz is making a carry up also. The camp today is Dagmar, Michael, Matt, Tom, me and Gert. Wolfgang headed down to Base camp blue lips and all. Talked to Nema for an hour or so about life in Nepal. He just got married in January and has no children planned. He wants to take Stan and me trekking in the Khumbu sometimes around his village. Lunch was at 2:30pm after I talked the cook into fixing something. He didnt want to cook at all since Peter was gone. Stan got back around 3:30 and said it took about two hours to get to the crampon corner. It took another half hour to put on the harness and crampons then walked about 1/3 of the way up the fixed ropes. He said its not too bad and the ropes are nice. It was getting late and the weather was changing so he turned back. He saw Peter and Mark on the glacier and Mark looked beat. He wants to try to carry the sleeping gear and bottle of oxygen up to sleep on the Col. Im not ready for that. Im doing good just to motor around ABC but well see. Plenty of time really. There are three weeks of climbing left.

4-22-94 Fri. - ABC - Day 23

21,030 30.42 -2.44

5pm Got a little more sleep last night. Head is still stuffed up but not too bad. I took a Tylenol sinus and rubbed Vicks under my nose. Heard Michael get the radio call. It was really windy on the Col last night they reported. The Sherpas were coming down and then we heard Mark and Peter were too. Got dressed and ate breakfast. Nothing spectacular. Finally took a dump after 6 days. Ouch! I packed my sleeping bag, pads, harness, crampons and some food. Stan took two bottles of oxygen in one of the yellow trekking sacks. Thats a lot of weight for this altitude. Dagmar was looking bad and has HAPE and going down to base camp. Stan gave her an injection this morning. Matt has bad diarrhea also. Michael took charge and was going to have Nema got down with Dagmar to make sure she got there OK. Much confusion this morning. We got the hell out of "Dodge" and headed up. Gert left with us and it was much easier going than before for me. We stopped for tea at the Canadians hut which is always a wonderful break. We headed up to crampon corner. Gert was just coming up to the Canadian camp when we departed. Stan repacked his backpack and put on crampons. We left one bottle of oxygen there and headed up to the ropes. It was around 45 minutes across the glacier to get there. Thomas was also putting on crampons and just flying across the glacier. I was burning out with the altitude, load and incredible wind. We estimated the wind at 40 to 50 mph and I was almost lifted off my feet at times. Michael and Tom were going up the fixed line when we got to the cache. Using our ice axes as anchors for the duffels we stashed our stuff. I put on a face mask to protect myself from the wind and we got out of there. Outside of Antarctica this was the strongest wind Ive ever experienced. The North Col is absolutely huge. Unbelievably big and towering above when you are at the fixed ropes. The mountain is so immense from this side. The Col is a huge blue-white wall looming above for 2,000 feet. I think climbing it will be a challenge once Im acclimatized. We pushed our way back to crampon corner. My crampons were stuck on my books so Stan pulled them off. I started getting a headache which was probably due to lack of water and food. I ate a Kudo bar and drank a bit of water once we stashed the crampons. When I got moving again the headache stopped and we got back to camp in about a half hour. We had tea with Mark who said it was brutal on the Col. They were supposed to be going to Camp 2 but the wind was way too fierce to attempt it. We waited for lunch which was at 4pm. It seems like things really fall apart when Peter isnt around in camp. The cook is pissed off about something. The Sherpas moved into Marks tent while he was up on the Col and put his stuff in another tent. Mark was understandably pissed off. As ABC turns. Stan and I both have coughs now as does everyone else here. Its irritating and it makes my head hurt to cough that much. Michael told us that Thomas and Heinz are forming a team. They are going to make a carry today to the Col. Their plan is to sleep there then go down to base camp and out to Xigar to rest followed by the return to summit. Sounds good but not very "team" like. Well stick to our plan of slow but sure. I cant push it any faster. Mark looks fried after only two trips up the Col. So does Peter really. At lunch mark ate four plates of egg bread things. He says he doesnt have any trouble eating around 4,000 cal/day. Stan and I are skipping dinner tonight. Its too damn cold sitting there in that stupid army tent and besides we had a late lunch. Hope the weather gets better soon its really miserable in the cold and wind. Not really cheerful. I wonder what the other side of the mountain is like?

4-23-94 Sat. - ABC Day 24

21000 30.42 -2.42

5:11pm Lots of mucous in my nose and throat. I dont know if my head cold moved into my lungs or its high altitude bronchitis. I didnt wake up with a headache but had a stuffed up nose and sore throat. It snowed last night and our tent was like being in a rain forest with all the humidity. Breakfast was uneventful, apple rice slop with sugar and a piece of toast. Thomas and Heinz stayed at the North Col last night and came down in a about an hour after the radio broadcast. They are going to Base Camp tonight. Stan packed up regulators and a bottle of oxygen, down suit and over boots. I only had my day pack so I took my down pants and jacket tied on the back. I really didnt feel too good leaving. My throat is really sore and my heads all stuffed up. Stan and I looked in the medical barrel for nose drops and some type of expectorant tables. After translating the German on the package I took two pink pills and nose drops. We took off soon afterward but I came back just after a little ways. I had no energy what so ever. I walked back to the cook tent and drank a leisurely cup of tea. After another cup of tea all the Sherpas and Peter came in to discuss buying supplies from another group. Heinz came in and Peter gave him money to buy kerosene and beer in Xigar. The plan now is for Heinz, Wolfgang, Thomas and Dagmar to spend three or four days in Xigar at a hotel for recuperation. They have to pay double for the jeep since Peter doesnt want it to be away from Base Camp for that long. The driver has to drive back right after he drops them off and then go back and pick them up in a couple days. Thats their plan I guess. Its all their idea and money to go down. I just dont think I would be too motivated to return after Xigar. Not that its a resort because its not. After drinking more tea and talking for over an hour I decided to give it a try again and head on up. I felt better with tea in me and made very good time up the hill. I ran into an American who said Stan was five minutes ahead of me. I caught him at crampon corner. I decided to keep on going to walk with Stan. The wind over the glacier was incredible. Some of the gusts had to approach 80 mph. I was literally picked up off my feet a couple times. The spin drift at the cache pile was intense. No matter which way you turned your head it blew in your face. We stuffed the trekking sacks and tied it to the other bags in the area. We saw four Sherpas coming down the ropes. We tried to leave quickly but the wind was ferocious. I finally started walking with an extreme tilt to stay upright. Finally we got to crampon corner again and out of the wind. We made good time down to ABC where we stopped by the cook tent for some hot juice. Stan got a thermos full of hot water for tea and we snacked in our tent and waited for supper.

4-24-94 Sun. - ABC Day 25

21020 30.42 -2.43

11am Lots of wind last night. The dining tent was broke in half this morning. The damn thing is a sorry excuse for a tent anyway. It doesnt seal at all and the wind howls through it. If we only had a nice place to sit and eat. It would really make a big difference in moral. Even the Base Camp dining tent was way better. The cooks are having a battle. Nema wont talk to the main cook anymore. Stan thinks they pissed in the noodles. I didnt notice and ate two helpings and two of the dal bhat. At least I have an appetite. We heard that Rob Hall helicoptered someone out with HAPE on the South side. We heard it was our friend Robert Whitbey. Only a couple people have been to the South Col because of such bad weather. Were just laying here hacking and spitting all the junk from our lungs. Windy out so we havent decided on going up to make a carry yet. Maybe we will carry oxygen bottles to crampon corner since every little bit helps. Our legs feel good but the problems with lung capacity and my sore throat are a pain. Michael has his giardea back with vomiting and diarrhea last night. What a nasty place to be sick. I told Matt this morning to tell him to take Flagyl. Michael seems to have reservations about taking it. Gert hasnt made one carry yet. Matt was successful reaching the North Col yesterday. It took him a very long time though and today hes beat. Mark seems still trashed after the overnight at the Col a couple of days ago. Peter seems to be losing control of the staff and is looking sick. He has trouble with his lips cracking today. Most of his clothes are on the North Col. He doesnt like the idea of the climbers going to Xigar and says they will come back with diarrhea. I havent thought up many new skydives here. Just surviving is enough. I dont think too many can take this abuse. Its defiantly hardman territory. I think my cold is getting better and Im trying to keep up good spirits. Its just so depressing to come to any meals. Dark, freezing, unappetizing, crowded, and noisy. I cant change these things but I really wish it was better. 1:30pm Weve been baking in the tent so far. The wind teases us into thinking it will quit. We filled our thermoses with hot water and put our nose and mouth in to breathe in the vapors of steam. I can feel junk in my bronchial tubes with my hand over my chest. Kind of rattles around in there. I dont hear many people out of their tents. My resting pulse is around 95 to 100. Not breathing real hard but its a chore with reduced lung function at this altitude. 4:00pm Lunch was the same stuff; french fries that are way overcooked, mushy vegetables (carrots, cabbage, cauliflower in some cream sauce), Tibetan bread thats a little too greasy for me and assorted meat tins that look suspiciously like cat food. Thank God for the catsup. If we run out Ill starve. Only Stan, me, Matt, Mark and Peter ate lunch. Sounds a bit like a bible group, huh. Gert and Michael are sick and stayed in their tents. Stan left to make a short carry of oxygen bottles. Its still really windy and my pack is up at the fixed ropes. Stan is hot and bored in the tent and gladly faced the wind for something to do. I cleaned up my side and moved the pads over. I have a big ice lump under me. Chantelle is coming up today from Base camp. She had altitude sickness and went down a week ago. Damn every time I cough my head hurts which is frequently. Well the only good thing is that it is getting a bit warmer. The jet stream is really throwing off a plume off the summit of the mountain today. There are small tornado like winds all along the NE ridge. 5:12pm Thoughts on Things: Water - Hot water bottles at night, store sport bottle in sleeping bag between liner bag and regular. Constant water switching from thermos and "hot water" bottle to the sport bottle. Going to the bathroom - Glad I pee into a bottle but Im sick of no toilets and its only worse from here. I really hate the place we poop into. You have to hold onto parts of the rock wall and lean over the pile thats in a gully. One slip and its disaster. Besides its just totally nasty. Being out of breath - Its constant. Will it get better? When? Coldness - Practically all the time and windy. I love when the tent is hot. Next tripa month on some island in the Caribbean. Yeah that would be great! Food - I would just about die for pizza and chocolate cake (three layers with one layer of sour cream white icing) Very sick of this stuff they feed us. Im putting up with the rice better than most but its now getting nasty. Mainly hard to stomach because of the tent whopping into your head and back all the time your trying to eat. Tent Living - Well its not bad but not great. Certainly helps to keep organized but we tend to get on each others nerves living this close for months. Just rolling over is a big deal since the bags are zipped together. Glad I brought the cassette player. Listening to tapes is a great relief from the boredom and takes my mind away from here. Its funny but when I wake up Im always surprised Im still here. Boogers - How can there be that much mucous in my nose, throat and chest? Tons of it. I want to know why and how this happens up here. Ive used at least 5 times the toilet paper for my nose than my butt. Probably more like ten times. Most of the earths atmosphere is below us. People not acclimatized will die within five minutes up here. Now thats a little sobering isnt it.

4-25-94 Mon. - ABC Day 26

21080 30.42 -2.46

5pm Still here! Very windy last night and this morning. Peter told the Sherpas they could come down from the North Col. In fact everyone is off the Col. The weather forecasts predict three to four days of the same. It has some what dropped this afternoon. Gert is the only one who made a carry to the ropes. Hes the only one who hasnt made one yet. We were planning on going to the Col but with the forecast obviously we arent going. Maybe tomorrow. Michael is feeling better and wants to go. Matt has diarrhea again and looks dehydrated. Wolfgang just came up form Base Camp. That was a fast trip, I think well see how he goes now. Dagmar, Heinz and Thomas didnt go to Xigar after all because of the expense. They are coming back up Wednesday. Still have a cough but didnt take any medicine today. Im trying to get all the crap out of my system. Only took Diamox and 1 Vantin antibiotic. At least I think the jet stream is moving up and its slightly warmer. I have to get mentally ready to do this because Im not doing this again.

4-26-94 Tue - ABC Day 27

20900 30.42 -2.38

5pm Made a carry today to the ropes. My legs felt strong but I have a serious cough. It feels like my chest has been hit with a baseball bat. Breakfast was late considering the weather was crystal clear. I cant figure it out. Everybody but Mark was going to do a carry today but the cooks are late with breakfast. I fit an oxygen box in my day pack and Stan had one in his pack. I didnt realize he was going to carry a cylinder of mine until we were there. We started off first out of the group this morning. Gert was next then Wolfgang. Wolfie soon passed us moving very rapidly. He must be all better. Gert was very slow. At the crampon corner Matt caught up to us. he said we are doing the right thing first carrying to the ropes and not forcing it. I really think so. I could have carried up today but it was the first time Ive really felt good at the ropes. It was also the first time Ive slept decent the entire time weve been here. Stan was having trouble and was slow today. I tried to get across the glacier fast because of the wind and cold. I got to the ropes in good time but started coughing badly. Matt came up next and took some photos. My big pack was buried in the snow and I dug it out to transfer to a trekking sack. Hard work wrestling the bottles around and getting them to fit. Finally got situated in the cache sack. My pack was filled with snow and ice. I stuffed my day pack into it. Matt needed my ice axe so I lent it to him. I carried my harness to crampon corner so I could put it on there tomorrow out of the wind. Michael showed up and said hi. Matt said he takes his time and drives him crazy climbing. We started on back when Gert made it to the ropes with his pack and dumped it out. At crampon corner I saw Vaughn and another guy from Russell Bryces group. This was their first carry of the trip. Vaughn said his brother Robert was airlifted out with HAPE and possible abdominal blockage. He is now in Singapore in the hospital. His wife and daughter were contacted and they are also there. Stan reassured Vaughn that it was a good place to be. Stan and I headed down and dropped by for tea at the Canadians. One of the guys is getting better considering the frostbite he has on his fingers. This happened when he was trying to get his boots on at one of their high camps. We got back to our camp and grabbed some hot water for our thermoses for tea. Talked to Peter awhile. He looks tired and worn.

4-27-94 Wen. - ABC Day 28

20880 30.42 -2.36

Another carry today. We got up early for breakfast and got our stuff ready for the day. I carried two oxygen bottles plus a trekking sac. It felt like 50 pounds and I had Mingma help me on with it. Stan told Mark that he is planning to stay the night at the Col. That was a surprise to me. I had no idea but he said he planned it yesterday. He got his stuff and took off. I put on my pack and just kept my head down and walked. I stopped to rest my shoulders a few times but caught up with Stan at crampon corner. I left my harness in the bag and Stan left while I was putting on my crampons. The sun was hot today but I put on Goretex for the glacier. Not too much wind so I got hot in a hurry. No place to rest my shoulders so it wore me out more than I thought. I originally planed on going back and getting Stans bottles but I was hurting but the time I got to the ropes. I just sat there for a long time sipping water. Stan arranged his stuff and I finally bagged the oxygen. He was taking quite a long time getting his gear sorted and it looked like a heavy pack. I told him I loved him and kissed him before I left and told him to be careful. I left at 1pm and was down at 1:45 with a short stop for crampons and a talk with Peter and Mark. The weather got bad when I got back and started snowing and blowing hard. I hope Stan is OK. Im sure he is, the only thing he doesnt have with him is his goggles. Two of our Sherpas went up early this morning and Peter and Mark will all be at the Col. I have another bottle of oxygen to get to the ropes and some small items to go up also. I dont know whether we are doing this the right way or not. Everyone else seems to carry to the col then take a day of to rest. Tom and Heinz came up today. Tom says its warm and nice. Dagmar is coming up also but no sign of her yet. Tom made is up in 5 hours which is unbelievably fast. I miss Stan already. Its not too much fun in this stupid tent all alone. The Canadians and Americans have gone down to rebuild. I hope we get the chance to climb. Im getting stronger everyday and hopefully will go up to the Col tomorrow. 7 pm Have small headache probably from the sun today. The two aspirins are eating a hole through my stomach right now. I tried to sleep but couldnt. Right now Im reading Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler and find it to be a great book. Thumbed through the inspirational booklet my Aunt Patty pressed into my hand the last time I saw her. The book has so really nice thoughts. Im listening to the silence outside broken by the ravens that flap by. The wind rips through there wings and sounds like my skydiving canopy. Some small rocks fell by but nothing came too close. Im listening to a tape to keep my mind off of where Im at. Too long a trip. Shit, I feel Ill never get back home. One day at a time I keep telling myself. Damn we need a vacation! Ha ha. Cant really get comfortable in this damn tent thats sloping downhill.

4-28-94 Thur. - ABC Day 29

20880 30.42 -2.33

6pm I made a carry today of the last oxygen bottle. Last night coughed a great deal and hurt my upper right quadrant of my chest in my rib cage. Slept fitfully and half froze without Stan. Supper was late and I didnt like waiting for garbage. Mashed potatoes, green beans, sauce and watery vanilla pudding. I love pudding but this had nasty chunks in it. I had hot Gatorade but that was sickening. Im very tired of this place. No moon and that makes it really hard to get around at night. Breakfast was late this morning and was not good. Talked to Dagmar about my ribs and she examined them. She said it might me a pulled muscle and I had bronchitis. She gave me some penicillin to take. I vacillated on going up or not but found myself loading the oxygen cylinder and heading up at 10:45. I took my time and only rested a couple of times. I ran into on of the Sherpas who was sick. He had a headache mostly. I headed up toward the ropes and finally spotted Stan. He was moving slow and said he didnt sleep or eat last night. I dumped my load and stopped to chat with a couple members of the small American team. They had been up at the Col for the past 4 nights. I sat and watched them leave then felt very sick with bad abdominal cramps. I was hot and cold all at once and felt like puking and crapping at the same time. Everything went black and white for a while and I wasnt sure how I was going to get back. I stumbled down the path and finally ran into Heinz who must have though I was a mad woman at least. I kept going and past the American but couldnt really focus my eyes. I stumbled a little up hill and then saw Matt. He made me lay down right away on my pack and drink water. Mark had come down from the col and was in bad shape too. Everything was very fuzzy and my gut hurt really bad. Finally Mark helped me up and we walked slowly to our crampon stash. He helped me get mine off and carried my pack for me. That was a life saver for me. My gut was upside down at that point. We got to the Canadian hut and got some tea. The tea was great and soon I felt some color come back to my face. Not that I actually lost it with this sunburn. We headed slowly down and got back to camp around 2:45. No speed racers today! I got a hot Gatorade again and sat in the cook tent. Tom and Heinz are going up and Tom wants to go to Camp 2 tonight. Good luck to him. I got to the tent and Stan was already there. I told him what happened. Later Dagmar made a tent call with her doctor bag. I still had a bad gut ache. She listened to my gut and said I may have an infection. It hurt really bad in the upper right gut. She came back with a couple suppositories and peppermint tea. I think the suppositories are a good idea, they absorb very quickly and no stomach to got through. What ever it was worked and the cramps stopped. We took a wipey bath. My face it toast! Ive been using zinc nose cream but still get burned. It was really not on the glacier today. Never know how to dress, hot, cold, hot, cold. God I hope supper is eatable. I drank my tea and had two girl scout cookies that stayed down. Party tomorrow at Russell Bryces tent or should I say encampment. Mark and us are going down and Gert is already there. I heard today Peter is going to try for the summit in 4 days. Thats why Tom and Heinz are going up. I dont thing the jet steam will rise for another 7 days.

4-29-94 Fri. - ABC Day 30

20880 30.42 -2.35

Rest Day. I thought we were going to base camp but Stan doesnt want to go. Slept poorly and I tossed and turned all night. Dinner wasnt worth going to. We had the same old stuff; pasta, cheese, soup with noodles and other stuff I didnt even look at. I felt lousy with more cramping and right flank pain. Michael and Matt are staying at the Col tonight. Peter and Kazi are moving to Camp 3 and Mingma is moving to Camp 2. The weather isnt great and I think with only 1 Sherpa out of 3 really working its not good. I thought about Base Camp but I really dont want to walk that far by myself. I guess I could have gone with Mark this morning. Wolfgang has his blue lips back and looks pale. Heinz carried two bottles up the col today which is superhuman. Its snowing again like usual for the past 3 or 4 days. So as far as reasonable prepared summit attempters we have; Tom, Heinz and Michael for right now. Close is Stan, Matt and perhaps Mark. Dennis, the physician from the Canadian camp came by on his way down to BC. The team is taking 5 days off then go for the summit. His is really a super nice guy. I was sleeping when he arrived and he wanted to take me to BC. That was a nice thought. I ate some soup for lunch and actually ate two bowls of it. We all talked at lunch on how crazy you have to be to live here; Rocks, snow, ice, cold, bad food, no air, tents, no toilet, no bath. Yea, great place! Tell all your friends. 7 PM Snowing still a little. I think it snowed about 6" today. Hope Matt and Mike are OK at the col and also Peter, Kozi and Mingma. Snow will make it difficult to go up the ropes tomorrow. Dagmar said the yaks are here on the 16th to load stuff down. I wonder if there will be 2 loads or 1. We needed 40 some yaks on the way up. I think Im getting better. Well see, altitude does really strange things to your body. Now I have a little appetite whereas yesterday I had none. I need to drink more liquids but cold water is making me sick. I saw a guy with some sort of red drink and it looked good. Foods I would like right now: Breakfast cereals - Frosted Flakes, Sugar Smacks, Fruit Loops and Capn Crunch Baked potato or a twice baked potato Lasagna and garlic bread Italian salad Pepsi, 7 Up, A & W Root beer Spaghetti with meat sauce Hamburger and French fries Moms turkey casserole Corn on the cob Ice cream with chocolate syrup Filet Mignon cooked medium rare.

4-30-94 Sat. - ABC Day 31

20880 30.42 -2.35

Got up after not so great sleep. Breakfast was late. I thought the cooks were on strike. It was around 10 when the gong sounded. We were planning to carry to the North col so we got dressed for that. It was overcast and snowing lightly. Breakfast was yukky. Wolfgang was bluer and didnt eat. The rest were jabbering in German about stuff. We put packs on and started up. Stan said he felt weaker and so did I. No power at all. We walked by the American tent and the people came out. Dan from CompuServe and Barb from Peoria. Dan had talked to me on CompuServe about climbing and I thought was the on who sent me photocopies of the route. Barb looks to be about 50 - 55 or so. They both had been to base camp 4 times and are to go again before a summit bid. There are 20 plus climbers and 12 Sherpas in the group. It looks like an army compared to our little group. Boy could we use the Sherpas! Nobody is working now and Peter is looking haggard. We walked about half way to the Canada camp then Stan said lets go down to Base Camp. No argument from me. We walked back down and started packing. It took a while but we were off at 1 PM. Peter, Heinz and Dagmar were talking seriously about something. I think about food at camp 1 & 2. The Sherpas all stayed in a huddle. Peter and Dagmar came down and discussed us leaving. He said we should have done it 4 or 5 days ago. Well, thats OK to say now but neither of us felt so bad then. We had a cup of tea and left. My right flank was hurting and so was my ribs on the lower right. We took off and made our way through the snow. Others have gone down this morning so the path wasnt too bad to follow. Very slippery in sections through. About 45 minutes out Stan realized that he had dropped his therm-a-rest somewhere. We got to our 2nd camp in the ice in 1 hours. We stumbled through and continued along the ridge. We got to the blue tents at around 3 hours. Stupid me, checked the 2 blue/green tents and they were open. Looked at the blue one but didnt see a combination lock. We then hiked up a steep hill to the purple/green which had master locks on it. I thought soup would have been nice to have now. We continued on very tired. I had to pee and just squirted out a little red liquid. Had the urge to go many times with no volume at all. Rocks, rocks and more rocks. It was cold near the tents and along the ridge. We dropped further down in the valley and it was a little better. Up, down, up. Very monotonous. We came to our first nights camp site at around 5:30. We were very tired and knew we had a long way still. Crossed a frozen river and continued to the Italians camp. I thought it was a short way from there but it was of course longer. The sun was still on us and we both smelled incense. I swear there was a monk in the rocks. There was a shelter under an immense boulder. I felt someone watching us as we descended down a steep path into the valley. Now we could see Everest and all the other peaks surrounding it. Lots of new snow covering them. The sun was just about ready to go under the ridge and I would get cold. We walked forever to get through this part. Finally we came to the pinnacle things that balance rocks. They are crumbling towers holding up huge boulders. The one I recognized was a huge flat stone that looked as if it had been cut by a mason balanced on one of these towers. Finally in the twilight we spotted the America "compound". Across the nasty boulder field and around the moraine to base camp. It was a little past 8 P.M. When we got here I found a tent and got some sleeping pads. Soon we settled in and it was shortly time for tea and dinner. Mark and Gert were in good spirits. Gert is heading back tomorrow. Dinner was great! Some type of meat, boiled potatoes, sauce and a fried sweet bread served nicely on one plate. Heh presentation is everything, right. I think the cook is Deerta. He does a great job down here. The dessert was heated mangos. I grabbed some hot water for bed time and was soon fast asleep. I was sleeping so nice untilI had this dream I was on the toilet at my house when I was a little kid. Wouldnt you know it, I peed in my sleeping bag. Surprise! Youre not at home and your definitely not on a toilet. Yuck. Everything was soaked but I was lucky I had taking off my expedition weight underwear and they were dry. I stripped off and then tried to clean up the mess. I cant believe this happened.

5-01-94 Sun. - Base Camp Day 31

16930 30.42 +0.07

Air!!!! Lots of it toowell sort of. Aside from wetting the bed I slept the best I have for a long time. Soft foam mattresses made a huge difference. Hope nobody else comes down because we doubled the pads for super comfort. I switched tents when Gert left. Breakfast was really good. We had oatmeal that didnt taste like past, eggs on chapatti like bread that wasnt over done. Today I think Ill clean up and wash my hair. Im definitely brushing my teeth. I havent done that for a few days. Yuck, scum teeth. Hopefully I can wash out my underwear today also. Its a little windy though and everything would probably just get dusty. We visited some trekkers this morning. They are from England. The one lady around 40 has altitude sickness and diarrhea. 2:45 PM. The cook is on Nepal time so its only 12:15 and dinner is at 1 PM. No problem we got our food stash here. The weather is OK. Its not really cold but windy cool. 3:30 PM. We just had a great lunch of home fries, Swiss cheese and apple tart. Really were super fries. Not those hard thin kind. 5:20 PM. I washed my hair!!! I had Deerta bring us a basin and pitcher of warm water. I washed my hair and then washed up with Stans hand towel. It felt super. I pulled clothes out of the black storage bag so it now feels like all new stuff. I washed the underwear and Im letting it dry in the tent. Its still windy out but the direction switched from North to South so at least its not blowing in the tent. We had a big discussion on muscle lose and what causes it. Theres much controversy. Im now munching on these Gold Crunch corn flakes that are made in India. It ways on the package "High Energy Food" in an explosive like scheme. It tastes like they added cardboard in the flakes. Not much going on today but thats fine with us. I cant believe how much better I feel already from yesterday. Were drinking tons of liquids and that makes a ton of difference. I dont really want to know whats going on at ABC just yet. Its now around 7:30 and it feels great not to be freezing our asses off. We have the tent fixed up OK. Boy to sleep in comfort makes a huge difference. The zippers on these Sierra Designs tents are failing 2 in 2 days. Not a good design. We tried listening to short wave but couldnt find the BBC. Stan said "Why do the trekkers come all the way up here if all they do is sit in their tent?" I ask the older of the two ladies about their trip so far. They said they had been in Nepal two weeks trekking and liked it far better then Tibet. She had always read about Everest and always wanted to see it. She thought it quite remote and desolate but very beautiful. She was around 60 or so and wanted to hike up to get a better photo of the Rongbuk. They thought it was very cold and desolate. I told them this was paradise compared to where we just were. I can imagine Stan will only go for one more day here. Hope my side and back get better. We now have 15 more days until the yaks come at ABC. Not lots of time really but we will do our best. I wonder whats going on at the drop zone in Chicago. I guess its only 3:30am Sun. Hope they have a good day.

5-2-94 Mon. - Base Camp Day 33

16,950 30.42 +0.07

11:30am Morning! Having tea sitting out behind the dining tent. Im staring at this absolutely huge mountain they call Everest 25 kilometers away. Ahhh base camp life. The trekkers left today. A British guy asked if I was with the German expedition. I said yea and we talked a bit. During mid-sentence he said, "Funny, you dont have an accent?!" He made a call from here to his home in England. Their response was "Well, we thought there was a phone there." I think it was a day of disappointment for the chap. So, they headed off for other far away places like Xigatse and Lhasa. Nice folks really. If I called home now it would be I think 7 PM Sunday. Thats kind of crazy. I wouldnt know what to say anyway. OK base camp as I see it today: As I sit on my foam pad folded and leaned on the ten all around where I sit is yak dung, broken bottles, bits of string, rope, cloth, straw, and rocks. Tents are grouped in clusters. Not many seem to be enjoying the weather. Of course only three people in camp are on Tibetan time; me, Stan and Mark. For us its around noon and for the rest its 10:30. That is insane. The summit looks windless and a perfect day for a summit bid. The very first weve had so far. I guess the jet stream is up now. Some sparse movement with the Bryce camp. The Canadians have picked a team and I havent seen much of them lately. Smattering of that strange music from China. Im trying to even out the raccoon tan I have on my face. There are prayer flags and alters on the moraine peak above the camps. Some new flags and others very old. The flags are yellow, blue, white, red, green and have prayers written on them in Buddhist script. As the flags wave the wind carrier the prayers. Cool idea. Disco music is emanating from the chalet tents. I just noticed there are two trash barrels in the middle of everything. Bird here: pigeons, big black ones like crows, doves, and sparrows. The black ones really soar. The wind is picking up a little now from the South. Clouds just seem to hang in the air barely moving. Well the music is louder and its Donna Summer singing "Hot Love." Oh yeah, I peed again. Damn it. I had this crazy dream and then started to pee. I caught myself but it still made a mess. My right kidney was aching last night especially after a bad coughing session. I put Stans hot water bottle on it and it helped greatly. Tomorrow we are going to start back up. I hope I feel OK. Ive been putting sun block on in layers. I look like Al Jolson with all the white crap around my nose and lips. The music is totally 70s now. Not bad really but its kind of a time warp. 2pm Ive been watching a guy wash up across the way. It took him around a hour to do his hair. He looks like a guy who is enjoying every single drop of water on his head. No hes going to do his legs. The wind picked up so I moved inside the tent. Stan gave Deerta a hot pink ball cap we picked up in Salt Lake City. It looks good on him. Stan went for a little jog around the camp. We talked about moving up tomorrow. I think its wise to do it in two days but well see. I now have a sunburn on my arms. Hopefully my face will even out. I put Decadron on the fried parts. The plan of attack now is to carry 2 or 3 times to the North Col. Use oxygen during the carries. Thats 3 days gone. Carry 2 or 3 times to Camp 2. Theres 6 days. I cant quite comprehend it all yet but looking at shear weight its around a minimum of 55 to 60 pounds. I wont carry that here. All I can say is that Ill do my best. 4pm Mark heard there is a cyclone off Bangladesh. Thats bad news for us if it hits. Stan is bummed out. He knows there are not that many chances to go on a climb like this. I promise Ill try hard. He just poked my kidney and it doesnt seem to be better. It still hurts but at least Im peeing clear. The weather is coming from Tibet now and its overcast.

5-3-94 Tue. - Camp 1 1/2 Day 34

18,870 30.42 -1.15

5:15pm Now we are way to ABC again. We started at 10:45 and got here at around 4. 5 hours and 20 minutes where is no speed record for sure but were here. If we pushed we could have made it the whole way. Stans very tired like I am. We had a nice lunch at around 2:10pm. Nothing really memorable about the walk up really. We ran into 5 people coming down to base camp. Barb was one of them. Yesterday they carried an oxygen bottle to Camp 2 and slept at the North col. Shes going to base camp from the col. Thats really a long way! Their expedition is three months and this is her 5th time to base camp. Matt came down last evening. It was really good to see him again. He and Michael stayed at the col 2 nights and tried to carry to Camp 2. No go with the weather. Heinz carried two bottles about 1/3 of the way across but bad weather stopped him. He stored them. I think we have resigned ourselves of this mountain in a way. We did our usual, "This is our last climb" talk and I agreed. I still would like to climb around in the states though. I just really dont like this long and grinding expedition.

5-4-94 Wen. - ABC Day 35

20,710 30.42 -2.25

At the camp last night the soup was great. I like cooking and the EPI gas stove worked super. It really performed well at nearly 19,000 feet. Tomato soup was the main course and we had some cheese spread on some salty/sweet crackers. We ate the cheese and meat we brought from base camp. Breakfast was butter grits and tea. Yummy. We cleaned up and locked the tent. On the road at 10:15. We had to build a bridge to cross the river. When we finally got to our second camp we saw a black puppy. I know it was the same one as in base camp. He is the cute one with the bell around his neck. The Taiwanese guy said it followed two trekkers up and stayed. Oh great. This guy went on and on about their expedition in very broken English. We saw Marty Smith from Russell Bryces group. He looked fit and was heading back to base camp for a five day rest.

6:30pm Were baaaaak. Not so peppy but were here. Another very long day. This really sealed it for us I think. Stan was very tired almost the entire way up. I was tired too. Really no energy to speak of. It took from 10:20 to 4 for me and Stan got here at around 4:45 or so. It was really nice out thought except for a breeze at our backs. Lots of melting glaciers and snow. The ice seracs were spectacular. They remind me of sail boats all in line with one another. I thought today would be much shorter but no. I just went in to get some tea. Mark made it up in 6 hours but looks trashed. Peter is down from Camp 3 and has frost nipped toes. Tomorrow Tom and Heinz I think go for the summit. Tom is very, very strong Peter says. They got to Camp 2 in 6 hours from here. Wow, thats cooking. I talked to Dagmar when I got here. She and Heinz had to move there tents because of melting ice. Its like a pond where they were. I checked our tent and it was melted out under it and very uneven. I decided to move it and started clearing a platform where Ang Nima suggested at least a week ago. He was afraid of rock fall and Im in agreement with him now since Ive seen so much in the past couple of days. I worked for around an hour or more trying to get it cleared. Tough on my gloves which are now trashed. Nima helped Stan drag the tent over and all the stuff. It fit pretty good except our head are at the door. I built a little wall out back while Stan organized inside a bit. I like sorting through rocks actually. I made a little flat rock porch out front of the vestibule. Boy I hope dinner is good tonight.

5-5-94 Thur. - ABC Day 36

20,750 30.42 -2.28

10:30am Windy out today. No go for anyone here. The Taiwanese were to have made a summit try but they didnt. They got an extension until the 10th when their yaks are coming. Hope they get a chance. Theyre now at Camp 6 on the ridge. If they tried today they wouldve gotten blow off. Tom, Heinz, Wolfie and Michael are at Camp 2 or Camp 5 if you got with everyone elses terms. Michael is coming down today. On the radio today Peter gave Tom the "stay put" call. Tom sounds good to me. Heinz has two bottles of oxygen at Camp 2 but wants to try without. Sounds stupid to me since you probably only get one chance. Mark was concerned at breakfast about oxygen. Stan is going to sell him some of ours I think. At midnight last night a Sherpa was found unconscience. He was with the American team. Dagmar went over to help out and they transported him down with seven other Sherpas. Dagmar said he had 3 grand mal seizures and had HACE and HAPE. I thought it would be a great place for a Gamow bag especially since it occurred at night and they had to wait until day light. Theres always with argument about using it. I dont think the Europeans like it much. They use Nifedipine instead of it to treat HAPE and would only consider it for HACE. Looks like a boring day in ABC today. Windy, cold but at least the food was better last night. Yak, potatoes, cabbage and pears. The Yak was good. It tasted like tough steak. I didnt really sleep too good. I had a headache so I took Diamox, Decadron and Tylenol. That cleared it right up. 6:15pm I was right it was a boring day. The guys came back from Camp 2. They sound very tired. I wonder if theyll come to supper. The wind hasnt let up at all. It blew the dining tent down in one big gust. Those poor guys had to walk down into this crap. I think our plan is for us to use oxygen to got to the North Col to pick up Stans stuff and take photos then grab my personal gear at the ropes. Sounds like the plan to me. The weather really sucks though. This is really a desperate campsite. Im sure it could be worse but its not so good. Im tired of being cold and I want to use a real toilet and bath.

5-6-94 Fri - ABC - Day 37

20,900 30.43 -0.03

Set the barometer at 0.00 last night. Well, were still here. Little windy but not too bad. Nobody is moving anywhere. There is just no motivation at all. The Austrians are pissed about coming down. Today is too windy up top but I guess Camp 3 was in reach. The Sherpas are supposed to go tomorrow to do fixed lines. Havent seen Mingma for days. As Sirdar thats bad. Breakfast as usual sucked. It was 9:50 before the gong. We already were out looking for coffee. Mark gets up early and he said the kitchen is a joke. The cook is so haphazard with the stuff. We had powdered eggs and spicy strip of sausage on chappatis. It was sickening. On the bottom was rye bread. We did get them to bring a can of powdered milk. There is no rhyme or reason to meals. One day we have hot milk, black tea, water and now only hot water. I think weve somehow broken the other thermos. Food is hardly edible anymore. Same all the time. Slept on my neck wrong and now its very stiff. My pillow needs to be fixed. Everyone is driving each other crazy I think.

The personnel in my eyes:

Heinz: Still very strong, determined. Rested when he had too and is prepared. Quiet, introspective and will summit if given the chance. Leader to the "boys".

Tom: Very strong. Probably the strongest in the group. Very determined but has to be patient. Has the potential to summit without oxygen.

Wolfgang: Hanging in there. Still looks blue to me around the lips. Probably wont (and shouldnt) go past Camp 3.

Michael: Strange and an enigma. Hard to get a true reading on. Sat 3 days at the Col then sat 3 days at Camp 2. Not wise decisions. Looks very tired and took 8 hours to get to Camp 2 which is too long. Dark horse.

Mark: Lots of coughing. North Col 3 times but looked bad each time he came back. Talks much more about using oxygen now. He is breathing hard and labored the last couple days just walking around ABC. I dont think he will pass Camp 2.

Matt: Looks tired at base camp but dont we all coming down. Has to get rid of the cough. Strong and methodical. Has been to the Col 3 times.

The rest of us are out: Gert, Dagmar, Stan and myself. My ribs and cough is killing me. Got rid of the kidney infection at base camp but Im shot. From what I hear, the sun doesnt hit Camp 2 until 1pm. Very cold there. Great place to lose fingers and toes. 1pm We had a visit from Mark and he wants to buy two bottles of oxygen. He was here an hour ago and hasnt left camp yet for the Col where he is to spend the night. He thinks the Sherpas will carry to oxygen to Camp 3. I have severe doubts about that. Camp 3 has one tent and the rock band is still not fixed. Time is short. I figure summit latest n 14th. Thats in eight days. A minimum of 4 days is needed I think from here in perfect conditions with all the camps and ropes complete. Well see. We are going tomorrow up to the Col to get Stans stuff and take photos.

5:30pm Weather coming over the mountains now and it looks like high winds on the Col. The summit is covered in the clouds. I imagine the South side is getting hit hard. I just wish we had better communications and weather reports. Mark said that the American groups 72 hour forecast called for better weather in 4 to 5 days. The jet stream has been split by the cyclone in Bangladesh. Who knows, its all "dial-a-joke" anyway as any weather reports. Ill rely on my eyes and barometer. Ive been reading and listening to my tapes. ABC life at its best. I fell asleep after lunch. It really got hot in the tent when the sun is out. Im now reading "A Perfect Spy" by LeCarre. Its the only book I havent read yet. This tent looks like a bomb exploded. Oh well. The dining tent is very crowed these days. Meal times are crazyfreezing and chewing. Pass this, pass that. Yucky food for lunch today. Rice with pieces of sausage and boiled cabbage. The saving grace was cake but it didnt have too much sugar in it. I finally went after breakfast today. I think I will need an asshole transplant after this damn trip. Nothing helps. The toilet is just so sick and now is totally awful. Shit and paper everywhere.

OK Ill now describe a typical day in Advanced Base Camp:

7:30am Getting sunny

8:45 am Unzip bag.Getting warmer

9:00 am Get dressed for breakfast.

9:30 am Start getting pissed because breakfast gong hasnt been heard.

9:45 am Get out of tent hoping for tea to no avail.

10:00 am Finally cooks ready. Get to cook tent. Pike in on rocky little folding stools. Not enough mugs, and bowls. Where are they? Coffee, cocoa, sugar and hot water combination to start off. Everyone crowded in. Nimah brings serving tray with plates with eggs on toast or worse yet porridge. We all look down in disgust at our plates. We know we have to eat. Now its about 10:30. If the weather is not good or its a rest day its back to the tent.

11:00 am - 2:00 pm. Sit or lie in tent to read or write in diary.

2:00pm Get dressed for lunch.

2:15pm Plates bang and like hibernating animals we emerge from our dens to the same old tent scene again. Cold, windy with the tent slapping you in the back of the head. "Please pass the slop." We talk about nothing. I try to figure out more German words. Finally get tired of that and try to ignore everything. We finish and again crawl out of the dark nasty dining tent. I spend a minute looking at our nemesis, Mt. Everest then figure out its windy and cold and dive into our burrows.

3:30 pm Strip down time because of the heat in the tent. Its getting hotter and were down to our shorts. Perhaps a nap to make time pass quicker. Hot, cold, hot, cold. The zippers get a workout trying to regulate the temperature. More reading, writing, skydive designing, listening to music and just plain getting totally bored.

5:30 - 6:00 pm Temperature drops so we put clothes back on.

6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Slowly freeze until we get dressed for supper

8:30 pm Ring the damn gong! Were freezing. Finally we hear it and climb out of the tent. Look at the mountain and turn away quickly. I grab an empty water bottle and squeeze into the dining tent. We wait for soup. One day its red the next day its white. It never changes. The end person ladles. It feels just like an orphanage in here. "More please." We eat popcorn and try to warm up. The kerosene lamp is brought in and the fumes fill the tent. No hot drinks yet. Damn Im cold. The food pats are brought in. Mystery dishes in the dark with the steam rolling out. Pass the plates and dish up. We eat with little conversation. We give the dishes back and get some dessert. Usually its warmed up canned fruit which is good. Now the hot drinks come. We fill our bottles for bed and say good night. Stumbling out of the dining tent and back to our den for the night.

9:30 pm. Bedtime. We settle into our sleeping bags and toss and turn trying to get comfortable. Laying awake for hours thinking about other places and other things to do. Finally sleep comes. Well thats the day! Exciting life here, huh?

5-7-94 Sat - ABC - Day 38

20,820 30.42 +0.02

11am Windy again but the pressure is going up slowly. I wanted to go to the Col but the wind is right in our face. Peter said Rob Hall is going for the summit on May 9th. Weather is always a factor. Everyone is standing around sort of in a daze. Lots of talk but no action. Mark wants to go today taking two bottles of oxygen and my regulator. The Canadians are coming up today from base camp. They are very concerned about fixing the yellow band which was Peters job. Peter said the only realistic way is have two climbers and two Sherpas go up, fix the band, sleep in Camp 3 then summit but of course they need perfect weather. The food is really terrible anymore. Last night we had a broth soup with scoops of rice in the bottom. The main meal was mashed potatoes, "puke" sauce (which nobody eats), cauliflower, and spam. Most everyone just ate the potatoes. Not too nutritious for climbers at altitude. Michael was saying "Great" all the time and drove us all crazy. But of course he likes spam. Slept OK but still tossed and turned all night. The Taiwanese have only a couple days to go until their yaks come. We heard they lost a tent near the ridge but it looks like they are going up today anyway. My plan for the day is to take photos of the camps when the lighting is good. Maybe Ill clean the tent too. I guess there is very little food in base camp so going down early is not really an option. Matt said Deerta was borrowing eggs. He also lost his hat we gave him in a card game. The hat really did look good on him.

"Welcome to the Jungle!" Guns N Roses couldnt have been more right. "It gets worse every day""Live like an animal". Yep. Hiding in our little dens, crapping in the rocks, eating garbage. "Its gonna bring ya down." Im now listening to Van Halens "Top of the World". Funny isnt it, here I am laying here staring at "the top of the world." Absolutely the highest place on earth and the damn thing just stares back daring you to just try to set foot on it. The mountain has definitely got its own personality. I wonder if its like this in prison. You know, enduring hours and hour of seemingly nothingness all day.

3:30pm Lunch was spaghetti, and corned beef that looked like cat food. We had a meeting and there is still much confusion. Peter and Michael got into it about stocking camps and what is exactly where. Now we know there is nothing at Camp 3. It needs stoves, fuel etc. Camp 2 has 4 gas stoves and food. There was a big discussion on oxygen. Now it seems that the Sherpas will carry to Camp 2. That might have made a difference to me. It was so overwhelming about all the oxygen carrying that I got discouraged and in a sense I just quit. Now Peter says that the first trip theyre carrying Michael and Heinzs oxygen. Gert mentioned he wanted to spend time at the col and Peter told him he really doesnt have a chance at the summit and he had plenty of time to do it in the past 3 weeks. Case closed I guess. He hasnt asked us about our plans but I guess he knows what were up to. Mark took off after lunch and headed up to the col. Michael thinks carrying two bottles on summit day is totally impossible. Much discussion about this possibility. You can climb 6 hours at 4 liters per minutes. Its snowing now just like the past three or four days. The weather is from Nepal it looks like. I hope tomorrow is nice we need to get out of here and down to base camp. Stan is very discouraged about this whole thing. I think there are things to be learned though: Team members should know what is to be expected from them. Time schedules as to what should be done when would have been useful. Schedule rest days. Services to the team members should be detailed. Progress reports to individual members as to how the expedition is going. As it is most are left wondering if things are OK. I guess Im looking at this as a world record skydiving attempt. Everyone should know their job well and know what is expected of them. Communication is critical. Break down the larger group to manageable teams with no competition involved but just for more complete direction.

6pm Boring day. I guess we could have gone but weather was iffy and not good for photos. Tomorrow we go at least to the ropes to pick up stuff. The Canadians are coming up as well as Russell Bryces team. Its getting colder without the sun. My butt is sore from laying around so much in this stupid tent. Boy am I glad I have my music tapes. They sort of warm me up in a way and make me happy. Its Saturday! My brother and I used to call it "Cartoon Day" at home. We would quickly eat our cereal and plop down in front of the TV. Mom would get up and put on her house coat and sit in her green chair and read. Im listening to Poco, "Follow your Dreams." I cant say we havent done that. "Give it your best""Life is what you choose." How true. So many dont give it a show and languish about wishing something would happen. Chances have to be taken and sometimes you fail. Life would be rather predictable if everything worked out. Well the fire is gone from this quest and it got to be more like a job the past couple months. It possessed our life and ran us. Its time to get back in control and put things in order.

5-8-94 Sun - ABC - Day 39

20,850 30.42 0.00

Strange Day. Beautiful this morning with no wind. The Sherpas left early for the Col. Stan and I ate breakfast and decided to take off to get our stuff at around 10:30. We got to the crampons at around 11:15 or so. Russell Bryces group was putting up more fixed line today on their rather hairy route. We met Gert at the crampons and he looked rather tired and over dressed in a down suit. I was hot in a lightweight underwear top. We got to the bags in good time. Im taking lots of photos. We sorted out gear from the bags and loaded up the backpacks for the return. I put on my harness and started up the fixed ropes behind Stan. He had the oxygen bottle out and was going to breath it on the way up to see if there is any big difference. Snow was really balling up under our crampons since it was so hot out. The jumaring wasnt very hard though. Stan didnt think the oxygen helped all that much. We were climbing away and then I noticed my barometer on my Avocet watch was really dropping from the mornings reading. The sky in front of us was blue with no clouds. I turned around and it was really bad weather moving in with dark skies. Stan was going to head up to get his stuff at the col. I told him I loved him and gave his hand a squeeze and then headed back down the ropes. I met Gert and Matt at the bottom and wished them good luck. Dagmar was crossing the glacier with a large pack and looked tired. She said she was going up to the col. I looked up the col from the glacier and could see Stan slowly climbing upwards. I left at around 2 pm and I guess it would take about 3 hours to get to the top. The clouds were really moving in fast and the barometer continued to drop. I got to crampon corner and put on some heavier clothes. It started snowing a little as I got to the Canadian Camp. I talked to the Sherpas and they said two Japanese and a Sherpa summited today on the South side. No word on the Taiwanese guys yet. I guess some turned back but one kept going up. I think the words, "Summit or die" was the gist of his quest. The snow is coming down really hard now. I went to the dining tent and the Canadians were there with Wolfie, Peter and Michael. I had some tea and shared stories with them. The snow came down hard for about an hour. Im worried about Stan. He left his pile jacket at the crampons because it was so hot. Matt is behind him which is good. I heard that the Sierra Designs tent at the Col is destroyed. It must have been destroyed a couple days ago in the fierce winds we had. I just pray Stans stuff is still up there in the bag. Hopefully he secured it well and it didnt blow off the Col. It still is snowing lightly.

5-9-94 Mon - ABC - Day 40

20,850 30.42 0.00

Im sitting here in the sun waiting for Stan to come down after a cold night in my lonely tent. Poor Stan spent the night with Gert, Matt, Mark and Dagmar in one tent. No sleep at all this mornings radio call announced. Turning back was a wise move for me since I didnt have a sleeping bag and the tent was really full. Peter seems depressed and only German was spoken this morning but luckily Im translating fairly well now. The jet stream is dropping and it is not in a good position. There is a lenticular cloud over the summit today. The clouds are moving fast. Dagmar is trying to call Camp 2 to talk to Mingma, Kazi or Turga. No response so far and now she is calling here in German. I see Stan and Gert coming down the fixed rope and I saw four Canadians going up. Last night at around 11 or 12 Jamie and John came over to negotiate oxygen in order to fix the yellow band. I heard they were to pick up the oxygen at the ropes and would be there at the band on the 14th or 16th. The Taiwanese climber is still not found. The explanation was all in German but as I get it he summited but got mixed up on the descent route and missed the 2nd step. He made a snow cave but now he is still missing. I think Marty went up with oxygen to rescue him. He may have crossed the pyramid and descended into Nepal but its really hard to tell what happened to him. Slept OK but had a headache all night. I took mega drugs to get rid of it. Breakfast was again terrible. Rice gruel and bread. I couldnt eat hardly anything so I drank tea and mocha. At least today we can sit outside.

7pm Stan made it back OK at around 1:30. We decided to gather the stuff up and pack. We walked after lunch to the crampon spot where Stan dragged a yellow bag. We stopped at the Canadians tent where Dennis, John Chantel and another man were sitting around. I went ahead and picked up the bag for Stan while he had tea. When I came back Stan had told the Canadians that they could have the oxygen of ours. They said their Sherpas are refusing to go without it now and that it would be a huge help. They have a little more time than we do on the mountain. These guys are really super and I really hope they make it. We came on back and started packing up our stuff for the yak bags. We will be in base camp for around a week waiting for the others to come on down. I hope the food lasts. Stans report of the North Col: He had a hell of a time in a white out negotiating crevasses. He was on his hands and knees most of the way feeling the way to the tents. After falling in 3 or 4 crevasses he moved even slower. Finally he saw Mark and was able to get to the tent. Matt came up about 45 minutes later. Stan said Dagmar was in very poor shape and tried to walk in the tent with crampons on. Nobody ate anything that night. The other tent is totally trashed and the five of them crammed into the only tent left. Mark and Matt were waiting for the Canadian Sherpas to make a trail before they left for Camp 2. The snow up there is really deep. Our Sherpas were wading through waist deep to get to Camp 2 yesterday. They fell many times and were glad they were clipped into the fixed line. Dagmar is going to stay another night at the Col. A huge group of Americans went up today to the Col. No word on the Taiwanese guy they call Norman. Eric Simonson of the American group said he saw him through a telescope and tried to direct him via radio across the face. He went to the couloir but backed off.

5-10-94 Tue - ABC - Base Camp - Day 41

20,850 30.42 0.00 (written May 11 11:30)

Slept poorly last night. My ribs are really hurting bad. I took two Tylenol #3s and was up until around 4am. Its windy and cold but sunny. As usual breakfast was awful and I didnt really eat. Heinz, Wolfie, Tom and maybe Michael were planning to go up. I listened to Matts radio call at 10 last night. It was very windy at the col. Mark, Matt and Dagmar are at the col together. Mark made a carry to Camp 2 which took a long time. Matt stashed stuff half way there. Peter wants Dagmar to come down now. He told up if she goes to Camp 2 there will be no rescue and it is death for her. He is not happy with her for taking a space that now should be for climbers. Well no sense beating around the bush Peter. Tell it like it is. The weather is not really good for the next couple of days up there with more wind in the forecast. Ang Rite wont go before the 16th. I think our summit attempt will be on the 14th or 15th. Michael was again vasilating on goi g or not. He was all dressed sitting drinking tea but no go. I think Mark went up too early. Now hes been at the col for 4 nights but then again its an individual thing. Stan liked it up at the col. You can eat and cook when you want. I guess thats a good point. Wolfie bought my Avocet altimeter watch. They are very expensive in Germany he said. Hes such a nice kid. I really hope he goes far in climbing. Oh yeah I forgot to mention that Camp 3 blew away. The Sherpas are going to bring another tent up. I guess with the high winds it blew of the mountain with everything in it. So now theres no tent, cooking pots, food, stoves, fuel etc. We decided after breakfast to go to base camp, wind or not. We told Peter about the oxygen deal with the Canadians. We packed up our packs and finished the yak load bags. The tent stays up for other team members to use. Matt said the big tent at base camp has a trashed zipper but the little one is probably OK. We brought some food since we heard there wasnt much in camp down there. I carried the foam pad back down along with a down vest and pants. At 12:20 we started down with gusty wind blowing down the valley. Stan and I thought it would stop soon but little did we know it was just starting. We took lots of photos of the huge seracs on the way down. With lack of sleep I kept tripping on everything and generally felt uncoordinated. We met a group of guys from Russell Bryces team on the way back. Vaughn Whitby said Robert was still in the Singapore hospital. Now its been one month since they helicoptered him off the South side. The diagnosis is now Salmonella. Vaughn looked very tired and said he was having a tough time of it.

I forgot to say yesterday nine people summited on the South side. Rob Hall and Ed Viesters took their group to the top. Wow, great job Rob. Four times out of six attempts. That makes a total of 12 for the South and 1 dead Taiwanese for the North. Actually none for the north. You have to return for it to count. Sort of like a skydiving world record. Everyone has to live for 24 hours after the record for it to count. OK back to the journey down. It took about 1 hours to get to the serac camp with the wind blowing hard all the way down. Saw the large American team members going back up. Stan saw the man who rescued his therm-a-rest and thanked him. Hes from Alaska and we wrote down hes address. Stan wants to send him something for finding his pad. The trail down is ever changing since its all glacier and rocks moving very slowly. The downhill sections were really slippery with the ice poking through. I wanted to stop at the midway camp but it was only 3:30 so we slogged onwards. All I kept thinking about was food. It was a thin crust Cassanos sausage pizza cut in squares with the rust slightly burnt with a liter of ice cold Pepsi. Reality time. We limped along the pinnacle valley and took more photos. It really is an amazing sight of mud, dirt pinnacles with rocks balanced on top. One good rain and it would all melt away. Finally the "promised land" appeared. Only the great desert of rocks and boulders were in our way. Made it down in a terribly slow 7 hours but we were down. Deerta cooked up a supper of soup, popcorn, noodles, eggs, potatoes, sardines and yellow pudding. Way too much good food. I want him to save some for tomorrows lunch. Its good to be down.

5-11-94 Wen - Base Camp - Day 42

Base camp life in full swing. Breakfast was around 11am. Oatmeal, and an egg on a pancake. Really tasty! I spent the morning in the tent reading and loking at Everest through the binoculars. It looks scary near the top with only rock at the yellow band and above. It would be very difficult to climb above there. Lunch was around 2 or 3 and was chapattis, tuna, potatoes and a piece of cheese. We then got some hot water for a bath. Yahoo! Clean hair. We washed up and felt much better. Im listening to the BBC on the short wave now. Not too much news in the world today. We also did some laundry that was long over due. The zipper on the stretch dome is shot so we used it to hang our clothes over to dry. The temperature is not too bad and if the wind wasnt blowing it would probably be hot. The stream is growing into a river full of ice chunks near the camp. Starting a new book by Robin Cook but the plot is very predictable. Soon I will need to make some book trades. It looks like a boring week but perhaps we can walk to the monastery. The yaks for the Taiwanese started up to ABC yesterday. The yaks are so crazy looking. I saw a yak herder woman seated feeding three yaks. One yak kept putting its face in here so she spit at it. It then would shake its head and repeat the whole scene. There is quite a difference in the attitudes of yak drivers and their yaks. Some are gentle but most are kind of rough on them. The yak herders are deadly accurate throwing rocks. Last night one of them looked in our dining tent begging for food. They look like they would kill you if given a chance besides stealing you blind. Very rough characters to say the least. I still would like to do some trading with them and get a yak bell. I would like to sit outside but its too windy. I cant complain though at least Im not freezing like at ABC. I slept like a baby last night. I took a Tylenol #3 and a of Halcion. I dont think I moved once and the bonus is I didnt pee the bed. I wish I could fax home to tell everyone were OK. It will be two weeks before we get home. My ribs hurt when I lay down but I havent been coughing now that were down in the "thick" air of base camp. Everest has a plume of snow coming off the summit today. Not as big as yesterday but very windy. The dining tent here smells like rotting food right now. Still its a lot better than our little tent for temperature. It can get really very hot in the small tent. When I get home I want to eat: A thin crust Cassanos sausage pizza Spring Lake Country Club filet mignon with twice baked potatoes Breakfast cereal with real milk Pepsi Ice cream Lasagna with garlic bread. Well not all at once of course! Peter said Carlos summited Cho Oyu 16 days ago and is over on the south side of Everest. He and Rob Hall are going to climb Lhotse. Carlos is attempting all the 8,000 meter peaks and I think has 6 climbed already.

5-12-94 Thur - Base Camp - Day 43

Boring day but at least I can sit outside a bit. Finished "Terminal" Kind of a stupid book really. Traded off "Congo" for another John LeCarre, book and a huge book called Distant "something". I cant remember the exact title. Stan started the LeCarre. We were going to walk to the monastery but its really windy out. My ribs are still hurting and a day not breathing hard will do them good. Went over to the Canadians for a book trade this morning. We talked books with the cook. She says she doesnt get to read much. They have a wonderful kitchen setup. When the wind isnt blowing its really quite peaceful with the stream in the background. The cook said the weather is expected to get worse over the next four or five days. Right now the summit and the NE ridge is very windy. There is a huge plume off the summit. Gert came down yesterday evening. He took the purple tent since the other has trashed zippers. He seems homesick like all of us. We played a lot of gin rummy yesterday. Glad I brought the cards. I plan on getting my pullover embroidered in Kathmandu. Dennis says they do a great job. He has a cool looking dragon on the Canadian team sweater.

5pm Spent most of the day reading "Far Pavilions". Well "Distant", "Far" sort of the same! Great book.

5-13-94 Fri - Base Camp - Day 44

Friday the 13th! Didnt even realize it until I wrote it down. We decided to walk to the Rongbuk monastery today. It was very windy though from the South. Everest was really calm before 11am but after that very windy on the summit. Slept great last night and didnt cough too much. Not really much to see at the since the Chinese really destroyed much of the original place. Some monks were washing outside and laying items out on the rocks to dry. There are little refuges in the hills around the monastery for meditation. The walk is much further than you think and I was a little tired coming back. My book is great. Ill have to read fast to finish it though. Gert washed up today and did laundry. Nothing much on news about ABC and above. Ill check with the Canadians. I met some German trekkers today who are in China for 8 months. Not me bucko. Im outta here in a week! They had a lot of questions about base camp and climbing.

5-14-94 Sat - Base Camp - Day 45

Wow its been 35 days about 17,000 feet. Stan is trading for yak bells. They want 90 jwan which is around $10. They sort of smell from the yaks but there really pretty cool. Their laying on my jacket right now. Damn I hope they dont have any yek "cooties" on them. Yuk. Stan said there is about 7 yakkies around Gerts tent. They are getting a bit more forceful now since a trade was struck. When our stuff comes down maybe well make another trade so I can get a knife. Its just like Africa all over again except we live in a tent. They yak herders get more bold and start opening up the tent and looking in. Thats not good and didnt used to happen. Now I have to stay in the tent when there around. Otherwise they take stuff. Stan has just left to rescue poor Gert. I think Gerts too nice to say "No" to the yakkies. Stan said that Alex Lowe and the MTV women, Sandy Pittman are in camp and have abandoned there expedition up the Kangshung face. They are trying to get a jeep to go to Lhasa he thinks and use the Canadians radio and fax. Well the ribs arent getting any better but my cough is. I take a Tylanol #3 with a half of a Halcion to get to sleep so I dont cough. 4pm The yak guys are driving us crazy. Theyre everywhere. Stan is going to trade hes ancient tennis shoes and some clothes for some jingle bells I like later on. Gert found out from Susan that our expedition is over. Peter got to 8300meter which is just above Camp 3. I was too windy and was forecast to get worse. We cant even see the mountain now because its so cloudy. Deerta heated up some water so Stan could shave this afternoon. It took him hours to get his beard off and now he looks sort of funny with a mountain beard tan.

5-15-94 Sun - Base Camp - Day 46

11am Well had another accident last night. Damn. Have to learn to wake up anytime I dream of a real toilet. I caught myself but only after about 100 ml went into my pants and sleeping bag. I wonder if more people do this? I just got back from the toilet and man was it epic. I thought I was going to have to call an ambulance. I think its all the codeine in the Tylenol #3s. Ill try to sleep without it tonight. Well the upside of all of this is that Ive been sleeping great. The yaks are getting loaded up to go halfway to ABC today. There are around 30 yaks. This morning was loud with all the trucks, jeeps, yaks and herders running around. How the yaks always miss running into all these tents is amazing. The outside fly zipper is broken now. These tents are for shit I think. At least its not the inside one. Stan looks funny without his beard this morning. I almost wondered who was zipped in the other side of the sleeping bags. The wind is roaring off Everest again. Hope everyone gets off OK. It will be good to see Matt and Wolfie again. It has been really boring here to say the least. I just wish we could sit outside more, but with all the wind its just impossible. Some French trekkers came up by jeep early today but I havent had a chance to talk to them yet. We leave Kathmandu in one week from today according to my old schedule. Given how many changes that usually happen I dont really count on it. It will be great to see Quincy again and start plowing through all the newspapers and magazines that are stacked to the ceiling. I think Ill set up a lounge station outside with the recliner, tables and plenty of beer.

12pm The yaks are moving now. A "lady", well at least I think its a women, is running around with a green plastic bag stuck in her hat. It look hilarious. Some 12 to 15 yaks left downhill and another 20 to 25 are moving up. Hope thats enough for all the stuff. Its very windy today and getting colder. There is still a lot of ice in the stream. Gert was thinking about walking to the monastery but I hope he waits. Ill blow away if he goes.

3:30pm. Lunch has come and gone and consisted of chappatis, cheese, sausage, and salad. I had the Velvetta instead of the sour Swiss cheese. Gert went to the monastery anyway. Its really cold and windy. The summit is not visible at all now. Stan got a book from Sally, the Canadian team cook. She said that Dennis isnt well and is coming down. She bought two sheep at Xigar or Shigatse and they will eat well. I really am feeling weak with the lack of exercise. The wind just takes all the motivation away. My ribs are still hurting every time I breathe a little hard. 6:00pm. Read about 350 pages of "The Far Pavilions" Its a wonderful book! Trekkers from Canada are here and I think they are friends of John from the team. Well this is my fifth day here at base camp and I feel worn out from doing nothing. I would hate to have to return up the mountain right now. Were both tired of this little tent. The zipper is broken and its crowded but at least its warm. More yak herders came to "town" with about 10 yaks. One guy had a large straw hat and sun glasses. He looked hilareous. Following them was a "Tibetan" looking dog. The dogs all hang there heads like theyve been beaten.

5-16-94 Mon - Base Camp - Day 47

Michael and Matt are here. They arrived late last night. They said Heinz got to the rock band. Tom and Wolfie tried also. Mark and Peter I think got to Camp 2. Heinz used oxygen but I dont think the rest did. Perhaps Mark used some but I thought he was saving it for summit day. Peter had ask the members if they wanted an extension and Matt had just come down from the N. Col and couldnt decided. Some said yes but in the end they didnt do it. I think everyone is coming down tonight. It looks like rotten weather up on the "little hill". Early there was a big plume on the summit but now the mountain is obscured by clouds. I sat outside until it got really cloudy and cold. Stan traded 20 yuan for a silver knife. He tried to trade socks and a water bottle but it was cheaper to trade money. Actually its a nice knife compared to some of the ones weve seen. Other yakkies tried to trade also when they saw some action. I guess Nimah took the MTV women and Alex Low to Lhasa. Were pissed since weve been asking to go if any vehicle went. Hes coming back tomorrow and we could have gone and ridden back with him. Bummer. We talked this morning about getting there anyway. The drive takes 2 days and we could then fly out at Lhasa. Sounds great but I need to know the tickets out of Kathmandu are OK. Also, Im not so sure of the Lhasa flight being a sure thing. Ive heard it can be a "zoo" trying to get out. Also are Chinese visas expire Friday and we would need an extension.

3pm The Far Side cartoon today was my all time favorite. Its the cowboys on the range with one of them asking the other, "Latte Jed?" We used that phrase a lot up here.

5-17-94 Tue - Base Camp - Day 48

11:30pm Strange weather. It snowed last night. It was kind of a mist when we went to bed and then a light snow started falling. It looks very pretty but now its melting and the yak dung stinks. Stan is cleaning up during the "no wind" part of the day. Boy you can really tell Deerta is not cooking and its Beobulb. Yuck. Last night was plain rice, boiled potatoes, cole slaw stuff and the dessert was pears. Gert didnt eat and just held his head in his hands. It was not too great. Peter and the Sherpas (sounds like a rock group to me) came late around 9:30 or 10pm. The boys took a tent Mark brought and Heinz is rooming with Dagmar. The yak herders arrived at ABC around 1pm and loaded up. They had problems and one yak died plus they didnt have the number of yaks requested. Last night they camped near the seracs and will be here around 5 or 6. The jeeps to Nyalam I guess are supposed to be here tonight. There still is much talk about going to Lhasa. Some want to go and fly back Saturday. Stan gave out hats to the cooks and Sherpas. I think Deerta was really upset he lost his in the card game. Now he doesnt have one like the rest. Its almost 1pm and of course the weather is getting bad. From the North clouds are gathering and the mountain has clouds everywhere.

5pm. The weather like usual has turned to shit one again. Its a snow storm outside but luckily the yaks got here early and unloaded all the stuff with no trouble. We re-packaged a few things and got ready for tomorrow. Im just going to use my big pack since I can pack it easier and faster. Tom took some photos of an old yak herder. Then in payment he gave him a package of the nasty "cream bisquets" that no one will eat. The herder thanked him profusely. I told Tom to watch his back because that guy is going to knife him when is eats those damn cookies. We heard today that the Italian group leader fell into a crevasse and died. They were the group climbing the "white limbo" route. Also there are two members in a higher camp suffering with severe dehydration. Dennis I think has given them some IVs. Thats great but whos going to put them in. Tom has a little frostbite on his big toe. Its looking like a blood blister under the skin right now. Nothing on the surface yet so it may not be too bad. Looks sort of like he smashed his foot into a rock and its a bad bruise. Im not too sure on how hes been taking care of it after it got frozen. I heard that someone put hot packs on it after it was frozen. Yikes. If you want to do some damage thats a real good way to do it. Hope the trucks come tonight like they are supposed to. Sometimes you just have to laugh at comments. Michael said this morning, after everybody was bitching about food, "All the good food got us as far as it did." Mark and I just started laughing and looked at each other thinking how ironic a statement that was. I know he meant it the other way but God, how true. All the guys who stayed at ABC and then above lost around 20 pounds minimum. Heinz has lost around 30. Tom has been giving him all his food and always sees to it that he is served first and with seconds.

7pm Listening to the Blues Brothers on my Walkman. "Back to sweet home, Chicago" You bet, now lets go. Its a blizzard out there now. Im just thinking about what makes a person feel something down to his soul. Like music and what a power it has. When you play youre heart out musically speaking and really get lost in a tine. I miss that since I havent played my trumpet in a great while. I guess theater was the same way. What prompts a person to do something with no pay, even no applause but yet it is the best feeling your soul can experience. Skydiving is like that also. I think if you added music and choreographed moves it would be overwhelming. When everything just clicks time lengthens, visually everything sharpens and movements glide smoothly. Does everybody get the same feeling? Does it take different music? If a child is exposed to all types of music equally will he like them all? What dictates the notes and rhythms in native music? Like the Tibetan songs hummed and whistled versus the Nepalese or even songs of Africa. That would be a fun study to do. I hope dinner is good tonight. Its a lot to ask but maybe we could have yellow pudding.

5-18-94 Wen - Base Camp - Nyalam - Day 49

Dinner last night was OK. No yellow pudding, just pineapple chunks. There was a party at the Canadian tent but it was snowing hard so we didnt go. Not like we had to drive or anything but we were cold and tired. I slept OK after taking a T3 and a a Halcion. I started coughing and it felt like a knife went through my ribs. Got up this morning at around 7:30. Breakfast was at 8 and we ate some rice stuff. Deerta must have made it because there wasnt any raisons in it and it was good. I hate raisons in stuff. They look like bugs to me and if you dont see them you wonder what the hell you just bit down on. We packed up in the snow. Kazi helped with the tent. The guys are looking great in there hot pink hats. Deerta even got his hat back somehow. Must have won it back in a card game. It looked a bit faded but he was smiling all morning with it on. The yak traders were out in full force. We picked up a few more knifes. Then we went to one of there tarp tents and asked about the jingle bells. The guy pulled out what we wantied. It took some trading but we got them. He wanted 100 juan but we had already run out of Chinese money. So I dug out $15 US. They didnt want American money. Through lots of negotiations they settled on, Stans Bruce Jenner sneakers (circa 1976), a can of Spam, some beef jerky, and we made the trade. Michael held out to the end and bought a bunch of yak bells to use as wind chimes back home. The truck finally got loaded and we finally got in the jeeps at around 10:30am. They dont have antifreeze in China so they have to drain all the water out of the radiators at night then put it back in the next morning. The engines look very simple and are probably easy to work on.

2pm Finally on a semi-smooth road. It took about 3 hours to get here. My ribs took a beating on the rocks and dips in the road. I think the driver thought I died a couple of times. There was just no relief. We are now barreling down the road beeping and honking around every curve. This guy is Mario Andretti of the Tibetan plateau. We just blew by a village and Im sure glad we didnt hit anybody. Well, a beer at Tingri will be great. I hope there is food there, well all except the mo-mos.

3:30pm Stopped at Tingri and had a beer. Some had lunch but I wouldnt risk it. Especially after Stans mo-mo fiasco at base camp. We sat outside on the benches and drank beer. Ang Nihma bought us beer since we were tapped out of juan from buying yak bells. We sat around for quite a while. The "waitress" was a hilarious person who spoke a little English. She was mocking every ones laughter and mannerisms. An older women took a stick of bamboo to the local cows who tried to help themselves to the garbage. You could definitely tell they werent Hindus. I later visited the kitchen and found the Sherpas, Peter, Dagmar, Heinz and Wolfie inside. Dagmar insisted that I have a glass or 2 or her beer. Actually the kitchen was really a neat place. Dark but comfortable on the cushions surrounding the table. The drivers ate in the dining area and took their time so we just drank more beer. Saw some Chinese "tourists". Some guy had on a suit and a lady had a white coat. Not really appropriate for Tingri but the contrast was memorable.

Back on the road again. The kids are so different in such a small area. Near the mountains they run toward the trucks laughing and watching us with big smiles. At Tingri its a handout and talk of money and pictures of the Dahli Lama. I wish I could have captured the kids enthusiasm and bright smiles. They were wonderful. The weather is still overcast and generally bad. Sometimes it snows and other times its raining. Along the way I saw scraggly horses, furry sheep, rocks, villages that look all the same with the white paint and stripes of red and blue on top, sheaves of wheat and prayer flags. Were in a Mitsubishi Pajero. Its not too bad a vehicle except the way "Mario" drives it. This baby is not going to last too long. It unfortunately has a tape player and we have to listen to these damn twangy Chinese tapes. I listen to my Walkman if it gets too bad. He plays it full blast though and I almost have to blow an ear drum cranking mine up over his. The road seems endless but Im sure well get there soon. Im worried about the next section actually. It is much more susceptible to landslides because of the rain. Observations: Road workers. The shovel they are using takes three people to operate it! One has the shovel and two have ropes attached to the handle to help throw the dirt. I saw people plowing like this before.

Later: Nyalam. We are staying at the Snow Land hotel again. Yes Damian is still alive and up to no good as always. I noticed when we drove in that the concrete public toilet is now gone! Yikes I wonder where we go now. We unpacked in our same little room and walked around searching for beer. I asked the lady downstairs selling stuff where the toilet was. She grabbed my arm and off we went. I really didnt have to go but she was on a mission. We flew down the street and then made a quick turn down an alley. I could barely keep up with her on the steep rocks leading down a hill. In the back of the buildings was a hill leading to the river below. She looked around and then pulled her pants down and squatted. Oh OK, I guess this is the place. I had better pee since she had gone to all the trouble running down the hill. After going I looked around again and saw a bunch of people; men, women, little kids all squatting around doing there business right here on the hillside. Wow talk about public use areas! I thanked the lady and walked on back to the hotel. The little hotel had had a small prehistoric potty hole but it was now locked since the public facilities were bulldozed. The logic in that fails me also but you really dont asked about stuff here. We had some dinner at the same restaurant as before and for grins stopped by the local disco where the rest of the guys were. It looked like they were well on the way to getting totally trashed so we decided to go home to sleep. Weve never thought it was a great idea to get wasted before a long bus ride.

5-19-94 Thur - Nyalam - Kathmandu Day 50

Got dressed this morning and loaded my pack. We had a really strange breakfast of peanuts, these cellophane looking things, omelets and dough balls. Peanuts are always a challenge with chop sticks but fun. We left at around 10:30 Tibet time. The mountains surrounding us were spectacular. It was great to see it greening up the further we drove. The clouds hung over the mountains but the view around us was fantastic. We slowly approached Xangmu. What a dirty, filthy town. We stopped and got our packs from the jeep. No problems with passports and soon we were waiting for the trucks. It was hot in the sun down here. I changed into a polo shirt, pants and my sandals. After an hour or so Peter said we must walk so we through our packs on the trucks. I grabbed the lid of my pack to store stuff in and we headed down. The weather was still nice and the walk wasnt that bad. I through a tape in my Walkman and cruised down. The many short cuts that shortened up the walk and made it interesting. At the bridge we met, Matt, Wolfie, and Tom. We walked across the Friendship Bridge and over to Kodari. At customs we filled out a Visa applications and disembarkation cards. We gave them a photo and they held them until Peter paid for the Visas. During the wait a small bar had cold Pepsis and I quickly drank two of them. A Pepsi never tasted as good. Still waiting for Peter and the Sherpas (they must have had another gig to play for!). We met Alex Lowe and the MTV women from the Kangshung face expedition. He is a really nice guy. She is different to say the least and doesnt much remind me of any climber I no of. They had lots of trouble on their expedition. First, was a theft of their equipment and money at the last village prior to getting to the mountain. Alex lost his passport and still hadnt got one in Kodari. They also got robbed of more equipment but one of their Sherpas caught the guys. We talked about skydiving and flying. Her brother is an aerobatic pilot. Alex needed a photo for his passport application. I had plenty of black and white ones of me that actually probably would have passed in the darkened passport office. He was going to use one but then the guys at the office said he could go onto Kathmandu but have to come back with a photograph. Peter finally showed up at around lunch time. We had Rice and a little sauce like stuff. Oh boy! The highlight was the bottle of 7Up. Afterwards we walked up to our bus that had been waiting since 10am Nepal time.

Its now 1pm and the trucks finally appeared across the bridge. Everything had to be carted across since those trucks couldnt drive over. Oh well, it gave us something to do. I put my shoes on when I got my pack back instead of the sandals. Now we had to wait for the Nepalese trucks so we could load the stuff onto them. It took around two hours or so but they did show. The bags from the Tibetan trucks were really wet and muddy. Loading up was a sight. One of the boys who couldnt have been older then 12 or 13 worked with the strength of 3 men. Tough as nails! He would use his head to lift up very heavy boxes and get it on the truck. Some older guys would only half lift stuff but not this kid. They loaded the bus roof but then decided to transfer all the barrels and other stuff to the truck. Crazy. No organization to this madness. They pulled the truck up next to the bus and Mingma helped shift stuff over. I made sure that our bags got on top of the bus. I knew people would be riding in the truck and the chance of a missing bag was just too great.

Once loaded we headed out of Kodari and into some more spectacular scenery. Lush green fields and deep gorges. Our bus zoomed on through the country side and we came upon a small village. To my complete horror a naked baby wandered out in the middle of the road. The bus honked its horn but the child of about two was confused and couldnt move. The mother already had a baby in her arms and a 3 or 4 your old in the other hand. Dilemma for her. Do you let go of one to save the other? Or do you just hope the bus stops? It was just like Tiannamen square. The child stayed very still looking at the bus screaming down on it. Our driver slammed on the brakes and came to a total stop inches from the child. It was unbelievable. The baby just looked at the bus and then calmly toddled over to his mother. We all let out our breaths now just realizing that we were collectively holding them and drove on.

Later on we stopped for a coke. I think the coke was around 9 RS which is next to free. I drank mine way too fast and gave myself a stomach ache. I burped very loudly and the stomach ache mysteriously disappeared. Went out of town and stopped for a pee along the road. Michael made fun of me with my pee funnel thing and Stan jokingly told him, "Shes got more then you!" Thank you honey. Thats what I like in a husband, someone who stands up for you.

After much more driving we finally got to Kathmandu at around 8 pm Nepal time. Unloaded and checked in the hotel. Ahh yes, a room, a bed and a shower. However, there was no hot water. Dinner was at 8:30 so I didnt even attempt a cold shower. I got a coke and sat with the boys at the bar before supper. Carlos joined us. He soloed Cho Oyu and climbed Lhotse while we were on Everest. What a climber! He did Lhotse with Rob Hall and Ed Viesters and even called his wife via walkie talkie from the summit. Neat! He said 100% of Robs clients made the summit. That means our friend, David Keaton did. Ill have to write a congratulations letter to him. He said that David left for a short vacation in Thailand after coming off the mountain. I Wonder if Rob and Jan are still around. Dinner was quite good. Carlos told us that he heard that two more died on the North side of Everest. A climber and a Sherpa were lost. The high speculation is that its Mario and his Sherpa from the Canadian team. They were supposed to be fixing the damn yellow band we were supposed to have done. God I hope it wasnt them. That makes 5 deaths on that side this year.

5-20-94 Fri - Kathmandu Day 51

Wow it feels great to have a pair of jeans and a T-shirt on. Still no hot water but we have a bed and best of all a toilet. We had a moderate breakfast at 9 that was good. I got up early and walked up to the roof to see the city. There was some sort of parade going on with lots of people and horns blaring. I think its some religious affair. This sadhu was in the courtyard of the hotel. I walked out on the balcony and he started blowing this conch shell louder than that parade passing by. Then he starts waving this 8 to 10 foot long snake at me. It was some sort of boa I think. Really neat! After breakfast we sorted gear and packed up what we could. Im trying hard to get everything into two bags but its going to be really tough. We decided to go out to Helenas for lunch. Mark joined us and we really had a nice lunch. He ordered chicken Kiev and it was quite impressive when it was served. It looked like a chicken sitting there the way they had it prepared. I was surprised that they werent any busier considering the food was great. The waiter said the tourist season was now over and the monsoon was coming fast. Its been cloudy all day and sort of dreary. After a great lunch we walked around Thamel. I bought some T-shirts and other souvenirs. Rob is at the British Embassy now and will be back later.

5-21-94 Sat - Kathmandu Day 52

Surprise at dinner last night. Rob and Jan were there! It was great to see them again. Ed Viesters was also at the party. We sat with them at the dinner which was a very nice event. Asian Trekking put it on and there was free booze all night. The Shisha Pangma girls and I think some Italian guys from a different mountain were there also. We caught up on all the stories and rumors about Everest. I guess all total 30 people summited on the South and 0 from the North side so far. There were 5 deaths. Damn, it pays to go on the South side. Jan took care of Robert when he got sick. She said he was in very bad physical shape and looked in no shape to climb. Medically he presented with a possible bowel obstruction and HAPE. Everything went wrong at once. David got sick at the end but recovered nicely for the summit bid. Rob and Ed did Lhotse after Carlos since they had clients. Rob is off in a couple weeks to climb K2 with Ralf. Oh yeah Ekka climbed and summited with Rob.

Stan was sick most of the night with something. Vomiting etc. I think we ate all the same stuff so its not food poisoning. I didnt get much sleep before an Anaprox and a Halcion. The bed is really hard and my ribs are still killing me. We went out with the clothes to get embroidered. At first I couldnt find the shop that Stan wanted his jacket done at. I came back and ate breakfast with Peter, Mark and Gert. I checked in on Stan and went back out. I got a stamper with the "eyes" on it and a couple rice paper books. I dropped my black North Face sweater off to get embroidery on the back. Later I got a USA Today and came back to the hotel. Stan ordered breakfast for the room and we then went out. He found the shop that he liked with the snow leopard pattern. I brought my Green/Blue North Face sweater and also found a nice pattern for the back. They will be finished tomorrow by 10. We walked around and sold some books we had read on the mountain. You can find anything you want here really. Especially good mountaineering books. Walked to the ice cream place and had a sausage pizza and a coke. We rested most of the afternoon after picking up some T-shirts that were embroidered.

The group wanted to all eat together for the last time so we made plans to meet at7pm. We decided to all go to walk to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. It was a killer route through back alleys in the dark. There was garbage everywhere. All 17 of us arrived and all ordered off the menu. Oh boy, confusion everywhere whenever a dish was brought out. But , the food was OK and we all got served relatively quickly. Stan and I left afterward to get home and get some sleep. It was mosquito city walking back because of the hot muggy climate. My ribs hurt so I put the covers under the sheets to soften it up a bit. The mosquitoes were flying around the room so I had the sheets over my head trying to fend them off all night.

5-22-94 Sun - Kathmandu - Bangkok Day 53

10:30pm. We made it this far! What a day. Got up at 6:30 to pack and make certain about our flight. They changed the airline and flight back to the original plan. That is Thai air instead of Royal Nepal. After breakfast we watched the other guys load up. The Germans were out on a Lufthansa flight at 9:30. The Sherpas were there also so Stan gave them a big bag of stuff to divide. We picked up our embroidery stuff but Stans wasnt finished so they are going to send it. After a snack at the Old Vienna of coffee and apple strudel we headed back. The bags had to be down at 11am. We are riding to the airport with Matt and Michael. Of course Michael hadnt finished packing and was running behind. The Thai flight was earlier than we had anticipated so it was important to get there. Its now 11:45 and Michael still isnt finished but Jan and Ed came by to say goodbye. Rob wasnt feeling well this morning. I think too much partying. Carlos met his wife and new baby. The baby is really adorable and we talked a bit. Finally at 12 we were loaded and in the van. The traffic wasnt too bad and soon we were at the airport. The departure tax is US $29 which is sort of expensive. Check in went fine and the bags werent overweight. The flight was called and soon we were off. The food was really good and in a couple hours were landed at Bangkok. After we zoomed through passport control we took the bags through the "nothing to be declared" line. The guy questioned Stan and I about the damn boxes and wanted to send us to "inspection". I said we had just been on Everest and he let us pass immediately. I must have said some secret password! We stored the luggage at the airport and headed off to find the hotel. Before we left we went up to verify our next flight and surprisingly ran into David Keaton. He was limping along with house shoes on. He will probably lose some toes that are now "crispy" black past the nail. Yuck. His right thumb and left little fingers are black but will probably be OK. I dont think making the summit is worth losing parts but at least he made it. We caught up on more Everest gossip and said goodbye. We headed to the same hotel as we stayed before. Ahh yes, a soft bed and hot water. I soaked in the tub and finally got to shave my legs. Life doesnt get any better than this.

5-23-94 Mon - Bangkok Day 54

Slept OK but started coughing so I took a T3. Breakfast was great except for the nasty coffee that was mud. Caught a 10:30 shuttle downtown and got let off at McDonalds. Had to stop for a coke and fries that tasted fantastic. We walked all over and looked at all the nice shops. Shop-a-rama everywhere. We ate at Kentucky Fried Chicken, Mister Donut and an ice cream shop in the afternoon. Fast food culture shock. Ate at McDonalds again for supper and looked around a new Nike store before heading back to the hotel. Our flight is at 11pm so we hung around for the shuttle. Thank God the piano player stopped playing. Hes really, really bad. He plays to a computer recorded accompaniment but the problem is that he is always behind. Ive never heard "Sealed with a Kiss "butchered so badly. Taxi came at 10:45 and soon we were in line for Korean Air. No problems getting our free bag through. We got moved up into business class and into comfortable seats. The flight took off at 1:55am and we had a dinner and a beer. Its only a 5 hour flight so we really didnt get much sleep.

5-24-94 Tue - Bangkok - Seoul - Chicago Day 55

Got to Seoul at around 8am where it was overcast and raining. Sat in the transit lounge until around noon. No place to go here. I played my Game Boy for a couple hours while we waited. The plane is really kind of nice. Plenty of leg room on our exit row seats. The Koreans are so funny. Hardly any of them can figure out the bathroom door. They all wander outside of it and push on the wall next to it to try to get in. Hilarious. Also nobody locks the door. Obviously we have lost have our brain cells on the climb spending our time watching these poor people. Finally we got to Chicago after a zillion movies and meals. Lets see two days and about 4 hours of sleep. It feels like Im still on the mountain. I dont think those "refreshing" towels are working. All I want now is some mils and cereal for tomorrow morning. I saw in the USA Today paper that 12 Americans summited Everest this year. Kind of makes it sound easy. Shit. Im going try to not let it bother me.

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Medical Problems on the Trip

Altitude Sickness 4/16 and 4/17

Headache 4/18, 4/19 and lots of other days

Cough started 4/22

Sore throat 4/24

Bad cough; sore rt. Side 4/27

Bronchitis (on going) 4/28

Abdominal cramping 4/28

Kidney infection rt. flank 4/28, 4/29

Blood in urine 4/30

Urinated in bed 4/30, 5/2, 5/15

Bad cough back 5/7

Ribs hurting bad 5/10 until 6/1

Hip hurt 5/10