Another Day at Basecamp
Dear Friends,
Many thanks for your continued support, warm emails – especially from old friends : Chuck Demarest, Tim Brewton, Christine and Alan, BK Lim and family.
Today, its snowy over Everest and Rozani is plugging his way up to ABC. At basecamp, we’ve been troubleshooting a malfunctioning solar panel and taking some additional video footage. Health: Gil and my throats have been improving although persistent dry coughs are nagging. The situation is, however, not as bad as in 1998 when , by this stage, I had already sustained a strained intercostal muscle or torn cartilage. Beng Cheong’s upper respiratory tract isn’t improving and with each passing day, we fear for his chances of a summit bid.
The current plan is to go for the top in mid May with a summit day being somewhere (health and weather permitting) between May 18 – 21. Should Beng not be able to complete his 7,000m acclimatisation cycle in the next week or so, he won’t be joining us for the summit bid as described, There is a slim chance he might be able to go it alone with a sherpa in support for a late-May summit shot but this is just speculation at the moment. If his condition persists, it will inadvisable for him to go higher and the expedition might be over for him.
A word about our camp. Owing to various financial reasons, we were unable to have our 100% independent expedition this time round. I’m working with my old friend Eric Simonson to share basecamp resources as well as resources up on the hill. This can be a constraint at times. However, on the upside, getting to hang with his Malllory +Irvine Search team is an eyeopener. So far, we’ve enjoyed the wisdom, humour and company of such illustrious professional climbers such as Dave Hahn, Brent Okita, Andy Politz, Tap Richards, Jake ‘ Dai’ Norton and John Race. Many of these were also on Eric’s 1999 expedition which found the remains of legendary British climber George Mallory. The findings helped answer old questions as well as raise new possibilities as to whether or not the pair did climb Everest in 1924.
Detailed reports on this year’s findings to can be found on Eric’s IMG 8000 website at http://www.mountainguides.com
David
DDB WORLDWIDE COMMUNICATIONS:
DDB is a leading international advertising and communications agency. They have been providing the team with pro bono advertising, layout and design services. Many thanks to Greg, Lennard, Scott and the whole DDB team. http://www.ddb.com.sg
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