Base Camp
Report 30/3
Mar 30/31
David writes,
A big hello to all our friends and loved ones from Rongbuk Basecamp.
After years of looking at pictures of the north side of Everest, seeing it firsthand is a treat. If anything at all, pictures cant describe the sound of the constant wind and the soaring north face and it’s four vertical kilometres of rock and ice. A five hour jeep ride from Tingri (4300m) the last outpost of civilisation, brings us to the desolate Rongbuk basecamp.
W’ere sharing basecamp facilities and resources with American expedition leader, Eric Simonson. Two years ago, his research expedition discovered the remains of legendary explorer George Mallory on these very slopes. This year, he’s back to find the elusive camera that might answer climbing’s greatest mystery. However, we have our own programme and won’t be reporting on Eric’s search. I’ve worked with Eric closely on past occasions and hope we will continue to work to a successful conclusion
EBC is a cold place and the first night ‘s temps. dropped to -14 celcius. Today, we set up our own comms tent, carrying rocks and rigging guylines to prevent the winds from shredding the tent. The food, doled out by our excellent kitchen crew is a great and welcome change from the same chinese fare on the approach.
At 5400m, living here’s tough and we’ll acclimatise for a couple more days before heading up. Team in good health and spirits.
Dave Lim,
Portuguese report from Gil :
Enfim chegamos ao Campo Base do Everest a 5.400m de altitude, frio e ventoso, mas comparando com o que pegaremos pela frente e considerado quente e tranquilo. Deixei o Brasil no Dia 15 deste mes e cheguei em Cingapura dois dias mais tarde com escala na Africa do Sul. No dia 20 aconteceu a cerimonia do projeto com a presenca do Presidente de Cingapura, S.R. Nathan, do Embaixador do Brasil, Paulo Pinheiro e demais autoridades. No dia seguinte, 21, partimos para Kathmandu (uma cidade onde tudo acontece) onde ficamos 3 dias.
De Kathmandu partimos para o Tibet, com paradas em Zhang Mu a 2.200m onde tivemos que ficar dois dias devido a queda de uma barreira. A estrada que sobe os himalaias e uma obra de arte, pois a encosta e estremamente ingreme e a estrasa e praticamente “cavada” na rocha. Depois paramos em Nyalam a 3.600m por dois dias – uma vila com casas coloridas Tibetanas e predios chineses. Enfim chegamos no altiplano tibetano com inumeras vilas tipicas e uma vida agricola. Ficamos dois dias em Tingri a 4.300m, onde pudemos sentir pela primeira vez a forca do vento. De Tingri foram 6 horas por estradas muito precarias e inumeros abismos, ate finalmente aparecer o Everest em todo o seu esplendor, acompanhado do Cho Oyu e do Makalu, ambas montanhas acima dos 8.000m.
De agaora em diantte a s reportagens serao constantes. Nao foi possivel faze-las ate o momento pois todo o equipamento estava encaixotado e nos em
viagem. Ate a proxima.
rough translation:
At last we arrive at the Base Camp of the Everest at 5.400m, cold and windy. But comparing with what we will face in the near future, this might just be considered warm and tranquil. I left Brazil on 15 March and arrived in Singapore two days later, via South Africa. On 20 March we had a send-off gathering, the President of Singapore, Mr. S.R. Nathan and the Ambassador of Brazil, Mr. Pablo Pine and many well-wishers were present. The following day, 21 March, we left for Kathmandu (a city where everything happens), we stayed in Kathmandu for 3 days.
From, Kathmandu we left for the Tibet, with breaks in Zhang Mu 2.200m where we spent two days because of a landslide. The road that goes up the Himalayas and was a work of art, the road was ” practically dug ” into the rock. Later we stop in Nyalam 3.600m for two days – a Chinese village with colorful Tibetian homes. At last we arrive in the Tibetan high plateau with a number of small villages and agricultural life. We spent two days in Tingri 4.300m, where we could feel for the first time the strength of the winds. From Tingri, we spent 6 hours on the roads, before we finally caught sight of the Everest.
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