Youth Venture

พฤษภาคม 26, 2008 - 10:45am — MountEverest2008

Success!

Camp II

We did it! Whereas I could write volumes about the experience, what follows are some highlights:

We departed Camp IV around 9pm on May 23rd. Our summit team consisted of three guides, eight climbers, and a Sherpa (the superstars) assigned to each climber. On our backs and stuffed in our pockets we had the provisions (hopefully) that were necessary for our summit bid: oxygen tanks, lots of Gu, cameras, many candybars, extra clothes, liter nalgene bottles full of Gatorade tucked into insulated sleeves to prevent freezing.

We climbed through the night. The other day I mentioned we were true mountaineers. Equally fitting now would be the label: new planet explorers. It felt that way, as we ascended steep, foreign inclines in the dark, bitter cold. Sometimes the surface we trodded on was a familiar snow and ice; other times though it was rock. Crampon points dig into rock exactly as much as you'd guess- zero. So when faced with a near vertical rock wall (ex: Hilary Step as well as other sections of the climb), we relied on upper body strength to help pull ourselves upward via the ropes in place and the ascender device we each carried. It was clear, our minds and bodies would be put to the ultimate test today.

Hour after hour we climbed in the darkness. Unlike on other sections of the mountain, on the summit push we rarely stopped for a break. It was simply too cold (with wind chill, maybe -40 or -50F). Keep moving and hope to stay warm; stop and increase the risk of frozen fingers and toes.

Ahead of us and well upwards, we could see a few crooked chains of lights- evidence that we were not alone on the mountain, that a few other climbing groups had departed for the summit a bit before us.

The night sky (at our height anyway) was clear- and soon, a near full moon appeared to help light the way. Stars were bright too, creating an environment that was both beautiful and deadly.

There were minor incidents along the way: someone starting to get frostbite and needing to have their fingers warmed up, a crampon popping off and requiring some quick refastening.

In time, the eastern sky started to lighten. The view that was slowly revealed is perhaps the finest I've seen. Magnificent peaks, towering around us. A layer of clouds so far, far below us- and as the sun appeared, a shadow of Everest was cast upon this layer. The colors, the landscape... all of it was breathtaking. And all witnessed from an extremely challenging and certainly precarious vantage point.

Not long after sunrise, we reached a highly exposed ridgeline, the knife edge that would take us to the summit. The route was narrow and complex; maybe six inches wide at points and, should you venture off the path, you'd find yourself dropping thousands of feet, either into China or Nepal (the death drop was available on both sides). We were clipped in to a rope for protection, but it was a mere 4mm in diameter. Adding to the challenge, we had to pass a few teams going the opposite direction (they had already made it to the summit and were heading down to camp). It was kind of like trying to walk a tightrope in a frigid environment, thousands of feet up, and then having to pass someone. Truly crazy and certainly the scariest situation I've been in to date.

We kept our wits about us and soon, we were standing on the summit (the time was roughly 7:30am). The feeling was incredible- we really did it, we were standing on the top of the world! The cold and wind cut the celebration short though. For me, I took in the view, congratulated a few teammates, snapped just a couple pictures, and squeaked out maybe a minute of video. I was really concerned for my safety, and whereas I would have loved to stay longer, the conditions demanded a rapid decent; most accidents happen on the way down by the way, so danger was still present.

Carefully, we descended. Battered, cold, yet triumphant, we arrived back to camp before noon. The last thirty minutes were in a whiteout. The bad weather had set in and it was really good to be back down to camp.

Our summit attempt was a success! We have climbed Everest and we did it as a team. We are thankful to all our friends and family for supporting the pursuit. As they say, we had a plan, we worked the plan, and the plan worked!

***
Some more pictures and video will be forthcoming as soon as possible. We'll still on the mountain making our way down (tonight we're at Camp II). Battery power is an issue and we're all quite exhausted- so even a simple blog is a bit of a chore. Rich air will soon be ours- I'll follow up soon!

Thanks again all- we could not ask for a finer support group!