Mt. Everest 2010 #32 - A visit from Scott and Amy

Gabcast! Mt. Everest 2010 #32



Namaste everybody from Base Camp, this is the recording for April 24th.

Today was a great day, Scott and Amy came to visit, which was really, really nice. So, they came probably just after lunch, we had some tea together, then they stayed for lunch, and then right after lunch we headed out onto the icefall. So, we wandered on there for probably about an hour and a half. Tim was nice enough to loan his boots and crampons to Scott, and for Amy I had some little ice grippers, and she did really well with those. So, we had a great time on the icefall, it was a nice blue sky, nice and warm, which was great. When we got back, what we did was we tried out our oxygen masks. So, the oxygen bottles have just arrived, and the sherpas are going to start taking them up the mountain, and what we did was we tried out our oxygen masks, and tightened them up, and making sure we kind of have the feel of it and everything, so that was great. And we had a bit of afternoon tea with some nice smoked salmon that Tim brought all the way from BC. So all in all a really nice day.

Domhnall, on the other hand, I'm not quite sure exactly where he's at, I'm pretty sure he is still on the mountain. He spent last night at Camp 2 and the plan was for his sherpa to meet him up at Camp 2 at 7:00 this morning and they were going to head up to Camp 3. They hadn't decided yet whether or not they were going to spend the night at Camp 3, come back down to Camp 2, or come all the way back down. I haven't heard from him yet, so I'm thinking he is probably still on the mountain. There's no need for him to be radioing anyone because he and his sherpa are the only two members of the team, and they're both together. So, I'm sure they're doing well.

My plan is for us to...we are getting up at 3:00 in the morning, having a quick little bite of breakfast, and then heading up the mountain. I hope to make it all the way to Camp 2 tomorrow, but we'll see. I have a new personal sherpa, so Mingma, unfortunately, won't be coming back because his daughter is so sick, but I have Tshering. And so, I've only met him once, so I can't really remember what he looks like, but we'll meet up tomorrow morning. He's not going to wait for me, he's just going to go up. I don't need a baby-sitter, I just need someone to carry up just a little bit of gear for me, and just to have somebody up there just in case I need some help. So, that's the plan, is we're going to leave probably about quarter after three, hopefully make it up to the top of the icefall in about five hours, and then probably about another hour to Camp 1. Hydrate a bit, and then head off to Camp 2 is the plan. So, we'll see how I feel.

So I will talk to you all tomorrow. Take care. Bye.