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April
17
(written at Camp 1 by Gary Guller via Janis
Tupesis at BC) - The ascent begins! Today, we
climbed the Khumbu Icefall to Camp 1. I awoke at
3:30 a.m., a little nervous, but ready to go. I
realized that this would be one of the most
challenging and difficult days of my life. I am
grateful to be climbing with two of my close
Sherpa friends Kipa and Nima Dawa. We left camp
around 4 a.m. and for the next 15 minutes,
maneuvered through the tangle of expedition
tents to the bottom of the Icefall. The moon was
half full and we could clearly see its
reflection in the western Cwm. As we sat down to
put on our crampons and harnesses, we received a
radio message from Mike Trueman wishing us luck.
With that, we moved up the Icefall.
As
we neared the first crevasse/ladder, we saw a
minor avalanche tumbling down the south face of
Lola. Although we knew it was not big, we
positioned ourselves well behind an ice wall
Just before it hit, Nima Dawa, a devout
Buddhist, threw some of our Lama- blessed rice
to protect us all from the oncoming snow.
Luckily, all we got was a layering of dust and
snow and had to wait for about 20 seconds for
this to disappear. Somehow, Kipa found my
snow-covered body to be very funny and decided
it was time for a picture.
One
of the nice things about the day was how
supportive all of the other expedition's members
were about my climb. Although it was physically
draining, the support of these people kept me
going! I arrived at Camp 1 around 1 p.m. to the
smiling faces of Tunc and Mike. We exchanged
handshakes, pictures and our customary laughs!
This year, Camp 1 is much further from the top
of the Icefall than other years. It provides
spectacular views of Pumori and the Tibetan
landscape. Staring at this wonderful landscape,
it began to snow and soon we had a foot of snow
on the ground. We quickly retired to our three
tents and later had dinner, veggie curry, beans
and franks and rice boiled in a bag! The plan
for now is to acclimatize at Camp 1 and go on to
Camp 2 as the weather permits.
Before
I forget, all of the climbers want to say hello
to Mrs. Calitis second grade class at the
International School of Latvia in Riga, Latvia.
We know that you are following our expedition on
the Internet and appreciate your support! So for
now - this is Gary Guller at Camp 1 on
Everest... signing off!
From
Janis: And then there was one! Today I sit in
the mess tent by my lonesome... the climbers
have all ascended to Camp 1. The camp is eerily
quiet without the rest of the guys here - all
that can be heard is the din of our generator,
which is charging computers, batteries and
radios. Throughout the day, I continue to get
radio dispatches from Gary and Mike from various
points in the Icefall. Both of them had a great
day and had no problems navigating the ice
seracs, fixed lines and aluminum ladders
spanning the crevasses. In early afternoon, all
of the climbers had reached Camp 1 and were busy
setting out their gear, boiling water for tea
and making dinner. The plan for them is to stay
another night at Camp 1 and then ascend to Camp
2 (21,000 feet) to further acclimatize. As
always - the crew are in good spirits and in
good health. Until tomorrow ... Janis
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