For Latest
News. For earlier reports:
See the News Index for a list of all the Daily Reports. See the Home Page for Individual Stories. Receiving Reports from over 25 Teams on Everest this Spring 2000.
Makalu 2000:
Dhaulagiri
2000: Lhotse 2000: Cho
Oyu 2000:
Manaslu
2000:
Kangchenjunga
2000:Updated Annapurna
2000 Updated
NEWSFLASH 4/28/2000
9:27AM EST
Juan
Oiarzabal, who
was laying low, while the others Oscar Cadiach (Mallory), Alberto Zerain
(Irvine) and Josu Bereciartua (Odell) play the roles in the film
(Mallory & Irvine), has taken the lead... He was last spotted at 7500
meters and moving up !
The
weather reports from Bracknel
(Henry Todd) are not good. However, others
seems to have different reports or opinions.
This is typical. What is surprising
is that most teams do not have Camp 4 stocked.
Therefore, it would appear some teams are behind schedule. Other expeditions
(as you have read on EverestNews.com) appears to be waiting on mid to late
May for Summit attempts once the masses have gone.
Daily News: 4/28/2000 Report
EverestNews.com this
year is offering our readers "Guest Columns" perspectives from climbers who has
summitted Everest. In this case a climber who has reached the
Summit from both sides. Graham is discussing how things are going so far. This
is the climb from his perspective.
 |
Graham Ratcliffe,
the first climber from the UK who reached the Summit of Everest from both the
North and South Sides. |
Having a spell of not
so good weather towards the end of April is not unusual. This normally manifests
as afternoon snowfalls and strong winds at the South Col and above.
Teams who have
experience and those who have done their homework will have stocked the higher
camps and will be using this time to regain their strength at Base Camp.
Although many teams will have all their supplies on the South Col, none
(unless they are using it) will have actually put up camp 4 on the South
Col. Exposing tents and equipment to strong winds unnecessarily is a good
way to loose them. It takes a great deal of effort to get them that high
so wise teams will be protecting their investment.
There is nothing worse
than arriving at a high camp and finding it isn't there any more !!
Some climbers will go
even lower than Base Camp to rest at Pheriche, Dingboche, Pangboche or even as
far down the valley as Thangboche or Namche. Time spent at lower
altitudes is time well spent, as preparing yourself for very high climbs is a
balance between acclimatisation and energy. If you spend a long time high
up, yes you will be acclimatized to altitude but you more than likely have no
strength to climb. There is also the added bonus of a change in scenery and
diet, all help to prepare you mentally for the attempt to climb to a height of
almost 9000 meters.
Teams will now be
getting regular 5 day weather forecasts, usually from Bracknel in the UK,
for the temperatures and wind speeds at different altitudes. The altitudes
the teams will be looking at closely are 26000 feet (the South Col) and 30000
feet (the summit). At 30000 feet they will be looking for wind speeds of 35
knots or less, although some teams will consider up to 45 knots or so. This
is where patience plays an important factor. There is still plenty of time,
over a month, and as we move into May the weather usually gets warmer and the
wind speed drops.
As the teams start
talking in earnest about their summit attempt it is hard not to get swept up in
the moment as the urgency to climb takes over.
Logic doesn't always
come to the fore in such circumstances....and we've all done it !!
Now the game really
starts as the play unfolds.
Graham Ratcliffe www.highambitions.com
EverestNews.com will
feature full dispatches from Jagged Globe in Spring 2000. Jagged Globe was
founded by Steve Bell. Steve has more than 20 years of mountaineering
experience including winter ascents of the north faces of the Eiger and
Matterhorn. This is another
international team, comprising: Jack Culley (UK), Joe Wolf (USA), Jeff
Magee (UK), David Spencer (UK), Curt Peterson (USA), Timothy Gregg (USA) , Paul
Giorgio (USA). Joe Wolf hopes to complete his 7 Summits and to be the oldest
summiter this season - he's 61 in March!
Dispatch: Back
up for acclimatisation at Camp 3
Hi again from Jagged
Globe Everest expedition base camp. With three rest days under our belts, the
team is ready to venture back up the mountain. It's been a beneficial
opportunity to recover from the various minor ailments that can hamper Himalayan
expeditions. Sore knees, minor snow blindness, split lips and dry cough; all
typical of high altitude expeditioning.
The rest days have not
been wasted. Team members Tim G., Jeff, Paul and Joe have made preparations for
the next ascent. Jeff and Paul have sharpened their crampon points for the
anticipated hard ice of the Lhotse face whilst Joe took a walk down the glacier
to stretch his legs and maintain the fitness. Additionally, endless games of
Risk have seen Paul dishing out a few tactical lessons to willing victims.
Back to the mountain.
Whilst we are ready to go, close attention is being paid to the weather, as wind
is the major obstacle at the moment. Strong winds (50 knots +) have been blowing
about the higher slopes of Lhotse and encroaching down towards camp 3. Thus the
clear dawns that present themselves most mornings, are not necessarily the best
indicators for safe climbing.
Weather depending, we
plan to ascend directly to Camp 2 tomorrow (Friday) with a view either to ascend
to camp 3 on Saturday, or to take a rest day at Camp 2 and ascend on Sunday. It
is a climb of nearly 2000 meters from base camp to Camp 3, so a rest day may
well be in order. Having already slept at Camp 2 for several nights, we hope to
be sufficiently acclimatized for the night's stay at Camp 3.
If all goes to plan,
this should be our final acclimatisation trip before our summit attempt. Our
Sherpas still have plenty of hard work ahead of them, ferrying food, equipment
and oxygen to Camp 4, in preparation for the attempt. They will accompany us to
Camp 2 tomorrow but remain there after we descend from camp 3, in order to
complete the carries.
The usual afternoon
cloud is rolling in over base camp as I type (about 2.30pm local time), and a
few centimeters of snow will probably be with us by dinner time. The cloud has
generally dispersed by the time we retire and our 4am wake up should see clear
skies and chilly temperatures. Brrrr.
Until we return, best
wishes from all at base camp.
Andrew Lock,
Expedition Leader
Andrew is a former
Summitter of that smaller
mountain, K2....
-
The Millennium
Seven Summits Expedition lead by Gavin Bate and John Barry join the
EverestNew.com team. EverestNews.com will feature full dispatches and photos
from this expedition. Please see below for information on them and their dispatches
from Everest.
The Millennium
Challenge team will be climbing Everest in an attempt to make the first British ascent in
the year 2000. The team of seven is made up of John Barry and Gavin Bate, Andy
Salter, Polly Murray , Chris Tiso, George Barlow and Michele Santilhano. There
will also be a back-up team of communications experts and cooks as well as the
complement of high altitude Sherpas.
Gavin Bate http://adventurealternative.com
Dispatch: 4/26/2000
So we're resting today
and there's lots of stuff to do. Principally we're checking all the oxygen
bottles (to make sure that they are full), checking that the regulators work and trying out the
whole outfit with the masks again and again until we're completely happy with it
all. Imagine that the next time we use these things will be at 24,000' in
freezing cold weather, fumbling with numb fingers and trying to think about flow
rates when your brain is pickled with altitude. This is so important. We'll
hopefully be working in pairs on summit day because one of the biggest problems
is changing bottles which means taking down mitts off, getting the changeover
right and trying to do it all in enough time to avoid frostbite on your digits !
As we approach what
are possibly the final days of this expedition, it is only right that we applaud our
Sherpas, since it is their super human efforts that is making all this possible
on the mountain. I mean, can you imagine carrying a 30 kilo gas bottle on your
back up to Camp 2? Not only are they tremendously strong but they also exhibit
consummate patience. Even after a monster day going up to fix ropes on the
Lhotse Face, they still come back smiling. They eat mountains of tsampa (barley
meal), pasta with milk for breakfast, raw chillies, they drink salt tea and they
maintain a politeness and Buddhist calm that is an example to everyone.
Today I am going down to
Gorak Shep to meet my good friend Pat Falvey, the first Irishman to climb
all the Seven Summits and the person with whom I summitted Cho Oyu with in 1998.
It will be good to see him. The others are coming down tomorrow and we'll
all go down to Lobuje for a rest till the weekend.
Morale is very high at the
moment and we are feeling a little better about our tents at Camp 3 - this
morning the weather cleared enough for our Camp 2 cook to see the tents
still intact high on the Lhotse Face. However we are preparing for the worst
and assuming that they will collapse, so we'll take up extra poles.
So lots of best wishes from
our Base Camp and we'll keep in touch when were back from our little
sojourn. Meanwhile I hope you enjoy our photo of Base Camp activities,
namely football on a frozen lake just at the bottom the Icefall !
Best regards, Gavin Bate
- An experienced Danish
Expedition: Thrane & Thrane sponsorship of the first all Danish Mount Everest
Expedition
The BigE-expedition and its
progress can be followed at Thrane & Thrane’s website: http://www.tt.dk/everest/intro.html
You will find several
interesting New updates:
April
26 - Late news.
April 26 - Dreaming of Camp 3.
April 25 - Doctors meeting at Base
Camp.
April 24 - Snow.
April 23 - Base Camp gossip.
April 22 - Danes on the South
Pillar of Everest.
April 21 - Starting on the face.
- New Book ! For
other new books see the end of this news page...
Lust
for more Mallory & Irvine info? Get the Book: "The Mystery of
Mallory & Irvine," by Tom Holzel & Audrey Salkeld,
Pimlico/Random House (UK), The Mountaineers (USA) Available
Now
- Annapurna Spring 2000: EverestNews.com will
follow the attempt on Annapurna of the "International Annapurna 2000
Expedition": We think
you will find these daily reports very interesting. Go to their site for the
pictures and dispatches in Spanish.
Update: 4/26/2000
Alone. Americans and French say "Adios"
Their
web site: www.interofer.es/annapurna2000
with reports in Spanish, Pictures and more !
VIOLENT WEATHER DELAYS UK
MOUNTAINEER ALAN HINKES ON TREK TO HIMALAYAN BASE CAMP
Violent weather has delayed
Alan Hinkes on his trek to base camp of Kangchenjunga. Alan is attempting to be
the first Britain to climb all fourteen of the world's highest mountains, which
are all over 8000 meters in height - Challenge 8000. This spring, he is
attempting to climb Kangchenjunga the third highest mountain in the world.
Alan left Kathmandu in Nepal
on Thursday 13 April and flew to Biratnagar, a town on the Indian/Nepalese
border which is at about 235 meters above sea level. From there he attempted to
fly on a small light aircraft to a dirt airstrip at Tapelejung, at 2000 meters,
but his plane had to turn back to Biratnagar because of bad weather. When he
finally arrived at Tapelejung he found that his equipment, which had been traveling
by road, had been delayed by a road block. Tapelejung is the road head - the
location of the nearest road to Kangchenjunga. From there the route is a twelve
day trek on foot across very rough and inhospitable terrain to the mountain.
Having lost several days
waiting for his equipment to join him, Alan set off on the trek with around 25
Nepalese porters carrying his equipment and accompanied by his three base camp
staff; Pemba, his cook, Ang Pasang the camp Sirdar or foreman and Pemba Gyalzen
the cook's helper.
By Sunday 23 April they had
reached Oktang at 4360 meters, when the weather changed suddenly and
dramatically from warm spring sunshine to a violent storm which deposited about
sixteen inches of snow in one night. The group was confined to their tents and
forced to wait out the storm. "We were struck by a horrendous storm,"
said Alan via his satellite phone from Oktang. "The weather was really
violent with very strong winds, lightning and a very heavy dump of snow. The
conditions for the remaining part of the trek will be much worse. I think that
it will be about another week before we reach base camp."
"Although this delay is
very frustrating," he continued, "I still have enough time to make my
attempt on Kangchenjunga. I shall push on to base camp and assess the impact of
the storm on the conditions on the mountain. This area at the eastern end of the
Himalayan mountains has a history of very bad weather and unfortunately violent
storms are very common." Alan
For
all the April 2000 News
For
all the March 2000 News
