Update: Dispatch May 3rd, 2002, Phone call from Jim at ABC: On 2 May, Jim and Scott climbed back up to Camp 1 on the North Col, carrying loads of 30-40 pounds each, to re-establish Camp 1. They chopped out another level place for the tent and erected a Bibler Fitz-Roy tent. Jim assured me this tent was not going to be blown off the mountain. They spent the night at Camp 1 and returned to ABC on 3 May.

Adrian returned to ABC on 3 May after spending a couple of days at BC to recover from his cold and checking to see if two tents, another stove and some cook pots had arrived. The team called Asian Trekking and purchased these items to replace the ones lost at Camp 1. The gear has arrived at BC and is supposed to arrive at ABC today or tomorrow. The team was also able to buy or borrow some items from some of the other teams. 

Adrian will make his carry to Camp 1 today and return to ABC while Jim and Scott remain at ABC for a couple of rest days to await the gear arrival. This will give Adrian a rest day following his carry and the team members will all be back in climbing sync with each other. Since Adrian is such an awesomely strong climber and because there is fixed rope all the way to Camp 1, everyone is confident that he will accomplish this safely alone.

Health: Jim sounded very hoarse and was coughing a little as he gave me this dispatch and said he felt pretty wasted right now after the carry and work to set up Camp 1 again. He has not recovered from the bad sinus infection he came down with on the way into BC. He thought Adrian and Scott seemed to feel pretty good and have a higher energy level than he does.

Weather: It is still windy, but the wind was only around 10 MPH at ABC when I was talking to Jim. He could see a big plume blowing off the summit and north ridge, indicating a lot more wind up there. He said he had talked with Russ Brice, the leader of the Himalayan Experience commercial expedition and a veteran of many north side expeditions. Russ told him it is almost always very windy on the north ridge route.

Tentative Plans: The day following Adrian's rest day after his carry to Camp 1, the entire team plans to go up to Camp 1 and spend the night. The next day they plan a carry to Camp 2 at around 25,600 feet and return to Camp 1 to sleep again. If they feel good after spending another night at Camp 1 they will ascend back up to Camp 2 the following day, spend the night, then descend back down to Camp 1 and ABC to rest.

Laptop Problem: Scott's mother, Linda, and I continue to work hard to get a replacement laptop for the Sony unit that failed. We are currently working with a major computer company who has expressed an interest in helping our team out. 

Dispatches