Everest 2003: Ben Clark
Dispatch

Hello everyone! Now that the power situation has been solved, I'm off to ABC to check in with Ben himself. What this means is that in 5 days or so I'll have a lot to write all of you about, but in the meantime you'll just have to wait for the next dispatch. Like I said in my last letter, computers just aren't reliable at 21,000 feet. So I will not be taking any of our technology up to ABC. Only a video camera. But I will do some recording with Ben and will send a video out when I return to BC.

Before I head up, I just wanted to clarify a few things. I have received a few emails wondering if Ben is ill. No, he is doing fine and the expedition is moving forward just as planned. There have been some complications but everyone is safe and well.

Major King, the wonderful Colorado Videographer who you may remember from some of Ben's dispatches, did have to leave early. Major developed symptoms of HAPE (altitude sickness) and was actually in grave danger here at Basecamp. Luckily, we had a vehicle at the ready and he was able to make it back to Kathmandu in just over a day. He spent some time in a hospital there in Kathmandu ("anticlimactic" as he put it in an email to me) and flew home to his family in Ft Collins in time to enjoy Easter Sunday. HAPE can happen to anyone regardless of their fitness level or preparedness. Luckily, Major was able to get himself down to a lower altitude as quickly as possible--the best treatment. Again, Major is at home and JUST FINE. We miss him dearly and know that leaving was the only option. He did a fantastic job of documenting the trip on video from Denver to Basecamp. He will continue to be a member of this expedition.

That's all for now, the Yaks are being loaded as I type this. I'll be back in touch in a few days with much more information on Ben and the Everest 2003 Expedition. Stay Tuned. Jon Miller

Dispatches