Everest 2003: Ben Clark
Dispatch

Dispatch 33: Hello, everyone! Jon Miller here again. I know it has been far too long since Ben sent his last dispatch, but, as always, the generator has been kaput since the 7th of May. Luckily, I've made friends with two engineers (one from the British climbing team) and they've spent the last two days repairing the poor little Honda. So far so good. So, please send out a collective "Thanks" to Stuart, who did most of the work and Dave who helped him out. That's one of the wonderful things about Basecamp life...it's a throwback to life decades ago where you truly help out your neighbor and can ask for help from anyone you meet. There's a wonderful sense of community up here at 16,400 feet.

It was wonderful to hear Ben's voice and know that he's doing alright. As a Basecamp communications manager, it's frustrating when none of our three radios work. Luckily, the Stuart who helped repair the generator has a wonderful comms system. Even though he and his climbing partner Rupert have left for ABC, they've graciously given me access to their radio equipment. So, as long as Ben can be near a radio at 5pm Nepali time, I'll continue to pass his information along. Also, there's been quite a lot happening here at Basecamp over the past 8 days so I'll fill everyone in on all of that.

Dispatches