Featured Expedition: 2003 American Ski Everest Expedition
Dispatch 15

Kevin Dunnett Copyright©Jim Gile American Ski Everest 2003

Dispatch 15: (Transcribed from satellite phone voice message)

American Ski Everest Expedition, Dispatch 15.

We have been learning how to be great "hanger outers"  for the last 2 days here at base camp. The weather has been a bit stormy, which has figured into our schedule perfectly. It is really hard for this group to rest when the weather is beautiful based on past trips. But Everest can be a real butt kicker. We needed these rest days. So it is lots of meetings, reading, and a whole lot of nothing.

The plan is for Steve, Jim, JO, and Mike to head back to ABC [inaudible] and then rest at ABC that next day because the trek is so long. Then we want to head up to the North Col and the following day make a carry and set up Camp 2 at about 25500 feet. Our plan is to sleep at that camp, get up the next day and make a haul up to about 26500 or 27000 and set up a soup camp with a tent, stove, fuel, a couple of sleeping bags. But we will have to see how we all feel when we get up there.

We still have the option of just setting up one camp at 26,500 and making a 3500 feet summit push but that is a tall order. We will see how we feel. We still have sufficient amount of time for the climbing window. We are just going to take our time, as we have the entire trip and be sure everybody is feeling right and act accordingly.

Then the next group, Callahan, Kevin, Roger, and Carlson, are on a similar plan, but because they choose a rest day

The 2 groups are staggered by a day. That works out well however, it that we are using a 4 man tent set up for the high camp.

Dr Jon is kind of on his own project. The 9th man out so to speak. He is using oxygen and a sherpa. He has significantly different logistics. We really have the 2 four man teams and Dr Jon.

That is all form BC. We are still waiting on the next weather forecast and obviously everything resolves around that. We will touch base again when we get back up to ABC. Mike

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