Featured Expedition: 2003 American Ski Everest Expedition
Dispatch 19

Copyright©Jim Gile American Ski Everest 2003

Dispatch 19: American Ski Everest Expedition... (Transcribed from satellite phone voice message)

Mike Marolt calling. We arrived this afternoon, May 5th, at base camp, from the heavy wind storm up at ABC; only to find the heavy winds affected base camp as well. Our mess tent was completely gone. All of our North Face tents were fine. The tents we were provided by our agency was just crap, and has not survived very well at all. So it has been an expedition of tent building of late.

The guys are pretty tired. Steve and Jim have head colds. So it is better to get lower on the mountain to get them better.

This wind storm is scheduled to move out of here in the next few days. Rumors has it a couple of expeditions are ready to bail. Looking at ABC, it would not surprise me if some expeditions leave. We are going to hang out forget about trying to climb Mt. Everest for the next week or so; maybe go down to a small village.

Everyone is pretty exhausted. Mending tents for the last three days, just non-stop. Base camp is a place where one is supposed to come and rest, but this is not rest. When we got into the village and saw the base camp was damaged, it was not an afternoon of rest. So anyways, that is it. We are just trying to hang out and formulate a plan. eh storm gas gotten into the way. [communications lost]

Did you miss Mike play by play of the storm the last two days at ABC? if so you will want to go back the last 5 dispatches and check it out...

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