Featured Expedition: 2003 American Ski Everest Expedition
Dispatch

Copyright©Jim Gile American Ski Everest 2003

Dispatch 36 American Ski Everest Expedition May 24th, this morning we started talking with Swiss team as they were packing up and heading down. Their trip is done. None of the Swiss summited. However, they came away healthy. However, it was a beautiful day today and Kari, the leader of the Swiss Expedition, commented that this is they way it always works in the years of bad weather, that the day you leave is the day, is in his words, “The only practical summit day.” However the days before that have been very, very difficult, and the people that have summited have definitely paid the price. For us, without oxygen there just has not been a chance to summit Everest, so we have decided with a forecast for the North Side of Everest, that predicts bad weather for the rest of the month. That things have not gone well for us with the weather, colds, [inaudible]. It is time to go home and get on the mountain bikes, so we are going to spend the next two days heading up the mountain to accomplish a couple of things: the other half of the team that did not ski, has made a commitment to ski from 7,000 meters, which is the North Col, which I could not be more thrilled about. With them skiing from 23,000 feet and above, is a thrill the guys will not soon forget. A few of the guys, including Jim Gile, Tom Carlson are going to spend the night at the North Col and then head up to camp two and try to get as high on the mountain as they can. We will also pull the camps that we do have up there. Doctor Jon has been climbing with a personal Sherpa and oxygen. He is going to try and stay another four to five days and see if there is even a slight chance the weather will clear and the winds calm down. And the oxygen and Sherpa climber, will allow for him to make an honest summit bid, if that happens.

           In other news around camp, in Brice’s global extremes expedition, Jessie Richert and Ted Mahon are going to hang out and wait. The weather forecast is not good, but those guys are looking really good. However, they are very tired and plan on using oxygen from the North Col in the attempt, which will allow them to push through some of the harsher weather that they could not, without oxygen.

            So that is it from here. The next time we can get to computer we plan to comment on the use of Sherpas on Everest and how they are the unsung heroes. I have to admit, that coming on an expedition like this without oxygen or Sherpas, I think the biggest difference in climbing Mt Everest above all the other 8,000 meter peaks is not an oxygen issue, it is a Sherpa issue. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the Sherpas and they are definitely the unsung heroes. So we will talk about that.

            Also we will rewrite the details of the Ski descent, since the Sat phone description was rough. [inaudible]

            Talking with the Italian snowboarder [inaudible]

            After the day we skied there was no more new snow, so we got very very lucky with that. So Gile and the others will ski down the Col and it will be a thrill for those guys and really good for the whole expedition. We will have one more dispatch describing the day those guys have.

            In summary, it has been almost 60 days, and north Everest has kicked our butts.  The weather has just been very very difficult. And that is the way it goes sometimes, you strike out. Mike…

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