Everest Base Camp After two long, difficult days we finally made it! When the tin can, uh, I mean helicopter dropped us in Tengboche from Lukla, we did a half day hike to Pengboche, the trekked a long day from Pengboche to Lobuche, followed by another tough day from Lobuche to Base Camp. All in all, we increased approximately 13,000ft in altitude in 2 1/2 days!

Despite our previous acclimatization, we were all feeling the strain on our legs and lungs. BC manager Christine Kane had her first bout with the effects of altitude. Her legs felt like rubber bands and her tummy was not happy! Some of the tougher hills made it necessary for her to stop every 20 steps or so just to keep it together. Luckily this only lasted about 10-12 hours and she felt much better after getting a few extra liters of water, some calories and Advil in her system!

We arrived at base camp to shouts of "Namaste" from our climbing Sherpas - what a welcome sound and sight for sore eyes and legs. As you can see from our pictures, we have luxurious accommodations in terms dining and toilet tents, as well as our open air shower!

We have hung our Team Everest '03 banners with pride alongside our flags in support of all the troops involved in the conflict overseas - God Bless Texas, the USA and all the people that support and believe in TE '03!

Luckily - given its cost and importance to the success of the expedition - all the oxygen has arrived safely. Your support for all these critical items is continually appreciated! Also appreciated are your words of support and encouragement in your emails - please keep them coming - they do wonders for tired minds and bodies!

Camp 1 and Camp 2 have been established and I will be departing Base Camp and climbing to Camp 1 through the Khumbu Ice Fall on April 20th. I will spend one night in Camp 1 before ascending to Camp 2 to check on our higher altitude "suites" on the hill - if only! Two or three of our fine high altitude Sherpa will be accompanying me along with Gary Scott to guarantee some excellent images and possibly some video courtesy of Texas School for the Deaf - Go Rangers!!!!

Some interesting, behind-the-scenes details:

Christine K. hates ketchup - Expedition leader puts ketchup on EVERYTHING!

Gary S. is Mr. Protein / Vitamin Man. He is the future Jack LaLane, we are sure of it.

Vince B. is Recovery Man! He arrived from Camp 1 really tired, but it's amazing what a combination of Nak Cheese, Spam, baked beans and chapatti can do for a man!

Dr. Janis is a little bit tall for our open air shower, therefore everyone at Base Camp takes great pleasure watching him scrub his armpits and head in true medical fashion. As he was the last to take a shower after lunch (all the rest of us had showered before lunch), he was banished from the dining tent!

Team Everest 03's top picks for a welcoming arrival at base camp:

1) Nike ACG: All summit members have had great feeling feet thanks to Nike ACG Thielsen. I've worn these shoes for over 30 days on the trail now and my feet have never felt better. The comfort and durability is unparalleled to any shoe I have ever worn in the high Himalaya.

2) Ruby's BBQ sauce: All the sauce arrived at BC intact. Everyone who knows me knows how much I groove on a meal of 2 Ruby's all-natural BBQ sandwiches, 2 jalapeno peppers, 2 packs of potato chips and a garden salad (and of course, extra BBQ sauce). Although I only have the BBQ sauce here, I can surely imagine the fine taste of this truly Texas BBQ at 29th and Guadalupe back in Austin.

3) Gold Bond Powder: So far, the Gold Bond Powder has been the savior of our expedition meetings. I need not go into great detail, but my team members who visit my tent thank Gold Bond. Its a foot thing!

One last thing to all the students out there who are following the expedition: keep it up, learn a lot and keep sending emails with questions! We've established base camp thanks to you, your families and all of the TE '03 supporters!

Cheers from Gary Guller and the Summit Team at Everest Base