Namaste and Tashi Delek from a snowy Mt. Everest Base Camp!

We have spent the last two days hydrating and resting, cleaning and organizing our loads and, of course, praying for safe passage when we begin our climb for the summit - or as my good friend Mike Trueman says, "if Sagarmatha allows us to safely climb her." (By the way, Hi Mike and thanks for the emails!)

We've been unable to send up additional loads with the climbing Sherpa because of the consistent snowfall. Nima Dawa Sherpa, the climbing Sirdar and my good friend, made the decision this morning for the climbing Sherpa to rest an additional day before carrying loads to the higher camps. As mentioned in our previous dispatch, Camps 1, 2 and 3 have been established, and we have made one carry to Camp 4. Pemba Tenzing, our Camp 2 cook is awaiting our return at Camp 2. Gary Scott and myself have had numerous meetings with the climbing Sherpa discussing our plan for the coming weeks. We have beefed up our day packs, tested the oxygen and regulators, and checked and rechecked our medical supplies.

Many thanks to Janis Tupesis, our team physician, and to the University of Chicago Hospitals for allowing him time away to be part of our team. Janis will be leaving camp soon, and will be dearly missed. He and his wife Nikki were instrumental in the success of Team Everest '03 - Nikki, with her good humor, positive attitude and affable nature on the Challenge Trek, and Janis, who is not only the best expedition doctor I have ever seen, but has a loyalty and dedication to TE '03, and a respect for the Sherpa people and culture, which have been a true asset to the expedition. We all owe him so much.

Again, I truly appreciate the support he has received from the University of Chicago Hospitals. The pictures you see are from of Janis' going away party complete with a special cake prepared by our talented cook, Buddha. Janis is seen above with some of our climbing sherpa: from left to right Nima Dawa (bottom), Karma (standing), Dr. Janis, Pem Tenji, Gary and Namgya.

Team Everest '03 continues to be blessed with fine people committed to furthering awareness throughout the world about the expedition. I have great pleasure to introduce Bob Martin, a reporter and pilot for CBS News who has been here at BC with us for the past few days. I could tell straight away upon his arrival at BC that he believed in the message of TE '03 - promoting the potential of people with disabilities and believing that all people, regardless of the abilities or disabilities, should have the freedom to explore.

Bob is a fine gentleman and will be departing our company soon. He has interviewed Nima Dawa and me, has assisted us in repairing and improving our electrical supply, and has shared stories of his career, all of which have added a general joy to our camp for the past few days. CBS has a true gem. We will miss him being here.

Everyone be on the lookout for the TE '03 story on your local CBS station's "The Early Show", which should be airing in the next few days. I look forward to crossing paths with Bob again. And you never know, this CBS connection could finally fulfill my dream of sitting opposite Mr. David Letterman! (Come on Dan Steinborn, you can do it!)

To answer some recent questions from our supporters around the world:

Question #1: When it is snowing, how do you bathe? Answer: You do naked snow angels first. If that doesn't work, you get a bowl of hot water and a towel, light a candle in your tent, and you give yourself a scrub down. Basically, take off one sock, clean your foot, and put your sock back on. Repeat with other foot. Then, one leg out of pants, wash and put leg back in trouser. Take glove off hand - clean hand and put glove back on FAST!

Question #2: What is the most important holiday in the Sherpa culture? Answer: The most important holiday is Losar, the Sherpa New Year. Currently, the year is 2130, the year of the Mountain Sheep, and Losar was on March 3. Losar is celebrated on a different day each year.

For all those of you making Sherpa language dictionaries (including Ms Kane's students at Texas School for the Deaf), here is the next installment of words courtesy of our amazing Sherpa teammates. Many Sherpa are named for the day of the week on which they were born. The days of the week are Sunday: Nima, Monday: Dawa, Tuesday: Mingma, Wednesday: Lakpa, Thursday: Phuru, Friday: Pasang, Saturday: Pemba.

On our expedition team, we have Sherpa named Nima Dawa Sherpa, Pemba Tenzing Sherpa, Pasang Sherpa, Lakpa Dorjee Sherpa, Mingma Kami Sherpa, Lakpa Sherpa and Phuru Dorjee Sherpa.

We also learned the colors - blue: ngrbu, red: maru, yellow: ceru, green: jungmu, pink: gemu, black: nakpu, white: karu, brown: muki, gold: ceri, silver: nul.

We'll write again soon before heading back up the mountain! Thanks to everyone for your support.

All the best! Gary G. and the team