Everest South Side Expedition: Everest 50
The fiftieth anniversary expedition. (French)

Tuesday April 15th: It is Sherpas day free. We are in 2060 since yesterday in the Nepalese calendar. Cooks have prepared a real New year meal in the kitchens of Everest50, thanks particularly to the food carried the day before by helicopter.

At the menu : a sumptuous very appreciated chicken and splendid "happy new year" cakes with a savor rather distant from their appetence. The clear rancid butter taste got the better of the gourmets.

Today, since 6.00, a second group of eight people left to the Ice Fall. They were back from Camp 1 at 6.100m around 15.00, with stars on their eyes or a great tiredness, according to their acclimatization. In any case, rest and hydration for everybody once they take their crampons off, to recover from this new phase of acclimatization. News from Daniel Blanchi, Maurice Thiney, Gilles Pollini and Dominique Tripier-Mondancin from Pheriche are good, and they will be back Wednesday or Thursday to Base Camp at 5.300 m.

Wednesday April 16th: Yesterday ended with a little celebration organized by the Sherpas in the kitchen, for the Nepalese New Year. The reveling danced late, those who live in “the district of the power generating unit” know something of it! Weather was very good this morning, but once again, Yann Giezendanner, the weather router, had seen right behind his computers at Chamonix : very quickly snow settled and has surprised Patrick Bérhault, Eric Loizeau, Dominique Blanc-Vial, Mario Trimeri, Nicolas Mugnier, Hugues d’Aubarède et Bruno Gallet, went to Camp 1 with Sherpas, to leave material. They joined Base Camp at the end of the afternoon  without hindrance. Patrick Gabarrou, who is in a great shape, left very early to explore the Ice Fall. He is the only one of this team to have already gone on the slopes of the Everest in this period of the year. His verdict : the Ice Fall is under the normal conditions of spring. Daniel Blanchi, Maurice Thiney, and Gilles Pollini have joined today Base Camp and are in a very good shape. Dominique Tripier-Mondancin is all right also, but will join Base Camp tomorrow. This afternoon, with the snow, Scrabble is at the program for almost everybody assembled under the big yellow tent, seated on plastic chairs decorated with… palms trees!!

Dispatches