Everest North Side Expedition
St. Petersburg Everest - 2003 Jubilee Expedition

Dispatch Six: April 13, Marina Ershova: Hello! I am calling from ABC on the altitude about 6400 m. On April 10 we started our way to ABC with yaks, our cook and kitchen boy. The way to ABC is very long, the altitude is high enough and for the first time all this is hard enough. So we did not hurry and spent two nights on our way from BC to ABC.

Our doctor Dmitry and the second kitchen boy stayed at BC. Having come to ABC we have found here several tents of the other expeditions and many Chinese persons. They occupied all good enough places for tents and did not allow us to put our tents on the free places - they keep them for their huge expedition. So, we were forced to go to the beginning of the moraine and to make new tent grounds - this is a very hard thing on the high altitude. But we made new platforms for our tents and pitched our camp. Today Oleg Nasedkin and me have stayed at ABC but the other six our members have gone to the slopes of the North Col and fixed several ropes - our climbing work has begun! I think we are the first who are working here. Our climbers want to work on the slopes of the North Col a couple of days more and tomorrow I will walk upwards too. Then we will come down to BC for rest. It is amazing but our cook shows miracles of cooking and all our members are very glad. In addition, the weather is excellent. In general, beside us all is OK.

Three pages of pictures from the St Petersburg expedition: Page One, Two and Three.

Dispatches