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International
Mountain Guides (www.mountainguides.com) Everest 2002 Expedition
Tuesday
April 23: All’s
well on the South Side today, with most teams
resting. Yesterday (Monday) was marked by heavy snow
and wind on the mountain. Eleven of our IMG
Sherpas managed to sneak up to Camp 3 early in the
day and set up two more tents there, then beat a
hasty retreat to Base Camp. No Sherpas from any team
went up to Camp 3 today (Tuesday) despite the fact
that the weather has now cleared up. Everyone
is thinking that it would be smart to give the snow
on the Lhotse Face a day to settle before starting
back up there. Hopefully tomorrow all the
Sherpas from the teams responsible for fixing to the
Col will start back up on the face and work on the
fixed ropes above Camp 3.
Currently
our members Stuart Smith, Kevin Flynn, Ted Wheeler,
and Lee Meyers are at Camp 2 acclimatizing and
waiting for improvement in the weather so they can
go up to Camp 3 for a night or two. Phil Ershler,
Sue Ershler, and Mark Tucker are heading up to Camp
2 tomorrow to do the same. The Ford [women's part of
the expedition] team has been acclimatizing at Camp
2 and is now returning for rest days at Base Camp.
The
ongoing impact of the Maoist conflict here in Nepal
has crept closer to us. The telephone system that
provides service into the Khumbu region, including
the nearby villages of Gorak Shep and Namche, has
been attacked and telephone comms in the region
are out of commission for the foreseeable future.
The only way for us to contact Kathmandu is by sat
phone at this point. This is OK for us, since we
have sat phones at Base Camp and still enjoy ready
access to rescue assistance if we need it. The teams
here who do not have sat phones can use ours if they
need emergency help. Unfortunately, the villagers
down valley are the ones who are taking the brunt of
this new problem, since they have lost contact with
family, friends and businesses they operate in
Kathmandu. Good news is the Khumbu has a reliable
system of communications by people moving about
regularly on foot who can deliver and receive
messages for others cut off by the lack of phone
service. Let's hope this is the extent of the Maoist
interference with life here in the Khumbu.
Eric
Simonson
Khumbu
Base Camp
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