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Mountain
Madness Everest Expedition 2002
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Summit
bound May 16th…
Five
Mountain Madness team members and four climbing
Sherpas left base camp for their summit attempt.
After years of past climbing experience, months of
training, and weeks on the mountain acclimatizing
our team is now prepared for the summit of
Everest. The team will climb to camp 3 on May 14,
Camp 4 at the south col on May 15th. With the
invaluable effort of our strong Sherpa climbing
team camp 4 has already been prepared in advance
of the team. Once the climbers reach camp 4, they
will be begin melting snow, force themselves to
rest, eat, and drink until midnight.
Our
team’s plan is to leave around midnight of May
16th. They will carry only water, snacks, and
oxygen as they climb up towards the Balcony.
Between 3 and 6 a.m. they will reach the Balcony
and continue to make there way towards the south
summit as the sun rises out of the east. Morning
will greet the climbers with stunning views of
Makalu, the high Himalayas, and the vast expanse
of the Tibetan plateau. From the south summit they
will traverse a delicate, exposed snow ridge and
climb the famous Hillary step, a difficult rock
step before the final slope to the summit. From
here it’s one hour to the top. Our climbing
Sherpas will climb slightly ahead and behind our
team carrying extra oxygen for our climbing team.
The
weather forecast is favorable as the winds will
decrease and no precipitation is expected this
week. If everyone is feeling well and the weather
remains good the clients expect to reach the
summit by late morning.
Our
thoughts and best wishes are with our team!
Chris
Boskoff
Mountain Madness, Inc.
 Dispatches
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