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May 21, 2001 The push for the summit is on!! Paul called from Camp 3 this morning preparing for a summit bid on Wednesday, May 23. The reality of the possibility of death on Everest hit him hard when he saw for himself that his former camp had been completely destroyed by an avalanche last week. Hearing about it from others via radio was one thing, seeing it himself was another thing. The fragility of life on Everest was staring him in the face. |
His sherpas set up a new camp, which they will rest in tonight. Tomorrow it is off to Camp 4 at the South Col and then it's off to the summit on May 23. Getting to Camp 3 today was more difficult for Paul than before. A blood vessel in his nasal passage burst while he was ascending the Lhotse Face. He lost a lot of blood. As a result of this he was weakened significantly. It was also very difficult for him to breathe. This occurred at a location that was closer to Camp 3 so it was safer for him to continue climbing to Camp 3 than to try return to Camp 2.
The predominant mood on Everest is 'nervous'. The climbers are concerned that there will be too many of them on the high peaks of Everest on May 23-24. Several of the sherpas are also nervous since many feel that the mountain is angry and not climbable this season. They mention the fact that it has snowed every day since Sherpa Babu Chiri's death earlier in the month. Babu was regarded as a protected climber, since the gods have allowed him to reach the summit a record number of times. With his death, and the relentless snow, among other things, some of the sherpas feel extremely vulnerable.
Updates will be provided as soon as information becomes available in the next 48 hours.
D. Giorgio
Everest 2001 Lhotse 2001 Expeditions and News