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American
Makalu
2001 Expedition
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Dispatch
One:
Greetings from the American Makalu Expedition,
Kathmandu
is alive with life right now. I have just come from the
airport where team after team is arriving for what
looks to be a great season over here. I of course have
been very busy getting our permit from the ministry
yesterday. Today has been logistics. We are beginning
our 10 day trek to base camp on Tuesday. All
of our
gear we will be helicoptered (most of it) to base
camp
below Bharun Khosi on Makalu at 5000m it is a
different approach than I anticipated but of course
the team is very excited about the idea. As of this
afternoon, all the team is here. Cecelia has just
arrived so we will all be under one roof tonight.
We do hope to go to the famous Boddinath stuppa for
dinner and a blessing from the lama for good fortune
on our trip. We are very much looking forward to our
trip and so happy that to this point all is running
smoothly yet busy. Now I hope it is time to simply go
climbing. Best Brendan Cusick
Background:
They are intending to make an alpine style ascent of the
Southwest buttress, first climbed by the
Czechoslovakians in 1976. There has not been a second ascent
to date although attempts have been made. This
expedition is a group of six climbers comprised of
Brendan Cusick Leader, Carolyn
Parker, John Kear, Chris Brown, Glenn Dunmire, and
Cecelia Mortenson. If Cecelia and Carolyn are successful
they will be the second and third American women to
summit Makalu. They have significant equipment sponsorship from the North
Face, Wild Country, Maxim ropes, Misty Mtn products
and about 12 other kind folks the funds have been the
hardest.
"An alpine style attack of this mountain
from any angle will be difficult. So we are very
excited about pushing it. This has been my dream for
ten years (I am 26) so to finally be getting ready to
shove off is exciting. We have a very strong and
dynamic team with a good mix of altitude experience
and very hard technical climbers. This is what we will
need for a single push in May. We will be acclimating
for the month of April [on Makalu] then going for the top sometime
in the second week of May. " Best,
Brendan Cusick
Leader
American Makalu Expedition 2001 "in style"
Update
5/18/2001:
A family member of the team tells EverestNews.com,
that after an unsuccessful attempt at the summit of
Makalu, "all of the climbers left Base Camp this
past Monday, the 14th, by helicopter. They are all
doing fine."
We
will let the expedition tell the story when they check
back in...
Winter
Makalu Expedition 2000/2001: Krzysztof
Wielicki takes on Makalu in the Winter ! Complete
coverage on EverestNews.com here.
Other
Makalu Spring
2001 Expeditions
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