GreatOutdoors.com: Everest 2008 Daily Dispatches

Everybody Back in Kathmandu, Dave and Nicky To Sign the Rum Doodle Summitters Board Tonight

Dave Hahn — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 09:11:24 -0700

Hey, this is Dave Hahn calling from Kathmandu, the Hotel Tibet. Nicky and Greg Messner made it out of the Khumbu today, they flew from Lukla to Kathmand this morning, so our whole team is out. And we wrapped things up, myself and Justin Merle went to the Ministry of Tourism for our debriefing . . paperwork on our permits, and then the coup de grace was late this afternoon myself and Mark Tucker met with Elizabeth Hawley, the record keeper of Himalayan climbing, big mountain climbing, and we had a nice visit with Elizabeth sitting down for an hour or hour and a half to get together all the details of our climb and transmit to her all our facts and times and numbers and everything for her. That being done, looking forward dinner tonight at the Rum Doodle, Nicky is going to sign her name on the board there, we hope, and we'll call it good there on this expedition. I'll write in my letter to GreatOutdoors while I'm on my airplane flight in the next few days in order to bring you up to speed on how the end of the trip came around, and the climb, there was a lot that happened in a short time and I'll try to sort that out and make clear what I felt our accomplishments and the risks we were taking were there at the end. But all for now, I'll let you know if anything else goes on here before flight time. By now.

Back in Kathmandu

Dave Hahn — Sat, 31 May 2008 08:04:01 -0700

GreatOutdoors this is Dave Hahn, this morning at 4 a.m., myself and Mark Tucker and Ang Jangbu Sherpa got up in Phakding, little village down by the river, and boy, one night at that low altitude with the humidity of the river flowing by, pretty much all the damage that was done to my throat and upper respiratory system by the oxygen bottles that we use, that really super dry oxygen breathing for three or four days, all that damage was erased and woke up without any cough or anything like that, and that was pretty nice. We started walking at 4:30, in the dark still, headed for Lukla. And at Lukla wasn't sure the airplanes would be flying, kind of cloudy, but sure enough, when we got there things did start happening. It was interesting to catch up with climbers who were there from Mount Everest. In fact, saw Peter Hillary there, he had been in Thyangboche the day before for a commemoration Sir Edmund Hillary, got to talk for him for a few minutes. And then we actually got our flight, flew to Kathmandu. So I have been feeling fairly slow all day just by virtue of not being up to speed with city ways and modern life, but trying to catch up. Got a nice straight blade shave this morning so I'm starting to look a loittle more civilized as well as feeling a little more civilized. Just enjoying the comforts here. Nicky and Greg Messner, my is hope that I'll see them tomorrow morning, they will fly out from Lukla to Kathmandu and we'll be reunited. But for the moment, boy, I'm happy myself to be back in Kathmandu, back at the Hotel Tibet, enjoying the comforts of life. Bye for now.

All the Way Down to Phakding, Lukla Tomorrow

Dave Hahn — Fri, 30 May 2008 08:53:11 -0700

GreatOutdoors, this is Dave Hahn and I'm calling you from Phakding, which is down below Namche, about halfway between Namche and Lukla, where we hope to fly out. We're spending the night here in Phakding, down by the river, pretty comfortable way down here, much warmer, and we're going to get up quite early tomorrow morning and finish the two hour walk to Lukla and hope for our flight to Kahtmandu and our exit from the mountains. Today was a pretty good day, we walked all the way from Pangboche, at about 13,000 feet, and I'm always talking about how our Sherpa team is the best in the business, and I think that is true, but it was kind of a treat, we spent the night there at Ang Pemba's lodge at Pangboche with the AAI Alpine Ascents Sherpa team, lead by Lakpa Rita, pretty much were walking from base camp with those guys, all our Sherpas were already home in Thyangboche and Phortse by then, but it was great to walk with the guys from Thame, the AAI team, they are a real team of pros. We left them just before Namche, passed through Namche, had lunch there, and dropped down the big Namche hill, down here to where it's pretty warm and humid below, even had some rain showers this afternoon, which didn't feel bad at all. Anyway I'll let you know if we do get back to Kathmandu tomorrow. My hope is that Nicky and Greg Messner are in Namche tonight, myself and Ang Jangbu and Mark Tucker are just a little bit a head of them. Bye for now.

Everest Season Ends: Dave Calls from Pangboche on the Trek Out

Dave Hahn — Thu, 29 May 2008 08:44:10 -0700

Hey this is Dave Hahn, and I'm calling from Pangboche, one of the villages we came through on the way in about 2 months ago. At 13,000 feet it's roughly 16,000 feet less than we were two days ago. We're dropping fast. We left Base Camp this morning, base camp was coming down around us, Everest season is over, and mass exodus, everybody is heading down valley. I walked with Jangbu and Mark Tucker down valley today, and Nicky and Greg Messner walked together to Pheriche, the village just before Pangboche. Should take us about three days to get out of the Khumbu Valley and get back to Kathmandu. But life is already way, way, way more comfortable and easier. Sure was nice getting a full night's sleep at base camp last night very nice after days up on the mountain. So everything is getting easier, going in the right direction . . . We'll keep you informed on how the walk goes. Bye for now.

Last Night at Base Camp

Mark Tucker — Wed, 28 May 2008 08:11:08 -0700

Mark Tucker here at what should be my last night at Base Camp. Nicky and Dave made it down for brunch today and after breakfast tomorrow they too will start toward Kathmandu. Minutes ago, our last two loads of equipment arrived off the upper mountain. . . . and Pertemba started at Camp II today and went up to the South Col and returned to base camp They reported it quite windy up top today, a lucky weather window yesterday. Man those guys are tough. You can imagine about 50 days ago already thinking about this moment. It feels so good to have my team below the Icefall. Yee haw, big scream there. Well, it's been quite a season, we had an Olympic effort by one and all. I'd like to thank our local Kathmandu outfitter, Betty Uhl Adventures, and the incredible local staff that they supplied, without them obviously, tough program there. International Mountain Guides and Eric Simonson, the Mount Everest director, especially GreatOutdoors, and my whole climbing team for the great job they all did, and it's always a pleasure to spend time up in the mountains with Big Wave Dave. Great big thanks to Peter Potterfield for putting together the pieces of this puzzle, thanks so much there, Peter. As Mr. Hahn quoted on the summit of Mount Everest May 27 at 7:27, let's wrap it up.

Starting the Last Trip Through the Icefall

Dave Hahn — Tue, 27 May 2008 20:04:41 -0700

GreatOutdoors, this is Dave Hahn, and I'm still at Advance Base Camp. We hit the summit yesterday morning, we came down here to ABC, 21,300, now it's early morning, before six in the morning at least and we're going to head down through the Icefall one more time and head to base camp and get to where life gets a little more comfortable. What I didn't really realize was going on at the same time, our Sherpa team has been pulling our whole expedition down the mountain. In fact, by today, they will have pulled everything down and the last Sherpas of our team will come out through the Icefall with big heavy loads, so the expedition will be done. We didn't realize we were cutting it quite that close to the end, but yeah, we were causing the end. But looking forward to getting down, looking forward to one more safe passage through the Icefall, and getting a little more comfortable in Base Camp. Bye now.

Dave Hahn Back at Advance Base After His Tenth Everest Summit

Dave Hahn — Tue, 27 May 2008 07:38:25 -0700

Editor's Note: GreatOutdoors.com Everest correspondent Dave Hahn became the only non-Sherpa climber to reach double digits in terms of the number of times to the top of Everest. His climb yesterday with Nicky Messner and Samduk Dorje was his tenth trip to the top of the highest mountain on earth, more than any other Westerner.

Hey, this is Dave Hahn and I'm back down at Advance Base Camp. Nicky and Samduk, myself, we summitted this morning around 7 or 7:30, 7:30 is probably more like it. And we made it all the way down to Advance Base Camp at 21,300 rather than spending another night at the South Col and that will pay big dividends tomorrow morning to wake up this much lower on the mountain. But it meant a lot of work today to get all the way down here, but certainly the kind of work we like to do. It was exciting as anything to be on top today, on a clear day, on a nice day, unexpectedly, and without crowds up there, what a luxury, what a treat and I'm only sorry I couldn't keep contact while I was up there, that was my intention. But every time I would bring up a Chinese satellite for my telephone conversations, it would shut me down, it wouldn't allow the call. So that's why you haven't heard from me the last two days up on the South Col where I was prone to get the Chinese satellite rather than the Nepalese. But, anyway, back in the world now, heading down to Base Camp tomorrow and I'll catch you up on everything that's been going on. Thank you.

Summit Climbers Almost down to South Col

Mark Tucker — Mon, 26 May 2008 22:16:35 -0700

Namaste! Well the team upstairs are just about at the South Col, so we'll call ‘em . . .in and we'll see if they push on down to Camp II depending on how they are feeling. It's about 10:50 in the morning here right now, so plenty of time if they are feeling up for it, so we're . . . .work out . . . still perfect, so what a fantastic way to finish off this expedition, I'll tell you that. so thanks again for clicking on us.

Summit Transmission

Dave Hahn — Mon, 26 May 2008 20:35:48 -0700

Radio relay, largely unintelligible.

Dave and Nicky on Top, with the Crew

Mark Tucker — Mon, 26 May 2008 20:29:45 -0700

There has to be a bettrer way, but this is what we’ve got going right now. . . Dave please repeat one more time. . . And what time is this Dave. . . 7:26, Dave Hahn, Nicky and the rest of the crew, all four on top. . . . Dave on top with the crew. Folowed by . . .

No Poetry this Time

Mark Tucker — Mon, 26 May 2008 20:23:00 -0700

Well I'm trying it again: I got a one minute out, that was about 47 seconds ago, there is sort of a time warp about 29,000 feet that you run into and they are in it right now. Hopefully I can turn this phone over to Dave off the radio . . . but we'll try it. And I won't do any poetry to fill in time here, somebody mentioned I should have been Os when I tried my wit at that. Here it is . . . copy that Dave. Well . . .so I'm going to do another call back.

Climb Going Well, In Good Conditions

Mark Tucker — Mon, 26 May 2008 20:21:34 -0700

Namaste, Mark Tucker here. Dave just gave a radio transmission, they have put some fuel in the furnace, little eating and drinking, he just changed his radio batteries, that I hope will anticipate some good comms on the summit. Lot of times when you get some really clear . . cause there is not much in the way. So it sounded like a couple of people turned around in front of him and there's a few people coming up behind, but they pretty much have the mountain to themselves. Sounds like they are doing well, weather is perfect. Old Davey Dave mad the call on pulling the trigger. We're hopefully a short time away from summit, so we'll let you know as soon as we can.

On the Traverse Between South Summit and Hillary Step

Mark Tucker — Mon, 26 May 2008 17:10:43 -0700

Namaste. Mark Tucker here at Base Camp and just got the quick, brief message from Mr. Dave Hahn, the first two words were South Summit, then another brief message, weather very good, that was about it. So they are working hard up there, making great progress under fantastic conditions. I asked, any crowds, any crowds? He said, very different. So I'm thinking there was just a couple of people, there were two headlights or something in front of them, whether they passed them or not I can't tell you. But good, good ,good. Now comes the big traverse from the South Summit over to the Hillary Step, some claim to be the crux of the climb. And from there up, smooth sailing, another probably, anywhere from hour and 15 to two hours to go. I'd love to patch you guys to him while he's on the summit. We'll see. Keep you guys posted.

On to the South Summit in Pretty Good Conditions

Mark Tucker — Mon, 26 May 2008 15:06:29 -0700

Namaste, We got a little better contact with the radio call recently and the exchange-they have two oxygen bottles for their climb-they have now made a successful change to leave the bottle they partially used at the Balcony there and if necessary will use that after they go to the summit if there's more in the tank than the one they were using. Sounds like the weather is really very nice, not much wind, which is why I thought we were having difficulty communicating last time, very nice to hear. Their next push is to get to the south summit, that will take anywhere from a couple to a few hours, so we will try to not bug them even though we want to, and will let him check in from their next point and I will definitely keep you posted.

Dave, Nicky at The Balcony

Mark Tucker — Mon, 26 May 2008 15:04:51 -0700

Namaste, Mark Tucker here, radio communications are a bit broken, I think it's kind of breezy up there at the Balcony. Yep they are at the Balcony, and I haven't heard if they've taken off and how everyone is doing. They have met checkpoint number one. . .when I hear more.

Climbers Leave the South Col, Summit Attempt is On

Mark Tucker — Mon, 26 May 2008 11:01:08 -0700

Namaste, GreatOutdoors.com, Mark Tucker here. It's a green light, go go Dave. They left, there's a little bit of breeze blowing but it sounds pretty good overall, everybody is fine, the push is on. Probably not going to here from them for a number of hours now until they get to the Balcony. We'll let them do what they do best, work hard and push on. We'll keep you updated.

Second Try for Top is On for 11 p.m. Nepal Time

Mark Tucker — Mon, 26 May 2008 08:54:19 -0700

Namaste, Mark Tucker here, alright, I'll tone down the fun I had with the last dispatch. Just got off the radio with Dave.You're going to have to just be listening to me, Dave's phone is not operational. The winds are blowing at the South Col, it doesn't have to blow too hard to just rattle those tents with nylon fabric and fiberglass poles, it sounds worse than I can be, but their plan is they are up now, fire up the stoves, drink and eat, warm up the boot liners, get prepared, not in too a big hurry right now. The plan of attack is to leave the Col about 11 pm this evening, there's very little traffic, he said there are two headlights on the triangular face at this time, so no big issues about trying to do crowd management, so that's a relief. It's tough to tell how hard it's blowing up high, but it doesn't look as though they are going to run into the rime up or the precip, at least at this point, things can change quickly up in the mountains obviously. It's a green light at this point . . .

Dave Prepares for Summit Bid, Mark Writes Poetry

Mark Tucker — Mon, 26 May 2008 07:37:55 -0700

Hey there, Namaste, GreatOutdoors. Word upstairs is definitely weather improving. I just witnessed the most incredible sunset here at base camp, so beautiful. . . So Dave is going to do the . . . o'clocker, hopefully that is going to get things started up. I'll post you up on that. . . While we are waiting on Dave . . .

Glacier Life

I am surrounded by massive boulders some perched ready for flight

Taking off without any warning, when ice below melts, that's deciding its plight

Sections of glacier hanging high above, way bigger than your house, I can guarantee that

Formed over centuries they fall thousands of meters, instantly pulverized, now looking like powder, thick as clam chowder

Huge bodies of water near your camp you've come to know disappear though some underground caverns in just minutes or hours, down valley they go

This amphitheater I've been living in for this part of my life is so awesome, morning noon and night

Dave Ready for Summit Bid if Weather Permits

Mark Tucker — Mon, 26 May 2008 05:27:36 -0700

Namaste, We'll you probably haven't heard from Dave, his phone is still in the gray zone of satellites so I'm keeping you posted as best I can. I spoke with him just recently he's feeling better, the weather is stabilizing a little bit. There were some teams I believe that went to the summit, never try, unless it's directly told to me, but he saw them disappear behind the south summit and pop up again, so pretty good shot that they did. Whether they suffered any collateral damage, frostnip or anything, we sure hope not, but it was one of those kinds of days he says with the winds blowing off the ridge. So they (Nicky and Dave) avoided that, they are in great shape, eating, drinking breathing lots of oxygen. We just has nine sharps pass through the camp up there so they are well supported and got resupplied, took down a lot of empty bottles and miscellaneous tents, they are right now at Camp III busting down that camp pretty much. Spirits are real high, just talked to Nicky, she is as fired up as she could be. Well we hate to keep you on the edge of your seats, but one more night. We really appreciated listening and supporting GreatOutdoors.com, I myself personally and I speak for Dave too, we really appreciate their support as well. We'll probably just shut her down, we'll keep you posted we'll give you a weather update when Dave starts brewing up again, but you all can take a break, relax and get your seat belt ready for tonight. Thanks for listening.

Waiting Out Weather at the South Col, May Try for Summit Again Tonight

Dave Hahn — Sun, 25 May 2008 19:13:59 -0700

Editor's Note: Dave's sat phone switched to "China mode" as he is just yards from the border, and shut down, but Expedition Leader Mark Tucker is relaying messages, the latest arrived at approximately 8 a.m. Nepal time Monday morning, or 7:00 p.m. Sunday night PDT:

Weather is Worsening, Attempt Aborted for Now

Mark Tucker — Sun, 25 May 2008 14:45:23 -0700

Mark Tucker here, well just got off the radio with Dave and they're gonna shut it down for tonight. The cloud is still sticking around and we tentatively have a low sherpa heading up the hill to pull that camp down. Not that we are trying to push Dave along, but that’s just sort of how plans are working out, they are going to bring up some resupplies but at this time it is snowing quite heavily at Camp II so Dave is probably near the cloud top and isn’t getting the precipitation they are, it doesn’t form for one way or the other so we’ll see if they can push on up in that kind of weather. Did sound as though they are going to be starving, they have lots of everything up there, they are just trying to get ‘em some treats, we’ll see if that pans out. We are going to talk to them at 8 o’clock, we’re going to have a contact and come up with another plan. This wasn’t a set up, we’re not doing this, staging this, to keep you guys on your toes, just the way things worked out here on the mountain and we’ll keep you informed as best we can. We’re going to take a nice nap and start working on this in the morning. Thanks for listening.

Dave Hahn Back at South Col Hoping for Change in Conditions

Mark Tucker — Sun, 25 May 2008 14:40:00 -0700

Guess who? It's me again. Just got off the radio with big wave Dave, winds are dropping a little bit but he's sitting in a thick cloud and he's definitely concerned about the riming or icing up of his day there, so he's going to go ahead and stick his head out in about 45 minutes and re-evaluate. Quote unquote he wasn't terribly optimistic about the direction it was headed, but definitely going t look at it some more. Timing wise, you start putting some numbers to it, he could still be in a reasonable window for getting up and getting down in daylight, so we haven't given up hope yet, the satellite phones we're using, he's pretty darn close to China, and when it goes into it's China mode of satellites he's not able to call out. I'm in the deeper section of the Nepal part of the phone so mine are working well. All for now, we'll give you another update.

Climbers Face Dangers of Rime Ice

Mark Tucker — Sun, 25 May 2008 14:38:00 -0700

Namaste, Mark Tucker here again. Well I just got off the phone, we have a custom weather report developed, so I gave the panic call to see if there's any more-it's all prediction of course-but he didn't have the greatest forecast for us but still hoping he could sneak it in there. Not much more on his front when it comes to giving us some stuff we can go by. Dave is back in his tent. The major problem is he was starting to rime up, so there was enough moisture in the air, kind of a sleety snow, that was going to start getting them possibly wet even through those great Gore Tex suits, you get enough of that and you're heat generated, They didn't get to the point where they were sopped or anything and can't push on, but they are going to re evaluate in about a half hour and we're going to talk to them again and he said it was dropping a little bit, the goal was to push through it and have it be nicer up higher, which can happen. We're still looking at it, we'll get back to you when we have some news.

Dave Starts for Summit but Turns Around in Bad Conditions

Mark Tucker — Sun, 25 May 2008 12:06:59 -0700

Namaste, Mark Tucker here. Well Dave just had a pretty wild little bout up there, they finally did get out, got going, light precip, started getting windier, more precip, so they did the about face, and they are back in camp, just crawling into the bags, he's going to monitor the weather now for another chunk of time. There is still a window available right now, if he can see a change and a drop they will probably fire back up. We might have a day wait, I don't know, we'll shoot you another call as soon as I hear, as I say radio coms during these kinds of conditions are not the greatest but they are trying to send word whenever they can so I just got the message and passing it on to you. Everything is fine, it just didn't look good for right now. We'll shoot you another shout in a minute.

Windy at South Col at 10 p.m. Nepal Time, Unclear if Dave Will Continue

Mark Tucker — Sun, 25 May 2008 09:09:56 -0700

Namaste. Mark Tucker here, base camp. Well, I know I don't sound like Dave, you're probably not going to hear much from Dave on the climb. Sounds like there is a little issue with the phones. Hopefully he can check in. For now I'm going to try to keep you guys as updated as possible. Most recently, sounded like it was a little bit windy up higher and Dave's goal was to start checking about 20 minutes ago to see if he could see any signs of it subsiding. There are some teams who have now left the Col and who will be out front. Dave has decided to drag his feet as we call it, just a bit, I believe they are brewing up, though, so they are kind of getting ready, they may just taxi into position and hold at this time. You know that marksman that Dave is, he'll pull the trigger when the time is right, and if anybody can hit the target, that's Dave, cause he's a trophy bagger. So we all are wishing him luck down here, and I'll give you another call as soon as they start making the move. Our radio coms are difficult on windy, cloudy, nastier nights, but for now we are still keeping in touch, so if he keeps in touch with me, I'll keep in touch with you. Alright, hang in there.

Winds Forecast to Increase During Summit Bid

Mark Tucker — Sun, 25 May 2008 08:45:16 -0700

Namaste, Tucker here at base camp. Just got off the radio with Dave, Nicky and he are doing quite well. Conditions are favorable at this time. Weather report says maybe an increase in winds, but I don't know, Lucky Pierre Dave, he can sneak it in. So we're hoping for the best, they are going to get some shut eye for a few more hours here. I gotta get the phone charged up so I can give you guys some reports during their climb. I think he's going to be a little busy to pull out the phone but I'm sure hoping he can make some radio contact. We've got a great antenna and some powerful radios but boy if conditions aren't just right it is tough from Base Camp. We've got plenty of Sherpa in position for relays. So, yee haw, hold on, it's coming quick

Oxygen Nap Before Earlier than Usual Departure for Summit

Dave Hahn — Sun, 25 May 2008 08:37:52 -0700

Dave Hahn again, same day up here, the 25^th of May, the South Col. Things are going well still sitting in the tent, eating and drinking, going to be taking a hit of oxygen here, a little oxygen nap, because we are planning on a start rather than tomorrow morning, a start late tonight, so we have to use the afternoon to get our rest. Everything is going well for us, a little breezy at the Col here but not bad. And we're hoping it doesn't increase. Interesting walk up today, encountering a lot of climbers coming down in various states of exhaustion. Of course some of the climbers coming down were in complete control, and doing a great job of it, it was nice to see my friends from AC and AAI, some of the guides I work around on other mountains, seeing those guys come down. Kind of a surprise, just as Nicky and I topped out on the Geneva Spur we saw the Nepali women's team, which has a member Usha Bista in that same spot, she was in a stretcher, semi-conscious. She's the woman I ended up helping along with Casey Grom and Mike Haugen and a number of other good folks. She was the woman I thought was going to die unconscious up by the Balcony last year. She not only lived but summitted Mount Everest yesterday and she seemed to be dong well on the descent. Generally I am a pessimist and a cynic, and I wouldn't figure that somebody like that would do so well at coming back to do it again. But she did. It was really neat to see here up at the top of the Geneva Spur and shake hands with her today. All for now.

Dave and Nicky and Sanduk at South Col Poised for Summit Bid

Dave Hahn — Sun, 25 May 2008 08:24:32 -0700

GreatOutdoors, this is Dave Hahn and I'm calling you from high camp on Mount Everest. We are 8000 meters, just under 26,000 feet, 8,000 meters. It's great to be here, myself and Sanduk Dorje and Nicky Messner. We got a nice early start today from Camp III on the Lhotse Face. We woke up at four and we were walking by 6 a.m. It takes that long to get water, get breakfast, get suited up. We stepped out into the shadows of the Lhotse Face at 6 a.m. and started climbing up. I felt like we did a really good job of it, we were up here in five hours. We just made great, steady progress We encountered a lot of climbers coming down from the South Col, people who had gone for the top yesterday or summitted yesterday.. It was neat to see those people but it also makes me hope that we are missing the crowd a little bit on our summit day starting tonight. We'll see. Wind is blowing a little bit here and there's clouds blowing off the high peaks. May be a little bit of a stormy afternoon but we're still optimistic, I've still got my fingers crossed that we are going to get a shot of the summit tonight. Sitting here in our tents quite comfortable with the sun coming through the wall of the tent here at 8,000 meteres. And I'm going to call you a few times today, lots to report on.

Summit Teams at Camp II, III and IV

Mark Tucker — Sat, 24 May 2008 08:31:04 -0700

Namaste, Mark Tucker here. We'll, I get the night off. Wow. Can't wait to get a solid night's sleep. We'll still have the radio on but it shouldn't be making much noise this evening. Dave and Nicky are up at III and doing quite well, got to get the remainder of the crew coming down from the South Col to Camp II, and the group from Camp II down to base camp More people heading down valley tomorrow. Weather is a little in and out right now, there's clouds floating around, but I can see the upper West Shoulder, not a bad evening. Lots of people dropping by, hearing some of the usual stories of crazy things occurring up high, people not being as smart as my team, getting away with it though Lot of success with the other groups, congratulations to all of them and we're hoping to finish this off unscathed. We'll be back on the program tomorrow night with Dave and crew, then it's more camp break down and out of here. Okay, all for now.

Storm Fades at Sunset at Camp III

Dave Hahn — Sat, 24 May 2008 08:14:56 -0700

GreatOutdoors, this is Dave, it's about 7 in the evening at Camp III. Beautiful evening. It was a little snowy this afternoon, and cloudy, but as the evening came on, clouds dropped rightdown, things cooled off. Beautiful sunset, watching the set out behind Cho Oyu and watching the Southwest Face of Everest turn all sorts of nice colors. And very calm up here right now, so we're optimistic we'll get calm night and climb on up through the Yellow Band at 25000 feet Geneva Spur, top that out at 26000 feet and walk on in to the South Col and we'll be looking for a summit bid tomorrow night. We're a little worried the forecast is calling for a little wind to pick up tomorrow night and that would be a real problem for us. But the forecast also called for it to be windy this evening and it's not. It's beautiful. We're hoping to get a little bit lucky. We are all three feeling really good up here at 24,000 fee, we've had our practice and spent the night up here before, that helps us a little bit, and we're looking forward to a nice calm night. Bye night.