EVEREST LIVE
	April 10, 2001
	From: Erik Weihenmayer Everest Base Camp

Photo by Didrik Johnck The Khumbu Ice Fall as seen from Base Camp. Photo by Didrik Johnck Members of the Team and Crew fix the Communications "Love Dome" Photo by Didrik Johnck

We finally made it to basecamp, a 9 day hike over loose rocky terrain. Making it to basecamp, I thought, was a huge accomplishment in itself. I know however that this is the easiest part of the expedition. I pulled into basecamp with my dad, brother, and Jeff -- just in time for the puja. We sat on mats passing around beer, chang, and soda, listening to the lama pray for our blessings. At the end, everyone crowded in, cheered and rubbed dried tsampa over each other's faces. A few days later, the real challenges began. My first trip through the icefall took me 13 hours. It's all jumbly bumbly ice boulders, with holes and slots everywhere, tons of ladders to cross and lots of vertical steps to climb. It took a lot of intense focus and a lot of intricate communication from my teammates. At first I was intimidated by the idea of crossing the ladders, but it turned out the ladders were the easiest part. They're the only part of the icefall which have consistency -- enabling me to get into a rhythm. Crossing, I lean forward against the ropes, and try to precisely click my crampon points onto two rungs. I can feel when it's a good step. It's wild in the ice fall, listening to far away avalanches coming off the Lo La pass. I've been told that the icefall moves almost three feet a day and the two times I've been in it teammates have told me it looks different. Seracs once standing are now gone and fixed lines are buried under ice rubble. In some sections teammates will say, " Move fast through this section until we get above it", where we take a rest. I can hear the tension in their voices. The second time I went through, around noon, it got so hot I felt like I was going to pass out. With the reflective heat from the snow it felt like being in Phoenix in the summer. Then it got cold and snowed as we came into Camp 1. Happily, Charlie and Brad met us at the top of the icefall with hot drinks and snacks. I was psyched to make through the icefall and then 50 yards out of Camp 1, when I stepped over a small crevasse and my foot went right in. Luis tried to catch me, but instead blasted me in the nose with his ski pole handle. So I came stumbling into Camp 1, at six pm, exhausted with a fat, swollen nose and blood dripping down my face. The film crew was in heaven. Yesterday morning we woke up to the love dome crushed under six inches of snow. While PV, Brad, Didrik, and Kami fixed the tent, the rest of the team broke into a snowball fight. Chris and Jeff were on one team, while me, Eric and Sherm were another. I nailed Kevin below the belt, but took plenty of shots in the head as well. Jeff nailed Pemba Sherpa in the head which got the Sherpas retailiating. Jeff single-handedly converted the peaceful people of the Khumbu into bloodthirsty bands of snowball fighters. For the rest of the day you could hear the Sherpas ambushing innocent teams and pummeling them with snowballs. This morning we woke up early and Brad, Reba and Eric organized an Easter service in the dining tent. Brad and Eric read passages from the New Testament and Maurice said a prayer for safety and good blessing. Mike O. talked about how he felt this climb was a renewal for him and I thought that was a cool way of looking at life. It doesn't matter what mistakes or shortcomings we've had in the past. Every day is a new beginning. It made me want to commit to living better and being a better person, better husband, and better dad when I return.

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