NFB 2001 Everest Expedition (PV Scaturro, 05-10-2001)

EVEREST LIVE

May 10, 2001

From: PV Scaturro
Expedition Leader
2001 NFB Everest Expedition

At 5:30 this morning we started our summit attempt. Three climbers moved up to Camp 1, three climbers to Camp 2, seven Sherpa climbers up to Camp 4 at the South Col, and three Sherpas fixed rope from the Col at 26,000 feet to above the Balcony at 28,000 feet. It was windy and cold in the morning and snowed much of the afternoon.

The High Altitude Sherpas head up to Camp 2. Photo Jonathan Chester/Extreme Images.

Finally, after five weeks at or above Base Camp we have started our summit attempt. We have been paying close attention to our weather forecasts and believe that if we attempt a summit push the night of May 14 going into May 15 we will catch a weather window of reduced jet stream winds and, hopefully, light or no snowfall. At 5:40 this morning Erik, Sherm, and Jeff started through the Ice Fall to Camp 1. They arrived at 1:10 PM. This was a great effort by Erik and his fastest time through the Ice Fall. Chris, Mike O, and Eric A climbed straight from Base Camp to Camp 2, ariving at 1:00 p.m. Seven of our climbing Sherpas left Camp 2 and carried oxygen and food directly to Camp 4 on the South Col. This means that our South Col camp at 26,000 feet has been fully set up and is awaiting our summit attempt. The three Sherpas who spent the night at the South Col last night left at 4:00 AM this morning and, with help from Sherpas of the Mountain Experience and IMG Expeditions, were able to fix 850 meters of fixed line up to almost 28,000 feet, which is about 200 meters above the Balcony. This was an extraordinary effort and we are all very proud of Ang Pasang, Chuldim, and Pasang Sona, three of the silent heroes or our expedition. Kami just called from Camp 2 and informed us that all of our Sherpa teammates are back in Camp 2 and resting.

Weather permitting, the remaining climbers in our expedition will leave Base Camp tomorrow morning and climb directly to Camp 2 to meet up with the rest of the team. We will then all have a rest day at Camp 2 prior to going to Camp 3 and the summit. We are continuing to monitor the weather on a daily basis since it appears to be the only thing holding us back from the summit. Erik is back to good health and after his climb to Camp 3 at 24,000 feet two weeks ago there is nothing holding him back from a great summit attempt except the weather. We continually monitor the weather on a twice daily basis. The main problem with trying to coordinate an Everest summit attempt with the weather reports we receive is that because Everest is such a big mountain (29,035 feet), it can create its own micro climate. We have to be careful not to climb up to the South Col and start using up our precious store of bottled oxygen before the weather will allow us to climb. On the other hand, if we are not aggressive and sit at Base Camp waiting for the perfect weather report, we stand the chance of missing a three-day good weather window since it takes at least 4-5 days to summit Everest once we leave Base Camp . Just to illustrate how difficult it is to pick a summit window, check out the most recent report I have available from Wilkins Weather.......wish us luck.

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