The team is coming home...

The team had a weather window, and made a summit attempt, but fell short of the summit by 1200'. One of the team members was feeling the altitude, and they made the call to descend. Although they still have some time left to attempt the summit again, they are not optimistic they will have another weather window. It seems they have also had enough of hanging out at 18,500' in bad weather, and are looking forward to heading home. They will spend the next few days breaking down their camps, and they are aiming to be back in Kathmandu on the 13th. I hope they recognize their success in all their efforts and work putting this trip together and getting as far as they did, despite not standing on the summit...

Camp 2

Mark sent another update last night. The team spent some time at Camp 2 (23K), but is heading back to Advanced Base Camp to rest. Overall, most of the team is feeling well and adjusting to the altitude as hoped.

FASHISHA update

Todd was not feeling well, so he came back to Kathmandu. He is coming home soon. We are sending him our love and good energy for a safe trip back to the states.
The rest of the group is doing well. They are at Camp 1, 21,000feet. They will be there for 3 days as they establish their camp 2 higher on the mountain at 23,000ft. , and then they will move up to Camp 2. Best of luck to them as well as they push on up this high snowy peak!

9/22/10

After 4 days and nights, the missing cook returned to Chinese Base Camp (roughly 16,500')! The team was very relieved to find him alive and well (albeit windburned). The language barrier made it difficult to understand what happened, and whether he had food or camping gear, but they were just glad to find him safe. The team will continue to shuttle loads higher up the mountain as they acclimate.

9/20/10

Mark sent another update tonight from Advanced Base Camp (18,500'). The team is doing well, although they were surprised by some snow. However, they are quite concerned as they have not seen their camp cook in 2 days. They last saw him when the yaks were being packed, and there has not been a sign of him since. The team will continue the search today. I will be thinking of them and hope this has a happy ending.

9/16/10

Mark sent an update from Nyalam, Tibet, which is the town one day's drive past the Nepal/China border. The team made it across the border without any problems, although it sounds like the drive was fairly rowdy due to poor road conditions. The team was pleasantly surprised by Nyalam (15,000'), which offered cooler temperatures and a super nice hotel. They spent two days there to acclimate, enjoying their last shower and bed for a long time! The started the final stretch of their drive on Friday morning (our Thursday evening) to base camp (17,000').

Border leg begins

After 2.5 days in the the chaos and intrigue of Kathmandu, we are set to depart in the early morning. It has been a busy, humid, and very warm time strolling the streets and checking out the sights.

Saturday marked the annual Teej Festival during which time the Hindu Nepali women, dressed in flowing red dresses and saris, danced throughout the city while fasting for either the health and prosperity of their men and/or for a good future husband. As Mark and Andy filmed the action, we encountered groups upon groups of kind and friendly women that were accommodating to the cameras and who were eager to include us in their celebration.

Sunday led us to the world heritage site Boudhanath Stupa where we met with the holy Lama for a blessing of our journey. We wandered amongst dive bombing pigeons, the rolling waves of prayer flags, and the vigorous hum of spinning prayer wheels. After a day out on the dusty and damp streets of the city, we managed to finish the evening listening to a uber-talented Nepali cover band with the beats of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pink Floyd, and Rage Against the Machine.

The road delays appear to be resolved, and thanks to the folks at Thamserku Trekking- Anjan Rai, Jiban Ghimire- Sherpa Shangri-La, we have sorted through our loads, coordinated the necessary yaks, and have everything else organized for our border crossing tomorrow. Our hope is to make it to across but if the rains continue or the the slides haven't been cleared, we may find ourselves on the Nepali side, perhaps at a karaoke bar after a session at the local hot springs.

Our journey to the mountain continues..

- Kim