May 8, 2008 - 5:37am — MountEverest2008
A Dog Climbing Everest
Camp I
Despite trying hard to post blogs on a daily basis, I am finding it is sometimes a challenge. Battery power seems to be the biggest culprit- solar is great, however cloudy/snowy weather makes this source of power a bit undependable. In any event, here's the latest from the mountain:
We're now at Camp I, having safely ascended the Icefall a third time. It's 12:42am, and you guessed it, I'm having some trouble getting some solid sleep. Tomorrow morning we head to Camp II, this being our third visit. We'll plan to stay maybe four or five nights, whatever it takes really to ensure we get up to Camp III.
To be sure, we are logging a lot of hours in our tents. This is perhaps the most challenging part of the climb at this point- sitting/lying around for hours, waiting for the next opportunity to climb higher. RC is a great tentmate and we can kill quite a few hours talking about a wide range of topics. But even talking gets old after a while. We each have little mp3 players which helps a lot and I brought a better book up with me this time too, "Body Double" by Tess Gerritsen (it seems to be a page turner, which is good). Even with these distractions, we still have countless hours in the tent with little to do. At home, I like to be super busy. Here, I am learning to chill. I'd grade myself a D at chillability right now- hopefully I'll improve in this area soon.
One cool thing today- part way up the Icefall a friendly doggy appeared. Not sure what his motivation was for being there, but it was neat to see him ace the trail, hopping from ice block to ice block like a champ. Soon we reached a ladder- was super dog going to cross it? I hoped so, as having a furry friend was fun. He decided to pass though, retreating down the mountain.
The full team is doing well. This is not a candy coated statement, but an objective one. We are making good time and everyone seems strong. There were a few people with concerning illnesses over the past few weeks, but that seems behind us. If we get our window to attempt the summit, I'd not be surprised to see the full team up there.
Will write more from Camp II shortly.