The Summit Window is Set
Day 44/May 4, 2009 (Monday)
Surgical removal of laptop from Keith’s hands, taking a hike!
It’s another beautiful day here in the Himalayas, so following our morning videoconference with Miles, I was finally able to tug Keith from the comm. tent for a great hike down valley to the base of Pumor Ri. It is possible that Keith will spend a portion of the summit push up a bit higher: Pumor Ri’s Camp I has direct line of sight to most of the climbing route on summit day, and will serve as a microwave receiving station for special helmet-mounted cameras some of the Sherpas will be wearing. Keith kept up a great pace, but I could tell he was undergoing laptop withdrawal as we reapproached base camp!
Day 44/May 4, 2009 (Monday)
Surgical removal of laptop from Keith’s hands, taking a hike!
It’s another beautiful day here in the Himalayas, so following our morning videoconference with Miles, I was finally able to tug Keith from the comm. tent for a great hike down valley to the base of Pumor Ri. It is possible that Keith will spend a portion of the summit push up a bit higher: Pumor Ri’s Camp I has direct line of sight to most of the climbing route on summit day, and will serve as a microwave receiving station for special helmet-mounted cameras some of the Sherpas will be wearing. Keith kept up a great pace, but I could tell he was undergoing laptop withdrawal as we reapproached base camp!
Weather is a big topic for us mountaineers, not just idle talk to pass the time as it is in some circles. We have a strong Sherpa team above the South Col as I write this, fixing lines up the Triangular Face to an area called the Balcony. If clear skies and light winds predominate tomorrow, they will return for more, possibly fixing all the way to the South Summit or even the true (North) Summit! Forecasts suggest that the jet stream will slowly return closer to the summit in coming days, with our first real summit “window” somewhere in between May 11th and May 14th. Danuru, Rejean, Dawa and I plan to be ready — possibly leaving EBC early the morning of May 7th! Stay tuned…
Scott
