Mrs. Behm's Math Class

I arrive in Kathmandu, Nepal, this Friday. I'll try to send a post once in Kathmandu but that may be difficult because of the 16 to 20 hour power outages they are having there! From Kathmandu, we fly to Lukla, where our trek begins to Everest Base Camp (BC). Once at BC, I should be able to send posts. But in the meantime...

My sister, Molly, teaches 8th Grade Math and French in Petaluma, California. Last year her Math class completed an assignment: Describe the size of Everest using proportions. I thought these were really cute so I scanned a few of them.

I couldn't find the name on this first one:

By Dave:

By Avery:

By Drake:

By Megan:

By Max:

By Kendra:

Everest 2009 - Our Route, Discovery Channel & What I'll Be Wearing

Click on the photos below for larger images with descriptions.

We just received information about our upcoming climb on Mount Everest and work is slow this week, so I am finally going to start filling everyone in on what is going on this year, specifically regarding the Himalayan Experience (Himex) team I joined over a year ago.

But first! The white area in the map above should say NEPAL.

Let's RECAP: Last spring, our expedition was cancelled because the Chinese closed the mountain so their climbers could carry the Olympic Torch to the summit in peace. We were going to yell and throw things at them but we never got the chance.

This past year the Chinese continued to put restrictions on other mountains, such as Cho Oyu. These restrictions make it very difficult for large international teams like Himex to climb in China. Although I have friends planning on climbing the north side of Everest because they have been told by the China Tibet Mountaineering Association that the mountain will be open, that can easily change, as it did last spring just two weeks before our arrival date. We don't want to risk another disappointing cancellation this coming spring.

So, Team Leader, Russell Brice, has been preparing himself and our team for a SOUTH side ascent in Nepal.

I prefer the north side because (1) I've been there before and this is the kind of endeavor where past experience helps, (2) climbing through the Khumbu Icefall in Nepal is like playing Russian Roulette - the Sherpas spend much more time in the Icefall, so the risks are higher for them, (3) I joined Himex because of Russell Brice and his NORTH side experience, and (4) the south side of Everest will likely see a larger number of climbers this season due to regular north side teams, like ours, switching to the Nepal side.

I'm not looking forward to performing a balancing act over steep crevasses on ladders, even though friends have told me it's "fun" (I don't think so but I hope I'm pleasantly surprised) and the Khumbu Icefall is beautiful (maybe true but it's still dangerous).

HOWEVER, the south side is intriguing because I have never been above base camp (BC) there before (other than Kala Pattar), so it will be new and exciting. I also know that Russell Brice is doing everything he can to make sure our experience in Nepal meets the same high standards that Himex provides in Tibet. Given the circumstances, we really have little choice but to climb the south side. And besides, I love Nepal! This is an unexpected opportunity for me to see TWO sides of this beautiful mountain.

We have a large team, of course. It includes last year's team plus new people for this year. The total number of climbers is 28 but that may include some who won't be joining us. There are only three women, including me, climbing Everest. The small percentage of women is not surprising. What I can tell so far is that there are some very experienced climbers and fit athletes on this team.

To accomodate our large team, and avoid having other teams throw stuff at us for being so large and on the wrong side of the mountain, Russ said our BC will not be located where the regular camp is. Our BC (and large communal tent - the White Pod!!) will be by Pumori, or Pumo Ri, located eight kilometers west of Mount Everest and about a one hour walk from the regular BC.

What else? Discovery Channel. Maybe. Maybe not. At first Russ said they would be filming us, as well as another south side team (International Mountain Guides - IMG), and then he said he wasn't sure. Something about costs and the exchange rate... Then he said that Discovery Channel (technically, Tigress Productions) will indeed be filming our climb. I've re-scheduled my facial.


Please visit my page called Room to read (or go directly to the website). I guarantee you will enjoy learning about this incredible organization. The founder, John Wood, is a friend from San Francisco. Like Greg Mortenson (Three Cups of Tea) and the Central Asia Institute, John and his team at Room to Read are doing something EXTRAORDINARY!

This is going to be very different from what I experienced in 2007. Many of you know it has been a challenge keeping my health and fitness up this past year, but right now I feel confident that I'll be ready. Please wish me luck because I will take whatever help and good vibes I can get!

That's all for now. Thanks for tuning in.

Oh! My outfit! This is sort of an inside joke but I'll be wearing a sky blue Feathered Friends down suit this spring that actually fits me (in 2007 I could pull my down suit a foot over my head), along with some tomato red Millet boots - somewhat patriotic colors, not very slimming. If anyone wants to buy a size small, red, Mountain Hardwear down suit, please contact me (only worn 5 days and has experience above 28,000 feet - good price).

The plane from San Francisco takes off on March 25.

(Sorry, you can't click on this photo for a bigger image.)

Room to Read

“World Change Starts with Educated Children.”

In 1999, I met John Wood through mutual friends at the Thirsty Bear (brew pub) in San Francisco. We had both just returned from Nepal and could not stop talking about our experiences there. I went on and on about mountains and mountain men and John talked about how he and his father wanted to help children in countries like Nepal by providing books and building schools to improve their education (I felt really small).

So John started an organization, Books for Nepal, now called Room to Read.

Since then, Room to Read has built schools in Nepal, Cambodia, India, Laos, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, South Africa, Zambia and Bangladesh, and John published his autobiography, Leaving Microsoft to Change the World. All proceeds from the book go to Room to Read.

But as John says, there are still tons of millions of kids who need access to a better education. There is much to be done.

As with all charitable organizations, Room to Read operates through donations. If you are interested in helping, or you just want to learn about the incredible things Room to Read is doing, please visit:

http://www.roomtoread.org/

Everest 2009 Route and Actual Itinerary

UPDATED JUNE 2009: I updated this post with actual dates.

This year, the Himex Everest Team climbed the mountain through the south, Nepal route. Himex normally climbs the north route through Tibet, but due to last spring's cancellation and this year's continuing uncertainty as to whether the Chinese would again close the mountain, we decided to climb through Nepal.

The chart below shows my altitude per day during the expedition. It provides a visual of the acclimatization process. This is similar to the chart I created in 2007, but it does not include all members (because there were 28) and Sherpas. To plot that would be a major undertaking for this expedition.

The trek to Base Camp is in orange, acclimatization after that is in red, the summit push is in blue and final descent, purple. We spent time on Lobuche and surrounding peaks to avoid the Khumbu Icefall for acclimatization, so we only went through the Icefall on two round trips. The only significant difference between my schedule and that of the rest of the team is that, because of muscle injuries in my chest and back, I climbed Lobuche only once, rather than twice. The descent was actually through Pangboche - Namche - Lukla.

For a larger version, click here.

March
27 I and several others arrive in Kathmandu (1,317m)
29 Rest of team arrives
31 Kathmandu – Lukla (2,840m) – Monju (2,610m)

April
01 Monju – Namche Bazar (3,440m)
02 Namche Bazar – Khumjung (3,780m)
03 Khumjung
04 Khumjung – Tengboche (3,860m)
05 Tengboche – Dingboche (4,410m)
06 Dingboche
07 Dingboche – Lobuche (4,910m)
08 Lobuche - Everest BC (5,360m)
09 Everest BC
15 Jim and Megan climb Kala Pattar (5,545m)
18 Team 1 summits Lobuche
19 Team 2 summits Lobuche
20 Team 3 summits Lobuche
23 Eugene, Monique, Megan and Team 1 summit Lobuche
24 Team 2 summits Lobuche
25 Team 3 summits Lobuche

May
03 Team 1 reaches Camp 3
04 Team 2 reaches Camp 3
05 The Japanese and Megan reach Camp 3
05 David Tait summits Everest with Phurba and Sherpas who fix ropes
17 Team 1 leaves for their summit push
19 Team 2 leaves for their summit push
21 Team 1 summits Everest (Phurba again summits)!
23 Team 2 (Megan) summits Everest!
25 Everest BC
26 Everest BC party
27 Everest BC – Pangboche (3,930m)
28 Pangboche – Namche Bazar
29 Namche Bazar – Lukla (food poisoning for half the team, joy)
30 Lukla – Kathmandu
31 Kathmandu

June
02 Depart Kathmandu

Want some cheese to go with your whine?

I recently returned from climbing Nevado Juncal (20,163 ft.) in Chile.

Whenever I prepare for a mountain climbing expedition, there is always this lingering fear that something will go wrong. I don't necessarily mean the obviously scary stuff, like I will fall into a crevasse or get pulmonary edema. There are a zillion things, scattered along a spectrum of annoying to tragic, that can go awry.

The best way to sum up my trip to Nevado Juncal is to say that everything that could go wrong, short of being tragic, did go wrong. The trip fell on the annoying side of the spectrum, so I returned physically well and pleased I went, but whiney. If you don't like whining, skip this post and come back for an update of my upcoming trip to Mount Everest.

Whine #1: It started the day before Thanksgiving, about three weeks before my Santiago departure date. I went to swim laps before seeing my family for the long weekend. At around length 32, I started feeling a little strange, so I stopped swimming. The strange feeling slowly turned into nausea and within five minutes, I was vomitting in the women's room. The rest of the day was spent in bed hiding from my family while I shivered with a fever.

I was ill off and on until about a week ago (yes, well after returning from Chile), when I finally went to the doctor, who told me this whole time I'd likely been suffering from an unusually bad case of acid reflux, something I've been battling, apparently unsuccessfully, since last March. He proposed I get what is called an upper endoscopy. I could write a blog just about acid reflux, vocal cord dysfunction, nasal issues and anxiety... Lovely. I thought I had a virus, so I drank tons of orange juice. I should have just poured gasoline down my throat.

The week before leaving for Chile, after returning from a business trip to New York with no voice (my brother, Burke, told me I sounded like death), I looked into the prospect of cancelling the trip. It seemed unlikely that I would recover in time but even if I did, I certainly didn't have the strength or the desire to go mountain climbing. When you don't feel well, you want to be where you feel comfortable, especially during the holidays. But cancelling meant throwing my money away.

So I flew to Chile with the thought that I'd make the most of it, even though I secretly wished I was going to a health spa.

My flights went from San Francisco to Los Angeles (LAX), then from LAX to Santiago, Chile. If you ever fly internationally through LAX, leave plenty of time between flights to get to the Tom Bradley International Terminal. You have to walk outside, catch a shuttle, and then check-in and go through security.

Whine #2: I barely made the connecting flight after my seat was given away. It was an emotional day - I was tired, I didn't want to be there, and the LAX shuttle driver closed the door in my face without an explanation, so I had to wait 20 minutes for the next shuttle. Afraid I'd spend the long flight to Santiago in an awful middle seat, I frantically called my travel agent, who told me if I smile big and am nice, they might give me a business class seat. If I don't, they will give me another seat and take the person who was already there and put him in business class.

The folks at the LAN front desk gave me a window seat in an exit row - that was cool - but I found out they gave the gentleman who was already there a business class seat (whine #3). Lesson learned.

I arrived in Santiago but my luggage didn't (whine #4). Luggage for a mountain climbing trip is important, especially if you wear a size 5.5 plastic boot. There's not a huge market for small size mountaineering boots, so they're not always easy to find, especially to rent.

I've heard of people not getting their luggage before. In 2002, I climbed in Peru with a very strong female Danish climber who had to skip Tocllaraju, the highest peak, because she never got her luggage and precious boots, and she didn't feel comfortable with the rentals she was wearing (she was flying KLM - they are notorious for lost luggage).

Maybe I should have carried my boots on board. Panic.

After two sleepless nights (whine #5), wondering why I was away from my family for Christmas and New Year's and what I was going to do if my gear didn't arrive, LAN delivered my luggage to the hotel just in time to meet the team and head over to the mountain. You may notice every whine has some cheese.

The team included four climbers - Andres Zeger, 38, our Chilean guide (pictured above in his home in Santiago); Joel, 35, a Swiss computer programmer living temporarily in Buenos Aires; Mark, 52, an English oil drilling engineer living in Perth, Australia; and me, 26. ; )


One of the first things I learned about my fellow climbers, Joel and Mark, is that they had spent the previous week trekking and acclimatizing. Great. I was immediately intimidated (whine #6).


We drove two hours from Santiago, parked the car, unloaded our luggage for the mule driver who picked it all up, and hiked to base camp at around 9,000 feet. The hike was beautiful; the weather, sunny and warm.


The next day we carried a load to camp 1 at 12,300 feet, and the next day, Christmas day, we packed up our stuff to leave at base camp, and moved up to camp 1. This is a typical way to move up a mountain - climb high with a load one day, sleep low, and then move up to the higher camp. It allows climbers to carry gear (food, fuel, etc...) up the mountain and acclimatize.

The move to camp 1 was not steep, but the terrain was tricky and icy and we did not wear crampons. On Christmas day, carrying a heavy pack, I followed Joel's leap across a crevasse but lost my footing on the ice on the other side and slowly started sliding down toward the water. Andres scrambled like mad to grab me, but Mark quickly put his ski pole within my grasp so I could stop my slide.

So thanks to Mark, there was no water in my boot...yet. That was the first time I ever took a fall on a mountain because of my own poor footing (whine #7). Unfortunately, it wasn't the only time I fell on Nevado Juncal.

That night at camp 1, we celebrated Christmas with boxed wine (whine #8). I'm taking back that whine. It actually tasted pretty good and I thought it was thoughtful of Andres to pack the box.

Camp 1 for Nevado Juncal is at 12, 400 feet. It lies at the foot of a moraine, next to a glacier that looks something like the Khumbu icefall. In fact, the glacier goes all the way down to 10,000 feet, which is unusually low.

After our move to camp 1, we did a carry to camp 2, at 15,400 feet. The beginning of the climb was hard dirt and rocks but the terrain quickly turned into what a Brazilian climber called "mucho penitentes."

Penitentes, also called spiked ice, are common on high-altitude glaciers in the Andes where the air is dry and the sun's rays can turn ice into water vapor without melting it first - a process called sublimation. Some parts of the snow sublimate faster than others, so depressions develop. The curved surfaces then concentrate sunlight and speed up sublimation in the depressions, leaving the higher points behind as forests of towering spikes.

I have navigated through penitentes before during two trips on Aconcagua, but the penitentes on Nevado Juncal made everything I'd previously seen on Aconcagua look like popsicles. On Juncal, the penitentes were humongous-er, steep in areas, and seemed to go on and on. I sounded like Rod 4-letter-word Blagojevich on my way up but as far as I know it wasn't bleeping recorded (so I can still run for public office).

It was a tough day. We were carrying heavy packs up varied terrain from dirt to snow to ice to penitentes. Finding a rhythm was nearly impossible.

Normally while ascending a mountain in high altitude, climbers do what's called the rest step - the front leg moves forward in a relaxed motion while the rear leg remains vertical and the knee locked. This rests the weight on the skeleton and so relieves the leg muscles of exertion. It allows a mountain climber to ascend at his/her maximum but steady pace. If the terrain is smooth, it is relatively easy to ascend. But when it is varied with large steps, as we encountered on Nevado Juncal, the climbing is much more strenuous.

Good technique while walking up a mountain, with or without crampons, on varied terrain like hard dirt, snow, scree, ice, etc... will conserve energy and enable climbers to ascend for long lengths of time. As the terrain changes, the technique also changes. Because I only go mountain climbing once or twice a year, it takes a conscious effort for me to get back into the groove. I know that if I don't, I might use too much energy and fail. I felt pretty clumsy at first because it has been an embarrassingly long time since I last went mountain climbing.

I know what you're thinking: "SHE'S going to Everest?" or even more, "She's BEEN on Everest?" The answer is YES. SHE freely admits that every time she is on a mountain she has to reacquaint herself with technique because she knows how important it is (I feel like I'm on Facebook). But it usually comes back quickly, sort of like riding a bike... a mountain bike on a steep mountain in the pouring rain with gigantic slippery rocks and mud.

Andres and Joel made it to camp 2 first. Four Spanish climbers were there as well. When I reached them, I asked Andres to give it to me straight. Was I in any condition to climb this mountain?

Andres responded that my five hour, 10 minute ascent was fine, not too far behind them and very close to the time the Spaniards took of five hours. In fact, I ascended faster than they did because they left from a higher camp (about one hour climb above us) and acclimatized before coming to Juncal. That should have made me feel better and more confident, and it did, but I couldn't help but think that Andres, Joel and the Spaniards did not feel nearly as wiped out as I did (whine #8).

Mark came up after six hours of climbing. It seemed to me that he was also in line with a timely ascent, but Andres didn't give him the same reassurance he'd given me.

We descended back to camp 1 with the plan to spend the next day resting and the following day moving up to camp 2.

My feet felt wet during the entire descent, like I was sloshing in water. But I never stopped. When I removed my boots at camp 1, I poured out about a cup of water from each boot. I had never experienced that before! (whine #9)

Sometimes on mountain climbing trips I have funky dreams. I'm not sure if this is a symptom of being in altitude or just being in a strange environment. One night I dreamed that Barack Obama was my boyfriend. I woke up laughing. I like Barack, but I don't care how cool our new President is, he and his job remind me of STRESS. Why couldn't I dream about Ashton Kutcher or Denzel Washington? (whine #10)

After a rest day, the plan was to get up at 4am, pack and move up to camp 2. Early the next morning, I felt fine as I was fumbling around for my things, trying to pack quickly - that's been a struggle for me so I now do the opposite and pack too fast.

At some point I turned my leg a little and felt a twinge in my knee area. It ended up being in my upper calf muscle. I was a little concerned (everyone told me I was strangely quiet during breakfast) because I didn't know how it would feel once I stood up and started walking with a pack on my back. So once we did start walking, I immediately let Mark go ahead of me, which shocked him. And then I fell behind, which shocked everyone except me.

Every step hurt. Five hours of pain wasn't something I looked forward to and injuring my leg even more was not a risk I was willing to take. The purpose of this trip was to prepare for Everest, not physical therapy. I told the guys I am sorry but there needs to be a change of plan because I'm not going up. Inside, I also knew I just didn't have the energy (waaaahhh #11).

When I got home and told my brother, Dan, about my muscle, his response was, “stretch much?” No. Stupid, I know. But I was not in the proper condition for this climb. Pulling my leg muscle, something I've never done before on any climb, was a nice way of making me stop at the most convenient time for everyone. Looking back, knowing what I know now, it was a blessing in disguise.

Since Mark was unsure about his ability to move up the mountain, he decided to stay at camp 1 with me (thank you!). We began scrambling through our packs, moving things around, so Andres and Joel could continue up and Mark and I could go back down to camp 1.

The first thing Mark and I noticed after we set up camp was that the cards were nowhere to be found - Andres must have taken them up with him. We also had no books. They were all at base camp. We were looking forward to eating some sausage, until we realized that all of it was up at camp 2 (all whines #12).

But we made the most of it with endless conversation, fiddling over obscure details in our digital cameras and talking about our lives, books and magazines we read, food we loved (food is a popular topic on mountains; people seem to enjoy talking about the food they crave; I'm no exception, but I tend to crave disgustingly-bad-for-you fast-food while I'm on a mountain) and countries we visited. We decided we would both become rich and famous writers because of all our great book ideas. It didn't matter that neither of us are actually writers.

Andres and Joel returned to camp two days later after a successful summit. The summit they reached is actually called an "international" summit because it is not the "true" summit. The true summit involves much more technical and dangerous climbing, which explains why it has only been reached by six climbers. Most climbers climb the international summit.

So we headed down the mountain, back to base camp and then to the car. My muscle pain had subsided (it was oddly on and off over the next few days) and the descent went okay, except that I fell again - whatever, I'm a pro at that by now. It was New Year's Eve and after a week of no showers, we were looking forward to getting back to the hotel, cleaning up and spending the evening celebrating.

Except when we reached the car, it didn't start (whine #13). We waited in the hot sun from noon to 4:30pm, wondering if we were going to spend the New Year dirty and hungry in our tents, when suddenly Andres figured out the problem and started his car. It was a two-hour drive to Santiago.

That day, Andres mentioned that December is not a good month to climb Nevado Juncal because of the mucho penitentes. November is much better (final whine).

Things started to change the closer we got to midnight. In my last post I probably jinxed myself by mentioning that 2008 was a bad year. Somehow throughout this whole experience I just knew once we got to 2009, things were going to look up.

That night we all went to Andres’ house in Santiago, where his wife made a wonderful shellfish and rice meal and we drank champagne with pineapple icecream, a Chilean New Year ritual. Andres’ brother and friend also joined us while we watched fireworks coming from four different locations in Santiago. The night was warm and relaxing. We didn’t make it back to our hotel until 4am.

Despite my whining, there were several wonderful moments on this mountain. I just left them out because this post is already really really long. But it does deserve mentioning that Andres Zeger was an excellent guide and Joel and Mark were great climbing companions.

I always want to reach the summit and am disappointed when I don't. But it is the tough trips that teach me the most (and please, don't think for a minute that I don't appreciate that I can even attempt this stuff). The purpose of this climb was to prepare for Everest, which right now is my ultimate goal. Juncal was probably the best preparation I could hope for, partly because I didn't reach the summit. My weaknesses were glaringly obvious.

Mickey Rooney said, "You always pass failure on the way to success."

I wouldn't necessarily call Everest 2007 (no summit), Everest 2008 (cancelled) and Nevado Juncal 2008 (no summit) failures, but I will say that SOMEBODY is ready for success.

Next post will be an Everest 2009 update!

Nevado Juncal, Chile

No, I did not take this photo. Isn't it nice, though? I'm going there.

After three weeks of probably the worst cold I've had in a long time, I am leaving for Chile to climb Nevado Juncal, a 20,163 foot mountain, 50 miles south of Aconcagua. We will ascend the heavily glaciated north side.

It seems every time I leave for a mountain in the winter (in CA), I catch a cold either before leaving or as I am arriving. Argh!! So far it has not kept me from the summit. My fingers are crossed.

But I am anxious to snap on my croutons, as my sister calls them, and head to the mountains. It's been a long time. I had high hopes of spending the summer rock climbing and then going to either Ecuador to climb Antisana or Nepal to climb Manaslu in the fall, until all that was thwarted by an annoying health issue. Rather than enjoy the great outdoors, I sat on my tush for four months.

2008 was a bad bad year (I know - it's not over yet) for me, anyway, and I will be happy to ring in the New Year on a beautiful mountain in a remote area of Chile, even if I'm left at base camp with my camera and a good book.

Little sidenote - The highest peak in Chile is Ojos Del Salado (22,572'), the second highest peak in the western hemisphere (Aconcagua in Argentina is the highest) and the world's largest volcano.

These photos were pilfered from my friend, Rodrigo Mujica. I'm climbing the mountain with his company, Aventuras Patagonicas.

I will have my own images in January, so come back then!

Rodrigo told me the summit is behind the peak in this photo, about 1,000 feet higher.

Everest 2008 - NOT

So what just happened? OMG. A migraine headache, some sleepless nights and plenty of emails and phone calls, that's what. I feel like that guy, you know, to the right.

I was going to return to the north side with Himalayan Experience, aka Himex (yes, that is the team that was filmed on Discovery Channel but we were not going to be filmed this year). But just two weeks prior to departure, the Chinese closed Everest to climbers this season because of the Olympic torch carrying event. BTW was that even shown on television during the Olympics?

The first notice sent to expedition leaders looked like this:



I know it's too small to read so I'll make it easier. That notice combined with subsequent communication can be summed up as follows:

March 10, 2008

Dear Clients:

You cannot climb Mount Everest in Tibet this year.
Sorry.
Go find another mountain to climb.

China Tibet Mountaineering Association
One team member, David Tait, who has already reached the summit from the north twice with Himex and who would be climbing without using supplemental oxygen this year, opted to climb from the south (Nepal) with a Swiss team. Unfortunately, his attempt was soon aborted.

The rest of our team decided to postpone to 2009. It is very disappointing (I cried, I admit it, and then I got over it) but there are just too many uncertainties. This endeavor is riddled with uncertainties as it is. In the meantime, I will do some other climbing.



Many thanks to Russell Brice, whose leadership allowed us to make a difficult decision as a team.
I'm now looking forward to joining his 2009 Everest team and all that comes with that - another year of training, wondering if the mountain will be closed again next year, worrying about breaking a bone or pulling a muscle, continuing to work as a contractor to allow time for Everest (and once again putting off regular employment), wondering if I should risk skiing anyway, opting for a run over a movie, opting for water over wine, whining about that, booking hotels for business travel based on gym quality, and pigging out on donuts, ice cream and beer next Feb/March to gain weight.

Incidentally, that diet is fine before leaving for Everest, when you know you will soon lose more weight than that gained. Kind of a bummer when the Chinese close the mountain after you've put on the pounds and developed a taste for everything sugary.


Update

If you are curious about events on Everest this season, the Chinese team did reach the summit with the Olympic torch via the north side on May 8.

While I was shopping for a new dress, watching American Idol and squinting at spreadsheets, climbers on the Nepal side of Everest were finally allowed to ascend the mountain after having to stay at or below Base Camp from May 1 until the Chinese reached the summit. Several climbers summited Everest beginning May 20. Lucky dawgs.

In attempting a mountain like Everest, some of the biggest challenges happen before boarding the plane to Kathmandu, if you get that far, so it's important, and sometimes difficult, to stay positive and focused.

The support that I have received since returning from Everest last season has been overwhelming. My parents and sister were waiting for me at SFO without even a phone call. I heard from people I hadn’t seen in years. I was asked to show slides to various organizations. I felt like a rock star.

I thought, “Do they know I didn’t summit?”

Thank you to so many people for your support, contributions, enthusiasm, and encouragement! I know I'm no Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner and that my vacation on Everest is not the most important thing going on in the world, but it sure does stir up a lot of interest!

This endeavor has shown me that I am surrounded by people who love a good adventure. Thank you. Thank you.

THANK YOU!!

Next year...

Everest 2007

What follows is a short summary of our climb and my decision to return. I did not have a blog during this 2007 climb so I wrote everything down here. Scroll down to the next post for the very long version and please excuse typos, mis-spellings, poor grammar.

In mid-January of 2007, I received an email from Julio Bird, a cardiologist from Wisconsin whom I met in 2005 while climbing Denali. He asked if I would be interested in joining a small, unguided, but fully supported expedition to the north side of Mount Everest. We would be leaving at the end of March and the cost was $16,000. That didn't leave me much time but I replied, "um...okay?"

The expedition would be organized by World Records Expeditions and Treks (WRET), a company started by Julio's Sherpa friends, Lhakpa Gelu and Apa. Lhakpa Gelu holds the world speed record on Everest, having ascended from Base Camp on the south side to the summit in just 10 hours, 56 minutes. Apa has the most summits of Everest, at that time 16, but since this last 2008 season has reached 18. Apa and Lhakpa Gelu would not be on our expedition because they were going to climb on the south side as part of a Super Sherpa team. They're big show-offs. : )
Our team consisted of four climbers (Julio, Gene, Con and me), three Sherpas (Phanden, Lama Jangbu and Lopsang), two cooks (Nima and Kami) - one at Base Camp (BC) and another at Advanced Base Camp (ABC) - and a Tibetan kitchen boy named Tamting (I don't know how to spell his name). Julio and Gene had both previously reached the summit of Everest from the south side. Con works as a professional mountain and rock guide.

To acclimatize, we planned to ascend to camp 2. However, the fierce wind limited our ascent to the north col. This was not enough.

On May 15, we attempted to summit from below 8,000 meters, which proved to be too low on the mountain and too long a summit day, especially since we were not properly acclimatized. In retrospect, our camp location may not have made a difference but our lack of acclimatization likely did.

Gene and Phanden turned around before the First Step.

The rest of us continued to the Second Step (8,600m / 28,230ft), where Julio determined he and I would run out of oxygen before making it back to High Camp if we did indeed reach the summit. That was a risk neither of us were willing to take. It didn't make sense to climb the most difficult and dangerous section if we weren't going to reach the summit, so after spending 30 minutes enjoying the amazing view from the northeast ridge, Julio and I turned around with Lama Jangbu.

Con, a professional mountain guide and stronger climber, continued to the summit with Lopsang and summited around 10:30 to 11am.

After our summit attempt, Con and Julio stayed at Camp 3 with Phanden, and they descended back to ABC the next morning.

Gene descended to the North Col with Lama Jangbu. I began my descent to the North Col about an hour or two later. Lopsang and Lama Jangbu carried huge loads of gear to ABC, where we all met the following day.

What an experience! Although not reaching the summit was disappointing, it always is, I was thrilled to get the chance to climb Everest and go as high as I did. Joining a small, unguided expedition, making our own decisions, right or wrong, gave me an appreciation of what it takes.

Everest is more about fitness and physiology than climbing ability but the physiology part is significant. If your body can't take the altitude, you can't climb. It doesn't matter how fit or talented a climber you are.

Everyone experiences different symptoms in altitude. Some climbers get headaches, nausea, lack of appetite, have trouble sleeping, etc... and others get more severe forms of altitude sickness, like pulmonary or cerebral edema. Experience in high altitude is the only way you'll know how your body behaves and what remedies work.

But that can always change.

Thankfully, I didn't experience anything new on Everest - I got the same controllable headache, only a few nights of cheynes-stokes (gasping for air while sleeping, scared the hell out of me the first and only other time I got it in 1999), and a loss of appetite.

The challenge for me was dealing with my loss of appetite in altitude for such an extended period of time. A day or two on other climbs has had little effect on my performance. Three to four weeks of low appetite while at BC and ABC is another story.

Everest is also about weather and I realize we were pretty lucky with that. We didn't have a forecasting system, so we relied on information provided by those who did. Our Sirdar (lead Sherpa), Phanden, heard from Russell Brice's camp that May 15 would be a good day to climb.

Back at BC, I wanted to go up again. My body was shot but my mind felt confident I could reach the summit. The rather impatient "Return to Everest" wheels had already started turning. I am so addicted.

Many thanks to our magnificent Sherpas - Phanden, Lama Jangbu and Lopsang - our cooks - Nima and Kami - and Tamting! I will never forget seeing Lopsang carry and drag down about five loads full of gear following his first summit of Everest!

I also want to thank Julio, whose email got me off my couch and on the greatest adventure of my life. He is the first and only Puerto Rican to summit Mount Everest (from the south side in 2002) and is not only brilliant but also a lot of fun to have around camp!


Until I received Julio's email, I had no expectation that I'd ever attempt Everest. It's ridiculously costly in terms of money and time. I also imagined my body eating itself the way Jon Krakauer so vividly describes in Into Thin Air.

When I left for Kathmandu in March, I was so nervous I almost cried at the airport. What on freakin' earth was I doing?! It was overwhelming to think I was going back to Nepal, not as a trekker, but as an Everest climber.

But now that I've been there, I want to go back.

To ease my family's minds, as well as enhance my summit chances and have a completely different experience, I decided to join a guided expedition on the north side.

Gulp.