Back to BC - Hungry, Tired, Happy!

This is a quick post to let you know that I reached the summit of Everest at 9:30am on May 23rd with my fabulous Sherpa, Lakpa Nuru, several teammates (I think there were 9 or 10 of us), along with their Sherpas and our guides.

We are now all back safely at base camp.

It was amazing.

More later...

Love,

Megan

Sounds Promising

No this isn't Megan writing... but I wanted to share a promising posting from another Himex climber at www.foxeverest.com

"Out of 11 climbers on Summit Team 1, nine of us reached the top of the world on the morning of May 21, 2009. One of our Norwegian friends (Thomas) fell ill prior to ascending the Lhotse face and had to abandon his summit bid. He has recovered here in BC. My dear friend and terrific tentmate Stuart Carder elected to stop at the south summit of Everest, the second highest point on our planet. I admire his wisdom in making that decision but that is what smart mountaineering is about, listening to your gut. I cannot thank Stuart enough for lending me his shoulder prior to the start of our summit bid from the South Col (Camp 4 perched just under 8000 meters or 26,000') as climbing Everest involves a mixed bag of emotions. Nevertheless we shared the joy of both the South Summit and Summit, respectively.

As I type this dispatch the afternoon of May 23 here in Nepal, we have learned that all of Summit Team 2 have successfully summited today and are now back at Camp 4 resting. They still have 2 days to descend to BC so we will keep them in our prayers as the climb is obviously not over. Unfortunately the only person from Team 2 who could not make a summit bid was my friend Jim Holliday. Similar to Thomas, Jim was suddenly struck with illness prior to ascending the Lhotse face a second time. He has recovered completely here in BC which we are grateful for."

So it sounds like it will be another 2 days before we hear anything from Megan.

Kelly on behalf of Megan

Mothers Are The Best

I just got off the phone with my MOM (and Dad). It's Mother's Day! At Everest Base Camp, many of us are thinking of our Mothers. As my sister, Paula, says, "If it isn't one thing, it's your Mother!"

MOM, please stop worrying about me! (I know it's what you do, no matter what)

My Dad is faithfully reading Billi's blog (along with my exceptional blog, so full of information and photos!). When I told him I haven't had the energy to spend time on the computer, he said I don't have to write anything, only a daily post that I'm doing okay. I will try to post more often and I'll let Billi know the pressure is on! (I've already told her).

So here's another post to say I'M DOING FINE!

We are resting at Everest Base Camp, reading books, watching movies, playing cards, eating constantly, playing Scalextric and drinking afternoon beers. Everyday is still a bad hair day but we are having fun.

The hard work acclimatizing is done and the waiting game has begun. We have climbed as high as we will go without oxygen. Now we are waiting for the "weather window," when we can go for our summit push. It will be several days, so patience is key right now. As I sit in the White Pod looking around, it doesn't appear that anyone is suffering from impatience.

One of our team members, David Tait (see his blog http://www.davidtait.com/) has already reached the summit. I shouted congrats to David through my tent at camp 3, not realizing I wouldn't see him again. By the time I got back to BC, he was already gone!

So now we are all here at BC, resting. This rest time is giving my muscle time to recover. I am definitely improving and as I told my parents, I don't write about the tough stuff so they will worry - it's just what happens up here. Climbers all over this mountain have colds and coughs, altitude sickness, and all sorts of maladies. Many have left for home. Despite the tough environment, it seems our team is getting healthier and stronger. ME included.

What I enjoy most about this group is the international mix. The only complaint I have is several of the guys are suddenly into doing "Arnold" impersonations. I'm not sure where this came from but I hear enough of that in California! Kind of strange hearing it at Everest Base Camp.

Eugene, the saucisson was magnificent! You didn't want me to share it, did you? (kidding)

I bought an Amazon Kindle before leaving. It is great for mountaineering expeditions or any kind of traveling. The battery lasts for weeks, it's light and can store thousands of books. Having said that, the Kindle store did not have Kitchen Confidential, the book I am currently reading (borrowed from another climber). I did read The Book Thief (enjoyed it -thanks to Molly's friends).

I can hear the Beach Boys playing. Someone needs to change the music. It is snowing like crazy outside.

Love to family - Mom, Dad, Burke, Sandy, Mark, Paula, Will, Ronan, Mickey, Liza, Becky, Jim, Seamus, Fintan, Emily, Anthony, Dominic, Lucy, Brian, MaryLee, Sean, Marisa, Ryan, Katya, Colin, Kevin, Sue, Ashley, Shannon, Caroline, Molly, Pete, Allie, Kelly, Katie, Dan, Alexis, Chloe, James, Helen and Peggy. Did I get everyone? Misspellings? I took a big risk. This was an altitude test. It felt good to just write your names. Miss you!

Megan

Back at Base Camp

This morning I arrived back at base camp from our highest climb so far to camp 3.

The journey to camp 3 started with a climb through the Icefall. To minimize the dangers of climbing through the Khumbu Icefall, we climbed at night. With so many climbers, we broke into two groups - I was in the second, slower group.

We left early in the morning - it was just a few days ago and I am laughing at myself right now because it seems like a lifetime ago and I can't remember exactly what time we left. Let's say 2am.

I unfortunately had a reoccurrence of the muscle pull, this time in my chest and back, so ascending the Icefall became extremely painful after about 2 hours. From then on it seemed every step was painful. Climbing through the Icefall is difficult because you are going up in altitude, so air can be hard to come by, but it also has several short sections of clipping in on one side, then clipping in on the other, stepping over the rope, balancing over ladders. I can understand how someone might say it is 'fun' but I didn't think so. I hated it and wanted it to end five hours before it did. In fact, I arrived at camp 1 in tears. The right side of my body hurt so bad! It was another one of those 'I paid for this?' moments. I found my way to my tent and tried to lie down on my sleeping bag but it hurt to just do that! Getting to one side was also painful. Somebody get me outa here.

As soon as I got some food in me, I took another anti-inflammatory. These are strong anti-inflammatories I brought up just in case this happened. But I honestly, maybe naively, didn't think it would.

The next day we moved up to camp 2 at about 21k feet. This was an easy snow slope with just a few ladders so it went okay. I could easily use my left side only (now it is my right side that hurts, before at Lobuche it was my left and before that my right - this won't end until I am back in Kathmandu, I realize that now).

Camp 2 is well equipped with a kitchen and dining tent. We did not have this at the much smaller camp 1. The plan was to rest a day and then move up the Lhotse Face to camp 3 at roughly 24k ft and roughly 30 minutes to an hour above all the other camps. The Japanese climbers (all stronger, fitter and faster than I am - also older) wanted to stay another night at camp 2 and then move up. I opted to join them. So after two waves of team members moved up to camp 3, we finally went up. I actually climbed with a Sherpa named Bimbi while the Japanese raced up. As I was climbing up, and breathing very hard, I saw several of my teammates coming down. They were all shouting to me to just keep going... so I did. Himex, just to be diffcult, had its camp 3 about an hour above the other camp 3's. Great.

It was a tough day. We left at 5am and I got up there a little before 12:30. This is the highest we will go before using oxygen. The climb was tough because the air is so thin. But the climbing itself is not too icy and steep and I was able to use just the left side of my body to move up the fixed line. It would be steep for a while and then level off and maybe there would be a patch of tough icy and steep climbing but then that would be followed by steps and/or softer snow. There are lines fixed most if not the entire way.

Camp 3 consists of two shelves on a steep snow slope carved out by the Sherpas to place tents. I was exhausted. There is no other way to describe it. I've felt this way before on a mountain and I know I'll recover but man, was I ever beat. My hand went numb at some point. Then my eyesight got blurry. I've never had this happen before! Just when you think you know how to deal with altitude! So I drank a liter of hot tea and ate some food, followed by a one hour snooze, and I was fine. So I guess I dealt with the altitude.

Although I could nap when we first got there, that night it was difficult to sleep because I could not stop breathing hard! Eventually I did sleep but not much.

The next morning the Japanese climbers were up at 6am. I wasn't sure what was going on but was told to descend with a Sherpa. I got up and ready anyway. At 7am I watched the Japanese descend and waited while the two Sherpas took down tents. It gets windy up there so they take down a bunch of tents and store the other tents, sleeping bags, cooking gear, etc... in one tent. I offered to help them but every time I tried it was completely lame. It took me too long to do anything! Finally I found a task I could complete - pick the bag up and put it by the tent. Then I picked up the cooking gear and did the same thing. I think it made me happier than it made the Sherpas. Gave me something to do, which is good because we were there until 10am! Thankfully, it was not too cold in our down suits. There wasn't any wind.

Then down to camp 2 with the Sherpas.

Now it is today. I am at Everest Base Camp (Club Himex) typing on Russ' computer after a hearty lunch. It's 2:30pm. I arrived here with the Japanese climbers at around 11:30am. We left camp 2 this morning at 6am in a fierce wind. I actually thought (hoped) maybe we'd leave a little later because of the wind but I'm glad we didn't.

When we reached the bottom of the Icefall, we stopped to take off our crampons and have a drink and eat chocolate. It was while sitting at 'crampon point' that we heard a thunderous sound. I looked up and saw a huge ball of snow coming straight toward us. It was an avalanche. Since my camera was sitting right there (I've gotten very lazy about taking photos this expedition and my camera has to be readily available for me to even bother), I actually took 2 photos. Then we were in a snowy icy haze for a few seconds. We were well away from danger but I'm not sure about others. Of course we are hearing news constantly but it's hard to know what is true and what is not.

But I wanted to send a post immediately just to assure everyone that I am okay. In fact, I am off to find the shower. It's been about 10 days. Ew.

Sadly, a few of my new friends have left. I miss you all already! We all do!

I'm still here and am resting up for the summit push. No, I am not in my best form, but who is at 17k feet after putting their bodies through all of this?! And I cried..... more than once - at Lobuche and camp 1 because of this stupid muscle pull in my chest!!! So I bought the guides beers who witnessed my tears and who were very supportive. It made me feel better to cry. I know. I admit it! But the Croatian Women's Team would probably never cry. They're pretty tough looking.

To my friend from France, THANK you for the sausage! I will email you later.

Moving UP

Hi!! As usual I have to be quick.

Days of resting are quickly turning into a week of climbing Mount Everest.

We have two teams moving up to camp 3. I am on the second team. Although I climbed Lobuche, I only did it once as opposed to most everyone else, but I do feel well enough acclimatized. That could change up high but I'm hoping for the best. I've been recovering from this annoying chest muscle tearing thing.... the good news is I've had a lot of time to recover and I am leaving tomorrow morning with 13 other climbers and Sherpas.

Oh, we did have a fantastic party in the white pod a few nights ago - didn't get to bed until 1am. I haven't done that in a while. It was fun watching the Sherpas sing and dance (and some of the guides and climbers).

Today we hiked to crampon point (where we put on our crampons before heading into the Icefall), about 25 minutes away at the regular Everest base camp. I saw Asian Trekking and was lucky to catch Apa Sherpa for some tea. I climbed Everest in 2007 with Apa and Lhakpa Gelu's company (WRET) that I'm told by Apa no longer exists. It was great fun seeing Apa again and meeting some of their climbers - Will Cross (a diabetic from Pittsburg who reached the top of Everest in 2006), Mogens Jensen (who I've actually met a few times - he climbed with Himex in 2005-2007, summited, and visited our camp 2 weeks ago). Apa looked the exact same as he did 2 years ago. He will be attempting his 19th summit (the most ever).

Our schedule is to climb through the Icefall to camp 1 tomorrow. Then to camp 2, where we will spend 2 nights. Then up the Lhotse Face to camp 3 for a night (that will be tough), followed by another night at camp 2. I will either be back at base camp on the 6th or 7th, depending on how acclimatized I feel. Right now I feel good... but we have MUCH higher to go!

The report on the mountain is that our first group is doing very well.

I'll write again in May.

Lobuche..Nobuche...Lobuche

I realize it's been a REALLY long time since I last sent a post. This will be long.

Once again, I encourage you to visit some of the blogs of my team members. There are links in this blog and you can visit the himex site for more information. There are some dedicated, bordering on fanatical, bloggers in this group. Some notable blogs are Billi Bierling's (she is a journalist and is writing about the expedition in general - logistics and interesting info) and Lance Fox's.

My blog is just about little ol' me. We have an understanding here that bloggers write about themselves and the expedition in general and not about others (except for my endorsements of other blogs and other little tidbits).

Now I'll fill you in on my last week here.

As mentioned, our plan has been to climb Lobuche peak - roughly 6100 meters, 20,200 feet - twice to acclimatize. I was on my way when I last wrote. The problem with my plan in particular was the 2 nights before leaving I had a 3 hour coughing fit in my tent. The next morning I started feeling that familiar pain of a pulled muscle in my chest. It got worse as we practiced climbing and rappelling in the icefall. That night I couldn't watch the movie (we have movies here - it's crazy) because leaning back in the comfy lounge chair made me uncomfortable and instead I had to sit up. That's a waste of a good chair. The next morning when I set off toward Lobuche base camp I knew something was not right. The pain in my chest was worse and it made me feel fatigued.

Within about an hour of the walk down, I used my arms to pull up over a boulder. That was when a sword dug through my chest. The pain was so intense and unexpected, I burst into tears. From then on, every step hurt. There was that spiked golf ball residing in my chest again!

At Lobuche base camp, Monica gave me a strong anti-inflammatory and we both agreed I would not ascend Lobuche with the group the following day. I had no choice really. I ended up spending the next 4 nights at Lobuche base camp watching the three teams ascend, descend and return to Everest base camp. I admit I was feeling pretty sorry for myself, even though the massive pain subsided within a day after taking a very strong anti-inflammatory. Then Russ radio'd down to ask me how I was feeling and to see if I could go up with the trekkers the next day. The plan was for me to climb with the trekkers but stay at top to camp with the first group, returning for their second Lobuche climb. The difference this time was that we would camp for a night just below the summit!

So that's what I did. We went to camp 1 the first day and at 5:50 am the next morning we set off for the summit. I initially climbed with the trekkers but at some point I decided to move a little faster. The two Sherpas had to stay with the trekkers so I ended up climbing to the summit by myself. The weather was spectacular and the climb very tough in parts. Although I made a few mistakes (Nima, one of the Sherpas, was yelling at me from below to move way left because I'd gotten off track and could not find the ropes the Sherpas fixed for us), I enjoyed climbing alone and going at my own pace. Eventually I made it to our high camp, just below the summit. Phurba and the Sherpas were digging platforms and setting up tents. I was surprised to see them because my altimeter said I had about 800 feet to go. By 10:05 am I was standing on the summit. It was a huge relief for me to make it up there in good time.

I was such a knucklehead though. Rather than drop my backpack off at the camp, I wore it to the summit. When I reached the summit, I tried to radio Russ but could not get the radio to work. Then I realized I was alone and could not get a good summit photo. Didn't matter because after only 2 shots, my CF card was full. For someone so obsessed with photographing my adventures, I dropped the ball bigtime on Lobuche. The view was so amazing! See other blogs for photos.

When I returned to our high camp, Phurba checked my radio and told me I needed to turn up the volume. Duh.

The first group trickled in during the afternoon and everyone was very impressed with our camp. Phurba and the Sherpas did a spectacular job, as usual.

So my first attempt at Lobuche may have been aborted (Nobuche) but I did get to go up eventually and sleep at high camp.

We descended back to Lobuche base the next morning and returned to Everest base camp that afternoon, in time to share a couple of beers in the white pod.

I could write on and on about this whole coughing fit chest intercostal muscle tear thing - needing to recover but also needing to climb and acclimatize - but I feel as if everyone is sick of hearing about it! This is Everest (I know), it's an 8,000 meter peak (yes, got that), and I need to toughen up (whatever). The cold and cough are now gone. I just need the tightness in my chest to GO AWAY! How's that?

So let's move on.... I was thrilled to get back in time to call my parents and wish them a happy 61st wedding anniversary and my Mom a happy 83rd birthday! Sorry to wake you up but you are never home at night and I figured I could catch you in the morning.

The plan going forward is to start climbing Everest. I think Lobuche was a great peak to climb to prepare for Everest and avoid spending so much time in the Icefall with all the other climbers. For the most part, we had Lobuche to ourselves. But I know everyone is anxious to get onto the mountain we came here to climb.

The food here has been awesome. Really. I am not having an ounce of trouble with my appetite. I eat better here than I do at home. But I have lost a few pounds. It's amazing what altitude does!

Russ calls me Meeegan. He could call me whatever he wants because he's the guy in charge. What bugs me is that now some of the other climbers are calling me Meeegan!

So that's what's been going on this past week and why I haven't emailed. I was away for 6 nights.

Two people have now asked to use the computer and I'm running out of things to say.

I'll write again later when I have more news!

Club Himex

Hopefully many of you have been checking in on others' blogs. There are some very sophisticated bloggers on this team, sending daily photos and videos, etc... I'm not so diligent - sorry for my obvious lack of photos. I'm lazy.

So if you've been reading the other blogs and seeing those photos, you know more about what is happening on this mountain than I do. You also know that we have a pretty nice camp here. We are not at Pumori. Instead we are a leisurely 20 minute walk up from the regular base camp, just off the trail. And it is pretty nice here at Club Himex with the white pod and blue cheese and crackers for the afternoon. I strolled up to the regular base camp yesterday and was thankful for our nice spacious camp. Despite what you've read, Everest is a place where one can catch up on sleep and read good books.

A couple of days ago I hiked up Kala Pattar with fellow climber, Jim. We both wanted to return to the place that launched our interests in mountain climbing. For me, it was 10 years ago and for Jim, 5. We took our time and completed the round trip in 5 hours. The views were clear and the weather beautiful, so I got lots of nice shots. Thank you, Big Jim for a wonderful day.

Today we practiced some ice climbing and rappelling. I didn't feel too good after coughing for hours last night and pulling the left muscle in my chest (or whatever that is that makes it hurt to cough and breathe hard). We were filmed and photographed. Some of the guys have been taking photos of the model release we had to sign for Billi - never signed a model release before! I haven't showered in a week, I'm feeling weak and I look like hell but I managed to smile for the camera. We actually had a fun time. Always nice when the sun is out and we're nice and warm.

Rather than acclimatize in the dreaded Icefall, we are climbing another mountain - Lobuche. We are going in groups and I am in the third group that consists of (1) the Japanese climbers and guides, (2) climbers who have been sick (me), and (3) climbers who joined us late. Group 3 includes our entire group of 6 women (3 Everest climbers, 1 Lhotse climber, filmer and doctor). So yesterday, Team Testosterone I left for Lobuche and today Team Testosterone II took off. Team Estrogen and the rest leave tomorrow. We will walk to our Lobuche base camp, climb to camp 1, climb to the summit and descend, and then walk back to Everest base camp the following day.

Then we will do it again but sleep on the 6,100 meter summit. The plan is to prepare for our first trip through the Icefall and ascent to Everest camp 2.

So that is the plan. I give myself a half hour to spill as much info as I can - this post is more like a twitter, all off the top of my head. Now I am going to return to the hot whiskey I was given as I walked into the computer room.

I'll send another post when I return from Lobuche. Also, I may not respond to comments but I do read them and I do appreciate them!

Cheers.

These Are The Days..

These are the days when I ask myself, "Why can't I be a Club Med person?"

"What's wrong with golf? Or Hawaii?"

After a fabulous day yesterday, I woke up this morning feeling very nauseated. I slept soundly through the night, breathing through a balaclava to keep the cold dry air out and moisture in, and because of the cold, I probably had my tent zipped up a little too tight. I wasn't breathing enough oxygen. Combine this with extreme congestion and an inability to cough because of the pain in my chest when I do so... and you get nausea. Not fun.

Monika came by after noticing my absence at bfast. My oxygen stat is not bad - 88% - but my blood pressure is through the roof. I'm normally at the lower end of normal so it was interesting to see 110 over 70 turn to 170 over 110 in altitude! This is not unusual.

Russ came by and told me by tomorrow I'll be strong enough to go to the summit with the Sherpas. I asked him what time they would be leaving.

Today we had our Puja Ceremony. I wrote a little bit about the Puja in the link at right called, "Mount Everest." We all gathered around from about 10am to 11:30. I wasn't going to miss it, no matter how bad I felt.

Someone mentioned it is Easter Sunday! So Happy Easter everyone! Sorry I seem to keep writing about my woes up here but it really is not so bad. I'm being looked after and I know I'll feel fine tomorrow.

The most humorous part of the day was being interviewed by Kirsty of the film crew, who is also suffering from this cold. She very nicely asked me if I wouldn't mind being interviewed while I was feeling bad. I figured if she could do her job filming and interviewing (with a cold) then I could sit for 5 minutes and talk about how I was feeling.

Tomorrow I hope to join the trekkers on their hike to Kala Pattar. They are a great bunch, particularly Katie, who I roommed with during our trek, and I want to see them off (they are leaving). My home page on my website has a photo of Everest I took on Kala Pattar 10 years ago. It is so incredible to be back here.

Happy Easter! Love love love....

Megan