Yes, THE Mount Everest. 29,032 feet of ice and snow and rock. Though this peak is (obviously) not one of the Seven Second Summits, it is a great “training” climb for K2. Read on for the whole story.
APRIL 19 – 21 | Salt Lake City >> Kathmandu
After what felt like endless travel, we landed in KTM around 9:30am on Tuesday. My friends Cindy Herman and Tony Hoff are along on this adventure. They will be trekking to base camp with me and then flying home as I continue up the mountain.
It’s wonderful to be back in Nepal! All the sounds, smells, crazy electrical wiring, and even crazier drivers are still here going strong.
COVID-19 protocols for travel are a lot easier now, which is welcomed! As all things mountain-related tend to be fluid, we have had changes in our itinerary already. We originally planned on a five-day quarantine in KTM. However, it is a bit of a COVID-19 hot spot at the moment, so we landed, took COVID tests, and plan to fly to Namche Bazaar tomorrow!
APRIL 22-23 | Namche Bazar (3340m/~12,000ft)
We are going to spend two days in Namche to work on our altitude acclimatization. Because it sits at close to 12,000ft, it’s high enough to cause altitude sickness. Once we land, we are going to walk around and take it easy without exerting ourselves too much. Tomorrow, we’ll hike to the Everest View Hotel, where we will have our first view of Everest since we arrived in Nepal. We’ll also be able to see Ama Dablam, which was my first training peak back in October, 2020 in this Second Seven Summits journey!
We’re focusing on staying hydrated, planning and practicing our mental games, as our female (woo!) guide has shared that Everest is a mostly mental game. We are experiencing really cold temperatures with the extra moisture in the air, but everyone is doing great and is in great spirits!
About Namche: a village located 3-4 hours from the previous city. Traditionally, it was a trading post where villagers traded yak cheese or butter for agricultural goods grown in lower cities. The first climbers of Everest put Namche on the map. Its purpose and profile changed forever as climbing became more popular in the 60s and 70s, and as it’s topography and location are perfect for acclimatization and connecting trekking trails. Amazingly, it still only has 60 dwellings. Namche has prospered significantly from tourism, and is the wealthiest district in Nepal, out-earning the capitol city of Kathmandu.
APRIL 23 | Namche Bazar Day 2
Welcome to the constant theme of mountaineering abroad (and anywhere): Be flexible in body and mind! And resilient!
Today’s plan didn’t happen. We ended up getting the most snow the area has seen all season, which meant no hiking up to the Everest View Hotel. Because of the rocky terrain, footing becomes very sketchy around here and no one wants to risk a preventable injury this early in the game. We walked around more, did a little retail therapy and restocking. It is MUCH colder than anyone has planned on it being. A friend from the group came down from Everest Base Camp and reported that it is currently -10°F there. I decided to buy more layers for both rain and snow. And…I decided to get my hair done, which was a fun experiment with YouTube videos and three Nepalese hair stylists! Tomorrow, on to Deboche and then to Dingboche.
APRIL 24 | Dingboche (14,469 feet)
2500ft of elevation gain on our 6mile hike to Dingboche. We are doing our best to stay healthy and being careful about what teahouses we visit and what water we use. We can’t take any risks of contracting stomach bugs or COVID that will set us back.
Our current guide wasn’t feeling well, so we took on a new guide hiking down from Base Camp that will join us. We will stay here in Dingboche for one more day, then hike to Longboche, and then onto Everest Base Camp. Everyone is in great spirits! We got a little coffee shop treat of chocolate cake and hot chocolate today. All the simple joys really matter out here!
April 25 | Dingboche Day 2
Absolutely freezing here and my lips are blue. We are doing our best to stay warm and mellow as we acclimatize. We took a hike up to a local peak today and had a beautiful view of the village below, but we are staying very close to the lodge and generally away from people as there is some Covid in the area. A simple day, but I’m working on my mental game and reaching for positive in these conditions.
April 26 | Lobuche (16,210 feet)
We hiked up to Loboche and thankfully the weather calmed down a bit. This is our last stop before we hike to Everest Base Camp. It’s a small settlement surrounded by striking mountains all around.
April 27 | Everest Base Camp (17,598 feet)
We made it to Everest Base Camp! My tent is next to my friend Steve’s tent whose journey was unfortunately cut short. I was able to move into both tents and keep my gear mostly in one to make this part of the trip a little more comfortable. Because there were four people who had to leave Base Camp due to confirmed Covid, I have been extra careful with the social aspect of this journey. That has been a challenge, as summiting a peak is an incredibly bonding experience with people you may not ever have met otherwise.
There is a specific bathroom tent, dining tent (the best and also social headquarters!), and shower tent (can’t wait to use it tomorrow!). The meals are wonderful up here! By “up here,” I mean on a glacier at the bottom of the highest peak in the world!
Everyone is doing great and I feel so lucky and blessed to be right where my feet are right now!
April 28 | Everest Base Camp
Today we got to play in the ice field near Base Camp. Tony, Cindy Nims and I went for a walk there in the morning before they all took a helicopter out of camp. It’s been so great to have them with me on the journey up until now, and I was sad to see them go!
My harness is great for use with my down suit, but not great without its bulk. I can’t get it sized down small enough, and I’m incredibly grateful that a helicopter will be able to bring me a smaller set up. I’m swapping out my crampons, as well, as they are not fitting over my toe pieces as well as I would like. I’m fortunate to test out here everything that made the cut at home, and I’m so grateful to have options available to me to make sure my gear can be more successful for me!
I did a little laundry, which consists of a cook providing a bucket of hot water I can swish biodegradable soap into with my clothing. It takes a couple days for clothing to dry here and I have to make sure I bring it all into my tent by 1pm to hang so the cloud cover and subsequent temperature drop doesn’t freeze everything!
We had a team lunch today and did a great afternoon training session with gear. We used the ascender, safety clips for traversing, and the Figure 8 device for repelling. It was fun and great to improve our skills in the setting where we’ll use them.
We came back to Base Camp for dinner and a chill evening. There have been some massive avalanches and the sound is like a deafening thunderstorm. We can see them, but we are NOT in the way of danger. A fantastic and specific acclimatization and training day!
April 29 | Everest Base Camp
More ice field practice today and getting very accustomed to walking around in crampons on uneven terrain.
We also practiced ladder work – my very first time. Ladders are a necessary part of an Everest ascent, and while originally there was only one ladder to cross for this year’s ascent, the ground has shifted enough to require five ladder crossings. I honestly don’t love these crossings, but I feel a lot more comfortable now.
We practiced more ascending and rappelling today, as well, and I’m working through using different gloves that will keep my hands warmer. You can have all the dexterity in the world with your hands and it’s an entirely different game when you start using bulky gloves and mittens. Warmth is everything on this mountain.
Rapid, near boiling heat water shower today and it was great!
The team is in great spirits and excited to be “on rotation” (starting to climb higher) soon! We burn our extra time playing a card game called “President” – 90% luck and 10% skill.
April 30 | Everest Base Camp >> Everest Camp 1
Today was a rest day as we meet for breakfast at 2:30am, head to the ice fall, and then start the journey to Camp 1. This part of the climb is the most dangerous, so we do it in the nighttime when the sun has less of a melting effect on the fall.
May 1 | Everest Camp 1 (19,900ft)
Today we hiked to Camp 1. It was a much bigger challenge than I expected and took us eight hours to arrive. Our path consisted of zig-zagging and actually going down in the crevasses instead of simply across them via ladder like “normal” years. There are still ladder crossings, but there really should be more. The spots requiring jumping from one side to the other seem like a bigger distance than they should.
It is snowing a lot at Camp 1, so we had a lot of time in tents and playing cards to stay out of the elements. Early dinner at 5pm and early night to bed. We plan to get up tomorrow around 5:00am, eat breakfast and then head to Everest Camp 2.
My body is definitely behind others in terms of acclimatizing. Everyone else has been here a month and I’ve been here a week. I’m trying not to dwell on comparisons too much and am hoping my acclimatization comes on strong! Big days back-to-back in the mountains to make this work! Let’s hope Mother Nature is kind.
May 2 | Everest Camp 2 (21,300ft)
We made it to Camp 2! And…today is my birthday! I’m pretty sure this is will be my highest birthday ever. The porters and my team surprised me in the best way ever – they made me a cake and brought champagne, meat, and cheese. The cake tasted incredible and the simple joys of those treats were so thoughtful and sweet!
It was much easier, technically and mentally, to make it to Camp 2 than it was to make it to Camp 1. This was a blessing because we are all feeling the altitude in new ways. We took it slow and steady. We decided on a later start, so it became very hot once the sun came over the mountain. There are only so many layers one can shed up here to be more comfortable knowing the temperatures will swing so dramatically in a matter of hours. The team is in great spirits and we are loading up big time on ramen noodles!
May 3 | Everest Camp 2
We had a much needed rest day today. We did a little hike around Camp 2 today and I had new boots get dropped off to start using. They were an amazing improvement for me and worth the drama to get here. The lack of snow in the ice fall makes most of what we are climbing on blue ice, which is a much harder surface than snow pack. The new boots make such a difference! Again, you can plan as well as you can, and until you’re in these specific conditions, you just don’t know if what you organized was correct until you put it all to use!
May 4 | Everest Camp 3 (26,300ft)
We hiked to Camp 3 today and, without a doubt, the effort was the most I have ever pushed myself. I am a few weeks behind on acclimatization compared to my teammates, so it shows on big days like this. The distance is not great, but the vertical gain is no joke. The temperature swings are challenging, too – very cold weather in the morning when we need every single layer, and by afternoon we wish we had nothing on.
My hydration and nutrition plan need some improvement. I didn’t plan as well as I thought I had on that front. We will return to Base Camp tomorrow, then fly to Kathmandu to recover for five to seven days. Even though Kathmandu is on extreme Covid lockdown, I have to have faith that I’ll be able to reload on snacks and small things that will make my climbs easier in the next phase for summiting. We will have one-to-one support for the actual multi-day summit push, which will be easier for handling the needs I’ll have then while not holding up anyone else. Team spirits are high and we are all feeling strong and motivated!
May 5 | Everest Base Camp (17,598ft)
We made it back to Base Camp and I have never been so excited to see my tent with all of my stuff! And, so excited to shower! I have a lot of hair, and drying it on the generator was magical. (I’m going to have to remember to enjoy the simple joy of drying my hair at home!)
The ice fall near Base Camp has already changed since our journey over the last handful of days to Camps 1, 2, and 3. It’s crazy to think about and witness how much this area moves. Ice climbing skills are definitely a must, as well as being resilient! We’ve had lots of use of our ascenders while climbing up and down the ice.
The cooks prepared an amazing meal for us when we arrived. We were so hungry and so appreciative. Higher up on the mountain, it’s much harder to cook anything and there is no variety. A veggie burger and fries never tasted so good!
We hope to travel to a hotel for a few days to recover from the effort at very high altitude. Originally, and even yesterday, we thought we’d be heading to Kathmandu, but with the current COVID lockdown there, we will like head back to Namche, which is a short helicopter ride away.
We will wait for a week to adjust in our acclimatization training, then hopefully go for an Everest summit push! Lines are currently set in Camp 4 right now, so we are all guessing that first summit bids will be in a week or so. Our goal is not to be first, but to go on a great weather day with minimal lines!
May 6 | Everest Base Camp
We had a great recovery day at Base Camp. We were packed up and waiting for a helicopter to arrive to take us to Namche, but the weather never cleared enough for a safe flight up to us.
There were climbers with some medical needs at Camp 2, and no helicopters could get to them either. One of the risks here is suffering an injury or altitude sickness and not getting immediate attention due to weather and flight safety.
One of our Sherpa guides found out on the evening of May 4th that his father died due to Covd complications. He had been diagnosed a week prior and died within a week of symptoms appearing. This Sherpa’s mother is also in intensive care due to Covid. The helicopter was a high priority to get him to Kathmandu in time to see family, but sadly it couldn’t come due to weather and flight safety protocols. He started to walk down from Base Camp to Namche, a marathon distance (26 miles), and hopefully he will get a helicopter today. Because the airport is closed, he will then have to begin an 18-hour drive to get to his family.
The ice fall has daily adjustments and literally looks different all the time. I’m in awe of it, but it’s also disorienting. While the cold weather is a challenge, I’m grateful for it because it makes the ground safer for us.
I’m grateful we will be flying to Namche soon to recover for a little bit. Constantly sleeping in a sleeping bag in these conditions, having to put all my layers on to go to the bathroom, and not being able to clean up the way I’d like to have a gradually numbing effect. While I say this, and these are such tiny issues, our spirits are all really high!
We are in this and our bodies are adapting for the ultimate challenge and summit push!
May 7 | Everest Base Camp >> Namche Bazaar
We got up early today hoping for good weather to catch a helicopter down to Namche, and luckily, we got our window at 7:30am! When flying down from Base Camp, helicopters can only pick up three people at a time due to weight and altitude. It was a six-minute fight to a small town called Pheriche, where we all waited for the whole team to get shuttled down. Once everyone arrived, we could put five people in a helicopter at a time and head to Namche.
We are staying in the Yeti Mountain Lodge, which is one of the nicer Namche hotels. Even still, hot water has to be turned on by request. We had lunch at the Sherpa Barista Café – in my opinion, the best place to eat, drink, and socialize in Namche. We had the chance to walk around the few shops in the area and ended up spending time in the hotel library room. My goal is to stay away from people and stay Covid-free while there are mini hot spots popping up all over Nepal. We ordered pizza for dinner and it was magical! It’s the first time I’ve had it since leaving the USA. We sat around and talked with the team while enjoying dinner and I kept reflecting on how wonderful it is to have a multi-cultural team around me. We love sharing childhood stories and all our different takes on the world!
May 8 | Namche Bazaar
The physical mountain I climb is nothing compared to the mental mountain.
This adventure is a solo quest and my heart is 7500 miles away, split into seven little beings eating breakfast, going to sports practices, and ever so slowly experience the magic of their own unique lives.
People leave these expeditions because homesickness is real. At the most random moments, tears squirt from my eyes, my stomach hurts so much I want to throw up, and sleep is an illusionary dream.
Keeping things real and honest…My “why” for doing this summit, and this greater journey, loses its hold on me, becoming some crazy string of words to which I can no longer relate. It almost feels like a foreign language sometimes. Then, with the randomness that this feeling onsets in my mind, it’s gone. The moment passes as I dig deep and ask: Who am I? What do I stand for? What do I want my life to mean?
Mt. Everest is the queen mountain. Her presence demands attention. She takes up space unapologetically. No storm on her surface changes the truth that she is who she is. I stay here because she is me and I am her. May my time upon her surface be a reminder for all that we are the mountain.
Today, we woke up and got hot showers! Yesss! The hotel turns on the hot water for each room, room by room, and it is magical!
We went back to Sherpa Barista today for lunch and did a nice leisurely hike. It feels good to move a little and have some relaxing body and mind time. I’m going to take the rest of the day to watch a movie on my iPad and order dinner into the hotel.
Covid is getting a little overwhelming here so we are going to hang at our hotel and do what we can to stay away from people. The waiting is the worst part of this whole expedition! I do a LOT better when I’m moving!
May 9 | Namche Bazaar
I had a massage today from a Tibetan doctor, and after 15 minutes into the session, he told me one hour was not enough! I’ll be heading back tomorrow!
Dinner tonight at the hotel with some movie time in our library. I’m so blessed to be surrounded by such a perfectly random group of people. Love takes on many forms, and the love from this group makes the lows so much more tolerable, the highs much more significant. It’s a beautiful thing.
Today is Mother’s Day. It’s an interesting experience to be away from the people that call me “Mom” on Mother’s Day. I’m so grateful that my kids really get two moms right now. Karen, who helps us day-in-day-out and my mom, Kathy, are there mothering my little people. I’m jealous that they are there, but I’m reminding myself that it takes a village to flourish as an individual, too. We all can play mother at times, and the roles that mothers play are many.
This year, I’m celebrating the adventure of motherhood. The get out there, dream big, believe big, and do big aspects of mothering. The dare to dream mother, the balance of doing me and you mother, the doubt is a story mother, the mother that knows distance is an illusion. I am always a mother and sending motherly love to my kids no matter where I am physically. The mother that teaches the notion of sacrifice being a part of all things. The mother that teaches the idea that there is no reason we all can’t reach for the stars, whatever our stars are.
To all the mothers that are helping me be me, loving my kids as their own, and showing up for one another as we bring forth and redefine motherhood: I thank you, I stand by you, and I am honored to be at your table! Cheers to the many faces and roles of motherhood. May we, as a combined and strengthened force, mother one another with a spirit of confidence, authenticity, and possibility.
May 10 | Namche Bazaar
Today was a bum day. From 12am-6am, I was extremely ill and crying in between being sick. I don’t do well with being sick or feeling my body out of control!
I did manage to turn a corner enough for a second massage session and grab a large ginger honey tea at the Sherpa Barista Café. Just being inside this café is amazing. It’s a meeting of the minds from all walks of life climbing in these mountains, the owner has a heart of gold and aims to place, and everyone is helping one another in some way. The economy has slowed so much in this area, and I feel great supporting every time I come here for a drink or meal.
I napped all afternoon to help get rid of this bug and then spent some time with the team in the early evening. Wifi has been in and out all day, so I’m trying to download a few movies to watch and then go to bed early.
As of now, we will try to head back to Base Camp on 5/12 and then spend a few days there. Winds at the top of Everest are currently expected to be around 80mph from 5/15-5/20, so we will likely push for the summit after that.
I’m feeling better, but I also feel like this much down time is making me lost some fitness. I’m eager to get back out on the mountain as soon as possible!
May 14 | Everest Base Camp
We made it back to Base Camp! I’m very grateful to be here. We are surrounded by mountains and it feels like a bit of a wonderland. Namche is a village, and the views are great, but just not quite the same as this higher perch. Being there for a handful of days made me feel more removed from Mt. Everest and my quest. It was starting to get harder to want to stay and climb.
Nepal is now closed for inbound and outbound travel, which helped us stay put. I’m so grateful we are here and now how blessed we were to make it during a travel window.
There has been a lot of drama on this trip with COVID, airport closures, and even some internal team stuff. During the moments when I miss my kids and home amenities, my flight home starts to sound great. I start to tell myself I will come back and do this again when we have fewer variables. Mt. Everest is a huge challenge in a normal year, and all the extra noise is just making it more challenging. The weather delays are not overly enjoyable either. It takes a lot of mental preparation to be ready to go onto the next stage, and when that is disrupted, it’s a special kind of regrouping one has to do.
But, of course, I will stay and see this through.
I have saved a message from my sweet sone, Joe, on my phone. It says: “Keep climbing, Mom, like a champ.” Those little words have helped me to tune out the noise and stick to my mission of climbing Mt. Everest. I will happily go home without a summit if things out of my control prevent it, but I will not be going home due to what is within my control. I have that little man and six others watching alongside him.
We are all learning so much and loving each other in new ways. While I miss the touches, I do love the video messages and the little words we use between us. My mom and Karen are superstars and keeping me up-to-date on what is happening, and I’m so grateful!
Namche was nice a nice break, Sherpa Barista Café provided wonderful meals a couple times a day, I got my hair blown out again, and there was a massage therapist I put to work for a few days. I discovered a new Haribo candy that I love! I tried every possible chocolate bar while I was there. All simple joys and wonderful human connections.
Those simple joys have me missing silly little things at home like my lemon love drink, having a bathroom attached to my bedroom, and being able to go to the fridge anytime to grab what I want from things I love. I miss the obvious big things the most – my family, my friends, the kitties, my bed, and all my people.
I love you all and channel your strengths when I need them most! Thank you for being with me here in my heart and soul!
May 15 | Everest Base Camp
It was a rough night being woken up at 1am by getting sick. After five hours of completely emptying my body, I spent the rest of the day regaining my strength and hydration in my tent. Drink soup. Watch movies. Drink soup. Watch movies. The one benefit of being sick outside here in the middle of the night is the amazing sky. Shooting stars abound, the milky way pulls you into a sense of wonder, and the contrast of our universe against the night takes your breath away. It’s beauty that has no words and no photo could possibly do it justice.
This is still a hurry and wait game. A whole team at Base Camp had to go home today. 20 clients, four guides, and 27 sherpas all tested COVID-positive and are packing up to leave. I have been waiting this long to have every opportunity to summit, so despite feeling a little depleted and having to be more anti-social than I’d like to, my diligence is at an all-time high. We are doing the best we can to stay away from others, and to balance the winds on top of Everest with the COVID risk at Base Camp.
They say it’s getting warmer, but I haven’t noticed yet. I wore two jackets most of the day today.
I’m missing everyone at home and hoping that I have some news of a summit push to share soon!
May 16 | Everest Base Camp
Today was an exciting development combined with more hurry up and wait.
We confirmed who we will be climbing with and I’m paired with renowned Nepalese mountaineer, Mingma Gyabu (David) Sherpa. Today is his 33rd birthday! He’s a man of few words, but energetically you feel his power within you. I’m so honored to climb with such a legend. He’s the youngest person to climb all the fourteen 8000m peaks. He’s also the Guiness World Record holder for the fastest climb of Everest and K2. He also won Sherpa of the Year in 2019!
We got news that we would be leaving tonight for Camp 2 with a solid itinerary of making our way to Camp 4 and a summit push to shortly thereafter learn that we had to scrap the plan due to conditions. Such is the beast of Everest. A friend reminded me, that this IS Everest. Even though I’m still, I’m also on this journey and I need to keep reminding myself that the waiting and recommitment to my goal are part of it! I do feel blessed that we are with such a diligent crew that knows when and when not to push, even though the temptation is there to push with too tight a weather window. The chances of frostbite were way too risky. Here is the message we received:
Base Camp Weather Report: The winds have returned to Everest. The lenticular clouds tell the story. Above 8000m/26,000ft, the jet steam is influencing the summit and the upper mountain. Here in Base Camp, it’s calm and sunny and very warm, and you would never know that it’s blowing up to 80-100mph up high. This forecast is also complicated by a tropical cyclone in the Indian Ocean. It will make the winds on the mountain tricky for at least the next week. We will also be getting some snow on the 18-19 May to complicate things. Best to just stay put. In past years, I have been on the summit as late as May 26, so this isn’t unusual at all. It just takes patience.
Back to more movies for me, journaling, and thinking to pass the time! As of right now, we are thinking of going May 26/27. But, as you can tell if you’ve been following along, it’s alllll TBD. #everestlife
May 17 | Everest Base Camp
It was a long day. I did my laundry since we will be here a bit longer. I also watched a few documentaries. I’m grateful for my tasks and that I have a chance to learn something and open my mind to pass the time. The fact that I have tech access up here blows my mind.
I also did some yoga stretching and tried meditating several times. This is a perfect time to get better at the practice. I’m working on the art of surrender. Each day I’m told what we can or cannot plan and it’s completely out of my control. I’m trying to allow what is to just be and enjoy it rather than endure it. By surrendering, I open myself up to possibilities that are in my best interest. I am finding joy in the journey and trying to allow for the unwinding and letting go of what doesn’t serve me, especially negative or unproductive thinking. Today, I’ve caught myself smiling for no reason. I have a little spring in my step. The release of control, the release of the pursuit of perfection…it’s liberating. I’m allowing myself to take up space, be cared for, and let go of the need to make it all come together. Just typing that makes my body sigh with relief.
I am definitely a different person than the Jenn who arrived here and few short weeks ago.
I am allowing nature to remind me that I am a mere participant in this world. Effort and hustle are important but equally important are rest and recovery. Mental, and physical. I am free in a new way. The future is my canvas, my actions and thoughts the narrative I bring to life. No expectations, no justifications…just the ability to be me, be present, and love my little people at home. I’m such a lucky mama.
May 18 | Everest Base Camp
We lost a Sherpa to the mountain today. It’s the first Sherpa death this season and the feeling here is heavy. We heard about it this morning. He fell into a crevasse between Camp 1 and Camp 2.
It really hit home this afternoon when we found out he had three little kids and is the brother to one of our head Sherpas.
I have been to the area where he fell and there are major crevasses with fixed lines the entire way. It’s believed at this point that he didn’t click into one of the fixed lines. Even the short time I have been on the mountain I have seen this happen many times. Some of the lines seem pointless to click into, but the key word here is “seem”. We are walking on a show surface sometimes and we have no clue what the topography is beneath us. When we are walking, there is always a Sherpa in front poking the snow with a pole to see if it gives way or opens up a hole below.
If you have been reading along with my Summit Notes updates, you know this expedition has been running longer than I thought it would. It’s mentally taxing. Events like today are devastating. When this Sherpa’s brother left our site today, he looked me in the eyes and said: “Safety first”. It is echoing in my head nonstop. His eyes, his tone, and his words are burned in my brain.
Just like that, the silly dramas that play out in my head mean nothing. They are insignificant, and all that remains is love. Love for self, love for one another, and love for this planet. On the face of this mountain, mistakes are life threatening. It’s a harsh environment in so many ways. I am at a loss for words. I make mistakes on a daily basis, sometimes the same more than once! Those mistakes don’t really mean anything in the end.
I’m still trying to process how the accident happened. Was there too much pressure to get from one camp to another? Did multiple trips need to happen, so it became a race against time? Was the weather so bad that it didn’t feel worth the extra time to make safety clips? Or, was it simply just forgetting the consequences are real, no matter how small a decision? I have no clue, but I know without a doubt I will be taking all the time I need to be safe and constantly clipped to the mountain.
May 19 – 21 | Everest Base Camp
The last few days have been challenging. We are sitting at Base Camp waiting for a safe and solid weather window to appear.
5/19 and 5/20, the weather was wet and cold. Today, 5/21, it was a bit sunnier, thank goodness. This means we can actually see the mountains around us, and that lifts everyone’s mood and spirit. Cold, wet, damp, and 10 feet of visibility is mentally taxing and difficult.
What does one do when there is nothing to do? We have movie marathons, clean up our tents, play card games, meditate, and do a little yoga. We try to focus on some tasks and try to make sure our bodies are still moving blood instead of being so still. With the nicer weather today, we were able to do a hike and move some more.
Food is a struggle for me, so the next expedition I will bring more bars and food items I like from home. Ramen noodles get old rather quickly and don’t feel very nutritious, but we are doing what we can.
WiFi struggles here in bad weather patches, which is hard. It’s quite expensive, so no one wastes time on it. I am able to get a video out to my kids on the daily, even if it means I keep trying to send it for over an hour. I have a few videos back from them, as well, and I’ve watched them on repeat so often I have them memorized.
I hold onto the fact that approximately 10 days from now I will be back in Kathmandu! That helps me stay strong mentally during this last stretch. When I first set out on this trip, I was expecting to be flying home today. Sweet Mother Nature is holding me here and I am focusing on the smallest details to find all the silver linings I can.
MAY 22 – 23 | Everest Base Camp
Well, the weather continues to be a bit of a mess. The ground keeps changing, the snow is melting, and we now use rocks to hold up our tents above the melting glacier snow!
We either have high winds or snow to navigate as we make our summit plan. At first, we were going to take the high winds because the amount of snow that is coming our way will be pretty intense. Heavy snow means buried lines, serious difficulty clipping into the mountain, and needing to “break in” the trail.
After much careful consideration, it has been decided that the snow is going to be a better option to navigate. The winds without sun can be too high a risk for frostbite and everyone on our team is pretty committed to coming home with all our collective digits. Navigating through snow means that we have a few extra Sherpas with us to help break trail and dig out the lines. Currently, there are about 100 people at Base Camp, so I’m sure we will not be the only team working on this problem.
On the 23rd, today, we should see some more summits of Everest by other groups. These will be the first summits since May 12th. The teams that are summiting today have been on the mountain over a week in pretty harsh conditions. So, as frustrating as it is to have summited yet, I am grateful for the more pleasant experience in the week to come.
If the snow breaks early, we could try to summit earlier, but I doubt it. With a hopeful Everest summit on May 29, we will be summiting the same day as the first people who summited Everest 68 years prior. Wow. Pinch me.
We just learned that the international airport is closed until June 1, with a possible extension. I’m grateful to be here, right now.
May 24 | Everest Base Camp
We are heading up the Khumbu Ice Fall tonight around 11pm. It’s windy, cold, and snowy, but we are hoping that the weather improves as we get higher and higher up, and as the week goes on.
The plan! (…as of now)
We are going to take it nice and steady and should arrive around 9am-10am at Camp 2. We skip Camp 1 on the summit push. We will stay at Camp 2 on 5/25 and 5/26. We plan to go to Camp 3 on 5/27 and Camp 4 on 5/28. The plan is to then leave during the evening on 5/28 to summit Everest on the morning of 5/29. We would then descend back to Camp 4 on 5/29 and ascend Lhotse’s summit on 5/30. From there, descend back down to Camp 2 and spend the night of 5/30. On 5/31, we would descend to Base Camp, and from there, we are hoping to get a helicopter out to Kathmandu. Luggage transfer will take a couple of days via yak. Then, we will wait for international travel to open back up from Nepal out to the rest of the world!
May 25 | Camp 2 (21,000 feet)
We made it to Camp 2! The weather wasn’t the best and the last three hours we were in 35-40mph winds fighting serious sleep deprivation. We all had to constantly brace against the wind to avoid blowing over. There was also hail! At that wind speed, it feels like having your face stung over and over by bees. I had a Buff on my face, but it felt like it didn’t cover everything.
When we got here, we at lunch since we were going 12 hours hiking through the night, Everyone ate what they could, and immediately went to lay down to rest and reset as much as possible. It’s so hard to sleep when the zippers on the tent are bouncing nonstop from whipping winds.
Due to weather, we will be here for two days and then move to Camp 3. We know the weather isn’t going to be ideal for that, but we are hoping it’s good for the summit push. We are worried that oxygen might be missing from Camp 4, so we need the weather to be good enough tomorrow for the Sherpa to check for it. Teams that summited on May 23 were stuck on the mountain for four extra days at high camps, so oxygen not belonging to those teams was potentially needed and used. If our designated oxygen is missing, we will need to wait another day to get more here for use and maybe summit on May 30 instead of May 29.
Spirits are good! One teammate decided not to climb. We have two climbers doing Everest only, one climber doing Lhotse only, and four climbers (including me) doing the Everest/Lhotse combo. That means we need two good summit days in a row! Please wish us all well. Support from home is amazing!
May 26 | Everest Camp 2
It was a very cold day at Camp 2. We stayed in our tents most of the day to stay warm, rest, and stay out of the elements as much as possible. The highlight of the day was picking out the food we’ll eat at Camps 3 and 4.
It looks like it will be similar weather (cold and snowy) over the next couple of days, but we need to get up the mountain to be ready for the summit push on the 29th. As of now, that’s looking like the first day we will see sun.
We are all just working on staying warm and hydrated. These high altitudes dry you out much faster than you realize!
Sending love to everyone at home and those of you following my journey. I can’t tell you how much your support means to me! I’m leaning on it a lot! xoxo
May 27 – 28 | Everest Camp 2
We got snowed in both yesterday and today. The storm is intense and leaves us in our tents most of the day. Wind gusts have been 60mph and, being much higher, these gusts are pretty nerve-racking!
The wind gusts ripped a panel in our dining tent, so it’s now held together with a ski pole to try to keep us warmer while we eat.
We need the weather to be better in order to move up the mountain to Camps 3 and 4. Summit days keep getting pushed. There are three teams on the mountain determined to push through this.
We are doing our best to keep our spirits high and eyes on a safe summit.
May 29 | Everest Camp 3
We made it to Camp 3 today! We are the only team that went up today. There are currently two other teams that will venture up tomorrow on the track that we broke today. All other teams have descended down at this point.
It was a long and hard day, but we avoided avalanche danger and made it! It really felt like an accomplishment to make the move and it was well worth the wait, effort, and faith. I’m so proud of my team and am present in the moment with pure gratitude. I’m so grateful for the Sherpa that went ahead of our group to break trail and make it easier on us.
Tonight, we will sleep on oxygen at .5 liter. This will help us stay warmer and feel more solid tomorrow. Tomorrow, we will eat breakfast and head out for our summit push! I’m so excited now that we are moving forward, and it all feels possible!
Our tents at Camp 3 are precarious. We can’t exit them at night, or we might fall off the mountain. We are at the edge and need crampons on every time we are out of the tents. We are also currently three people to a tent for combining body heat for warmth.
The ice fall will be open until June 3, so we need to be off the mountain by then.
It’s all happening!
May 30 | Camp 4 (26,000ft)
We arrived at Camp 4! It took us all day. I’m super tired but grateful for the oxygen and the people who chose to Sherpa as a profession and make this climb possible for us. They are heroes with setting and maintaining lines. We go for the summit tomorrow!
May 31 | Everest Summit (29,032ft) >> Camp 4
We summited today! What a remarkable day, Memorial Day, to do it. Such an expression of my gratitude for freedom, seizing every day, and living out loud! I’m grateful for this freedom every single day.
More to come…what an experience, to say the least!
We are back at Camp 4 already recovering.