ABC waiting

fighting the frustration

Unless the weather changes soon some teams will be bumping up against departure dates

15 May - Julian and Dawa arrive

Leaving BC around 7am, Julian and Dawa arrived in ABC after an leisurely trip in the afternoon to a queue of climbers wanting the attention of a doctor. Amazingly enough he had the energy to deal with everyone.

Namgyal and Da'Oangchu carried the last of the oxygen to the North Col, returning to ABC, and Paul made it up to the Col in a little under five hours. Moe took a walk to the crampon point (an hour or so away) and feels good.

Jamie changed his boxers and feels good.!

16 May - Paul on the North Col

Paul radioed from North Col where he slept last night, "it is windless and sunny, I am relaxing outside the tent". He feels good. Paul might wander up higher but the winds beyond North Col are probably savage. He will probably stay another night for acclimatization.

16 May - ABC

North Col is unusually sheltered; at ABC we had strong gusts coming thru all night waking climbers often. After breakfast (eggs to order), the Seattle team and their sherpas turned up to work out summit plans. It looks like we-they will be waiting for a while.

Scott, Ryan, Mike, Lhakpa, Dr Julian, Da'Nima, Al and Ambrose in the Project Himalaya dining tent looking happier than they perhaps should, given the forecast

Ryan the specimen, shows his medical textbook hands; believe it or not he still thinks he has a girlfriend.

Julian has been photographing our hands, some fingernails show some black lines in them called splinter hemorrhages, which at sea level indicate a serious infection of the heart, but since virtually all of us have them we are certain this isn't the case up here. But they are curious.

By popular pressure here is Jamie working on this dispatch

Currently Moe and Sukhi are walking up to the fixed ropes to help acclimate.

Dan, Greg, Ang Mingma and Mingma relax in the sun after a small puja
We travelled in from Lhasa with Dan and Greg (USA) and they are regular visitors to our dining tent; apparently their father is a regular visitor to our website too...

The Indian Air Force relaxing in their dormitory cum reception tent
Their doctor had lunch with us today, so ABC is a social place.

Tomorrow photos of Moe and Sukhi.