July 27: The weather is predicted to be good for several days starting July 31, so we are heading up the hill in two waves. Fredrick, Chhiring, Chris K. and Eric are leaving today for Camp I, while Chris W., Paul, and Mike will follow along on July 29. We intend to go as high as possible.
Almost every team on the mountain is cooperating to make this push, as it is the first (and possibly last) period of weather we might get that will be calm enough to attempt the summit.
As a group, we’ve decided not to post updates until we are back in Base Camp. Why? First, it takes a lot of energy to worry about posting on the internet while we are climbing. Second, we don’t have a BC manager to deal with these issues.
If you visit some of the climbing news sites you will likely see information posted about the progress of different teams. We are not sending any information to these sites. Some sites post a lot of unverified information that later turns out to be wrong. So,
Don’t believe anything unless you hear it directly from us!!
We will be carrying satellite phones on the mountain, so each member can contact his relatives if desired. That is a personal choice of each member. Even so, we have limited battery power so don’t be surprised if you don’t hear from us for many days. No news is good news!
We may not post on the web again until August 5 or so. Maybe earlier, but don’t count on it. All members are in good health and good spirits. We’ll talk to you soon.
Mike