This is the title of a song by the band Green Day that was popular a few years back. It’s also used for me now, as in “Did you hear about the American idiot who got frostbite on Mount Everest? Why do they let people like that on the mountain…”
While I’m upset about the frostbite (who wouldn’t be), I’m more upset with myself for making the mistakes that led to the frostbite. Unfortunately I recall almost nothing that happened between 6 PM and midnight but I shouldn’t have been up there at 6 PM.
I’m working on my timeline of events right now but for the moment you’ll just have to be patient until it is both complete and accurate. The short version is that I screwed up, got lucky, and made it down. There’s a long list of people who helped me (and continue to help); I will acknowledge them publicly when I’m sure the list is complete.
Frostbite update: the fingers and toes continue to ‘mature’. The nose is mostly healed though a scab continues to fall off and reform. There has been surprisingly little pain and I have yet to take a prescription painkiller. I am taking fairly high doses of ibuprofen and another prescription medication. These two together have been effective so far.
Some fingers and toes have clearly declared their intentions, while others are apparently still deciding what to keep and what to shed. Again, I should have very good function after the surgery. Even though I can’t use my fingertips and have bandages on my hands, I replaced the hard drive in my laptop this weekend without any help. I’m doing an hour a day on the recumbent exercise bike and a variety of exercises and stretches to get back into shape. After I heal from the surgery I should be able to resume virtually all of my normal activities. Probably no ice climbing or skiing this winter, though, as I’ll be quite sensitive to the cold.
I’m still wearing my glove bandages on the hands and socklike bandages on my feet. These bandages aren’t particularly comfortable in our hot, sticky weather.
My surgery will take place on August 11. I’ll be in the hospital a few days, and then laid up at home for while. I should be in good enough shape to start classes on September 8.
The rest of my gear arrived from Nepal. Thanks to Kedar from Explore Himalaya for dealing with this.
Photos: one photo shows the summit, with a statue of Buddha in the box. The other is a picture of me (though it’s hard to tell) with the summit reflected in my glasses. Click the photos for larger versions.
