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Dispatch
15 - April 7th
By now eight teams have arrived at Base Camp and group
dynamics
are getting interesting;
1. David Breashears' group who are shooting location
sequences for a big screen feature film of 'Into
Thin Air' for Working Title Productions.
A
ll going
well, they hope to have a budget of over 50 million sterling
- they estimate the film will take two years to complete.
2. Discovery channel, who are shooting a six part Documentary
series on Everest, (budget god only knows!) They will be
dealing with The Sherpa culture, what it is that drives
people to climb this mountain and will also look at the
different teams on the mountain and the effect that high
altitude has on climbers. Should be interesting.
Then there's the poor relations!
3 Our own film on The Irish Expedition that we wish to
finish this year - our story of 'Against the Sky'. No money
yet but great potential for any investor that wishes to
become involved in the telling of a great story. We'll
have the footage - all we need now is the money!
4 The Spanish,
5 Mexican/ Canadian
6 Chilean
7 The singing Greeks and
8 Peak Promotions who will be endeavoring to have an amputee
summit.
We will keep you updated on the trials and tribulations
of the climbers as they climb the mountain and bring you
reports direct from campsite to campsite as we push for
the summit.
Don't forget to clock into Freddy T. Bear!
Discovery team
at Base Camp
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Dispatch 14 - April 6th
Today we finished setting up
our shower tent and our first volunteer
was John Joyce. He had to be as he smelt the worst (!)
and braved temperatures of -10 degrees Celsius just to
keep
us quiet. It was so funny to see him running across the
camp site, towel in one hand and trying to avoid falling
in the snow with the other as he rushed back to
his tent.
Only the brave and the dirty will venture out in temps
of
-10 degrees Celsius!
We would also like to bring you reports directly from our
Sherpa team
members; today will be their first dispatch from Sherpa
Sirdar (Boss) Pemba Gyalje and our team of Sherpas.
'We are Sherpa team with the Irish Everest exp.2004 original
route from
Nepal, we finished set up of our base camp a couple of
days ago, after that we Sherpas, Pat, Clare, John and Niall
were in ice and snow section on Khumbu Glacier about 700m.
distances south east side from our camp site, all sherpas
and team member were very agile to ice climbing and walking
techniques on snow and ice for warm op before we go to
Khumbu ice
fall, now we are preparing for our Puja ceremony on tomorrow
Thursday, the mountain is the home of deities and devils,
also centre of human affection and admiration because we
are all mountaineers and are religiously purifying before
we go to mountain'
Pemba Gyalje - Sirdar
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Dispatch
13 - April 5th
Base Camp is becoming busy; people from all around the
world are now starting to descend here to either watch,
film or participate in following a dream to stand on the
summit of the world.
No one can deny this mountain is still the Olympic arena
for mountaineers and dreamers all around the world; it
also holds a huge fascination for the armchair traveler
following the adventures of climbers that pit themselves
against the might of the highest mountain in the world
year after year.
In 2004, once again, it has attracted some of the world’s
most renowned mountaineers as well as those with little
experience that join commercial groups that prom
ise
guided ascents of the mountain, a promise that few
keep. Then
there are the commercial groups that are non-guided
and provide logistical back-up for accomplished mountaineers
that don't have the time to put all the planning together
themselves.
No matter which of these groups you belong to, it’s
hard to criticise those that have a dream and have
the courage and self-conviction to follow them and
make them
a reality.
Most of the great mountaineers in the world have climbed
or tried to climb Everest - Hillary, Tenzing, Messner,
Habeler, Bonnington, Hall, Fischer and Hinkes to mention
but a few, their motives varied, but the one thing they
all had in common was a vision, a passion and a love for
mountains. This trait can also exist in those that are
not world class mountaineers and for me it is a pleasure
to see people exercise their right to follow their goal
in an arena that was once only open to elitists that thought
they had a god-given right to the high mountains of the
world.
Today was a relaxed day as we sorted out our communication
system and tried to get our charging equipment up and running.
Niall is making
a great job of this so far but we have
run into many problems that are testing our patience!
A constant flurry of phone calls back to Ireland to
Pat Duggan
and Joe O’Leary are helping to solve the problems;
without their knowledge and help we would find it far
more difficult to solve them. (Thanks lads your help,
once again
it is much appreciated) Well here goes - see if you
get these updates!
Sorting
communications at Base Camp Wyeth
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Dispatch
12 - April 4th
It was a cold night last night and the sound of the moving
ice kept most of us awake. At around six o'clock, the ground
shook for a few seconds - it felt like the after shock
of an earthquake. It was time to get up and begin a new
day at Base Camp Wyeth.
The action had already begun at base camp. Just below us,
Dave Breashears was filming for his new film Into Thin
Air. There were people moving in the ice fall before the
heat of the morning sun would make it unacceptably dangerous.
Our intention was to go to the Khumbu glacier, just below
base camp and spend the day ice climbing as a team. Apart
from being a bit of exercise, this would help our acclimatization,
which is one of the most important factors in facilitating
our journey through the Khumbu ice fall, one of the most
dangerous sections of the climb.
Playing and training in this glacier is amazing - one of
the most spectacular places in the world, a place that
could be a stage for a film like Alice in Wonderland.
Clare Ice Climbing
Sherpa team members ice climbing
Ice climbing at foot of Khumbu ice fall
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Dispatch
11 - April 3rd
An early start today as the support team were homeward
bound. They faced a six hour walk to Dingboche. Once again,
there was an air of tension as farewells were bade to each
other.
These thirteen people who had spent almost two weeks with
us, supporting our journey to reach the top of the world
came from different walks of life and ranged in age from
twenty six to sixty. They individually realized their own
dream of seeing Everest and spending a night at her Base
Camp. During their journey, they had trekked through the
most amazing landscape on this planet.
Farewells do not come easy to me; hugs, kisses and tears
were shed
as we watched our friends begin their descent
down the valley and home to Ireland. Words of encouragement
were shouted back to us as they disappeared out
of sight. "Ye
can do it", "Come home safely."
An air of apprehension fell at base camp as were left alone
to tackle one of the most serious mountains in the world.
As a team we rebounded quickly, getting down to the job
of planning to get up this giant that has been created
by the power of our planet.
We have over fifteen thousand items of gear, food and climbing
equipment to check and store before we begin our ascent
on the mountain.
I had to laugh when Dawa, our base camp cook and manager,
was disappointed that 29 (of 900) eggs that had been transported
by plane from Kathmandu to Lukla and then on a porters
back for a further 10 days to Base camp Wyeth had broken!
They really take their job very seriously. He is now making
a plan that will further improve the logistics of egg-carrying
in the future.
The team and trekkers at Base Camp Wyeth
Dawa - our Base Camp cook
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Dispatch
10: April
02
We were up once the sun hit the tents - around 8am. We decided
to get
straight into organisation before the trekkers arrived. They
were expected
around lunchtime. We went through the contents of 66 barrels,
itemising
their contents and redistributing them to their new homes
as necessary.
We got started on setting up communications
and power sources. Before long our trekkers began to arrive.
It was great to see each and everyone make it safely here.
Getting to Base Camp of Everest is a
great achievement and
no easy slog.
The smiles, the laughs, the jokes and the high spirit of
the trekkers
served, for the past 2 weeks, to take our mind off the seriousness
of what lies ahead for us. They were a great gang and hopefully
they enjoyed being in our company as much as we enjoyed theirs.
Our final night together saw us huddled in the mess tent.
The sherpa
trekking team and cooks could not have been better. Not only
did they cook amazing meals in the most basic of conditions,
but also managed to produce a beautiful chocolate cake!
We finished with a sing-song. We were blessed on this occasion
in that a number of the trekkers had great voices. At this
point, we must make special mention of Michael Grainger,
who has been away on numerous trips with Irish and Worldwide
Adventures. Michael is leading the trekkers
on this trip. He has composed at least three songs about
these trips, songs which are happy, true to life and touching.
As a special treat,
Mike gave us a blast of all three last night and I have no
doubt they will remain with us over the next several weeks.
I finish tonight at Base Camp Wyeth where it is -20 celsius.Our
trekkers are leaving for home and with them of course we
think of home. We especially send our love and thoughts to
our loved ones.We are thinking
of you in this awesome place.
Niall
Foley, expedition IT man with Fionán O'Donoghue, trekker
and CEO of Microworld, Killarney
Sherpas
presenting the GOOD LUCK cake
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Dispatch
9: April
01
Soon
after we had risen, the more energetic of the trekkers
returned.....Mark, Gerry, Niall, Kieran and Tadhg had successfully
climbed Kala Pattar.
The remainder of the trekkers were going to head up later
in the heat of the day, while Niall, Kieran and the climbers
were ready to head to Base Camp. Its easy to forget how
long drawn out the final part of the trek is. Base Camp
comes into sight relatively early but somehow always seems
to keep pulling away. Although never a very pleasant spot
to look at, this year, the route into Base Camp passes
the wreckage of the helicopter accident from last year.
It was strange looking at the ruins, knowing
that we were among the last people to have been safely
carried out of here in it last year. The cockpit was destroyed;
the wheels and a door lay strewn several feet away, on
the floor of the glacier. Imagining the horrific deaths
these
people met with, sent a shiver down my spine.
We wandered further into Base Camp. It took 30 minutes
or so before we
located our own camp site. This year, we are in a better
position; closer to the Khumbu ice fall, back at the
far corner of Base Camp. It is a quiet spot apart from
the several rockfalls which occur each day
just behind our tents! Luckily we are protected by a
sort of a moat at the back of our site which traps any loose
rock before it gets to our tents.
Our Sherpa team had arrived in Base Camp a few days prior
to us and had, as usual, done trojan work in organising
everything from our personal tents, to our kitchen tent,
store tent, and mess tent. They had levelled the site,
set up toilet tents and a shower tent and begun to build
the Puja altar.
We were so impressed with our set-up, that we decided
to relax for the
afternoon. Dawa and Tenzing, our cooks (Dawa is also Base
Camp manager), spoiled us with hot soup, chips and fried
eggs and then Yak sizzlers for dinner! Arriving at Base
Camp Wyeth did'nt feel so bad
after all!
Helicopter wreckage from last year
Pat
and Niall Foley at Base Camp Wyeth
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