Dispatch 8: March 31

We decided to take it easy today and took our time making it from Lobuche to Gorak Shep. There were some great views of Nuptse as we approached Gorak Shep. Unfortunately Pumori, which Mike Long and Aidan Forde, recently summitted, was in the cloud and we couldn't get decent shots of it. We decided to be good to ourselves and stayed in a lodge for our last night before hitting the mountain. It was easy to justify a few final hours of such comfort. We enjoyed a delicious meal in the overcrowded, but warm dining room of the teahouse and after Sonam Sherpa (the card-shark of our party) had again cleaned everyone's pockets, we hit the sack. Most of the trekkers had an early morning
start ahead, aiming to summit Kala Pathar at sunrise, while the
climbing team were going to head in to Base Camp a day ahead of the trekkers to get settled.


Nuptse dominating the background


Putting Nuptse in perspective

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Dispatch 7: March 30

The final days of our trek took us from Pheriche to Lobuche and then on to Gorak Shep. Within minutes of leaving Pheriche, we were passed by
a group of Sherpas carrying a friend on a stretcher. He looked unwell
and there was a feeling of grave concern among our group for the man's well-being.

Later, we later heard from Luanne, one of the doctors with the Himalayan Rescue Association at Pheriche, that the man was just 22 years of age and that he was acting as a courier, delivering a package from Kathmandu to the inner Khumbu. He had flewn to Shyangoboche (3720m) and gained a further 1250m before reaching his destination,
just beyond Lobuche. He spent a night in Lobuche, where he had a headache. When his friends checked on him at 7am the following morning, he was unconscious. They immediately began to carry him to Pheriche but unfortunately, their efforts proved fruitless.

Their friend had died on arrival at Pheriche; the doctors there attempted to resuscitate him, but it was too late. It ís frightening to see the effects
altitude can have on the human body. Sometimes we think that Sherpas and porters, who do such great work here, are immune, but this is'nt so. Many live at 1200m in Kathmandu and are just as prone to altitude sickness as ourselves.

Our climbing and trekking team made it safely to Lobuche. Mild headaches and fatigue settled with an afternoon nap. By late afternoon, there were cards on the table and rupees to sharpen the mind!
Some light snowfall made a usually bleak and filthy spot seem somewhat more humane. At this stage, the feeling of anticipation was beginning to rise as we finally closed in on our destination.


A porter being evacuated from Everest Base Camp.


Praying at memorial site for all those who never return from Everest

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Dispatch 6: March 29
Pheriche

Today we are resting in the village of Pheriche at over 4000m and just four days or so now from the base of Everest and what will be our Base Camp Wyeth.Over the last few days as we near our destination, our scenery is that of the cloud piercing peaks of the highest mountains on Earth. It is truly awesome! The weather is magnificent and buoyed by this and the majesty of our surrounds, everyone is feeling great. The acclimatisation process is going well and today's rest is a crucial part
of this. Tomorrow our trek resumes, to overnight at Lobuche, then it’s onto Gorak Shep and finnaly to Base Camp on April 1.

Yesterday on our walk-in, I passed below Ama Dablam. For me it is
still the world’s most beautiful peak. As I strolled past this magnificent sentinel to Everest, I remembered times past and my first ever
expedition there in 1991. It was my first time in the Himalaya and I was part of a group of 6 climbers led by Con Moriarty who’s dream it was to stand on top of this peak.

Alot of water has passed down the Dudh Kosi river since then but I remember the first time I ever heard the name;Ama Dablam, the first photograph I ever saw of it. Our team was made up of Con and Mike
O'Shea from Kerry, Mick Murphy and I from Cork, Ciaran Corrigan and Tony Farrell from Dublin. We were supported by Tim Hickey from Kerry, Mick Hennesey from Cork and Peter and Rose Spellman from Clare. (Hello to ye all!) We were young, a little naive but so full of enthusiasm. On reflection, it was an incredible expedition for it’s time, for us and the way in which we attempted it. I learned a great deal on that trip and yesterday it’s detail came flooding back to me......thank you lads!

The summit of Ama Dablam eluded me in ’91 but I knew then I’d come back to these mountains.I discovered something here of great importance to my soul. I discovered too that I was blessed with a
natural physiology suited to high altitude climbing. 1991 was the first time I ever saw Everest and I felt drawn to it. Two years later, I got
myself on an international expedition, climbing on the North Ridge.
The summit eluded me then too but I returned in 1995 and made it.

Ama Dablam and it’s amazing south west ridge though is where it all began for me in the company of my closest friends. I returned here with Con in 1999, after I completed the 7 Summits (the highest peak on each continent). Moriarty and I just came away together, back to this place where so much had happened a few years before.

In ’91 Con suffered an accident high on Ama Dablam that was to have a detrimental effect on his mountaineering and on his life. A simple slip under a heavy load caused three discs to rupture in his spine. That summer he had a major discetomy. He was in his prime as a climber. He was my climbing partner and mentor and we had a world of plans
and peaks.

In ’99, we found ourselves out here during a period of terrible weather
that led to over fifty deaths on expeditions throughout the region It scuppered Con’s acclimatisation and I sumitted alone. On that
incredible summit, I missed him.


Ama Dablam- where it all began for Pat Falvey and others from our approach at Thangboche.The low precipitation of recent times is evident from the greyness of the mountain slopes.


The upper reaches of Ama Dablam - "the most beautiful peak
on Earth!"


Crossing the suspension bridge over the mighty Dudh Kosi below Namche Bazarre on March


With political unrest arising from Maoist clashes with Nepali government forces threatening to rip this country apart, Nepal's army troops are a common site on our approch to Everest.


The Kerry climbers, Mike Long (left) and Aidan Forde (right) after
meeting with Pat Falvey on the trail at Thangboche on Saturday last
(Mar 27).
Mike and Aidan were on their way out of the Khumbu Valley after summiting the spectacular peak of Pumori a few days earlier. Pumori
is a satellite peak of Everest and stands at 7171m stands over Everest Base Camp.Their climb was made as part of an international effort organised by the American expedition organiser, Dan Mazur with
whom Mike Long will now attempt Everest from Tibet on the North Ridge.It was congratualtions and best wishes all round, amidst the possibility of Pat and Mike meeting sometime in mid-May on the
highest point on Earth from two different sides, from two different countries. (Everest sits on the border of Tibet and Nepal) on the
highest point on Earth sometime out in May.


Expedition Leader,Pat Falvey receiving a very special blessing from
his friend Nima Tashi on Saturday last (Mar 27). Nima Tashi, a devout buddhist owns and runs a tea-house on the approach to Everest.She
and her husband, who worked on the mountain over many years as
a Sherpa porter and sirdar, prayed for the sucess and safety of the
Irish team.


Fionan O Donoghue from Killarney (nearest)......ag togaint sos
ar an mbóthar chuig Everest.


The scary airstrip at Lukla, the beginning of the Everest appraoch trek.


The climbers and trekkers leaving their hotel in thge Thanmel district
of Kathmandu for the airport and flight to Lukla.




The last of the caravan of yaks and porters approaching the Base
Camp for the Irish Wyeth Everest Expedition 2004. Hundreds of kilos
of equipment and food have been ferried on the backs of men and animals over the past 2 weeks through the Khumbu Valley to the
snout of the Khumbu Glacier beneath Everest.