Dispatch 5: March 23
Final hours in Kathmandu

With everything ready to go, it is finally time to head to the mountain. Having had a day to absorb the atmosphere in Kathmandu and shake
off their jet lag, the trekkers are also keen to move now. The plan for tomorrow is to rise at 04.45hrs, we then head to the airport to catch a flight to Lukla, from where the actual trek to Base Camp will begin.

This 30-minute flight in small planes is amazing - spectacular views
of the mountains as we approach Lukla and it's tiny little runway etched out of the steep hillside over the Dudh Kosi River. It really feels like you are taking your life into your own hands! Tonight will be an early night after taking what will be our final luxurious Kathmandu meal for
some time.

Dispatch 4: March 22
Trekkers arrive

We had personal bits to organise today and so took time to do that.
Our oxygen that has been flown in from Russia arrived today - 38 light-weight 4liter bottles, each weighing only 2kgs. This will be our life support system above 26,000 ft at the altitude known to climbers as Death Zone.


Trekkers arriving in Kathmandu

In the afternoon, we headed out to the airport to meet the group of 13 trekkers arriving from Ireland. They will have just one day to relax in Kathmandu before we begin the trek together.
Photo Trekkers arriving in Kathmandu

Dispatch 3: March 21
Meet world renowned adventure journalist Liz Hawley

Today was spent making final preparations. Pemba Gyalje, our sirdar (leading sherpa) for the mountain, called to the hotel to go through the power systems with Niall and Pat. The plan is that the 31 barrels of
gear will go to Lukla tomorrow morning and arrive at Base Camp 2-3
days ahead of the team. This should optimise organisation of our Base Camp set up with minimal hassle.

In the afternoon, we met Liz Hawley. This amazing lady, who
is now in her 80s has met with and kept records of all Everest climbers since Sir Edmund Hillary's and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay's ascent in 1953. Her hand-written reports and the data they represent are an invaluable part of the mountain's history.


Team with Liz Hawley

The remainder of the afternoon was spent checking out the climbing
gear shops there is so much replicated and branded gear here, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish. The cheap prices make it difficult to leave bargains behind, but one always wonders if performance will be adequate for an 8000m.

In the evening, we met members of the Killarney Mountaineering Club and met them for a meal at the Rum Doodle. They were glowing with fresh suntans and had had an amazing 3 weeks trekking around the Khumbu valley. One of their team, Mike Long, is on Pumori at present, acclimatising for his attempt on Everest on the North Ridge from Tibet. We wish Mike the best of luck on his expedition.

As we listened, it was difficult not to have itchy feet; with most of the organisation done, its almost time to start moving towards
the mountain.

Dispatch 2: March 18
Advance Party arrives in Kathmandu

Expedition Leader: Pat Falvey
Climber: Clare O' Leary
Climber: John Joyce
Communications: Niall Foley
(Support Trekkers due in on March 22).
Returning to Nepal brings a strange familiarity, a place where mountains reach for the sky and where our spirits will run free in the highest mountains in the world.

Like all my expeditions to Nepal and Tibet, our journey to climb Mt Everest begins in the vibrant, colourful city of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. Kathmandu is also known as the city of a thousand temples.
It is a place where every other day is a festival with colourful celebration of the Gods and where Hindus and Buddhists live in harmony.

Everyone should visit this city at least once in their lives. The hustle and bustle of the city is hard to describe; the sights, sounds and smells are unique and a thrill to experience. Although its a busy city, its pace of life is relaxed and its people friendly and eager to help.


Kathmandu hustle and bustle

Each year we stay at the Thamel Hotel, in the Thamel district, a region alive with history and culture. Street hustlers and traders have created a hub where tourists can buy any expedition requirement, from a needle to the most technical of expedition clothing and equipment.

The next six days will be spent making final preparations here in Kathmandu before moving towards the mountain. Logistics for an expedition such as this are huge, with no room for mistakes.

March 17: Flight Ireland to Nepal - The expedition begins

Our flight journey of over 24 hours at 36,000 feet was tiring but uneventful - thanks be to god - Im a bit of a chicken when it comes to flying! Strangely, I have a greater fear of it than of mountaineering expeditions!

Many frightening experiences in the past have created a huge anticipation within me prior to flights and an even greater sense of
relief on arrival at my destination.


The Himalayas protrude through puffed clouds

Flight path:
We left Cork at 12pm, March 17th and stopped over at Dublin, London and Abu-Dhabi before finally arriving at our destination, the Shangri-La country of Nepal on March 18th at 5pm.

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Dispatch 1 from Pat

The Irish Wyeth Everest team left Ireland for Nepal on St Patrick's Day with a mighty send off. Hundreds of friends and family were at Cork Airport to cheer climbers; Pat Falvey from Cork, Bandon medic Clare
O'Leary and Tuam auctioneer, John Joyce along with the Expedition I.T. man, Niall Foley from Killarney.


Expedition leader Pat Falvey, along with Clare O'Leary, John Joyce
and St. Patrick at Cork Airport on Wednesday last.

Since their arrival in Kathmandu, they have been extremely busy, clearing their shipped cargo of equipment and food through Nepali customs, re-organising it for the next stage of the journey, finalising
their permits, ensuring the communications system is working and making last minute purchases, etc, etc.

For Falvey, the veteran of more than a dozen Himalayan expeditions,
this organisational work brings to a head, months of (characteristically) careful planning. For Pat, nothing is left to chance and short-cuts in any of the planning are simply not entertained. Central to the team's welfare at this stage of course, is their "man on the ground", Ang Rita Sherpa
of High Country Trekking.

Today, Monday - March 22, Mike Granger from Cork arrives in Kathmandu, leading a party of ten trekers who will accompany the Expedition to Base Camp. The climbers are looking forward to their arrival and no doubt a couple of good nights on the town will be had, before the entire party fly to Lukla in the Khumbu Valley on Wednesday (March 24) ahead of the ten day walk-in to Base Camp.

The treker party arriving in Nepal (Monday, March 22) is as follows:

Michael Granger - trek leader from Cork
Deirdre Harte from Carlow
Ciaran Culleton - an insurance broker from Wexford
Máire Fitzgerald from Dublin
Gerard Coen - a dept. of agriculture official from Carlow
Mark Orr from Cork
Tadgh Dunford - an army private from Roscrea
Doctor Alex and his wife Ruth Stafford from Fedamore in County Limerick
Robert Canavan from Tuam who is celebrating his trip as a 50th birthday gift from wife Lucia
Louis Brennan from Tuam and of Connemara Socks fame
Fionan O'Donoghue CEO of Micro World in Killarney
Paddy Kane a school teacher from Kildare

This web-site will be updated every two days throughout Operation Everest 2004.

For further infomation:
CONTACT: Gillian Roche at the Expedition Office, The Mountain Lodge, An Charraig, Dunloe, Beaufort, County Kerry. Telephone: 064 44181
OR CALL: Con O'Muircheartaigh (Con Moriarty) Expedition Co-Ordinator on 087 221 4002.

Expedition Climbers and Trekkers can be contacted through the
following e-mail addresses:

General: basecamp@irisheverest2004.com

Pat Falvey: pat@irisheverest2004.com

Clare O Leary: drclare@irisheverest2004.com