Cathy Tibbetts

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This is Cathy Tibbets with a Khumbu cough, experiencing a slight bit of altitude sickness, in Dingboche at 4,412 meters on Wednesday April 7th. The sign in Dingboche said 'Gamov bag available here,' pretty serious stuff. This is our first camp right above Namche where we spent two nights, it just happened to be where runners started to get altitude sickness despite our conservative ascent. A man from New Zealand was sent down to a lower altitude by the medical team; four people collapsed along the trail yesterday from other maladies.

On Monday, fellow American Jan Richardson and I spent the day laying around miserable with altitude sickness; quite a blow to a couple a self professed hot-shots like ourselves. 'We're just a disgrace to America,' Jan growled as he thrashed about in his tent. While Jan and I were on our deathbeds, Garry Wilkinson and Joe Brooks were out scouting the course. During our ascent they have been taking careful notes on the trail — best footing, potential shortcuts, and possible detours in the event a yak jackknifes and backs up traffic along the trail.

Along these trails photo opportunities abound. At lunchtime yesterday, Steve Barnard of Wales fell ill and passed out in the fetal position in a teahouse. A fellow runner found an empty gin bottle and propped it up against him. In a further respite from all those Ama Dablam shots, this bunch has the best legs in the Khumbu. We're now in Dingboche for two nights, race day is April 11th, wish us all luck in getting there safely.

— Cathy Tibbetts, Mountain Zone Correspondent

MARATHON DISPATCHES