Contents [Ski Everest Home] Front page for the Skiing Everest Cybercast [UPDATES] Climbers call from Everest on a sat-phone [The North Side] Climbing guide Eric Simonson describes the Northeast Ridge Route [Meet the Team] The 1997 Everest Ski Expedition members [EVEREST '97] Rich multimedia cybercast from Everest [Sponsors] Companies that supported this effort The Everest Bookstore Click on a book for details and ordering info from The Mountain Zone Bookstore. "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer An epic, first-hand account of the 1996 tragedy. "Everest" by Walt Unsworth Thorough compilation of historic climbs, triumph and tragedy. "Everest Map" by Brad Washburn National Geographic centennial map, Washburn's Everest map and more. "Everest: The West Ridge" by Tom Hornbein The pioneering ascent by Unsoeld and Hornbein. [The Mountain Zone] More stories from The Mountain Zone			Updates From Everest Click here to get the FREE Real Audio Player to hear sat-phone calls. Sick with Flu, Craig Descends Thursday, September 4, 1997 (Everest North Face base camp, Tibet) Martina and Jim email: Sorry we missed sending the last couple days of new information on the progress of the expedition, but unfortunately Craig caught a slight flu starting in Kathmandu (which is not difficult, because almost 50% of the natives are coughing and sneezing at this time of the year). So before it could develop into a serious problem like pulmonary edema he went down to a lower elevation to get rid of it! He will be back by tomorrow. I went down with him to Xegar to see how he feels and indeed the change of the elevation brought relief right away. The good and smart mountaineer’s secret is to be passionate, so he gave himself three days to recover completely. Also the yak drivers needed three days to arrive at base camp. Now they will leave tomorrow morning and arrive within two days at advance base camp accompanied by three of our Sherpas. For a better acclimatization, it is recommended that Westerners take three days to go from 17,000' to 21,500' for the fist time. Jim Bridwell will leave tomorrow as well, while I will wait for Craig’s return and follow up the next day. The mood at base camp is really great. We have extremely good contact with the Colombian team. The team spent the last month fixing the North Col route and will us allow to use all of their fixed lines for free, which is really generous. I also asked Jim to write some of his impressions down: Greetings from 17,000' above sea level from Martina, Jim and all the Sherpas: Dawa Sherpa, Kusang Dorchi Sherpa, and Tchering Sherpa. Things are very different here on the north side since my last visit in 1982. That was a tragic year, with the loss of the promising American female climber Marty Hoey and world-renowned British team members Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker. The Rongbuk monastery was a pile of rubble from the cultural revolution and the border was still closed between Nepal and China/Tibet. Now it’s very different indeed. Eighty team members from nine different countries, along with nearly one third that number of Nepalese Sherpas have gathered in what can only be described as the Rongbuk village. All but one solo Japanese climber will be crowded onto the same route — the North Ridge. Many have different aspirations once they reach the summit, but one goal is constant and that is the summit. This situation brings many questions to ponder. Will this international community with various languages co-exist and work together toward their mutual goal? Will it make the mountain a safer place or will the historically tragic one in ten statistic prevail? Only time will tell. A variety of ailments from mountain sickness to habitual coughing have already taken few players out of the game. There is a general sense of camaraderie and we all hope that nothing more serious will come to our growing number of global friends. Jordiee and Carlos are two Catalonians climbers that we have become close friends with since meeting them in Kathmandu. Like Craig, Carlos’ goal is to climb to the top of the world and ski down the route. Jordiee on the other hand wants to snowboard down as does Swiss, Himalaya, and Everest veteran Jean Troillet. But in spite of their mutual goal they are friends and who knows — maybe partners — on this incredible quest. — Martina Stimmerling and Jim Bridwell PREVIOUS UPDATE | UPDATES HOME | NEXT UPDATE

[Home] [Updates] [The Route] [The Team]