Hello Spanish speaking friends of America and the world. Greetings from Everest Base Camp. We have had stable weather during the last few days and we have become familiar with, but have not stopped marveling at the beauty and grandeur of our surroundings: every morning we can see Pumori, Lingtren, Khumbutse, Lho La Pass ("La" means "pass" in Nepali), the enormous ice cliffs going up the West Shoulder of Everest, Nuptse. Mythic names and full of significance in the history of mountaineering. This last Sunday we had our puja blessing ceremony, and we are ready to continue with our routine for acclimatizing.

The entire Alpine Ascents International group is in high spirits and is preparing the equipment necessary for an early morning ascent of the unstable Khumbu Icefall tomorrow (whose ice cliffs, crevasses, and seracs we encountered during an excursion two days ago) in the direction of our Camp I (approximately 5,900 meters), where we will pass two nights before moving to Camp II (approximately 6400 meters) where we will also spend two nights before returning to base camp. During the next days we will put into practice the well-known mountaineering phrase of "climb high, sleep low," for example: after the first night at Camp I we will ascend into the Western Cwm (a glacial valley surrounded by the southwest face of Everest, the west face of Lhotse, and the north face of Nuptse) before returning to sleep at Camp I.

Our experienced sherpas (who have a total of 32 summits of Everest among them and more than 80 expeditions to this mountain), under the direction of Lakpa Rita Sherpa (4 summits of Everest), have worked hard during the last few days carrying the necessary equipment and provisions to establish the higher camps. These are very gentle and humble people who don't let what they have accomplished in their lives go to their heads.

Vernon Tejas, Willi Prittie (well remembered among his friends in Ecuador and Argentina), Mike Roberts, and Luis Benitez make a friendly and strong team of guides to whom we hope God will bring a good end to this expedition. Among our group is Al Hanna (71 years old), who if or when he arrives at the summit will be the oldest person to reach the top of the highest mountain in the world. Al has reached the South Summit two times previously but had to descend for various reasons. We wish him the best of luck.

Well friends, the sun is going down, so I'm going for my down parka and some tea in the Alpine Ascents tent. I'll be back with more in a few days. Optimism and luck in all you do.

Namaste.

— Jose Luis Peralvo, Alpine Ascents International Guide and MountainZone.com Correspondent

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