Hello in cyberland,
Tonight is summit night at last, and Base Camp is ready! Here at Base Camp the excitement is building. Ong Chu, Gopal, Gelek, Nawang, and Bishnu (our liaison officer) have been singing and talking while they play cards all afternoon. The way Ong Chu explains it, "if we play cards we don't think too much about the team. If we think too much we get worried. Better to play cards." Anybody else out there feel like that? Try the Sherpa method - start a card game.
For myself, first I made sure all the batteries are as charged up as I can get them for the long night ahead. Then I had lunch, took a shower (it has been a week since the last one, and with the warm sun I couldn't resist), and then took a nap all afternoon. Most of us will be awake monitoring the radio and pulling for the team until they hopefully reach the summit sometime tomorrow morning. Then we keep going until everyone is safe back at the South Col. Myself, Ong Chu, Gelek and Bishnu are the ones who speak some English, so we are hoping to trade off and get a little sleep. Bryce, I miss you! Where are you when I need you? (Dr. Bryce Brown from Thunder Bay, Canada, has been my summit night partner for the last two expeditions, but is not here this year)
We are also ready for summit night for another reason. Base Camp is falling apart and we are trying to hold things together until we leave in a few days. The last few days have been warm, and the glacier ice on which we sit is seriously melting. Which means rocks that have been sitting on ice pedestals for many days are at last tipping over. So far we have managed to control the ones that might hit something, but every few minutes we hear ones rolling over somewhere. We are also rebuilding parts of the kitchen buildings, which have walls of stone. The glacier moves just enough so the walls become unstable, so we are trying to keep the kitchens safe for another few days. So here at Base Camp we are way ready to get on with things and get this job finished.
We have just been informed that the first group of Willi, Jeff, Paul, Kami, and Pemba Tenzing will leave the South Col at 9:00 pm our time and the second group of everyone else will leave about 11:00 pm. I am expecting to get an audio cybercast from each group as they leave camp. Also climbing tonight are nine Westerners and Sherpas from Dave Hahn's group, and Sean Wisedale from South Africa with his two Sherpas.
So we wish everyone a safe and successful trip to the top, and may they all return to Base Camp safe and sound.
— Ellie Henke, Alpine Ascents International Guide and MountainZone.com Correspondent