Dispatches: Please click one of the links below to go directly to that dispatch or just scroll down.

11 May, 2010

This is Dave reporting from EVGS. We have arrived at Cho La base camp. The food is great. The company is great and we have started some basic climbing and rappelling skills. It's a great change sleeping in our tents and the best part is definately the food. Last night and today was a well needed rest.

This is Jeff checking in for EVGS. We arrived in camp yesterday after trekking with the Summit Trek Everest base camp group. The weather has been great and we are getting ready to train on the glacier tomorrow. It's been a fun challenge so far and looking forward to the Lobuche climb. All is well, next time I hope to say we have been to 6119m. back to top

10 May, 2010

I met the EVGS, EBC and Island Peak group yesterday at Pheriche and they all are good and healthy. The group is in good spirits and excited to get up to the mountains. Today they headed to Thughla and tomorrow the EVGS group will separate from the rest of the group. I will send in another update as soon as possible about their progress. Thanks for following along our expedition - Raj back to top

20 April, 2010

Hi!

This is the last dispatch for the Everest View Glacier School April 2010. This is Max Kausch writing from Kathmandu. Yesterday we had rain and the power cuts are not too bad. The dust settled a little and we are now enjoying 28ºC.

Last night was our last dinner together. David and Greg finally made it to Kathmandu and had enormous amounts of food with us. Jackie and John are stuck here due to the ash cloud. Ralph flew to Lebanon today at 3am. Jack traveled to the US today at 3pm. We also met Marcia, who is back from her volunteering work. Chris is also doing some volunteering in the area and will stay here until May 6th. Lizel made it safely to Dubai and already started working. Martina will hopefully fly tomorrow depending on the ash cloud over northern Europe. Abhi will also try his luck and is planing to fly to London on the 25th. Adam will continue his trip and might be heading to Pokhara in a few days. I'm staying in the Himalayas until November 2nd and I will now lead an expedition to Cho Oyu. Is is very sad to say so many 'goodbyes', but it is necessary to say goodbye to say hello again. Thank you for following the news at SummitClimb.com and thank you for sharing such amazing life experiences and stories.

Take care,

Max Kausch back to top

The team celebrating in Kathmandu (Max Kausch).

19 April, 2010

This is Max Kausch calling a dispatch for the Everest View Glacier School April 2010.

Continuing our descent from the Khumbu valley, Chris, Jack, Adam, Martina, Abhi and I, left Namche Bazar early morning heading towards Lukla.

We stopped for lunch on the way and a sick porter took our attention. We didn't really know what expedition he worked for, but we could see he was very sick. After asking a few question, Abhi found out that he was working for a company going up to Everest Base Camp, but felt sick when he arrived there.

His company simply left him on the trail and went to Lukla. He complained feeling some sharp pain in his chest and was coughing out a pink/red substance. He also said that he was short of breath quick. As a mountain climber, I have seen this several times at high altitudes, it's called Pulmonary Edema. This is a very serious altitude disease and could lead to death in a matter of hours. We were all very impressed by seeing that young man still walking. Normally, when this happens to one of our members, we call a helicopter and the patient is evacuated to lower altitudes immediately.

We felt very sorry for the porter and angry at the same time for knowing that his employer left him behind like that.

That village had no hospital, so he couldn't stay there. At the same time, he was putting his life in danger just by walking down.

We all decided to put some money together and got him a horse to take him down to the Lukla hospital. He passed us on the way down and we later found out that he was treated and was doing fine at the hospital.

In Kathmandu, Abhi managed to ring the company who left the porter behind and told them about the incident. He threatened them to give the name of the company if they don't give better medical attention to their porters. Thank you Abhi !!!

Back to our trek, we made it to Lukla and spend the night there. Before sleeping we tried a local mild alcoholic drink called Tomba. This is drank by a bamboo or metal straw and really helps to sleep. We managed to leave Lukla on the morning of the 18th.

The flight wasn't too bumpy and we got to Kathmandu in only 90 minutes.

Kathmandu is a little dusty at the moment and has some power supply problems due to lack of rains. Being here however is a blessing after 2.5 weeks up on the mountains. One can shower, sleep in a bed, eat in a restaurant, call our families....

Last night we met Ralph Baz, who has been waiting here for a few days. We decided to fulfill a dream that many of us had for a while: eat a big, juicy steak! Our dream took place at K-too Steak house...

Thank you all for reading the dispatches. I look forward to write the dispatches for our next trip.

Kind regards from Nepal,

Namaste

Max Kausch back to top

Chris, Jack, and Abhi on the summit of Lobuche East. The team on their way down. Mum yak and baby yaks on the way down. Last views of the Everest range (Max Kausch).

16 April, 2010

Hi,

We are staying at the Thamserku lodge where a sherpani spoils us with very good food and hot drinks. Jack, Chris, Adam, Martina, Abhi and myself are  currently descending the valley towards Lukla, where we'll catch our flight to Kathmandu. Greg went to Everest basecamp and Kala Patar and he should join us in Kathmandu in 2 days. David decided to cross the Cho La Pass  (5400m - where we trained ice climbing) to visit the Gokyo valley and will be in Lukla on April 18th. Ralph took a ride on Mike's helicopter and might be enjoying a steak in Kathmandu right now! We heard that Marcia couldn't catch her Lukla flight so we might meet her tomorrow. Lizel, Jackie and John already left Nepal.

Today we woke up in Pangboche and had a very lazy walk to Namche. On the way we stopped in 2 tea houses and talked a lot about our future plans. After we climbed Lobuche East, the weather started to deteriorate. We had a very cloudy day today and the forecast says that it will be the same tomorrow. I hope this doesn't delay our Lukla flight in a couple of days.

For those who look forward to see the pictures from our climbs, here is a relief. We will send you another voice dispatch before our Lukla flight and another from Kathmandu.

Thank you for following the news at SummitClimb.com

Have a great time.

Max Kausch back to top

Chris, Jack and Greg enjoying the view. Members on the summit of Lobuche East (Max Kausch). 

15 April, 2010

Team reports in live (click here to listen)

Hello, this is the voice dispatch for the SummitClimb.com Everest View Glacier School. Today is April 15^th and the day after summit day. My name is Greg Wolski and I’m calling from the basecamp of Lobuche.

Yesterday 5 members and 2 guides reached the summit. Chris, Martina, Jacek, David and Greg, along with Max and Abi summited. The other 2 members backed up and returned to basecamp. The view from the top was impressive. Peaks we were staring up at the Northeast were Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse, which still looked down upon us.

That night was very quiet. Everyone was tired and slept well. This morning we are all good and happy. Last night we also celebrated Nepali New Year with traditional crumb cake.

A helicopter landed at our camp to evacuate a climber from another team with a broken ankle. Unfortunately, one of our friends from the team left with him to Kathmandu. He promised to meet us there for pizza and beer.

Today the group is heading down to Pangboche. David is splitting up to go to Gokyo and also some of the other team members are heading for the 4 day extension to Everest basecamp.

Continuing with the yeti story, there are still no visible signs of a yeti except the sounds and smells from some tents. We all look forward to getting back to Kathmandu to celebrate.

On a serious note, the Polish members would like to thank the team for their respect on the recent tragedy in Poland.

We hope to see you all in a couple of days. Thank you very much for following the news. back to top

Ralph at 5700 metres. Jack and Greg very close to the summit (Max Kausch). 

Team reports in live (click here to listen)

Hi, this is a dispatch for the SummitClimb Everest View Glacier School on the 14^th of April.

We are on the summit of Lobuche! So we’re here with Jacek, David, Max, Martina, Chris and Abi. We’re now on the way down to camp and we hope to meet all of the other members and have a really good night’s sleep. Ok everyone, thanks for following the news. Bye. back to top

Glacier training at 5400 metres (Max Kausch). 

13 April, 2010

Team reports in live (click here to listen)

Hello this is a dispatch for the Everest View Glacier School on April 15^th for SummitClimb.com. I am David Fischer.

Yesterday we moved from Cho La basecamp to Lobuche basecamp. It snowed last night. We had a couple yeti sightings. He’s actually a lot nicer than people make him out to be and a little misunderstood.

Last night we entertained some Swedish people. Apparently we’re a little louder than most. Dinner was good. Everyone is doing well and excited to get to high camp tomorrow and summit Lobuche, weather permitting. Thank you. Bye. back to top

 

12 April, 2010

Team reports in live (click here to listen)

Hi, this is Abi from the Everest View Glacier School. We have moved to Lobuche East basecamp today and everyone is looking healthy. We are moving to high camp tomorrow after lunch and looking forward to climbing Lobuche. Thanks, bye. back to top

Part of the team at the Tengboche monastery. Enjoying the monks' company at Tengboche. Dinner tent at night. Adam wearing his famous long underwear at Lobuche East basecamp (Max Kausch).

Team reports in live (click here to listen)

Hi, this is the voice dispatch for the SummitClimb.com Everest Glacier School. Today is the 11^th of April, 2010 and this is Max calling from Cho La basecamp at about 5000 metres/16,400 feet.

It’s about 6:00 p.m. We just got back from our last day of glacier training which was great. The whole team practiced their skills on vertical ice and we’re feeling pretty confident now. We also worked with fixed ropes and ice anchors. All of the training was on the Cho La Glacier at about 5400 metres/17,700 feet, which is the same height as the high camp of Lobuche, which we’re heading to the day after tomorrow.

It’s pretty cloudy now, much like the last 3-4 afternoons, but the mornings have been clear which is good. The team is now having dinner at the dining tent. Tomorrow we’ll have a lazy morning before moving to Lobuche basecamp. Everyone is doing really well and confident to climb Lobuche East. Thank you very much for following the news at SummitClimb.com. Have a great time. Bye, bye. back to top

  View of one of Namche's sourrunding peaks. Namche Bazaar (Max Kausch).

10 April, 2010

Team reports in live (click here to listen)

Hi this is a dispatch for the SummitClimb Everest Glacier School on the 10^th of April. This is Max calling from Cho La basecamp at 5000 metres/16,400 feet.

We’re here with Jacek, Greg, David, Adam, Chris, Ralph, Abi and the staff. All of us are having a great time. The team is going up the Cho La glacier today, as well as tomorrow, for some climbing and fixed line training. We’ll be going down to Lobuche East basecamp in a couple of days and we’re going to meet Martina there and go together for the summit. We’re having a great time here. The weather is fabulous. Our staff are preparing delicious meals and treating us really well. We’ll call you guys again tomorrow to let you know how things are going. Thank you very much for following the news. Take care. Bye. back to top

  Yaks crossing the last bridge on the way to Namche. Some of the members a few hundred metres before Namche (Max Kausch).

9 April, 2010

Team reports in live (click here to listen)

Hi this is Ralph Baz with a dispatch for the Everest View Glacier School and Lobuche East expedition. Today is the 9^th of April and right now we’re in Cho La basecamp preparing to do some belay and abseiling training.

We trekked yesterday from Dughla to Cho La. The weather’s quite nice. It’s really hot and very sunny and everyone seems to be doing fine. We’re all great, feeling healthy and getting strong, so we’re looking forward to summit day and the training today. Thanks for following the news. We’ll send another dispatch tomorrow. Bye. back to top

Some of the members resting at Lukla. Children on the way to Phakding (Max Kausch).

Team reports in live (click here to listen)

This is a dispatch for the Everest Glacier School and basecamp trek for SummitClimb.com. Today is April 8^th. This is Chris Paslawski calling from Dughla at 4600 metres/15,000 feet.

We trekked yesterday from Pheriche and saw some beautiful mountains and gorgeous scenery. Everyone is feeling great. We were fed well and had a good night’s sleep.

Today the team is splitting up. Lizel, Jackie, John and Martina are going to Everest base camp, so we are saying goodbye to some great new friends. We’re trekking to Cho La to start our glacier training. Thanks for following the news. We’ll send another dispatch soon. back to top

Team reports in live (click here to listen)

This is Adam Jodoin calling on 7 April, 2010 with a dispatch on behalf of the Everest Glacier School and basecamp trek for SummitClimb and SummitTrek.com.

We arrived in Pheriche at 4200 metres/13,800 feet yesterday afternoon after a 6 hour trek from Tengboche at 3800 metres/12,500 feet, where we got our first look at Lobuche East. The weather and the trek have been perfect and everyone is having a great time.

A member of our team has left the group to do a charity trek for the nunnery in Deboche.

Today the team is trekking to Dughla at 4600 metres/15,000 feet. We’d like to thank everyone for following the news at SummitClimb.com. back to top

All members at the Kathmandu domestic flights airport ready to fly to Lukla. Starbucks coffee at Lukla, 2600m (Max Kausch).

Team reports in live (click here to listen)

Hi, this is Max Kausch calling in a dispatch for the Everest Glacier School and Basecamp expedition for SummitClimb.com for April 5^th, 2010.

After leaving Namche Bazaar the whole team trekked to Tengboche at 3800 metres/12,500 feet. On the way we stopped for lunch and visited the Pangboche monastery, which was great.

We’re here. All of the members are feeling great and we’ll start trekking towards Pheriche, which is at 4300 metres/14,100 feet. We’ll try to send another voice dispatch from there. Thank you all very much for following the news at SummitClimb.com. Bye. back to top

2 April, 2010 

The Nepal side trekkers flew out to Lukla again this morning. This time they arrived. Yeah! Our Tibet side teams received their permits and visas. Yay! So we will be going to Tibet in the morning. What a relief. Today was an extremely busy day of packing and preparation. We are really relieved to be going to Tibet and with a minimal delay, so we feel very fortunate. Wish us luck! Thank you very much. back to top

1 April, 2010

Today all of our Nepal side expeditions and treks went to the Ktm airport. The climbers were successful and arrived in Lukla and trekked to Phakding.

The trekkers were turned back due to technical problems with their plane. So they spent another night in ktm. We had the briefing for our Tibet side expeditions and treks. Everyone is very excited for the departure. We heard a rumour that we will receive the permit and get our visas for Tibet on 2 April and be able to enter on 3 April. We hope it is true. We spent the day packing, preparing, checking equipment, etcetera. The weather is unusually hot and sunny at the moment. back to top

31 March, 2010

Today we had our briefing for the Nepal Everest Lhotse expedition, and also for the Everest View Glacier School and Everest Basecamp Trek. It looks like it will be a brilliant team this year. It rained hard and long again this evening. So that is very good for Nepal, cleaning up the air and putting more water in the reservoirs, which have become alarmingly low. In an exciting development Mingma has decided to join Marcia MacDonald on the www.EverestServiceTrek.org , so they will be visiting the nuns at Deboche Convent and developing a new water project, building reconstruction, etc. Thanks for following our news! back to top

30 March, 2010

Today we worked hard on sat phones, walkie-talkies, med kits, high altitude food, and meeting with the teams and leaders. Josette went to the ministry for the permit briefing. They gave her a standing ovation, as she is the only woman leading an Everest expedition this year. It rained hard before dinner. Nepal needs the rain. Hope it does not interfere with our expedition's departure. Thanks for following our news. back to top

Left to right- team leaders Raj, Jjosette, Max preparing the 5 satellite phones our teams will use this spring climbing season (Dan Mazur).

29 March, 2010 

Today we met with all of the leaders of Everest Glacier School, Everest Basecamp trek, Everest Nepal climb, Everest Tibet climb, Lhotse climb, Cho Oyu climb, North Col climb. We reviewed the medical equipment and supplies, and all of the packing lists, we met the members as they arrived and have begun to check their equipment. We had dinner together with the team. A very busy and productive day. back to top

27 March, 2010

Several of us, Dan and Enrique, met on the Cathay Pacific flight. We had an 8 hour layover in Hong Kong. It was a beautiful cool day and we explored the peak tram, escalators, zoo, and botanical garden.Then on the Dragon Air flight to Kathmandu, we ran into Amer, so that was fun. We arrived in Kathmandu very late at night (11:30 pm). back to top

Team Roster:

Everest Glacier School May:

• Abhi (leader) - Nepal
  
• David Howard - Australia
• Jeffrey Rapp - USA
  

Everest Basecamp Trek Mar-Apr:

• Ms. Antoinette Almeida - USA
  
• Stephen Hazen - USA
• Marty Raphael - USA
• Michael Carlson - USA
  

Everest Glacier School Mar-Apr:

• Max Kausch (leader) - Argentina/UK
• Adam Jodoin - Canada
• Christopher  Paslawski - USA
• Jacek Szerakowski - USA
• Greg Wolski - USA
• David Fischer - USA
• Ralph Baz -
  

Everest Basecamp Trek Mar-Apr:

• Ms. Lizel Crawford
  
• Ms. Jacqueline Foxcroft - UK
  
• John Foxcroft - UK back to top