Canada West Everest Expedition 2008 Updates

Our pictures are loaded on our Website!

noreply@blogger.com (Canada West Mountain School) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:24:00 +0000

Everyone is down out of the mountains now, back in Kathmandu or in transit home. The team had a great dinner a Rumdoodles in Kathmandu last night, though unfortunately the Sherpa team members still have not returned to Kathmandu.

I have loaded up a lot of pictures (perhaps too many...) on our Website, you can check them out by clicking this link - Everest Pictures (http://www.themountainschool.com/Galleries/everest-08/index.html)

Please feel free to email this link on to anyone you think that may be interested. I hope to have some of our video online by next week as well, stay in touch. If you are interested in receiving more info from us about future trips, please sign up for our newsletters at CWMS Newsletter sign up page.

Thanks again for following these updates, and for your continued support of all our team members while on this adventure!

Brian Jones
Canada West Everest 2008 Expedition Leader

Our Summit Day story

noreply@blogger.com (Canada West Mountain School) — Sat, 31 May 2008 03:26:00 +0000

Hello again!

Finally, we are off the mountain and some of us are back in Kathmandu. Sebastien chose to hitch a ride on an MI-17 Nepalese Military Transport Helicopter along with a few other climbers from separate teams - Sebastien arrived in Kathmandu on May 29. I walked out a bit early to Lukla and flew into Kathmandu on May 30th, while John, Darrel and Erik will arrive tomorrow, June 1st. We're all looking forward to a good party!!

Congratulations to all the Everest climbers who joined Canada West on this adventure, we all achieved an amazing goal - to safely climb high on the slopes of Mt. Everest! Everyone of us reached our personal high points on our summit day, and more importantly, we all came back with great memories, all of our toes and fingers, no losses amongst our team and the satisfaction that comes with having climbed to the best of our abilities while making good decisions (and sticking with them!). It has been a pleasure to have been joined on this journey to Everest by such a positive and truly enjoyable team of climbers!

As for our summit day story...

Our team set out from Camp 4 in the South Col at 8:45 pm on the evening of May 24th. We had been delayed by one day due to an unfortunate event - another team had chosen to steal and eat most of our food before we arrived in Camp 4, which forced us to delay attempting the summit on the evening of May 23rd as planned. Even though we had over-stocked our food in Camp 4 in order to deal with unexpected delays (weather, fatigue, etc), we had not anticipated such behaviour! The only option we had was to spend an extra day at 7,960 meters in Camp 4, and to send a member down 900 meters back to Camp 3 to retrieve our emergency food from that camp (luckily we had over-stocked that camp as well!). Phurba Bhote, one of our stronger Climbing Sherpas chose to do this, but as a result of this he forfeited his chance to summit Everest with us, a real disappointment for all of us.

Added to this bit of drama, we also had a n0n-climbing member go missing on our summit day. Our Camp 2 Cook Helper had carried a load for us to Camp 4 on May 23rd, then descended on the 24th in the morning with a load of empty oxygen bottles. Though not a trained or experienced climbing Sherpa, he had aspirations to being one and was very strong and fit. Unfortunately he did not arrive back to Camp 2 as planned in the afternoon of the 24th, nor did he radio. This caused us much stress and distraction on the afternoon of the 24th - instead of resting and getting psyched for the climb that evening, our climbing Sirdar, Lhakpa Chhiri Sherpa (Sonam), and I worried about the whereabouts and safety of Dhipendra (Jon) our cook helper. When we left for the summit at 8:45 pm, we chose to send Then Dorjee and Phurba down towards Camp 3 (again!) in order to search for any sign of Dhipendra. They gave up this search after an hour as they quickly realized little could be done at that point anyways, and Then Dorjee caught up with us later on the upper mountain.

It turned out that after all this stress, worry and searching, Dhipendra had snuck back to Camp 4 after hiding his load, joined up with his brother who was working for another team. Then, the two had clandestinely climbed to the summit without telling anyone! They were recognized on their descent by Then Dorjee on the morning of the 25th as we went up. So, at least no one was hurt in the process, but certainly a lot of wasted and misdirected energy. As for Dhipendra, well, Sagarmartha sent him a little warning - he spent 2 days in his tent afterwards suffering from snow blindness (he's fully recovered and is fine now, though very sheepish for his poor judgement that affected so many people.)

As for the remainder of our ascent - myself, John Furneaux, Darrel, Erik and Sebastien continued climbing along with Lhakpa Chhiri Sherpa (Sonam), Dawa Bhote, Pasang Ila Sherpa, Chenden Sherpa and (eventually) Then Dorjee Sherpa. The evening was wonderful, with a cloudless sky and after the 1st hour we were treated to a spectacular moonrise over Tibet. Winds were light and the temperature was manageable, though still very cold.

At around 8,250 meters both Darrel and Erik made their individual decisions to turn around, each feeling that this would be their high point on the mountain, and that to continue would potentially jeopardize their safety. I had earlier told everyone on the team that while we were below Camp 4, if anyone was feeling like turning around or stopping, we would actively and strongly encourage them to continue (if safe to do so). Once above Camp 4 though, we all agreed that a climbers decision was final. While encouragement and positive reinforcement to help support each of us in the challenge of climbing this mountain was needed, once someone chose to turn back it would be irresponsible to try and talk them out of that decision at such an altitude.

So, Erik and Darrel descended to Camp 4 along with Sonam, who as Lead Climbing Sherpa chose to go down and spend the remainder of the night with them in Camp 4. Both Erik and Darrel were in fine shape as they descended with Sonam, and we continued to maintain radio contact with them throughout the night.

John, Sebastien and I continued on without event, until Dawa Bhote decided to return to Camp 4 as he was having a hard time keeping his hands and feet warm - we certainly did not want to have any member of our team get frostbite on this climb, so we quickly re-distributed his load and continued on. Dawa returned safely to Camp 4 that evening and on to Camp 2 during the morning of May 25th. He did not suffer any damage at all to his hands or feet, thanks to his early recognition of the potential for injury and his smart decision to let us know. Though only 21, Dawa is already a strong and very capable Climbing Sherpa, just as his father Phurba Bhote is.

This left our team as myself, John, Sebastien, Then Dorjee Sherpa, Mingma Sherpa, Pasang Ila Sherpa and Chenden Sherpa. At 7:15 am we reached the south Summit in beautiful weather, and after negotiating the substantial challenges of the Hillary Step (at least 1.5 hours of travel on very exposed rock at over 8,700 meters, followed by another 30 minutes of snow!) on May 25th at 9:15 am (Nepal time) John Furneaux, Sebastien Sasseville and myself (Brian Jones) together summitted the highest point on earth, Sagarmartha (Mt. Everest). We were honoured to be joined in our ascent by 4 of our Sherpa teammates - Then Dorjee Sherpa of Shomare Village in the Khumbu Valley, this was Then Dorjee's 5th ascent; Mingma Sherpa, also of the Khumbu Region, this was his 4th ascent; Pasang Illa Sherpa on his 2nd ascent; and, Chhenden Sherpa of Pangboche in teh Khumbu Valley celebrating his 1st ascent of Everest along with John, Sebastien and I!

The picture here (above) that I took shows John Furneaux (left) and Sebastien Sasseville on the South Summit of Everest at 7:30 am on May 25th, with the final summit of Everest in the background. The right side of the picture is the notorious Hillary Step, the final, and technical, obstacle to the actual summit of Everest - you can make out about 6-8 people on the Hillary Step in the image. My next post I will load up summit pictures and videos, I do not have access to all these at this point (sorry!).

After a great 30 minutes of celebrating on the top, we started our descent. Fortunately for us, this was very uneventful and we arrived in the South Col at 2:30 pm on May 25th, 4.5 hours after leaving the summit.

What a season this has been - starting with the Chinese closing the North side; followed by threats from Nepal to close the South side; then, Nepal waffling for weeks about how it will manage climbers on the South side; next, we never received our climbing permit until long after we were in Base Camp; Base Camp was "Occupied" by the Nepalese Army, apparently acting on Chinese orders, though they never seemed to know from one day to the next what they wanted to do; a complete blackout on communication within Base Camp for over 1 month; not being able to climb above Camp 1 for weeks; and on, and on......

After all was said and done though, we had a great adventure and are happy to say that Canada West will certainly be going back to Everest soon! This is the 5th expedition to the Himalaya for John Furneaux, and he'll continue to lead the Everest Expeditions for Canada West in the future.
Once again I would like to thank all the friends and family for all the support and for following these updates. I do apologise for any delays and/or errors that may have been published, any responsibility for these rests entirely with me as I have been trying to get these out by satellite phone, email and by leaving voice mails for various people to interpret and turn into a coherent update. Thanks especially to my wife Maureen for putting up with my brief calls and managing to keep the updates happening!

As mentioned, I'll follow up with at least one more post in a day or 2 with links to lots of photos and videos, as well as the final post-party update (and perhaps some pictures from that event as well!!)

Cheers,

Brian Jones
Canada West Everest 2008 Expedition Leader

Cheers From the top of the World

noreply@blogger.com (Canada West Mountain School) — Sun, 25 May 2008 18:27:00 +0000

Maureen posted for Brian after conversation on Sunday, May 25th 11am:

Sebastian Sasseville, John Furneaux, Brian Jones, Then Dorje Sherpa, Minga Sherpa, Pasang Sherpa, and Chedden Sherpa summitted Mount Everest at ~9:30am on Sunday May 25th.

They had great weather for their summit, it sounded like everyone was doing well.

They safely made it back down to Camp IV and have been resting and re-hydrating since (it was ~7pm on the 25th when he called). They will spend the night before descending to Camp II starting at 7am tomorrow. Following that on the 27th they will be back down to Base Camp.

Thanks for following our postings. Brian will possibly do an update once back to Base Camp or maybe in one of the villages on the descent.

Ready Set and We are going for the Summit

noreply@blogger.com (Canada West Mountain School) — Sat, 24 May 2008 14:16:00 +0000

Maureen Posted for Brian @ 7:20am on the 24th of May:

We are replenished with food, rested and the weather on Everest is great! It is 8pm on May 24th and we are setting off for the summit. Do not expect another posting for ~24hrs.

Thanks for checking in,

Brian Jones Canada West Mountain School - 2008 Everest Expedition

Bandits at Camp IV

noreply@blogger.com (Canada West Mountain School) — Sat, 24 May 2008 12:37:00 +0000

Maureen has updated blog after speaking with Brian on May 23rd.

According to Brian, they have had an unexpected setback at Camp IV. They arrived after their Sherpas had set up and stocked Camp IV with their food cache. Apparently, the previous group pillaged through and took a large enough portion of their food to to prevent them from going forward without replenishing. Steps have been taken to have the supply replenished so that they can carry on with the business at hand. Brian thinks he know the guilty party. I didn't get a chance to ask if this was a common concern on the mountain. All who know me well enough, know what I would do once an opportunity provided itself, to those horrible dispicable people.

Otherwise, it did sound like everyone is healthy, at this point with the use of a bit of oxygen.

Update From Camp II

noreply@blogger.com (Canada West Mountain School) — Wed, 21 May 2008 04:20:00 +0000

Maureen provided update after discussion with Brian Jones May 20th PST 9:00pm:

Just a short update to let everyone know that we are doing very well. Wayne has departed due to issues with his knees, and we were sorry to see him head down. Eric, Daryl, Sebastian John and myself are fine. The only call of stress came from Daryl who managed to get himself trapped in his sleeping bag and required assistance to untangle himself!

We are having a rest day in Camp II then on the 22nd we will move to Camp III, for a day before moving to Camp IV on the 23 there we plan a short rest before making a bid for the summit on the 24th. The weather forcast for the 24th is better than on the initial planned date of the 22 or 23rd.

There have been a couple of teams who have made it to the summit already so the window of opportunity will hopefully stay open for us.

Thanks for checking in,

Brian Jones Canada West Mountain School - Everest Expedition

Namaste from Base Camp

noreply@blogger.com (Canada West Mountain School) — Thu, 15 May 2008 05:05:00 +0000

We have all just come off the mountain yesterday (May 14) and are now resting for a few days before the final summit push. It is hard to believe we're finally getting ready for the last stage of this climb - after 6 weeks in base camp, or above, this last couple of weeks are sure to go by quickly!

Everyone is fine and healthy, we've just had a great 6 nights up in Camp 2, at 6,400 meters. Everyone had at least one day up onto the Lhotse Face to "touch" Camp 3, with a couple of team members spending one night in Camp 3 at 7,100 meters. The final acclimatization process has gone well, we managed to stay strong and healthy up high (many thanks to K.B and John, our cooks in Camp 2 who have done an amazing job of serving up an excellent variety of meals each day!).

Our carries through the Khumbu Icefall (see picture of Erik, Wayne, Sebastien, Darrel and John half way through the Khumbu Icefall with Pumo Ri and Base Camp behind) have all been uneventful, though now it is excruciatingly hot in there as soon as the sun comes up, so we try to restrict our travel to between 3 am and 9 am - any other time and it is like a desert at high noon!
The weather has cooperated throughout, though today it is deteriorating for the first time - good timing for us as the next few days are to be spent low and resting as we recuperate and focus on the final task coming up. If the weather cooperates, we will head out of Base Camp on May 19th up to Camp 1; then Camp 2 on the 20th; Camp 3 on the 21st; Camp 4 in the South Col on May 22nd; and, finally, our summit push on May 23rd. This would have us back in Base Camp on May 25th, though if the weather is not favorable to a summit window at that time we still have many extra days in order to wait for the best weather.

At this point, all the fixed ropes to the South Col (Camp 4) have just been established by a select team of Climbing Sherpas drawn from many of the climbing teams, including Then Dorje Sherpa from our team. Our team of climbing Sherpas have also just completed setting up our final supplies in Camp 4 as well (tents, oxygen and food), so we are ready to go as soon as the weather is good and we are rested. Our Climbing Sherpa team members are all coming down today to rest as well, they have been working very hard for the past week on the upper mountain.

There has been some unfortunate news as well though, almost inevitable after this much time on the mountain.

After spending a couple of days at Camp 2 with us, Nima Thundu Sherpa descended to Base Camp with signs of AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness). In Base Camp his symptoms had worsened and Base Camp doctors determined he might be suffering from a ruptured (or nearly-ruptured) appendix. He could not walk from the pain and was very sick. The weather and lateness of day prohibited a helicopter evacuation, so a team was quickly pulled together and Nima was carried by stretcher approx. 15 kms down to Pheriche where there is a medical clinic, and to an elevation that a helicopter could land. He was flown to Kathmandu on the morning of May 13 and is recovering fine. The evacuation involved 20 people from many different teams and took over 10 hours during the middle of the night. Many, many thanks to all the people who put the time and effort into ensuring that Nima could get out alive - without the support and commitment from everyone in Base Camp these sort of rescues would not be possible.

The other piece of sad news has been that the father of 2 of our Climbing Sherpa teammates (our Climbing Sirdar, Lhakpa Chhiri (Sonam) Sherpa and his brother Chhenden Sherpa), unexpectedly passed away on May 12th. He lived with his family in the Khumbu village of Pangboche, about 1 day walk below Base Camp. Our condolences to Sonam and Chhenden and their family for this loss.

So, while our reason for being here is to climb Everest, we are always reminded that the mountain is secondary to the people that we are here with.

Everyone is looking forward to this last stage of the climb, keep hoping for good weather and warm conditions. With luck we'll be down on the 25th and heading home soon after!

Best regards from Everest,
Brian Jones
Canada West Everest 2008 Expedition Leader

Happy Mother's Day from Camp II

noreply@blogger.com (Canada West Mountain School) — Sat, 10 May 2008 16:14:00 +0000

It has been awhile between updates but here we are at Camp II. Everyone here is healthy and in good spirits, and the Weather is great! The mountain is now free of restrictions now that the Olympic torch relay has completed its trip to the top of the world. We are waiting for many of the groups to go ahead, so that we can approach the top at our comfort (a relative term) and speed.

A happy Mother's Day to all the moms back home. The sat phone coverage hasn't been that great, so if you don't get a call, know that you are in our thoughts.

We will have spent three nights here after tonight, then we will head for Camp III tomorrow where we will spend one night, before descending back to Camp II. On the 13th we will be returning to Camp III for one night then down to camp II on the 14th, dropping down to Base Camp for a three day rest. The plan is to make a bid for the summit starting on the 18th or 19th, hopefully summitting on the 22nd or 23rd.

Namaste from Nepal!

noreply@blogger.com (Canada West Mountain School) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:29:00 +0000

Namaste from Nepal!

Life has been very interesting up here in the Khumbu for the past few weeks. Right now we have all descended to Dingboche (at 4,350 meters) for a few days rest at a lower elevation.

Our long delay in updating this site has been due to the many restrictions placed on all teams at Everest Base Camp regarding communication via satellite phones or email. Basically, the Nepalese Army has a couple of dozen military staff stationed in Base Camp. All satellite phones, satellite modems, computers and video cameras have been confiscated and/or severely restricted in their use (some can be used for certain purposes under direct supervision of the military staff while in their camp). This is being done in order to prevent any unauthorized transmissions that could possibly interfere with the Chinese Olympic Torch Everest Expedition taking place right now from the Tibetan side of the mountain.

However, we are now outside of the Base Camp area and are free to update via the public email service here in Dingboche.

The biggest development in our team’s progress has been regarding Rob Hill and his climb. Unfortunately, Rob experienced a relapse of his Chrones disease. Our team physician Dr. Clarke Lewis spent 4 days treating Rob down in Gorak Shep, and later in Lobuche. After 4 days the decision was made to fly Rob out for tests and supervision in Kathmandu on April 14th. After flying out, Rob came to the decision that he would not be able to continue on the climb this year. We were all saddened to see him go, but everyone realizes that continuing to climb a mountain such as Everest requires full health and energy. Dave Sarkany, along as videographer for Rob Hill’s climb, has also left the mountain with Rob.

This has put our climbing team down to 6 – Wayne Browning, Darrel Ainscough, Sebastien Sasseville, Erik Bjarnason (Erik says ‘Hi to Mom”), and Guides John Furneaux and Brian Jones. All are doing very well and acclimatizing fine.

We had a very successful Puja ceremony on April 13^th. This was a 4 hour ceremony led by a Lama at our camp in order to bless our team members, Sherpas, equipment and all aspects of our climb. Once this was completed, we could continue higher up the mountain. Since then we have been up and down the Khumbu Icefall a few times now, with most of the team having spent 2 nights already in Camp I.

Our plan now is to rest and enjoy the relatively “thick” air down here for a couple of more days before heading back up to Base Camp. After a couple of days in Base Camp, we’ll move back up to Camp 1, then on to Camp 2 for a few days of acclimatization. We’ll follow this routine for a couple of more weeks, then should be ready to head on to the upper mountain and prepare for our summit attempt by mid to late May.

We may not be able to update here for quite a while, as the communications restrictions in Base Camp apply till May 10^th, or whenever the Chinese summit with the Olympic Torch. If their team summits earlier then May 10th, we should have all restrictions lifted though.

Thanks again for following our climb and for thinking of us over here! I'll try to have updates if possible sent by phone through our office, so feel free to call Linda in Vancouver to find out any news about your Everest climbing friends and family members. In the meantime, no news from us means good news!

Best regards from Everest,

Brian Jones
Canada West Everest 2008 Expedition Leader

Hello from Everest Base Camp

noreply@blogger.com (Canada West Mountain School) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 07:00:00 +0000

Well, we’ve been at Base Camp for a few days now and are getting settled in and acclimatized. Sorry for the delay in updates, we’ve had lot’s to do here over the past few days.

We arrived in a snowstorm on the evening of April 6th. Everyone was pretty excited to get here, we were one of the first teams to arrive. Since then teams have been steadily flowing in, so now there are dozens of camps established and hundreds of climbers and Sherpa staff here. Quite a social atmosphere is developing, many of us are meeting a lot of old friends and acquaintances from previous climbs.

Everyone on the team is acclimatizing as well as expected (we are camped at over 5,300 meters, after all!). Our trekkers have all left us – Jeremy went down early after one night at Base Camp, and Paul Head, Christine Dennstedt, and Louise MacDougal all left yesterday after a hike up to their high point of Kala Patar at 5,590 meters.

Paul would like to pass on “Many thanks to his family, friends, Fitness World and Trail Trekkers for helping him reach his personal summit of Kala Patar. Prayers and good energy sent to all of you!”

Christine sends a “Happy 90th Birthday to Nana from Everest Base Camp”.

Louise added “Mom and Dad – the feet were a little cold in the flip-flops, but I survived Base Camp!”

They are all off to trek over Cho La pass into the Gokyo Lake region, and up to Gokyo Ri before descending back out to Namche Bazar and on to Lukla.

As for the Everest Climbing Team, we are awaiting our Puja Ceremony, where a Lama will come up to bless our team before we will venture onto the mountain. This important ceremony is a critical part of climbing this mountain, as no Sherpa will set foot onto the mountain until the blessing has been completed, and most non-sherpas are also very content to wait for this blessing before heading up. Our Puja Ceremony will take place on Monday, April 14th. After this we will start on the next leg of our journey up Everest by heading up the Khumbu Icefall to Camp I for more acclimatization.

The route through the Icefall is now almost complete. This is established by the “Icefall Doctors”, a team of full-time Sherpas who only work on establishing and maintaining the fixed lines and ladders through the Khumbu Icefall. This allows the climbing teams to move quickly though this terrain and focus more energy on there logistics and climbing.

So, all is well here in Base Camp land, we’ve been ice climbing, relaxing, practicing with our gear and systems and generally getting healthy and used to the altitude. Dave Sarkany lead a small team down valley to the small village of Gorak Shep today to track down some cold beers (his stated objective at least!).

Thanks again for following our progress!

Brian Jones
Canada West Everest 2008 Expedition Leader

From Lobuche, Nepal

noreply@blogger.com (Canada West Mountain School) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 00:31:00 +0000

Just to let everyone know that we are all doing very well, aside from some experiencing headaches. We are at ~4900m in a small town (6-7 buildings) called Lobuche where overnight we had a few centimeters of fresh snow. We woke up however to sunny skies and a clear view of the mountain above us. Everyone is in good spirits. We will be moving up to Gorakshep next, then to base camp to settle in an prepare for the real task of climbing the mountain. At this point, Sattalite phone is our only communication device and I will check in as often as possible. Until next time, Brian Jones

Update from Dingboche

noreply@blogger.com (Canada West Mountain School) — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 05:00:00 +0000

Hello All,

Here we are on day-6 of our Everest adventure, up at 4,400 meters in the small town of Dingboche. I am posting this from the highest internet cafe in the world (according to local rumours!). The weather is great today, though we had fresh snow last night. The views here are incredible, we are surrounded on all sides by classic Himalayan peaks - Ama Dablam towers above our camp, Nuptse and Lhotse are just up the valley, and many other 6,000 meter+ spires dot the skyline!

All the team are well and enjoying the approach. We have taken an extra rest day here in order to enjoy the area more. Tomorrow we will hike up the valley towards the South Face of Nuptse and climb up Chhukung Ri, a 5,000 meter spur below Nuptse. Hopefully the weather is clear!

It is great to be in the mountains and away from all the turmoil of the outside world. We are confident that the political issues surrounding the climbs of Everest this season will not affect us in any big way.

Everyone is acclimatizing very well and moving strong, we are looking forward to getting to Base Camp on April 6th. For all the friends and families of the team members and trekkers, be assured that your friends and loved ones are doing well and having a great adventure. Our next post will most likely be on the 6th.

Cheers from the Khumbu Valley,

Brian Jones
Canada West Everest 2008 Expedition Leader

Update from Namche Bazar

noreply@blogger.com (Canada West Mountain School) — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 11:27:00 +0000

What a world we live in - I am sitting in a Cyber Cafe in Namche Bazar, at 3,500 meters in the center of the Nepalese Himalaya. This is the trading center of the Khumbu region and loaded with ancient temples, home to the Sherpa people and smack in the middle of the traditional trade routes between Tibet and Nepal.

Everest was in view today, a great sight and very inspiring. Our team is all healthy and looking forward to the rest of the trek in and ensuing climb. We had a great day acclimatizing above Namche up to 3,800 meters, and now back down into Namche to enjoy the last of our access to good coffee, internet and electricity.

Tomorrow we head to Tengboche, a high Monastary in the Khumbu Valley, and then onwards to our next camp down on the Khumbu river. It is still 7 days until Everest Base Camp at 5,300 meters, then a lot of waiting, resting and getting used to the altitude as we go up and down the lower mountain.

We will keep the updates coming every few days as we continue our trek up the valley, thanks again for reading!

Brian Jones
Canada West Everest 2008 Expedition Leader

Hello from Kathmandu!

noreply@blogger.com (Canada West Mountain School) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:39:00 +0000

Here we all are (well, most of us!) in Kathmandu getting ready to fly into Lukla. We are still waiting on two members to fly in today (March 26), but the rest of the team is here. Everyone is in great spirits, good health and enjoying Nepal.

We have met with a few of our Climbing Sherpas, our cooks and our Trekking Guide (Nima) today. They are all looking forward to getting going as much as we are, especially after the long hassle with permits and government wrangling between China and Nepal. But. our temporary permit has been issued, so all looks well for the climb at this point.

I'll get another update tomorrow on the eve of our departure, once everyone is here and we've done our final briefing and gear checks. In the meantime, it's of to enjoy the evening here in Thamel, Kathmandu!

Thanks for following our climb and reading these updates!

Brian Jones

Agreement about Everest

noreply@blogger.com (Canada West Mountain School) — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 21:16:00 +0000

The recent news coming from Nepal is all looking good, the government is now issuing permits and we are good to go. The conditions that have been agreed to are that everyone can climb to Camp 3 at any time up till May 10. After May 10 we can go above Camp 3. Also, before May 10 we will not be able to sleep above Camp 2. These conditions should not present any real problem for us.

One other condition (that will not affect our ability to climb) is that the government is restricting all forms of outside communication (satellite phone call's, pda update's, computer update's, etc) up until May 10th, except for emergency purposes. This means that most likely we will not be able update any websites or phone out with any information. Having said this, everyone will know that we are below Camp 2, because we won't be able to climb on the upper mountain during that period anyway! So, the loss of update ability is not that big, and certainly won't impact on the climb.

Our team is all set to meet in Kathmandu on March 25th! This will most likely be the last post until then as we are all in transit.

Thanks for reading and keep checking back for more updates after March 25th.

Brian Jones

Latest Everest update

noreply@blogger.com (Canada West Mountain School) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 17:39:00 +0000

I have just received word that the Ministry of Tourism in Nepal has agreed to let climbers stay on Everest up to Camp 2, including during the May 1-10 time period. This is the good news.

The down side is that the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Relations still have to give their final approvals.

So, it looks very good that one element of the Nepalese bureaucracy has agreed to a plan that has minimal disruption to climbers, but we still need to wait for the final say by other levels of government.

The expectation is still that climbing will proceed as planned on the South side, so we are still moving forward on that assumption.

Thanks for reading, soon the "real" climb will begin!

Brian Jones

Everest closures?

noreply@blogger.com (Canada West Mountain School) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:42:00 +0000

Over the past week there have been many rumors and much speculation surrounding the access to climbing Mount Everest for the 2008 season.

China has closed climbing on Mount Everest from the Tibetan side for the 2008 season in order to keep the mountain free of any protests while the Chinese are conducting an Olympic torch ceremony on Everest. Nepal has also considered placing a limit on climbing activities from May 1-10 on the south side (Nepalese side). At this point we are awaiting official news from Nepal authorities regarding the situation for climbing from the Nepal side.

The current expectation is that climbers from the South side will be granted their permits to climb as expected, with some conditions. These conditions include:

No team members will climb above Base Camp between May 1 and May 10, 2008
Prior to May 1, teams will be allowed to climb up to the South Col (Camp 4) in order to acclimatise and to stock camps
After May 10 climbers will be able to ascend to the summit as planned

This means that our climbing team will still continue with a climbing itinerary that is very similar to our original plan. We will still arrive into Base Camp on April 7th as planned. This leaves us 23 days to acclimatize up to Camp 3 and get the upper mountain camps placed and prepared for our summit bid.

During the period of May 1-10 we will take a much needed break at lower altitudes (already planned and expected in our original plan) and spend a few extra days climbing and trekking in the Khumbu region in order to maintain our acclimatization. On May 10th we will return to Base Camp and continue on back up the mountain as scheduled. Our Summit window will realistically be between May 17th and May 30th. Typically, this is the best time to be climbing to the summit of Everest.

In my opinion, if Nepal decides to limit the climbing during May 1-10 this will not have a great impact on our ability to safely and reasonably attempt Mount Everest this season.

we will not be speeding up our climb (if anything, this will cause us to slow down a bit, which is good)
we will not be taking any unnecessary risks (our philosophy towards climbing this mountain safely will not change any more than if we had a weather delay)
we will not be climbing with any less support (all our supplies, oxygen and safety equipment will still be placed on the upper mountain)
we will not be climbing during times that are normally outside of the typical summit window time-frame (May 10th and onwards is the usual summit window)

Climbing Everest is a serious endeavor and comes with many potential challenges (weather, altitude illness, avalanches, logistics, other teams, etc) , even in a "good" season. This latest challenge of dealing with the Chinese request to have the mountain free of climbers for 10 days is certainly less then ideal, but it is not an insurmountable challenge by any means.

Attempting to climb Mount Everest always has included (and always will include) the potential for many different factors to interfere with the best laid plans of the most experienced climbers. Illness and weather alone are two factors that every Everest climber accepts as a very real risk that may cause them to not achieve their dream of standing on top of Mount Everest, along with many other variables that may stand in the way. A 10-day period of time not being able to go above 5,300 meters is not a major obstacle, given the amount of time allowed for such "unforeseen circumstances" in a 70 day expedition.

We should have final news today, Tuesday March 18th regarding the decision by the Nepalese Tourism Board as to how, and if, they will restrict climbing access on Mount Everest this season.

Thanks for keeping in touch with our Everest climbing plans and reading this update!

Brian Jones

Everest Expedition - 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Canada West Mountain School) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 08:39:00 +0000

Well, the time has finally come for our crew to mobilize and head for Nepal to set out for our Mt. Everest Expedition! We all will be meeting in Kathmandu on March 25th.

This trip has been in the making for many years, and it is very exciting to finally have it all come together! I have been leading trips to the 7 Summits since 2002 with many excellent climbers who have had their eye on Everest - and this season I'm very pleased to be joined by a few of them as we head to Nepal to see how the mountains will treat us.

Our Team this year is made up of the following members:

Myself (Brian Jones) and John Furneaux are along as the Canada West Mountain School Guides. I have worked with John over the past few years and am really looking forward to being on this mountain with such a strong and talented climber.

Rob Hill will be joining us as he sets his sights on the last of his 7 Summits quest. Rob and I have shared 5 of the 7 summits together, and I am sure we'll have as much fun on this one as we have on all the others. Rob has been a truly inspiring climber to be in the mountains with, climbing these mountain after having had his colon removed as a result of his ongoing battle with Crohns Disease. Rob's story can also be followed at www.nogutsknowglory.com.

Darrel Ainscough will also be joining us for the last of his 7 Summits. After spending time on Aconcagua, Carstensz and Vinson Massif with Darrel I couldn't be more pleased to have him on our Everest team this season!

Wayne Browning is back again for another big mountain, after climbs with us on Carstensz, Cho Oyu and Mt Waddington last season.

Sebastien Sasseville is another climber who refuses to let obstacle get in his way. Seb has been dealing with Type-1 Diabetes for the past 6 years, and after successfully summiting 7,000 meter Peak Lenin in 2006, an attempt on Cho Oyu in 2007, he is now planning on climbing Everest to help increase awareness of just how much a person with Diabetes can accomplish. See www.sebastiensassevilleinspires.com.

Erik Bjarnason from North Vancouver, BC will be joining us on his 3rd expedition to the Himalaya. Erik is also directly involved in providing wilderness and trekking adventures for people with disabilities. This season his organization, Courage to Carry On will be working with 2 wheelchair-confined people to accompany them into Everest Base Camp, truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for them.

We are also very lucky to have film-maker Dave Sarkany along as well. Dave joined Rob Hill and I on Denali for Rob's "No Guts - Know Glory McKinley Climb" in 2006. Dave will again be along to document Robs quest to stand on top of the highest peak on every continent.

We will also be joined by Clark Lewis, our Team Physician, who will be stationed in Base Camp for the duration. Clark will also be acting as our communications link to keep our Web updates coming out in a timely fashion.

Our trekking support team is made up of John O'Shaughnessy, Paul Head, Phil Wu, Jeremy Wilson, Christine Dennstedt and Louise MacDougal

Lhakpa Chhiri Sherpa, with 8 Everest expeditions under his belt and 5 Everest summits, will be our lead climbing Sherpa and Guide. Then Dorjee Sherpa, also with 5 ascents of Everest, will be the 2nd half of this highly experienced Everest leadership team of Sherpas who will be providing the essential component of coordinating all the climbing Sherpas on the upper mountain, fixing ropes and establishing camps.

Joining this team are Nima Thundu Sherpa, 2-times Everest summitter; Phurba Ridar Bhote, also a veteran of 5 Everest summits; Dawa Finjo Lama Bhote, Phurba's son, with one Everest summit already; Chhetan Dorjee Sherpa, also with one previous ascent of Everest; Pasang Yila Sherpa, with 3 ascents of Everest; and, Mingma Dukpa Sherpa, with one previous ascent of Everest.

Of course, we all know that an expedition is only as successful as its food, so we have only the best cooks along! Navraj Dahal, our Base Camp cook, is one of the best Expeditions cooks in the region, with years of experience keeping everyone happy and healthy with great meals and good company in Base Camp. Kul Bahadur Thapa Magar will be cooking and taking care of Camp 2 for us, with many years of experience cooking for Expeditions to Everest, Cho Oyu, Amadablam and other peaks.

Our Expedition Sirdar is Bhola Paudel, with many years of experience both Guiding and working as Sirdar to Expeditions to mountains such as Everest and Cho Oyu.