Advance Basecamp, Mt. Everest (via satellite phone)
Elevation: 6350m/20,828ft
Clear Skies, calm
9:45am [12:00am EST]

[AM Dispatch] Eric Brown With A Brief Dispatch Then Omar Gives a Detailed Description of the Summit Route

Howdy! This is Eric Brown reporting for Patagonia Mountain Agency from Advanced Base Camp. Today is May 16th, 1999 and it's Sunday morning here, 5 minutes before 10 o'clock. We have very, very nice weather today. Clear blues skies, almost no wind, and yesterday we had about 4 to 5 inches of snow. So were curious to see what today would bring and it has brought very nice weather.

The latest update: Witek, because of the weather delay had to go on back to Base Camp and will be heading back to Kathmandu soon. So, he tried and was unable to make it because of the weather. So now we have Team 1, which has been reorganized to Jacek, Ryszard, and Tadek, and as we speak they moving up to Camp II. Also, the Americans are moving up to Camp III. So tomorrow they will probably be making a summit attempt or will be fixing ropes up to the summit. And then in a little bit Omar and Ian will be leaving for North Col - that's Team 2. Tomorrow morning Masaru and Barbara - Team Three - will be leaving for North Col. Sherpas will also be leaving tomorrow - Pesang and Pema.

But anyway, today we have a guest dispatch from Omar. So, now I hand it over to him and he can fill you in on the latest ABC tidbits, etcetera. Here's Omar.

Okay, so here we are at ABC just ahead of our summit attempt. the place has the feeling of the calm before the storm. After over a month of preparation we have all developed spindly thighs, lost weight, caught bugs, and most crucially, acclimatized to the rarified air. Still, it is strange to think that at the end of these last few weeks of tedium, of squalor, and sometimes pain, it's all going to culminate now within the next week - and who knows how.

The way the weather has worked means the other teams on the mountain are in exactly the same position as us. Despite being less fit than at the start of the expedition, the extra acclimatization showed on the way to ABC yesterday. With the snow storm it took us 6 hours. Not very impressive for 6 miles at sea level but not bad around 20,000 feet. ABC is a horrible, uncomfortable dump, and we turn our minds to the days ahead, away from ABC.

The first stage that comes to mind is the North Col. After crossing the remaining morain, which is hateful, you cross the flat glacier to the foot of the col. With absolutely amazing views of the towering northeast ridge of Everest. Really fantastic. At the foot of the col we're looking at a 400 meter ice cliff. This daunting obstacle is facilitated with fixed ropes, however, it is a slog and is a reasonably nasty place to get caught if the weather turns. The top of the col is place to tie our tents down. Two expeditions have already lost tents to the wind. I quite enjoy the climb to the col which is more than I can say for the next stage, which is the climb up the North Ridge.

The North Ridge goes directly from the Col up to the northeast Ridge of Everest, which is really the final stage of the summit. On the North Ridge time stands still. Every time I look up at people on the route they are all in a position primed for movement, yet, there is no movement. The thin atmosphere turns this technically easy slope into an uphill nightmare. The rawest of the pain is the scenery. All the surrounding peaks start to drop away, revealing the secrets, the ridges, and the glaciation. Pumori, which is a fantastic peak at 7,100 meters, starts to look short. Only Cho Oyu and Gychang Kang stand tall. They're up there - almost at the - well, Cho Oyu is above 8,000 and Gychang Kang is almost at 8,000 metres.

At the end of the North Ridge stretch we get to Camp V (Camp 2) which sit at eye level Chang Tse. Chang Tse is the North Summit of Everest. This is a desolate wind swept part of the world without oxygen you really don't feel too good. Appetite is weak here and if we sleep we're lucky. The wind sounds a constant cracking in the fly of the tent. Obviously, we do this thing for fun.

The unknown part of the route for us all, apart from Rsyzard, lies above Camp V (Camp 2). None of us have been there yet. This is, therefore where most of us, where most of our trepidation springs from. Most of us will testing our bodies altitude limits above Camp V (Camp 2) and we don't really know how we'll react. So, we'll go progressively slower but beyond that we don't know.

We'll traverse the North Face to Camp VI (camp 3) which, I'm told, is at least as pitiful as Camp V (Camp 2). If we make it we can get on to our first bottle of oxygen. At 8,300 meters we'll be above most points on the planet, bar about 4 or 5 mountains, and we'll need the oxygen to sleep. From there it's two bottles more, the summit ridge, and a big question mark. None of us really knows what that day will bring. There is some difficult rock climbing on the route and it's very, very long.

Anyway, if all goes well we head straight back to Camp V (Camp 2) or the Col. All we can do now is rely on our preparation, common sense, a bit of luck to hopefully carry us through the next days. I hope to see you all very soon. Bye.