Advance Basecamp, Mt. Everest (via satellite phone)
Elevation: 6350m/20,828ft
Cloudy
8:05 PM

[PM Dispatch] Eric Brown Explains The Team's Current Positions and Schedules and Thoughts On Why We Climb.

This is Eric Brown for Patagonia Mountain Agency reporting from Advanced Base Camp. And it's actually still May 16th, Sunday, but it's the evening. It's a little bit after 8 o'clock in the evening. Pretty much everyone has gone to bed except me, I'm making a call, and then I'll retire in my warm sleeping bag. Right now, of course, it's dark, we've had a little snow. Today was partly cloudly, a little snow also. Right now it's negative 3 degrees Celsius.

Pictures of the team are now on the website, so check out the team section of the website to see what I look like and what everybody else looks like and what I've been talking about the last month or so. This evening, Jacek, Ryszard, and Tadek, which we're calling Team 1, are at Camp II. Now if you've heard Camp V referred to in previous dispatches -- that's a different numbering of camps that are the same -- Camp II is the same as Camp V, Camp III is the same as Camp VI. We're just using an old-fashioned Camp I, Camp II, Camp III. Omar and Ian, Team 2, are sleeping tonight at North Col and tomorrow morning early, Basha (which is a nickname for Barbara) and Masaru, which is Team 3, leave for the North Col, followed in a couple of hours by Pasang and Pema. They will all stay at the North Col and then start their move up. As of this moment, the schedule works as follows: Tomorrow, May 17th, Monday for you, Team 1 will be sleeping at Camp III in preparation for a summit attempt. Team 2 will be at Camp II; Team 3 will be at North Col. Tuesday, May 18th, hopefully -- keeping your fingers crossed, we're starting to get nervous around here with the weather and everything -- Team 1 will be summitting. Team 2 will be at Camp III; Team 3 will be at Camp II. And that's as far in the future as I'm going. The weather forecast calls for light winds until Tuesday, gradually increasing by Thursday. So hope for the best. We want a nice window for all our climbers.

You're probably wondering why I haven't mentioned the Ukrainian accident. Well, I could have followed the incident, dispatch by dispatch, but it would have been filled with hearsay which is what was circulating at the time. But now that it's pretty much over, here's the scoop. On May 8, the same day I hiked up to ABC in that snow storm, a Ukrainian team of three members was attempting to summit from the North Ridge and they started for the top early in the morning. The first two made the summit about 2 p.m. as the storm worsened. The third member summitted around 4 p.m., very late, and then started his descent. Only one made it back that evening to Camp VI, which is at 8,300 meters. The next morning, the second Ukrainian team moved up in search of the missing two and located one frostbitten climber and carried him down. The other climber was not found and was presumed to have fallen off the ridge. The frostbitten climber was carried down to Advanced Base Camp by Sherpas where the Ukrainian doctor awaited. Then, down to Base Camp, eventually leaving Base Camp in a Land Cruiser to Katmandu. His frostbite, first reported to be very bad is actually not too bad. He has some frostbite on his nose, he can see, his eyes are not damaged, and he has superficial frostbite on his hands and a little frostbite on his feet. So not as bad as first reported or you may have read on other dispatches on other sites. So anyway, that's the scoop on the Ukrainians. And they have all packed up and are heading back home as we speak.

Over the last several weeks, I've kept everyone informed of our expedition's exploits, often in an entertaining manner. And if you know me, this style shouldn't surprise you. But we have now entered a period when things become more serious and focused. No more acclimatization. Now when you go up, it's for the top: Main goal. Some, maybe many of you, might question this goal and the risks involved. I question some of the risks, but I have - in other endeavors - taken risks that others would question and call crazy. And knowing, that as humans, we all have varying ways of proving to ourselves our capabilities in all aspects of our lives--from business, to relationships, and just living in general. I don't think we can pass too harsh a judgment on these eight climbers who have, for a multitude of reasons, decided to push themselves to an ultimate test--a test that makes us--wives, parents, girlfriends, sisters, brothers, family, and friends--worry deep down, despite my lighthearted dispatches. So as we switch gears to this more serious phase, I wish my eight friends good luck, Godspeed, climb that mountain, bag that peak, and return safely.

I'm Eric Brown for PMA.