by Michael at 06:00 AM (PDT) on April 5, 2005
FW: First post from Everest Base Camp!
We spent two nights in Tingri, the wild west of Tibet. All the buildings were classical Tibetan style, made of mud and painted white. We stayed two nights there to help acclimatize, as the town was at 14,400 feet. That’s a city the same height as the summit of Mount Rainier! I think the team was very happy to get out of Tingri, the air pollution was horrible, and I (Ryan)could barely sleep. The locals burned wood, garbage, and yak dung, and at sunset, it seemed the wind would stop and the smog-filled in our compound. That combined with the diesel trucks, the air quality was horrible!
We arrived at Everest Base Camp (5,200 meters or 17,000 feet) on April 3rd. So far everyone is relatively healthy with only minor headaches sinus problems. The views of Everest are incredible! It is an extremely majestic mountain and quite impressive the way plumes of clouds will trail from its summit. After Brook got the equipment set up today we got news that the Maoists have blockaded the roads so it was very good that we left early and got here when we did. Ryan and Michael hiked up to 5800 meters today. We could see tons of peaks, Cho Oyu, Pumori, and of course Everest. Ambrose and Scott hiked 4 miles down the road to the Rongbuk Monastery.
The air here is clean mountain air! It’s pretty dry and at night it gets cold! Last night in my (Ryan’s) tent I measured 15 degrees F. Burrrr! However, today is pretty sunny and pretty warm, which was very welcome! TheSherpa’s are really friendly and took great care of us. The food is actually pretty good and plentiful and is a welcome change from the same old Chinese food we had at every meal in Nyalam, Tingri, and Zangmu. The overall the team is in pretty good spirits!
Ambrose found the two nuns that Kathy Hasegawa had taken pictures of 3 years earlier when she was here and gave them the photos that she had given him to give to them. They were so incredibly happy to see them. The younger uninvited Ambrose to her room for yak butter tea, Tibetan bread, hardened yak cheese candy, and tsampa. Her 81-year-old blind great grandmother was there also and asked her a few questions about me and I held her hand for a moment to let her know me. The room was dark and smokey and full of ancient utinsels like a butter churn and wood stove. This was a highlight of my trip so far.
Marne is still hoping to trek to advanced base camp, but has thrown out her back and isn’t certain she can make it. In any event, she’ll probably be going to Lhasa to get back to Kathmandu to avoid the Maoist controlled roads in Nepal.
We’re all thinking of our loved ones back home and miss everyone very much!
— Michael, Ambrose, Scott and Ryan