Guides: Willie Benegas and Christine Boskoff Team Members: Joe Bonner (Tacoma, WA). Joe has climbed Denali and his most recent achievement was Mt. Vinson in the Antarctica. Kay LeClaire (Spokane, WA). This will be Kay's 6th summit of the Seven Summits! Eric Graza (Evergreen, CO). Eric enjoys ice climbing in the Front Range of Colorado. Climbed Denali in 1989. Raymond Behm (Luxenburg). Ray just returned from a successful climb on Vinson and skied the last degree to the South Pole. Dean Cardindale (Salt Lake City, UT). Dean is a snow safety instructor in Utah. He has climbed Ama Dablam, Mt. Blanc, Mt. McKinley, and numerous other climbs. Khumbu Icefall Climbers Ron Nissen (Australia). Ron enjoys bush walking and has climbed Mera Peak and hiked the Inca Trail. Javier Torras (Spain). Javier is a ski instructor and an experienced rock and ice climber. He has trekked extensively in Nepal for the last five years. Base Camp Trekkers Samir Sabri (Burnsville, NC) Ray Caron (Burnsville, NC) Stacie Panagakis (Santa Monica, CA)

Dispatches


Mountain Madness 2005 Everest Expedition

Welcome everyone to the Mountain Madness 2005 Everest Expedition! I arrived in Kathmandu yesterday to begin working on logistics for the climb. Kathmandu remains normal with many cars, bikes and people buzzing around the crowded streets. Our leader Willie Benegas will arrive tomorrow. Most of the team member will arrive on the 27th. We plan to fly into the Khumbu on the 29th and spend around 9 days trekking into base camp. It will take about 4 weeks to acclimatize and stock higher camps on the mountain before we are ready for our summit attempt. We anticipate our summit window will be around mid-May. We are excited about climbing Mt. Everest this spring and wish the climbing team a safe and successful climb.



Dispatch #20 May 9, 2005
 
Camp 3 Bound!

Base camp life is treating us all well.  We are busy taking showers, reading, watching movies, socializing with other expeditions, eating good food and sleeping.  Life is good!!  Yesterday our trekking team, Danika, Phil, Wynn, Eric, and Jerry left for Pheriche.

Tomorrow, May 10th, our climbing team Eric, Dean, Ray, Willie and I leave for camp 2.  The following day, May 11th, we head for camp 3 to spend the night.  By May 13th we plan to be back at base camp to rest for our summit attempt. 

We have a very strong and experienced Sherpa team, Lhakpa, Pasang, Mingma, Undi, and Lhama Jungbu.  Our Sherpas carried a load to camp 3 today and they are staying at camp 2 tonight.  Tomorrow they will climb to the south col to stock camp 4 and then return to camp 2 and the following day will climb with us to camp 3!

We are constantly working with other commercial expeditions and comparing various weather reports, so we can plan for a safe summit day.   

Cheers,

Christine


Dispatch #19 May 4, 2005

Greetings from C2!

Today we had quite a bit of excitement and a reminder of how hazardous
the mountain can be. Camp 1 was avalanched at 5 a.m. Many different
expeditions helped with the rescue. Fortunately only 7 people were hit
by the avalanche and as we know there were no deaths- good news in a bad
situation that could have been much worse. Two out of the seven had
severe injuries though and were taken to base camp to be flown to
Kathmandu.

In our group, Kay LeClaire flew to Kathmandu due to health reasons
today- she will be missed. Willie remained at base camp with Kay until
her helicopter arrived. The rest of group is doing well and resting at
camp 2. Willie is expected to join us this afternoon. It's a busy
season for all, as it always is.

Our plan is to climb to camp 3 tomorrow and sleep one night there before
returning to camp 2.

All The best,
Christine


Dispatch #18 May 2, 2005

- This is Christine Boskoff calling from Everest Base Camp.

Today we had a breakfast buffet and invited folks from other expeditions over. Everyone brought their favorite breakfast dish. We had cinnamon rolls, crepes, cheese omelets, chocolate cake, yogurt, pancakes, and more. What a feast!

After breakfast a bunch of us went climbing on some of the large boulders near camp. We had some great climbing challenges that we relished working out. Later, we took showers, washed clothes, and in general got ready for moving to Camp 2. For the next five days we will be at Camp 2 and also have the goal of sleeping at Camp 3.

Stay tuned for more information from Camp 2.

Best to all,

Christine


Dispatch #17 April 28, 2005

Back at Base Camp!

Hello Everyone,

Yesterday Ray, Eric, Willie, Kay, Lahkpa and I started out at 6 a.m. to climb up the Lhotse Face to camp 3.  Kay had problems with the cold, so she descended down to base camp with Lhakpa.  The rest of the group climbed high on the face and Eric actually touched our camp 3.  We returned to camp 2 for the night.  "Super Mila" cooked us a delicious meal...once again!  Dean descended yesterday to Namche Bazaar to get dental work.  He will come back to base camp in the next few days. 

Rest of our team (Ray, Eric, Willie and I) descended down to base camp today.  Nima Sherpa met us coming down the glacier with Coke-a-Cola and snacks.  We are all enjoying the oxygen enriched air and the amenities of base camp.  We appointed Eric as our movie coordinator.  Today we watched "40 days and 40 nights".

It snowed this afternoon, so it was difficult to take showers.  Showers will have to wait until tomorrow morning when the sun is out.  Now it is R&R for about 4 days and the time needed to allow our bodies to recover.

We send our best,

Christine


Dispatch #16 April 26, 2005

Greetings from camp 2!

Today our group took a rest day at camp 2. This morning we had
beautiful
weather, with clear views of the Lhotse face. We could see climbers
moving
up the face to camp 3. Our camp 2 cook, "Super Mila", treated us to
chicken
burgers & chips for lunch. This afternoon it clouded up. The forecast
calls
for snow for the next couple days. We plan to climb to camp 3 and
return to
camp 2 tomorrow. All the members are feeling good and adjusting to the
altitude at camp 2.

Cheers, Christine


Dispatch #15 April 24, 2005

Hello from camp 2!

Our team climbed to camp 2 yesterday. We had beautiful weather with
stunning views of Everest, Lhotse, and the Western Cwm. We have a nice
camp
situated on the rocky moraine of the glacier at 6400m. "Super Mila" is
our
cook at camp 2. The food has been great! Due to the altitude our
appetites
have been small. We rested today. Tomorrow we plan climb to the base
of
the Lhotse Face and return to camp 2 for the night.

We send our best
Christine


Dispatch #14 - April 21, 2005

Hello from base camp,

Today we stayed in base camp because of some snow that fell last night we wanted to give the ice fall a chance to settle out before we had back to Camp I. Instead we had a relaxing day at base camp, did some laundry, showers, and organized our food for Camp III and Camp IV. We also extended our dinning tent so we have extra room when the trekkers arrive.

The weather has been nice sunny and clear in the mornings and clouds building in the afternoon. Base camp is very comfortable so we can prepare to go back up the mountain tomorrow morning early.

Chris and Kay have been up at Camp I the last two nights. We have checked in with them each morning and evening on the radio,they are having a good time, they were planning on taking a walk up towards Camp II today, then return to Camp I for the night. We will join them tomorrow morning, then all go to Camp II to spend four days acclimatizing. While we are staying at Camp II we plan to spend time going up the Lohtse face and bringing supplies to Camp III.

All the best,
Dean


Dispatch #13 - April 19, 2005

Hello again from base camp!

Today was another rest day! Willie and Eric went ice climbing today for a couple hours. The rest of us took showers, washed clothes or went for a short hike. Base camp life is nice with much to do. We try to make camp as pleasurable as possible. Yesterday we watched the movie "Bad Boys 2"

Tomorrow Kay and I will climb up to camp 1 to stay. The rest of the group will join us the following day at camp 1. We plan on spending several days at camp 1 and 2 to allow for proper acclimatization. You can not rush the acclimatization process. It takes about a month to properly acclimatize before one can think about the summit.

Everyone is feeling fine and ready to head back up.

Cheers,
Christine


Dispatch #12 April 18, 2005

Hello from Everest Base Camp!

Kay and I just returned from a nice stay down in Dingbouche at 14,200 feet.  Kay's cough seems much better.  Kay, Joe and I celebrated Joe's birthday the first night in Dingbouche!  Happy Birthday Joe!  (April 16th) We were sorry to see Joe heading down.  Kay and I hiked to Lobuche in record time on the 17th.  Both feeling good and enjoying the oxygen rich air!  Today we departed Lobuche and headed for Everest Base Camp.  It is good to be here and we celebrated with a coca-cola!

The boys, Willie, Eric, Ray and Dean had a good time up on the mountain.  The team arrived to camp 1 on the 15th.   Everyone feeling good.  At camp 1 our team dug out a good kitchen and lounge area for the group to hang out in.  The only thing that was missing the 70's shag carpet and lava lamp.   On the 16th they climbed to camp 2 from camp 1.  Beautiful views of the western cwm, Everest, and Lhotse.  Willie pointed out his new route he climbed with his brother on Nuptse.  The group touched camp 2, stayed 40 minutes and descended back to camp 1.  The rest of the day the group played cards, ate lobster pate, cheese and salami and drank fresh pressed coffee.  They descended yesterday to base camp.

Now it's a few rest days for the entire group!

All the best,

Christine



Dispatch #11 April 15, 2005

Hello Everyone!

It's a beautiful day here at base camp.  Eric, Ray, Dean and Willie went to camp 1 to sleep tonight.  Our Sherpas also headed up today to bring more equipment up to camp 1.  Kay woke up with the "Khumbu cough" this morning, so her and I will go down valley for a few days to get rid of it.  The cough will only go away if she goes down to recover than up.

Joe Bonner is leaving our group today due to personal reasons.  We were all sad to see him leave. 

Talk to everyone when we return from Dingbouche!

Christine


Dispatch #10 April 14, 2005

Hello!

Our climbing team is enjoying a beautiful sunny rest day.  We said our goodbyes to Ron & Javier this morning before they trek back to Lukla.  Kay did her laundry, Joe and Eric are reading and Ray is working on emails.  We haven't decided on the title for our movie matinee this afternoon yet.  Yesterday we watched “Million Dollar Baby".  Willie and Dean climbed to camp 1 today to drop off a load and will be back before lunch. 

This afternoon we are having a general meeting with all the expeditions regarding icefall safety. 

Tomorrow our entire climbing team will move up to camp 1 for our first overnight stay on the mountain.  Our plan is to touch camp 2 on the 16th and descend to base camp on the 17th. 

Everyone is doing well and feeling better as we become more acclimatizing. 

We send our best,

Christine


Dispatch #9 April 13, 2005

Hello Everyone!

Yesterday was a full day for everyone.  Our entire group climbed through the Khumbu icefall.  We had a beautiful clear day, but it was slightly cold and windy.  Ron, Javier and I planned to sleep at camp 1 for the evening.  Ron made it half way through the ice fall and decided he made it far enough.  Eric and Dean climbed to camp 1 and Ray, Joe, Kay and Willie climbed just below the top of the ice fall.  It was a good day for everyone!!

Javier and I had a nice evening at camp 1.  We had brilliant views of Lhotse and Nuptse that towered above us.  This morning before returning to base camp we hiked a little further up the western cwn to get an excellent view of our route on Everest, the Geneva spur and the Lhoste face.

For most of our group we will take another rest day before climbing back to camp 1.

Cheers,

Christine


Dispatch #8 - April 10, 2005

Hello from Everest Base Camp!

Javier and I woke up at 4:00 this morning and climbed through the Khumbu ice fall just below camp 1 and then descended back to base camp. We had a very windy and cold climb. The ice fall is relatively straight forward this year with not too many ladder crossings. Ron wasn't feeling well the night before, so he stayed down at base camp to recover.

The climbing team, Kay, Joe, Eric, Ray, Dean and Willie got further prepared by completing our fixed line practice course, where we went over traversing, ascending and descending fixed lines and crossing ladders.

Tomorrow is our puja, or Buddhist ceremony that is performed to make the Gods happy, so they will allow us success, nice weather, safety, and good health to climb the mountain.

All the best,
Christine


Dispatch #7 - April 9, 2005

Hello from Everest Base Camp!

Today we said farewell to our trekking team and we were all sorry to see them go. We are relaxing at base camp by eating, watching movies, and sleeping. Last night we watched the movie Aviator, but we couldn't stay awake for the end. Our cook has been baking up some delicious meals such as pizza, croissants and cakes.

We set up a training course today for our team members to practice going through the ice fall. We tied a couple ladders together and fixed around 200 meters of rope going up, down and round seracs. Ron and Javier who will be only going to camp 2 went through the training today. My plan is for them to climb with me to camp 1 tomorrow and return to base camp. This will aid in acclimatization for when we climb to camp 1 to sleep. The rest of the climbing members will practice with the fixed ropes tomorrow.

Cheers,
Christine


Dispatch #6 - April 7, 2005

Everyone has arrived at base camp and we are all happy to be here! Kay, Joe, Ron, Ray C., Sam, Stacie, Willie and I arrived today. A few of the climbers, Ray B., Javier, Eric, and Dean arrived yesterday with Lhama Jungmu (9th time summiteer!) at base camp. Our base camp had been established two weeks ago by our Sherpa team. We feel we have the best spot at base camp. We are 5 minutes from the icefall where the route starts and perched above the other camps to allow for privacy. We have equipped our dinning tent with electricity and a heater. We also have a hot water heater for hot showers. For the next couple of days we will be making our base camp home for the next 6 weeks.

Our trekking team is doing well. Ray C. Stacie, Sam and Ron climbed to the top of Kala Pattar, 18,500 feet yesterday. For most of them this was their highest elevation hiked. From the top of Kala Pattar we were able to get excellent view of Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, the Khumbu ice fall and Everest Base Camp. Our trekking team will spend two nights at base camp and then begin their descent back home.

We are having a wonderful time and wish our family and friends the best from Everest base camp.

Cheers,
Christine

Dispatch # 5 April 5 2005

Greetings from Lobuche!
 
This is Christine calling from Lobuche at 16,100 feet!  On August 2nd we left Thangbouche and trekked through the dense rhododendron forest and along the Dodh Koshi River.  We had magnificent views of Ama Dablam.  Once we arrived at the village of Pangbouche Lama Jungmu brought our group to the monastery on the hillside for a Buddhist ceremony.  The local Lhama from Pangbouche performed the ceremony.  We asked the Gods for good health and a safe climb for our team members.  The ceremony also made the Gods happy, so they would allow us to climb the mountain.  This ceremony is very important part to our Everest climb according to the Buddhist customs.
 
We spent two nights at Dingbouche at 14,200 feet to allow our bodies to acclimatize to the altitude.  Kay, Sam, Javier and I trekked to Chukkung on our rest day (August 3rd) to stretch our legs.  A group of us have been playing the card game, "Hearts".   Joe has been the winner so far, but we can wait for the rematch.  On the 4th the trekking team trekked to Dzugla and the climbing team continued on to Lobuche. 
 
Today our trekking team hiked to Lobuche.  Our trekking team is doing well and staying healthy.  We are staying at the Eco-lodge with hot showers and deluxe rooms with comfortable beds.  Our cooks have been too good to us with many delicious meals and our trekkers are concerned with gaining weight!  Willie caught up to us in Lobuche today.  He is 90 percent recovered from his cold.  It was a good call for him to remain in Namache at a lower elevation and warmer temperatures to allow him to recover quicker.  Our climbing team members, Kay, Joe, Eric, Dean, Ray, and Javier hiked up Kala Pattar and will stay in Gorek Shep tonight.
 
We are all excited to arrive at base camp in the next couple days!
 
All the best,
Christine

Dispatch # 4 March 31st 2005

Hello everyone,

Our group is having a nice rest day here in Namache. Ray, Sam, Stacie, Kay, Joe and I woke at 5:45 a.m. this morning to freshly brewed coffee, then went for a casual walk up to Syangbouche for magnificent views of Everest, Lhoste and AmaDablam. We returned back to Namache for a hardy breakfast.

Ron arrived today at 11 a.m. feeling much better than yesterday. Everyone is feeling good and strong. We are looking forward to the trek to Tyangbouche tomorrow.

All the best,
Christine


Dispatch # 3 March 30, 2005

Hello from Namache Bazaar!

Today was a great day for a trek!! The weather was cool and made the climb to Namache very bearable. Everyone except for Ron Nisson made it to Namache. Ron felt a little ill, so he decide to stay back one day.

Yesterday we flew into Lukla. A few of our member's baggage didn't arrive. We hope they would arrive on the next flight. We contined on to Phakding, our camping spot for the night. The missing bags didn't arrive by 4 p.m. so we thought that a few members would have a cold night without their warm clothes and sleeping bags. At 5p.m a helicoptor flew into Phakding with a special delivery...the missing bags!!! We all celebrated!! Unfortunately we are still missing a couple bags, but think they will show up soon.

Tomorrow is a rest day for the climbers and trekkers. We are having a great time and can't wait for the days a head!

Talk to everyone soon!

Christine

Dispatch # 2 March 28, 2005

This in Christine reporting from Kathmandu. Our entire group has arrived in Kathmandu.

This morning our group went for a nice hike to the top of Langda Lungda just outside of Kathmandu. Everyone enjoyed the trek and an opportunity to streach out their legs from the long international flight. Ray Behm, Ray Caron, Sam Sabri and Eric Garza went on our Kathmandu tour this afternoon while the remaining members packed for the weeks ahead. Eric Garza's luggage didn't arrive yesterday with him, but fortunately it arrived today!

This evening our climbing members will meet to talk about logistics for the next couple months and answer questions. Afterwards our entire group will go out to a nice Nepali restaurant close to our hotel.

Our Lukla flight leaves early tomorrow morning. Everyone is excited about our upcoming adventure and happy to get on the trail tomorrow!

The next dispatch will be from the Khumbu valley!

All the best,
Christine

Dispatch # 1
Hello everyone,

This is Christine reporting in from Kathmandu. Willie Benegas, leader of our expedition, and Dean Cardinale arrived yesterday. Raymond Behm arrive on the 23rd. The rest of our climbing team, Kay, Joe and Eric will arrive tomorrow along with our trekking and camp 2 group.

All the shopping and planning has been done. We can now relax and wait for the rest of the team to arrive. Yesterday was "Holy Holiday". The nepalis celebrate by sacrificing animals to the Gods. The kids paint themselves with red dye. In addition the kids make water ballons or fill buckets of water and target innocent people as the walk down the street. I was the the victim to this practice yesterday. After an early morning walk I arrived at my hotel drenched with water from head to toe.

Besides the holy holiday, everything in Kathmandu remains normal. We are look forward to seeing the rest of the team tomorrow!

More in a couple days!

All the best,
Christine


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