Guide: 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 Garza (Conifer, 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 Ray Caron Stacie Panagakis Eric Hiller Gerald Denney Phillip Abel Wynn White Marcello deFarias Guide for trek: Danika Gilbert

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 #38 - June 4, 2005

Hello from Kathmandu!

Eric and I arrived in Kathmandu today. The flight back to Kathmandu was fairly smooth. You could see the high ridges and deep valleys of the Nepal countryside on our return flight. Willie and Dean fly to Kathmandu from Lukla tomorrow. We will spend a few days in Kathmandu before flying back home.

Cheers,
Christine


Dipatch #37 - June 1, 2005

Hello everyone! This is Christine Boskoff reporting from the Mountain Madness 2005 Everest expedition.

We made it safely to base camp today. Our cook staff greeted us with coke-a-cola and cinnamon rolls part way up the icefall. We all celebrated our successful climb of Mt. Everest. We had a wonderful team and everyone worked together to make it to the top. It's sad to see the expedition over. We had good memories and great friendships. I was fortunate to summit with such a good team, Willie, Dean, Eric, Undi, Lhama Jungbu, Pasang, Lakpa and Mingma.

Tonight our cook "Kumar" or "Big Boss" will make us a special dinner. Tomorrow our Sherpa team is going up one more time to camp 1 to clean the remaining equipment off the mountain. The icefall is becoming dangerous due to the warming temperatures, so we are happy that after tomorrow our entire team will be off the mountain. The rest of the members will be taking showers and packing up at base camp. We plan on hiking out the day after tomorrow.

We say hello to our family and friends and look forward to coming home soon!

All the best,
Christine


Dispatch #36 - May 31, 2005

Hello this is Christine Boskoff calling from Camp 2. Today is May 31, 2005 - 5:26 a.m. Last night was a windy night at Camp 4 at 26,000 feet. This morning strong winds were on the summit and we were all glad we summited the day before. We descended safely down the Lhotse Face of the South Col for Camp 4. It was cloudy today with periods of snow. Everyone did their share cleaning up between Camp 4 and Camp 3, so the Sherpa team may only need to make one or two more trips up to Camp 1 or 2 to help clear the mountain. We will spend the night at Camp 2. Tomorrow we plan on leaving early at 5:00 a.m. for Base Camp. Since the temperatures are becoming warmer, it can be very unsafe moving through the icefall later in the day. We are all looking forward to Base Camp and celebrating. We are all having a great time. It is a great group and it is a pleasure to climb with these guys.

We will write another dispatch when we get down to Base Camp. We hope everyone is doing well back home and we say hi to everyone!


Dispatch #35 - May 30, 2005

Christine Boskoff called at 1:45 this morning. There were at the South Col resting. Everyone was fine. Tomorrow depending on conditions they will go to Camp 2 or all the way down.


Dispatch #34 - May 29, 2005 at 9:10pm

Hello Everyone!

This morning at approximately 9:20 AM all members of the Mountain Madness team summited. MM is the first team to reach the summit from the south side this year. After waiting days for a weather window the team summited in excellent conditions. They left the South Col last night around 10PM with our guide Willie Benegas fixing the ropes from the balcony to the summmit with the help of Lhama Junbu and Lakpa Gelu. All team members are in good condition.

Congratulations guys for your perseverance and hard work!

Morgan Chessia
EBC


Dispatch #33 - May 29, 2005, 8:00 PST

This is Christine Boskoff reporting from the 2005 Mountain Madness expedition. We are currently at the South Col and will begin our summit attempt shortly. Everyone is excited that we finally get to go for it. We’ll be checking in throughout the day, so stay posted for more updates.


Dispatch #32 - May 28, 2005

Hello everyone! The Mountain Madness Team is at Camp 3. This is Christine Boskoff calling from Camp #3. Last night at Camp 2 we experienced high winds with thunder and lightning storms, which is very uncommon for this area. Fortunately we woke with beautiful blue skies and no winds. We left Camp 2 at 8:30am for Camp 3. It was very hot but tolerable. We had a nice climb to Camp 3 with beautiful views of Cho Oyu and Pumore. We had a nice pasta dinner tonight. Tomorrow we will head to Camp 4 at South Col and prepare for our summit attempt. We will leave on the 29th in the evening and hope to summit on the 30th in the morning.

That’s it for now.

Cheers,
Christine


Dispatch #31 – May 27, 2005

Our team decided to wait at camp 2 due to weather. We are now targeting either the 30th, 31st or 1st for our summit day.

All the best,
Christine


Dispatch #30 - May 30, 2005

Hello from Camp 2!

We are currently resting at camp 2. It's a beautiful day here. Yesterday, we moved up from base camp. Tomorrow we climb up to camp 3, and camp 4 (south col) on the 28th. If the winds are low enough, we will depart for the summit at 10 p.m. on the 28th.

Our team is doing well. Everyone is strong and healthy. The winds have gone down significantly. We have a strong Sherpa team fixing lines to the summit on the night of the 28th. We will also be using extra oxygen, so we keep warmer on summit day. We are hopeful for the 29th. However we are prepared to spend an extra night at camp 4 if winds are too strong. We would then attempt the summit on the 30th.

All the best,
Christine


Dispatch #29-May 24, 2005

Summit bound!

Today our team members got ready for our summit push. We organized gear, took showers and relaxed. We received a more positive weather report for a weather window on the 29th to the 31st of May. The winds are diminishing and temperatures are increasing for this window. After the 31st the winds will be increasing again. Our plan is to move up to camp 2 tomorrow. At camp 2 we will continue to monitor the weather reports to confirm this weather window. We have a good Sherpa team helping to fix the line on our summit day.

We are excited about the next few days coming up!

All the best,

Christine


Dispatch #28 - May 22, 2005

Hello (once again) from Everest Base Camp!

Team leaders and Sherpa Sirdars met today to discuss how we will plan our summit attempt in the next week or two. A plan was made in case the remaining groups went for the summit on the same day. Double fixed lines will be added in bottle neck areas such as below the south summit, SW ridge and the Hillary step to allow for climbers to move faster through these sections. In addition, the sirdars met to organize a group of Sherpas, to fix from the balcony to the summit. The last remaining section that still needs fixed rope in place to climb safely to the summit.

Our team is doing well. Dean and Eric went up half way to camp 1 today for exercise. A few of us went bouldering again. Keeping active is a good way to stay healthy and keep our heads into the game.

Currently the weather reports do not indicate a good weather window in the next 5 days. Our current plan is to climb up to camp 2 on the 25th of May. We will monitor the weather while at camp 2 and make a decision for what day we will attempt the summit. We can spend several days at camp 2 to wait out the weather, since it's not too high and it's still very comfortable. We can eat well here with a dedicated cook making good healthy meals.

We will keep our fingers crossed for a break in the winds!

All the best,

Christine


Dispatch #27 - May 19, 2005

Chillin' at base camp!

Today we went over to the glacier and practiced crevasse rescue with the Sherpas. We simulated a full on rescue. The scenario was a climber fell in crevasse and broke his leg. Our Sherpas were able to rappel down to injured climber, splint his leg, raise the injured climber out of the crevasse, set up a makeshift stretcher, and carry the victim to safety. This took our Sherpa team 30 minutes! The weather reports still indicate strong winds at the summit. There is a small window on the 21st where the winds will abate slightly. A Korean and British group plan to attempt the summit on the 21st. unfortunately the winds will jump back to 60 to 80 knots after that. We wish the groups good luck.

The majority of the climbing teams are waiting at base camp for a better summit window. We hope this will occur sometime after the 25th.

Cheers,
Christine


Dispatch #26 - May 18, 2005

Windy weather still prevails at the top of Everest, so we wait patiently at base camp. Yesterday we step a fixed line scenario in the ice fall to simulate a typical summit day. We tried to make the scenario as real as possible. Our climbers wore their oxygen masks and goggles to get use to the lack of visibility while negotiating the fixed lines. We ran them through the course while Willie and I acted as inexperience and rude climbers by pulling on their fixed lines, trying to pass, and falling quite frequntly on the line. Our team did great!

This afternoon, Dean who is an EMT on our team, ran our Sherpas through basic first aid training. Afterwards our Sherpas practiced building a splint.

We will keep everyone posted as to when we plan to go for the summit!

All the best,
Christine


Dispatch #25 - May 16, 2005


High winds still prevail on top of Everest. Dean and Eric returned to base camp today from their two night stay in Lobuche. Now we will wait at base camp for the weather to improve. According to various weather reports the winds seem to diminish after the 19th. Our tentative plan is to climb to camp 2 on the 18th. Tomorrow we will prepare for our summit push. We plan to set up a mock-up of the "Hillary Step" at base camp, so our climbing team will know what to expect on summit day.


In addition our success depends on the dedication, strength and experience of our Sherpa team. We are fortunate to have such great friends!


Our Climbing Sherpa team is:
- Lhama Jungbu from the village of Kari Kola and has summited Everest 9 times. He has two sons.

- Mingma from the village of Kari Kola has summited Everest 4 times.

- Pasang from the village of Kari Kola has summited Everest 3 times. He has 1 daughter and two sons.

- Undi from the village of Kari Kola has summited Everest 2 times.

- Lakpa from the village of Namche has summited Everest 1 time. Lakpa is our Sirdar who is in charge of our Sherpa staff.

- "Super Mila" from the village of Kabra has summited camp 2 three times. He's our camp 2 cook, but also helps stock camp. He has three children. Mila always comes with a big smile on his face!

Over and out,
Christine


Dispatch #24 - May 15, 2005


Bouldering at 17,500 feet!

Now it's a waiting game for the weather! We descended to base camp on the 13th. Dean and Eric trekked down to Pheriche at 14,000 feet for R&R, yesterday. They will return to base camp tomorrow. Descending down to a lower elevation is a good idea. You're body recovers faster with the higher volume of oxygen in the air.

A bunch of us went bouldering just outside of base camp yesterday. Bouldering is a form of climbing where the climber climbs near to the ground, so he doesn't need a rope or climbing protections. Some say it's one of the purest forms of climbing. There are many good climbs/problems here with great views of Everest in the background.

Our Sherpa team is remarkable. Yesterday they started from camp 2 (21,000 feet) at 3 a.m. with double loads (35 kg or 77 lbs.). They reached the sol col at 26,000 feet by 9 a.m. and then descended back to base camp by 5 a.m. All of our camps are stocked and ready for our summit attempt! We are grateful to have a good strong Sherpa team!

Currently our plan is to go to camp 2 on Wednesday, May 18th. Our tentative summit date is the 22nd, but that ALL depends on the weather.

Cheers from sunny base camp!

Christine


Dispatch #23 - May 13, 2005

Hi Everyone!

Last night we slept at camp 3...finally! After several attempts at going to camp 3, the weather Gods finally allowed us our goal. At our 7400 meter camp, we had a beautiful sunset with clouds below us and 8000-meter peak, Cho Oyu, in the distance. Our night was windless. Everyone felt fine and had a good night for their first time at camp 3. We prepared an early dinner of chicken cassarole before retiring into our sleeping bags for the night.

We left camp 3 by 8 a.m. for base camp. The winds picked up on our descent, but by the time we reached camp 2 we were roasting from the sun. At camp 2 our cook Mila made us fried chicken and cinnamon rolls. We then made our way down the western cwm and through the icefall. Lakpa Sherpa greeted us with Coke-a-Cola before we reached base camp. We all agree it is good to be back home. We took showers and enjoyed another good meal.

Now we are ready for our summit attempt. It's now up to the weather Gods when we will go back up.

Christine


Dispatch #22 - May 12, 2005

Hey everyone this is Christine Boskoff calling from Camp 3 on Everest. We finally made it up to Camp 3. We left at around 8:30 or 9:00 and we climbed up the face. We have great views of Everest and the Yellow Band. We arrived at around 1:00 or 2:00, After about five hours of climbing plus or minus. Our camp is one of the higher camps up on the face at 7,400 meters and 24,000 plus feet. We have some great views of the South Col. Right now the weather is pretty calm. Our plan tomorrow is to descend back down to Base Camp so we will have to leave fairly early. We’ll talk again down at Base Camp. Over and out!


Dispatch #21 - May 11, 2005

Hi Everyone,

We climbed to camp 2 yesterday. The wind picked up throughout the night. We woke at 5 a.m. this morning to move up to camp 3. We left camp 2 around 7 a.m. We were roped together as we moved up the Khumbu Glacier towards the Lhotse face. There was a morning slap in the face as high winds greeted us. Ray was very tired and decided to quit the climb and descend to base camp. About 9 a.m. we noticed severe winds whipping across the face. Rather than risk frostbite we turned around and descended to camp 2. We will try again tomorrow and start a little later when it is warmer and winds are calmer.

We wish everyone the best!

Christine


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 13th

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 we hiked a little further up the western cwn to get an excellent view of our route with Everest, the Geneva spur and the Lhoste face before returning to base camp.

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

Cheers,
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 4, 2005 (Namache, Nepal) Greetings from Lobuche!
This is Christine Boskoff reporting 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 of 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 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't 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 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 31, 2005 (Namache, Nepal)

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-Wednesday, March 30, 2005 (Nepal)

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 decided to stay back one day.

Yesterday we flew into Lukla. A few of our member's baggage didn't arrive, and we hoped they would arrive on the next flight. We continued 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 helicopter flew into Phakding with a special delivery...the missing bags!!! We all celebrated! Unfortunately we are still missing a couple bags, but we 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 Boskoff


Dispatch #2 - March 28, 2005 (Kathmandu, Nepal) This in Christine Boskoff reporting from Kathmandu. Our entire group has arrived in Kathmandu. This morning we went for a nice hike to the top of Langda Lungda just outside of Kathmandu. Everyone enjoyed the trek and the opportunity to stretch 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 upcoming climb. Afterwards our entire group will go out to a nice Nepali restaurant close to our hotel, the Yak and Yeti.

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 - March 26th, 2005 (Kathmandu, Nepal)

Hello everyone,

This is Christine Boskoff reporting in from Kathmandu. Willie Benegas, leader of our expedition, and Dean Cardinale arrived yesterday. Raymond Behm arrived 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 balloons or fill buckets of water and target innocent people as the walk down the street. I was 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