01:00 30th May (GMT) - Report on summit night

First of all, our apologies for the lack of updates since summit night. Because our team were pushing it time-wise at the end of the expedition, their main concern has been to pack up base camp as soon as possible and get home to anxious relatives and friends. This is understandable having been up on the mountain for so long and in base camp for over 8 weeks. Robert and David are flying out today, as are Kiek Stam, Fred Ziel and Sibusiso Vilane. Jon Gangdal and Borge Ousland flew back to Norway yesterday. Rodrigo and Alejandro are on the trek out to Lukla and will fly back into Kathmandu in the next day or so. Our Sherpa team are stripping the mountain of our ropes, tents, rubbish etc.

We spoke to Robert today on the phone about summit night. First of all, it was not ideal conditions. Very windy and very cold. They were almost crawling at one point on the ridge. Having left camp 4 at 9p.m. Rodrigo and Alejandro "powered ahead". Robert and David were climbing with Sibusiso and Fred and were at the South summit very early at 6 a.m. Borge and Kiek were climbing together. Kiek decided to turn back at 8,565m. This was his own decision. He felt that he'd expended half of his energy and was suffering from the strong wind. Borge, climbing with one of the Sherpas, got to the South Summit at 8 a.m. It was extremely windy and at this point he decided to turn back with one of the Sherpas. Rodrigo and Alejandro were on the summit first (don't have the exact time), followed by Sibusiso, David and Robert. David and Robert came down to see Fred, who was suffering from what he later called 'wind blindness' - the wind blowing snow into his goggles and giving him problems with his vision. Fred decided to turn back 60 metres (20 vertical metres) from the top. So contrary to the original report, Fred didn't quite get there. They were back at the Balcony at 4p.m. and all safe back at Camp 4 by 9p.m.

"David Hamilton, Pasang Tenzing Sherpa and Robert Anderson helped me rappel back down (many 100's of fixed meters; I am truly indepted to all of them). I returned to Camp 4 and BC under my own power carrying my own gear."

Jon Gangdal did not take part in the third summit attempt having spent a night at the South Col on the Second attempt. Robert also said that they had "a lot of fun" on the summit with Sibu.

Our Sherpa team proved themselves to be absolutely awesome. Special mention to Pasang Tenzing Sherpa for his efforts and summiting at age 18!

That's all for now folks. Expect some stunning photography to hit the Jagged Globe website over the coming weeks.

Jagged Globe office

01:00 28th May (GMT) - Climbers arrive back in base camp

A brief update to say that all the team members are now back in base camp.

Robert reported on the radio last night that they were fine and looking forward to a good night's sleep at Camp 2.

We can confirm that Kiek Stam and Borge Ousland left camp 4 but they did not reach the summit. No other details are known just yet, but we will update when we know more.

Jagged Globe office

01:00 27th May (GMT) - Update on summiteers

The best news is that everyone made it safely back to Camp 4 last night, most at about 10pm, and were resting there. Today, Tuesday, they are heading down to Camp 2 and are expected to be down there by this afternoon.

As reported earlier, six of the team of eight made it to the summit yesterday with five Sherpas. The Jagged Globe team summiteers are:

1. Mr. Robert Anderson, USA (Expedition leader)
2. Mr. Fredrick Ziel, USA
3. Mr. David Hamilton, Britain (Deputy Expedition leader)
4. Mr. Sibusiso Vilane, South Africa
5. Mr. Rodrigo Ponce Limon, Mexico
6. Mr. Alejandro Minakata Garibay, Mexico

Sherpas:

1. Mr. Thundu Sherpa, age 24, Gauri Shankar, Rolwaling, Dolakha
2. Mr. Pasang Tenzing Sherpa, age 18, Gauri Shankar, Rolwaling, Dolakha
3. Mr. Dawa Tenzing Sherpa, age 27, Gauri Shankar, Rolwaling, Dolakha
4. Mr. Nima Tenzi Sherpa, age 23, Gauri Shankar, Rolwaling, Dolakha
5. Mr. Pema Tsering Sherpa, age 32, Makalu, Sankhuwasabha

That's all for now. We will provide another update later.

Jagged Globe office

01:00 26th May (GMT) - Tenacity and Determination Win the Summmit

Six members and five climbing Sherpas were on the summit by about 0900 this morning (Nepali time). The other two members were on their way up when I spoke to Robert and David at that time.

The sun was up but windy conditions and the cold made communications difficult -- so we agreed to talk later. All members were fine.

Hope to have further update soon.

From Claire Keeton in base camp

01:00 25th May (GMT) - Camp 4 - The South Col

SUNDAY MAY 25, 12h30 Nepalese time

Just had the second radio call today with Robert, now above the Geneva Spur, and with David from Camp 4. Both sound cheerful and confident.

Two members of the Jagged Globe team are already at Camp 4 and the other six are expected to be there very soon, "for lunch". The Sherpas are also up there with them.

Everyone is fine and going strong, and the weather is good, so Robert and David both sound optimistic about the summit bid tonight.

There is also a Swiss-German team up there for a summit bid at the same time.

Peter Hillary spoke to Robert on the radio from Base Camp and wished the team well.

"This can be a very good time to summit, a nice interval between the cold jetstream and the arrival of the monsoon," he told me.

"The sky looks good to me and I think they have a really good chance," said Hillary, who summitted exactly a year ago.

Reporting from Robert Anderson/David Hamilton, relayed by Claire Keeton at Base Camp

01:00 24th May (GMT) - Summit Attempt Moves Up

It's Saturday 24 May, noon Nepalese time.

Good news is that the team -- now consisting of eight members -- have begun their 3rd summit bid and all sound in good spirits.

They went to Camp 3 today Saturday, and hope to head for Camp 4 tomorrow. They will be going up to the summit overnight on Sunday/Monday -- depending on the weather, but the forecasts look positive.

Six of the team -- Robert Anderson, David Hamilton, Rodrigo Ponce, Alejandro Garibay, Sibusiso Vilane and Fred Ziel -- were at Camp 3 by noon today (Nepali time) and the other two -- Borge Ousland and Kiek Stam -- were nearby and expected there soon.

"Everybody is in good shape," Robert Anderson radioed down.

David Hamilton added: "We are as snug as a bug in a rug."

They had received further food supplies from Base Camp and were sounding surprisingly cheerful, and resilient, after more than a week at high camps on the mountain. They are one of a few teams left to make a final bid before the monsoon.

Reported Robert Anderson, relayed by Claire Keeton at Base Camp

01:00 22nd May (GMT) - Team back in Camp 2

8.30 a.m. GMT

The Jagged Globe team descended to Camp 2 on 21st after their summit attempt that morning. They had spent over 24 hours at or above Camp 4. Lots of climbers summited this morning from both the south and the north. Our team need more rest having already climbed to c8,400m at the Balcony yesterday morning.

They plan to spend 2 days at Camp 2 resting up, before having another shot. The drama continues!

Jagged Globe office

01:00 22nd May (GMT) - Phone call from Camp 2

9.30 a.m. GMT

Robert just called in from Camp 2. All remaining members (*see below) of the Jagged Globe team are safe and have been in camp 2 since yesterday afternoon when they came all the way down from 8,400m on Everest. They had been turned back by high winds.

Robert says that they are feeling well and still very positive for another summit attempt. They plan to move back up to Camp 3 and Camp 4 in a couple of days, with the aim of summiting on the 26 or 27 May.

*Leaders Robert Anderson and David Hamilton, team members Kiek Stam, Borge Ousland, Jon Gangdal, Fred Ziel, Rodrigo Ponce, Alejandro Minakatag and Sibusiso Vilane.

Jagged Globe office

01:00 22nd May (GMT) - Summit day named - Monday 26 May

Everest view from Kala Pattar... Photo: © David Hamilton

15:30 GMT

This is Claire Keeton at the Jagged Globe Base Camp and this will be a very brief update.

The Jagged Globe team leader Robert Anderson reports from Camp 2 that all the members are fine and resting up there. They hope to mount another summit bid on Monday morning, so they will leave Camp 2 for higher camps on Saturday.

They have organised more supplies and oxygen and will be able to go ahead, if the weather is fine.

That's all for now.

Best, Claire

01:00 21st May (GMT) - Climbers reach the Balcony and turn back to the South Col

Early morning on summit day Photo: © Steve Bell

All the team left the South Col on Tuesday night and made it to the Balcony (c8400m), before being turned back due to high winds. The Balcony is a stopping point to switch over Oxygen bottles and is the point at which you gain the SE Ridge. It seems likely that at this point they would have been hit by the high winds. They are all now back at Camp 4. If the weather holds a bit longer they may well go for another attempt tonight, hoping to reach the top on the morning of Wednesday 22 May. They should be well stocked with Oxygen at Camp 4 which is crucial to them staying up there.

Yesterday (20 May) a handful of climbers were the first to reach the summit this season. Some climbers also reached the summit from the North today.

Jagged Globe office

01:00 20th May (GMT) - Update 20 May

We're still having communication problems from BC to our office here in the UK, although the team are in constant radio contact on the mountain.

There was no summit bid last night (19/20 May) due to the high winds. Some of the team are staying at Camp IV for a second chance tomorrow - Wednesday (leaving the South Col at what will be approx 4pm GMT (Nepal is approx 5 3/4hrs ahead), Tuesday 20 May), whilst a second group should arrive at Camp 4 today for their 1st attempt, also on Wednesday a.m. Canadian Peggy Foster is back in BC. No more details are known just yet.

We also have a group going into the Western Cwm tomorrow with leader, Mungo Ross. Mungo was interviewed on BBC Radio 4 this morning by Tom Heap, part of the BBC News team who are staying with us at base camp at the moment.

Jagged Globe office

10:26 19th May (GMT) - Radio update from Everest BC

Stephen Venables and Robert Anderson on the South Col Photo: © Robert Mads Anderson

There have been some problems with the generator at BC, which isn't great timing, but here's the latest:

17 Sat: At 3am (Nepali time) Robert Anderson, Sibusiso Vilane, Jon Gangdal and Fred Ziel left for Camp 2. Full moon, clear skies. All made it to Camp 2.

18 Sun: By noon, 6 members of the group were at Camp 3 and another 4 were on the way. By 6pm all the team was there and they were fine, according to Robert. He reported it was gusty but warm and that the team planned to leave for Camp 4 early on Monday.

19 Monday: 0950 - awaiting radio report from Camp 4.

Expect another update later today....

Claire Keeton, Everest BC & Jagged Globe office

01:00 16th May (GMT) - Report by Robert Anderson, Expedition Leader, Base Camp

Preparing to leave the South col Photo: © Stephen Goodwin

David Hamilton has departed with Kiek, Rodrigo, Alejandro, Peggy and Borge and they are in Camp II, having made a rapid ascent of the ice fall starting at 3am this morning.

I follow tomorrow with Jon, Fred and Sibusisu. The value of a rest day at Camp II before moving to Camp III is very individual. Sleeping at Camp II at 6500 meters is akin to a night spent above the top of North America's tallest point, Mt McKinley. My group appreciates another day of Base Camp luxuries, David's group has opted for two nights on high after the long climb from Base Camp to Camp II (1,200 vertical meters). The stars are brighter up in Camp II, but with only two course dinners and air so thin snowflakes drop like rocks, some of us have chosen for a non-stop summit attempt, moving from II -III-IV in as many days.

Every day is a morning evaluation of the sky, the route ahead, our work with other teams on preparing the route, and how each individual is doing. Right now the weather dominates, as something called the 'Omega Block' (I read it online, it must be true) clears, the winds die down and we move as quickly as possible up into the heights. The mountain makes our schedule, but with some luck and all things in place, we are moving up through the Camps to climb to Camp III on Sunday 18 May, Camp IV on Monday 19 May and then above 8,000 meters on Tuesday 20 or Wednesday 21 May. But it is very much a case of looking out the window every morning and making our decision then.

When we are on the mountain, we will be making every attempt to update every day around noon Nepali time - but as we go higher, relaying messages through radio, email and web becomes a bit tricker - if there is a gap in communication it is more likely we are having another bowl of noodle soup and warming the batteries than anything else.

And Happy Birthday Margaret and Eva.

Robert Anderson, Expedition Leader

01:00 15th May (GMT) - Weather forecast looking optimistic

Report by Peggy Foster - Canadian climber.

We have been monitoring the weather reports from various expert sources since arriving back at base camp on Sunday from our first summit bid attempt. The winds have been blowing on the summit at an average of 80 miles an hour over the past few days; with an average summit temperature of -35 C.

The winds are predicted to decrease over the next week to an average of 18 miles an hour at the summit and the summit temperature is to rise to a balmy - 25 C. Since we have all lost a number of kilo's the forecasted temperature increase at the summit has been very well received by the team!

Our leaders Robert and David have formed alliances with the following teams: French, Korean, Irish and Indian to work together to place the fixed ropes above camp 4 at the South Col. Without the support of larger teams to fix ropes above the South Col, smaller teams are also unable to make a summit bid since they do not have the Sherpa support to fix the required lines.

With the five teams mentioned above working to fix the lines, there will be as many as 70 climbers and Sherpas on the summit bid. Robert stated he will judge the number of climbers ascending on the first possible summit day and decide if we will wait for the second summit day to avoid possible delays on the fixed lines and a possible bottle neck on the Hillary Step. The following is our (tentative) summit bid itinerary.

Tentative Summit Bid Itinerary

DAY 1
Leave at 3am to climb to Camp 2
DAY 2
Rest at Camp 2. (note climbers have an option to arrive at camp 2 today - and not have a rest day at camp 2)
DAY 3
Leave at 5am for Camp 3. Rest, eat and start on Oxygen
DAY 4
Leave for Camp 4, the South Col. Climbing with Oxygen, Sherpa support
DAY 4
Evening - leave for summit bid! 10pm departure
DAY 5
To the top of Everest! Turn around time is 10am to start descent to camp 4
DAY 6
Descend to Camp 2
DAY 7
Descend to Base Camp
DAY 8
Pack to leave Base Camp
DAY 9
Start 2-day walk out to Lukla
DAY 10
Flight from Lukla to Kathmandu
THANK YOU FOR BEING A PART OF OUR EVEREST 2003 TEAM - WE APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT!

NAMASTE,

JAGGED GLOBE TEAM 2003

01:00 15th May (GMT) - Young people at base camp

Yaks! Photo: © Steve Bell

Jenny Cossey from New Zealand with her 3 boys have just spent a night with the Jagged Globe team - possibly the youngest group to visit BC this season.

Here are their impresions of trekking in Nepal

From Kipp (age 10) - sent to his clasmates in Wellington NZ
Hope your enjoying homework. In Nepal their are lots of yaks (mountain cows) and famous people. We see lots of yaks that wear bells around their necks then in the evening we eat them. Today I climbed up part of Mt Everest and part of the climb I had to do some ice climbing but it was hard because I did not have any crampons. It is not like walking in New Zealand because of the yak poo all over the path. With the dried yak poo the nepalies use it to create fire, using it instead of wood. At night you have to put the water bottles down your sleeping bags to stop them freezing. At base camp there are hundreds of tents (here it is nearly 2 times as high as Mt Cook)

From Alex (age 9) - also sent to school
We are at Base camp. Hope you are doing well on the work. It snowed yesterday. Some yaks have attacked the food tent. We walked up the ice fall after breakfast today. We learnt how to climb with 2 ice axes but we did not use crampons. The yaks just got fed hay. If you want, you can look up the Jaggered Globe website to find out more.

Mo (age 12)
We are staying at Base Camp right now and are with the Jagged Globe Expedition who are going up to Camp 2 tommorow. We are staying here another day before we head back towards Kathmandu. Just before, some yaks pulled down the tent next to us. There is a lot of Yak dung all over the paths. Everything over here is very cheap, $1.00 = 40.00r!! All the food over here is hot as well, because of all the diseases. Hope you are enjoying homework and the science fair.

01:00 13th May (GMT) - Update 13 May from Robert Anderson

Robert Anderson

In every good expedition book there is a chapter called 'the waiting game' or the equivelent. The writer waxes lyrical on patience, the beauties of Base Camp or the joys of cards at high altitude with team mates. On an earlier expedition a team mate of mine described Everest as 'two weeks of climbing crammed into two months' - and he wasn't far off. Books now circulating, Salman Rushdie, Fury: Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin: and James Clash's To the Limit, an overview of people from Ed Hillary to Jamling Tenzing who have enjoyed success on the heights to the boardrooms of the world. I admit bias - as one chapter covers my own career guiding.

What we are looking for right now is a combination of having everyone on our team personally fit and ready for the summit, coordination with other teams to fix the final ropes along the summit ridge, a cohesive plan with our Sherpas to assist us in carrying the final loads to the South Col at just under 8,000 meters, and good weather. The first three we control and are ready - the weather is just a bit slow to come into place. And while it is frustrating to sit at Base Camp virtually in shirt sleeves, even our sceptical Sherpa Manager tells me he thinks the weather report has saved more than a few lives from blowing off the heights of the mountain. And in our hike down the valley for lunch today, the resident Base Camp Doctor reports more than a few cases of frostbite as Sherpas and climbers return from higher on the mountain where the cold winds still howl.

We do have a hint of lower winds later in the week/early next week. The measurement is given in meters per second - above 17 is considered a storm and they have been running from 20-35, high enough to blow even a well armed Yeti off the summit ridge. If patience is a virtue, we have many virtues. Base Camp for most of us has become a comfortable and sociable home, so many countries represented that a curry for lunch and pommes frites for dinner isn't out of the question. It isn't a wilderness experience, but there are many other places to climb if one looks for that - though virtually nowhere else right now will you find a higher concentration of some of the worlds best climbers to share a cup of tea with and plot next seasons exploits.

Robert Mads Anderson, Expedition Leader

01:00 12th May (GMT) - Today's update from Peggy Foster

This morning I woke up to the drip of frost melting from the wall of the inside of my tent, onto my face. After descending from a few days at camp 2, base camp is like a holiday in the Caribbean.

One of my favourite Nepalese traditions is morning tea. Our base camp cooks, Passen and Rochan, gently wake us by greeting us with a serene 'good morning' and pass into our individual tents, a cup of steaming tea . As we wake from our long slumbers (we are usually in bed by 8pm, that gives us a good 11 hours of potential sleep), a melange of greetings are exchanged between our team mates, spoken in the individual native tongues - Dutch, Norwegian, Spanish, Nepalese and English.

This is one of the magical moments on Everest, when one feels blessed by abundance and peace. Our world on Everest is very isolated to the turmoil of the world beyond base camp. It is moments like this that man feels truly in harmony with fellow man and nature.

I feel inspired by this micro world experience on Everest, that peace is possible in our world. Our team of seven nations has adopted unilaterally an open mind to other team members' diverse cultural views. We don't always agree with each other's opinions, yet we do agree to compromise and find solutions for the betterment of the team.

Perhaps we should have our world leaders join as one - on an expedition to an 8,000 meter peak; and find solutions to world issues, which otherwise appear impossible to reach in the civilized world.

Blessing from Everest base camp,

Peggy Foster

01:00 11th May (GMT) - Epic icefall descent by Borge Ousland

The Icefall

Everest is well guarded, and the first, and maybe most serious test we have to go through, are the ice blocks in the Khumbu icefall.

Everyday when we wake up, we look up to the Khumbu icefall. It is a beautiful maze of badly broken ice in all colours of green, rising from Base Camp and up to the Western Cwm.

And unfortunately up through that labyrinth, is our route. The last two times we went through, we came just before part of the route collapsed. One time a ladder fell down with two Sherpas on (both survived, but one got injured), and the other time fifty meters of the route simply had vanished. Ladders and ropes were hanging from the freshly broken ice, and we had to slide through the many new blocks and smashed up pieces with our hearts in our throats.

So we know that the icefall is a dangerous and unpredictable place. These ice towers just stand there still, waiting to collapse, but you don't know when, We just have to take the chance, and hope it will not happen when we are passing through.

But there seems to be times of the day when the ice is more stable than others, at least that's what we think. Both collapses we witnesses happened between 7 and 9 in the morning. The theory is that the icefall is more likely to collapse when there are great temperature changes, in the morning and evening. So to walk during the night when everything is frozen solid should be a good idea.

That is why Rodrigo, Alex and me started out at four in the morning from Camp 2 last night, two hours before the others. We had a beautiful walk from camp 2 to camp 1, just above the icefall, watching the dawn come and the first rays of sun settling on peak Pumori. It was a perfect summit day, calm, blue sky, but unfortunately for us, due to some cooperation hiccups with other teams, the ropes are not in place high up and therefore we have to go down to base camp for more waiting.

The sun doesn't hit the icefall before 7, and it was a cold morning, icefall frozen solid we hoped. Going down the first ladder, we heard a cracking sound. Rodrigo, who is deaf on one ear, asked "was that the ladder?" "No", I said, "it was the ice". Worried, I went up again and onto more solid ground, but we soon found out that we had to do it one way or the other and decided to do it fast and one at a time.

Going down the first ladder went fine, but on the other side a seven-meter high ladder leads up to a narrow ridge. This ridge looks very unstable, and every time we have gone through here we hoped in advance that the ridge would had collapsed before we got there.

But it still stood, leaning more outwards than ever. So we were a bit nervous climbing up the ladders and down on the other side as fast as we could. I came down first, with Rodrigo just behind, and at the bottom of the ladders I clipped into the rope that would take me away to a safe distance from the overhanging wall.

Taking theses steps to what I thought would be safer ground; I suddenly felt the ground vanish under me. The ice block I was standing on had disappeared into the crevasse underneath and I was hanging in mid air from the rope I just had clipped into. Behind me I heard someone shouting in Spanish. Rodrigo had heard something collapse but had turned the other way, towards Alex.

Since Rodrigo only has one good ear, he didn't know where the sound came from, and since I was down in the crevasse out of sight, he thought it was Alex who was in trouble. Finally, Alex appeared safe and sound on the top of the ridge and I got the attention I felt I deserved. Not so much for help, it was picture time and when that was done, I pulled myself along the rope and onto the far side.

Today's incidents have showed us that the icefall is dangerous 24 hours and that there is no guarantied safe periods. When that is said, I still believe that between 3 and 6 in the morning, when everything is frozen, is safer than other periods.

Borge Ousland

01:00 10th May (GMT) - SATURDAY 10 MAY 19h00 Nepalese time

Team leader Robert Anderson radioed to BC from Camp 2 tonight to say that poor weather prevented them from continuing their summit bid.

As result the team of climbers will return tomorrow, Sunday morning, to BC from Camp 2, and wait until the weather predictions are favourable to go to the summit.

As reported by Robert Anderson, relayed by Claire Keeton at BC

01:00 9th May (GMT) - FRIDAY MAY 9, 13h00 Nepalese time

The team of Jagged Globe climbers led by Robert Anderson left Base Camp about 1h30 (after a very early breakfast) on Friday in high spirits, and clear conditions.

As arranged at noon, they radioed from Camp 2 to BC. "We have all arrived. Everybody is fine and it is sunny here with a few clouds," Robert said.

They will rest there until the early hours of Saturday morning, when they will go up to Camp 3.

The group met up with deputy leader David Hamilton at Camp 2, who had gone up 24 hours ahead of them.

As reported by Robert Anderson, relayed by Claire Keeton at BC

01:00 8th May (GMT) - Update from Sibusiso Vilane

Sibusiso Vilane Photo: © Steve Bell

We are mobilising to go. A small advance party left early this morning in clear conditions and the rest of us are preparing to leave tonight.

Every member is well. We are hoping for a good weather window when we are making our next and probably the final, move up for our summit bid.

There is some light at the end of the tunnel since the winds that have terrorised us for two full days have calmed down. This came as a sigh of relief to all of us.

Yesterday saw every member sorting out food rations and testing their oxygen masks for the South Col - a sure indication that we are soon to be making progress up the mountain.

This is the voice of the lion from base camp.

Until we meet again, Sibusiso Vilane.

01:00 6th May (GMT) - Expedition report, Tuesday 6th of May by Rodrigo Ponce

Today, after a 3-day and very pleasant rest at the "new" lodge in Lobuche, we had a very important meeting. It was about precisely the planning and details of the summit day. A single day that we have tried not to think about, taking each day as it comes. But sincerely, the summit day has been there inside with apprehension but also with courage.

Summit day absolutely depends on previous days, acclimatization, energy and weather conditions and it's understanding. It also depends on the first step each of us made, when we first "dreamed" of climbing the mountain and all the days that followed.

The weather has been very windy, blowing down 30 tents in camp 1 and some others in camp 2. There is little known about the conditions of the tents up in camp 3 and 4. The forecast predicts the wind to drop in the next few days, this will be our chance for our summit attempt.

And so the planning is:

Day 1.
Start early in the morning at 2am from Base Camp to climb through the icefall and arrive at Camp 2 (6,400m) by 9am. The Khumbu Icefall conditions are unknown at the moment.

Day 2.
If we do not need to stay one day (or two) at Camp 1, waiting for confirmation on the summit attempt schedule and leaving at 5am towards the Lhotse Face, climbing to Camp 3 at 7,350m. It is preferable to arrive there before noon. We remain there for the rest of the day and night with an oxygen supply at 0.5 lts/min, intended to save our energy.

Day 3.
We leave Camp 3 at 5am, wearing down suits and testing the oxygen mask, goggles vs lenses, liners under our down and big gloves for the next day. We plan to arrive early (before noon) and remain once again with 0.5 lts/min O2 supply.

Day 4.
We leave at 10pm sharp and focused, using the first 4-litre Oxygen bottle up to the 'Balcony' at 8,600m. We plan to arrive here at 4am at the latest. Here, we switch to the second bottle of Oxygen, now a 3 litre bottle, and use it for the steepest climb up to the South Summit, which is at approximately 8,750m. We aim to be here by 7am. Once at the South summit, we use the last 4-litre bottle up to the summit and back all the way to the South Col. We may use the bottle that was not finished (maybe 1/3 left in each) at each changeover place. We also talked about gear, water and the sherpa team on this critical day, and the importance to never forget the 4 basics; weather, route condition (snow, rope, etc.), team composition and yourselves.

Today we are closer to the big day, we know we have an uncertain future with lots of metres to climb in thin air, but to feel ourselves on our own way is a sufficient reason to go on!

"Con Dios a la Cumbre"

Rodrigo Ponce, Mexico

01:00 1st May (GMT) - Return from Camp 3 by Peggy Foster

Peggy Foster crossing a ladder bridge at night in the icefall Photo: © Jon Gangdal

Unlike our fellow team mates who experienced a typical Everest day with heat waves in the afternoon: our team left camp 2 at 4:30 am in light snowfall which persisted throughout the day and turned to gusty winds and heavy snowfall by the time I reached camp 3 in the early afternoon. The upside to 'the weather' was that the ropes were vacant, with only a few Sherpas sailing past us.

For four team members, including myself, arriving at camp 3 was a personal altitude high - 7,300 meters! Higher then any mountain in the western hemisphere! We celebrated by drinking hot soup and eating Pringles chips!! I believe the oxygen level at this altitude is about 40% of that at sea level, so our conversation was very, very basic. Any and all activity is well thought out before executed, since all movement is exhausting. The cold and dryness of the air causes a cough, appropriately called the 'Khumbu cough'. Even with overcast skies, I once again burnt my tongue on the ascent to camp 3! Unfortunately there is not a sun screen for one's mouth which receives the glare of sun rays off the snow when breathing!

Camp 3 sits precariously on ledges in the folds of ice on the Lhotse Face. This is an inhospitable environment, where our tents are roped down to the ice and the ropes we ascend are within meters of our tent doors. The wind howled and spin drift filled the vestibules of our tents. The night was long with over 12 hours of darkness and the temperatures plummeted to -30. The morning sun was a welcome sight as we and our tents de-thawed from the night freeze.

Returning to base camp yesterday, once again we were protected by our Creator and blessed by the mountain. Upon reaching the middle of the icefall, we came upon a section where a house-sized block of ice had fallen, causing two sections of ladders and ropes to be mangled like spaghetti and a 50 metre section of icefall to become a dangerous area to travel. Our Sherpa,s who were ahead of us, said the ice had shifted 15 minutes before our arrival, after their departure through the area.

Our team tip toed through the ravaged icefall, to the established rope section. We walked as though we were walking barefoot through a football field filled with broken glass - silently, with the swiftness and grace of sleek cats. The bond of our team was strongly felt as we watched with intense care for the well being our team mates, willing to extend and protect each other's safe passage.

Tonight, we are packing to hike down the valley tomorrow, for two to three days of rest at a lower elevation, before returning to base camp to wait for an appropriate summit bid window.

Namaste, Peg Foster

01:00 30th April (GMT) - "Ticket to ride"

My thoughts finally came together on what might be worth sharing in a homeward dispatch yesterday evening while trying to catch some "Z's" in my camp 2 tent. Fortunately for me, snowing and snoring create a potent mix of stimuli for mountain missives. Adding a third stimulus only compels one to take up the keyboard and write. You see, Robert had been doing tent morale rounds: first by looking for life in each Jagged Globe tent, then asking questions of the life found therein, and finally making mirth with the tent inmates liberally using his "signature hahahaha". Robert shook my tent and said "it's your turn Ziel, you're the "Z" and last on the list, so when you get back to base camp tomorrow, write something that will increase the number of hits on the JG server". Challenge acknowledged!

For the last several days our Jagged Globe team had been working the mountain in the 2 different teams fate has cast us. My team had just returned to camp 2 from our camp 3 acclimatization stay, while the other team had just arrived at camp 2 for their coming adventure at camp 3. It's a critical time in the expedition process. The challenge of climbing the Lhotse face to camp 3 (7,300 meters), successfully acclimatizing and sleeping well without oxygen is felt by many to be the ticket needed to buy a summit attempt. All of us feel some personal anxiety about earning our "ticket".

Climbing up the Lhotse face, got me to asking myself why I'm even here in the first place, not to mention the need for a "ticket". Some further reflection on the subject (while hyperventilating and sliding a jumar up hundreds of meters of "plastic Chinese boat rope") reminded me that this is one I can blame on my parents. It was they who bought Lord Hunt's 1953 book and brought it into our home. It was they who left it on the shelf for me to read. And it was they who left it there on the shelf for me to re-read and re-read and re-read. To grow up as a Ziel child was a cruel and cold affair, the effects clearly hounding me in my majority.

Cold indeed! My recent climb up the Lhotse face began hours before sun-up. The reason for starting early (exclusive of unresolved childhood trauma) is not to enjoy the mountain at it's coldest but to avoid it at it is hottest. In fact anytime we go "up" on this mountain we start when most normal people are asleep. 5000, 6000, 7000 meters; it makes no difference, when the sun comes out, you had better hide because the ice and snow in the Western Cwm are God's gift to microwave technology. This heat can cause a permanent "Mexican Siesta". It's really not true what they say about mad dogs and Englishmen. I seem to recall Lord Hunt politely called it "cwm gloom". I have another word for it which you are not allowed to post on this website.

So all things considered, it seemed to me the appropriate strategy for the Lhotse face was to intentionally under-dress. That way if you move "real fast" you will not freeze before the sun comes. You will be less likely to incinerate when the sun does come up. Moreover, you will not die when the sun comes up, you try to undress and accidentally unclip from the jumar and fall 1000 meters into the "cwm gloom". Unfortunately, under-dressing did seem a good strategy for the sun down position until my hand froze to the jumar and a crampon comes loose. Lord Hunt's crew didn't have jumars and "Chinese boat rope". Maybe there's a lesson here.

I finally pulled into camp 3 with the microwave on full and waited for my companions to join me. The tents were hotter than sitting in direct sun, so I had a wonderful opportunity to put a brew on and look around at the scenery and wait the hours for the sun to go down. My focus then changed from the climb to what I could see and remember. If I stood on my toes, I imagined I could look over the Nuptse wall and see the NW Ridge of Ama Dablam I almost climbed as an arrogant youth. I stood above the summit of Pumori, a peak I wanted to climb in 1989, but life said no. I saw the summit plateau of Cho Oyo, a place I stood in 1997. I also saw the bulk of Gyachang Kang, Mike's final resting place. Today's cold climb seemed to take a lifetime. What a long strange trip this has been.

You're welcome Robert.

Fred Ziel

01:00 28th April (GMT) - The first full rest after coming down from camp 3

It is 0500h. Before I wake up for the first time, I sit up to do the usual thing with the pee bottle. There is no condensation falling on my back, it is warm, I am in Base Camp, the most comfortable place to be on this mountain. I'm listening to Cat Stevens on the CD player till the sun hits the tent at 0730h. But there's no sun at the moment. I look outside, heavy clouds, it is not going to be a day for washing as I had planned.

The second group is heading up to stay in Camp 3, if there is not too much wind it might even be positive not to have the sun up there as it bakes you almost off the mountain. How I hated that sun when I was up there on the Lhotse face. I am losing weight now rapidly, for the first time I could sit over the toilet without falling backwards, my tummy has disappeared.

0800h. Breakfast is too much as usual, the last breakfast we could manage in Camp 3 were 2 cups of sherpa tea. I'm reading a book till lunch time, my 6th book already. Then an excellent lunch with fresh yak meat from Namche. After lunch David, Fred and I go for a walk in Base Camp. Our camp is rather far off the main route through BC, if you want to know what is happening around BC, one just has to pay some visits, just as in a little village.

The first visit was to the Irish team of 4 men and 2 women. Hanna,the dentist has the most remarkable network in BC. Before we knew it we had spent 2 hours, mainly exchanging jokes. We continued for the camp of the brothers Benegas from Argentina. Then we passed by the HRA, the Himalayan Rescue Association. On the way back, we looked into the BC cyber cafe, with a lot of customers in there and free chocolate. And finally, we went to the BC bar, where we had a coke and a beer, while a group of sherpas were playing cards with heavy money on the table. Coming back to our dining tent, I helped our doctor, Fred to treat one of our sherpas who has an infected leg.

1800h. Time for dinner, the same perfect yak meat.

It's now 1900h and time to go to bed after a day of practically doing nothing! The beauty of climbing Mount Everest is that these rest days of doing nothing are just as essential for reaching the final goal as the hard days.

Kiek Stam at Base Camp 29/4 1900h

01:00 25th April (GMT) - A Day in the Life at Everest by Robert Anderson

The Sherpa Cooks start clanging pots at 4 am, Climbing Sherpas join in at 4:30 am, all just below my tent. By 5 the smell of burning juniper wafts from the Stupa and they clomp off towards Camp II, carrying food, tents and oxygen for the high Camps.

I could avoid all this, but the Sherpas are integral to our success so I always place my tent in the centre of Camp, Sherpas on one side, kitchen close by, which is their hub, and members spread out on the other side.

By 5:30 am it is light but cold, a good time, the same as in any office, to get the things done that need an active brain but don't require other input, or that are better done uninterrupted. How everyone is feeling is key, both physically and emotionally, altitude not being kind to either. Camp supplies can be worked and reworked, a little more equipment up high means less Sherpa support in other areas so it all needs to be balanced every day. And calculating oxygen requirements with oxygen burn times in litres per minute, times volume, set against flow rates at different altitudes; the calculations could confuse me at sea level, little alone here with half the oxygen in the air to breathe.

At 7 am the sun hits, the tent warms up instantly and at 7:30 tea arrives, a choice of black tea, hot chocolate or Sherpa tea, a milky, sweet tea that seems to work for the Sherpas so most of us do the same.

At 8 pots clang again and it is off to breakfast - eggs, toast, cereal and by 9 am when we reappear it is bright sunshine. Loads for the Sherpas are organized for the following day and I meet with Pema to check on their health and happiness. With bonuses paid for every carry, with prices going up as we ascend the mountain, and their reputation based on how fast they move with how much is in their packs, staying on top of how they are doing and making sure they don't overextend early in the expedition will keep us all happier later on.

By lunchtime, the tropical flavour of the morning is replaced by clouds and breezes that often bring a quick snow storm and by early evening it seems as if the mountain is nothing but storm and cloud. Today all Expedition Leaders and their Sherpa Sirdars are meeting to work out rope placement from the South Col to the Summit and timing for the summit bids. With 26 teams on the mountain and around 300 climbers, and limited good weather days, we need to work out long before we all get up high, who fits in where. With seven nationalities in just our own expedition, added to the immense mix across camp, details could prove interesting. Many of us know each other from previous climbs on Everest and elsewhere though so it isn't the first time we have worked together.

By evening the Cooks have prepared another five course meal, the better to keep us sustained when we go higher and food dwindles to nearly nothing as our appetites decrease. We remain as comfortable as possible for as long as possible, then we must suffer. By 8 pm, barring a round of cards, we head for our tents, a book, some music, and I make a phone call home to talk to my wife Margaret and see what the kids are up to. Fifteen year ago when I led the ascent of a new route on the remote Kangshung Face of Everest in Tibet, we went six weeks without any contact with the outside world: today they are on one touch speed dial, a very welcome improvement.

Today Assistant Guide David Hamilton has moved to Camp III with Kiek, Fred and Sibusisu for the night. The remainder of us will move to Camp II tomorrow and then on up to III for one night. David reported today at the mid-day radio call that there is a lot of ice on the Lhotse Face, slowing progress, but they were still up to Camp in time for lunch following a 5 am start.

And if Base Camp sounds civilized, there is the underlying thought that tomorrow we will be pleasantly awakened at 12:30 am for tea and set off in the dark and the frost with headlamps showing a feeble path over to the icefall. We will put on steely cold crampons by 3 am and spend the next 2 hours climbing up over vertical ice cliffs, through ice tunnels under towering seracs and crossing ladders lashed together in up to 6 shaky segments to traverse crevasses whose depths can't be seen. At 5 am we get a bit of light, with luck we will be passing through Camp I around 7 and be very near to Camp II by 9 when the sun really starts heating up. The heat at altitude is unbelievable, no wind, sun reflecting off ice on three sides and air too thin to make much use of it. So we move at night, when it is cooler, safer, as the ice is frozen more solidly, and before most other teams are up and about.

In our group, we have been very fortunate to have good health with only a few minor complaints which have quickly improved. And with a diversity of backgrounds from the bush in Africa to the North Pole, conversations can range from stalking Lions to avoiding Polar Bears on the ice. It is a small world but it doesn't lack for interest.

With all of us high on the mountain over the next few days, updates will be a bit less frequent, though we will try and patch in from up the hill.

Robert Anderson, Expedition Leader

01:00 23rd April (GMT) - Everest update - written by Tony Wickham - Wales' climber

David, Kiek, Sibu and Fred left base camp at 2:30 am this morning, heading up through the ice fall to camp 2. They will have a rest day tomorrow (24th) before moving onto camp 3 for the final stage of acclimatization -where they will spend a night. The following day, they will drop down to camp 2, then onto base camp the following day.

The remaining eight team members were anticipating to leave early tomorrow morning, yet our plans have changed. Due to the latest weather forecast we have delayed our departure for higher on the mountain for at least 48 hours. When the weather forecast clears, we will follow the same climbing itinerary as our fellow team mates.

An earlier radio contact with our climbing mates who departed early this morning, confirmed they are all healthy and happy resting at camp 2.

After the second team of eight return from their final acclimatization climb to camp 3, the whole team of will rejoin at base camp. We are all looking forward to hiking down to the Italian Research Centre for a few days, to rest up and 'fatten up', before returning to base camp to wait for a summit bid window, hopefully within the first two weeks of May.

Tony Wickham

01:00 22nd April (GMT) - Expedition report - Rodrigo Ponce (Mexico)

Sometimes days pass very fast here in the mountain, some other times a day feels longer than a week...

We have been back two days, from our 2nd approach up the mountain. Yesterday the descend took us very little by little into a snow, wind and white out situation. We really thought on getting into camp 1 before approaching down the khumbu icefall, but moving slowly and keeping the group together suddenly the weather cleared up and we got even warm to BC. It was great to have some beer and a soup made out from a reindeer leg Borge brought for the team all the way from Norway.

Experiencing the Lhotse face was a big challenge. There is a section of "crystal" ice and about 55 degrees. Next time we will approach it all the way to camp 3 and spend a night there. Attached is a picture of Sibusiso and the rest of the team above him starting that wall. From there we could see "very close" the south col and part of the way up to the south summit.

Today the rest of the team, that spent an extra night in camp 2 (Peggy, Robert, John, Tony and Borge) descended. They were witness to an unfortune accident in which an ice block fell causing two Sherpas on ladders to collapse, the Sherpas were safely taken by helicopter to Katmandu. Peggy has a great note about the feeling all sherpas showed to their partners.

The mountains we have there to be climbed are inside ourselves. Sometimes you meet them for the first time when you are "dreaming being awaken", some other times you know it is some place and be fortunate later to be there in its summit, but some other times the mountain with all its beauty and majesty takes you down and gives you a lesson of life.

"Con Dios a la Cumbre"

Rodrigo Ponce

01:00 22nd April (GMT) - The fine art of acclimatisation by Borge Ousland

Crevasse between camp 1 and camp 2 in the Western Cwm Photo: © Borge Ousland

It is not just to go up and down a few times, and then rush for the summit, as an outsider might think. No, It consist of a much more complex nature which actually involves a lot of restless, and sometimes painful, waiting. Reaching a new altitude means for most of us a sleepless night with headache and all the time wanting go to the toilet. Drinking is essential to acclimatising and most of us drink up to 1,5 litres of waters during the night, which of course needs to come out again. So first night is a twisting, restless waiting period with no sleep. In addition nights are cold, maybe 15-20 C belove at 6500 meter (where camp 2 is), and often with the night-winds violently shaking the tent. Getting out of the sleeping bag on such cold mornings is never fun. But then the sun comes and for then minutes you soak in these life-giving rays, before it gets so blazing hot that you can do nothing else than crawling back into the tent again, drinking water and waiting for the headache to go away...

But amazingly enough, gradually our bodies starts to adapt to the new altitudes and already the next night is much better. Headache gone, and when you don't wake up feeling that you are suffocating any more, then you are ready for a new altitude, which ideally is 300 meters above the last camp. This way we move up, to get used to the new altitude, and then down to base camp again to rest before we feel fit to reach an ever-higher elevation.

So there is absolutely no way to rush up this mountain. This process requires patience more than anything. If you don't have it you must learn to achieve it, and right now I am in the middle of this process. My background is in Arctic and Antarctic travels, where patience of course is necessary to walk for endless hours day after day for several months. But this is a different patience. At least you do something new everyday, you see new things, you get to a new campsite, and every day is new in a different way than the last one.

God that there is still things to learn. I need to learn to cope with this new patience, and I think I have found the recipe. The most important way to deal with this "waiting game" is to take one day at the time, and if that doesn't work, make it one hour at the time. Forget about the summit for a while, look around you at the beautiful nature, talk and play with the Sherpas and your teammates. Escape into music or a good book. The summit will not go away, it is there if you can wait until your body is adapted to the various altitudes. Then you can let go and give everything you have to reach the summit, but not before. And that's is why we are here, because this is one of the worlds greatest adventures, if you are patient enough to let it all be a part of you.

Borge Ousland

01:00 21st April (GMT) - Expedition report by Peggy Foster (Canadian Climber)

This morning I woke up to the sound of ice pinnacles falling off the ridge in the distance from camp 2, which sounds like the dog had just knocked over the china cabinet! The 5 am wake up call was by delivered by our camp 2 cook 'Pemba' who was enticing us to rouse from our sleepy chambers with a cup of Sherpa tea, a frothy sweet milky tea - steaming hot.

By 6 am, Borge, John , Tony, Robert and I braced the morning's blustery wind and start off from camp 2 (6,450 meters) after 4 to 5 days of high altitude acclimatization , descending to base camp. As we approached the fixed lines of the Khumbu ice fall a concerned Sherpa stopped us to say that an ice block had just fallen, causing two Sherpas on ladders secured to the ice floor to collapse with the ladders.

The five of us watched in awe as the Sherpa community in close proximity to the accident, worked shiftily to rescue the fallen Sherpas; and reconstruct a temporary safe route for the Sherpas involved and the five of us on the Jagged Globe team . Climbers ascending the ice fall were told to descend back to base camp since this area was temporarily unsafe.

As I watched a Sherpa 'piggy back' his fellow injured Sherpa up a vertical section of ice 60 feet, I was reminded of the strong foundation of the Sherpa culture - they give of themselves with ease.

Descending down through the ice fall, the winds had become calm and the sun danced on the ice. It was unusually quiet due to the fact that we were the only team to descend through the accident site and the last team off the mountain for the day. Viewing the occurrence today was a vivid reminder of the power of nature.

Descending, we passed Sherpa 'loads' in backpack after backpack secured on the fixed lines, to be retrieved tomorrow and carried higher on the mountain, after the 'ice doctor's had ensured the safety of the ladders and ropes in the ice fall.

One of the most striking moments today was when I viewed the injured men being carried out of the ice fall by fellow Sherpas with a procession line of 80 Sherpas following behind in support, chanting and being present for the injured men.

As we entered base camp, the smell of juniper lingered in the air, as various expedition burned juniper on their Stupas, to ask for the blessings of the mountain.

The experiential knowledge available while being a climber on Everest is endless. Having the privilege to be apart of Sherpa's culture for a few months is highly cherished.

Namaste,

Peg Foster

01:00 21st April (GMT) - A summary of the last few days by deputy leader, David Hamilton

Everest Expedition Update by David Hamilton

Wednesday 16 April
10 members of team climb from BC (5250m) to camp 1 (6000m). Some leave BC at 3.10.00am, others one hour later. Both teams take approx 5 hours to reach camp 1. Weather is fine all day and the team spend all day relaxing in the tents to escape the heat of the sun.

Thursday 17 April
Some light overnight snow partially obscures the trail to camp 2. The weather is fine by 7.00am and the team walk slowly towards camp 2 (6300m) taking between 2.5 and 3 hours for the journey. Our sherpa crew have done a great job of establishing camp 2. When we arrive the tents are all erected and waiting for us (one kitchen tent, one mess tent, 6 x 2 man tents for group use, and 5 tents for sherpa use.The weather stays fine all day, with a little afternoon cloud. Team members relax, play cards, read books and try to get used to eating strange food out of foil bags. The two remaining team members move from BC to camp 1.

Friday 18 April
Most people make an early morning trek to the foot of the Lhotse face along the trail towards camp 3. This takes about 90 minutes and takes them to an altitude of 6600m. On the ropes above we can see more than 40 sherpas from different expeditions carrying equipment up the fixed ropes to establish camp 3 at a height of 7300m. The afternoon is again spent relaxing in camp 2 and getting used to life at 6300m. The two remaining team members move from camp 1 to camp 2. All 12 members are now in camp 2.

Saturday 19 April
Alarm at 6.00am and away by 7.00am. We all make the trek to foot of the Lhotse wall again. Once there we spend a few hours familiarising ourselves with the techniques required for climbing fixed ropes on a steep ice wall. The ropes placed by the India / Nepal Army team over a week ago are not sufficient for the expected volume of traffic over the next few weeks, and we resolve to work with other expeditions to place an additional length of rope on all the difficult sections between camps 2 and 3. Afternoon spent back in camp 2. By now people are getting very familiar with eating food out of foil bags. Some even resort to trading Sausages and Beans (popular) for 'Chicken and Herb Dumplings' (not so popular). The leaders take this as a sign that people are acclimatising quite well. Strong winds overnight hit the camp but none of our tents sustain any damage.

Sunday 20 April
Back to BC for half of the team. Alarm at 5.00am and away at 6.00am. A few inches of snow cover camp and it is snowing lightly as we set off. 100m from our camp we come across some sherpas from another group retrieving tents which have been blown out onto the glacier. It seems that not all expedition camps escaped the night's high winds unscathed. The weather worsens as we trek down the Western Cwm and visibility is reduced to 50m in places. The trip is made a bit less than pleasant by the strong wind which blows snow into our faces. After about one and a half hours we pick up the fixed ropes below camp one and meet many sherpas struggling uphill in the snowstorm. An hour later the weather clears and we see the 'village' of BC below. By 9.00am we are sitting in BC enjoying a hot meal in the sunshine and wondering if the snow storm of a few hours earlier had been real or imaginary. After 4 days away from BC most of the team enjoy a cold beer and hot shower to celebrate the return to 'civilisation'. It is surprising how comfortable BC seems after a few days away.

Postscript - Monday 21 April
It is only 9.00am and someone else can write today's dairy entry. The remaining team members are on their way from camp 2 to BC and should be here within the hour. My partner Claire is leading a Jagged Globe trekking group in the area, and they could be arriving at Gorak Shep today. I am going to take a few days off from expedition work and go looking for them. If they are not yet at Gorak Shep I might run up Kala Pattar a few times while I am waiting for them.

David Hamilton

11:43 15th April (GMT) - Expedition report, Tuesday 15th of April

After getting down from our first night at camp 1 we feel very happy to have been there and have started the climb. Yesterday it was a full "rest day" since we all knew that was the main and most important task. In the afternoon Robert took the decision to wait until Wednesday 16th very early to leave once again to the mountain. We all agreed since we do not want to be acclimatized too early and then have to wait until the window let us make our summit day.

Later on in the day we gathered in a meeting organized by the French Team to join and photograph all climbers, sherpas and base camp staff of the Everest 2003 expeditions in the Golden Jubilee Celebration (http://www.everest-2003.com). It was very nice to see everybody and make a single team. In the evening the weather for the first time since we have been here in BC, started to close, it snowed little until midnight.

Today in the morning and afternoon the weather has clear up slowly and we are now prepared to start the next climb very early 3:00am tomorrow 16th. The plan is to spend a night once again at camp 1 and by the 17th go to camp 2 for the first time. Have a couple of nights there and according to how everybody is feeling we will get close to camp 3.

As every of the members of this group I feel very happy because we have accomplish to complement ourselves to be a single group in the mountain. I feel very fortunate to have meet this wonderful persons and to have the opportunity to share ourselves.

Latest news, Kiek from the Netherlands became granfather for the 4th time!!! he's got a "Little Dexter Kiek" and we are sure he came out fixing a difficult engineering job...

Hola a todos en Guadalajara, saludos a los caicos, familiares y amigos

Polilla (Alejandro Minakata) (Mexico)

01:00 13th April (GMT) - Expedition Report, Sunday 13 April

The whole team is back in Base Camp, safe and sound, after the first night sleep in Camp 1 at 6050 meters. Everone seems to acclamatize quite well, except for a few nightly headaches, which is quite normal at such an early stage of the trip.

We had a real "alpine start" yesterday, being waked up with bedtea at 02.45 am, and were at the bottom of the icefall before anybody else at 04.00. It always gives a good feeling starting that early, climbing in the dark only with light from your headtorch, knowing that the whole upcoming day still is yours.

After an hour we were passed by a lot of sherpas, as always climbing much faster than us, but always smiling and patiently waiting for us when crossing ladders up to 7-8 meters length over huge crevasses and other difficult steps.

The first five reached Camp1 at 09.00 pm, just as the sun hit the tents. We started brewing for the others who were met with hot drinks an hour later. The day was mostly spent in the sunheated tents, cooking, reading, looking at the amazing view into the Western CWM an the Lhotse Face - or just doing nothing, knowing that every hour spent at this altitude finally will help us to the top of the highest mountain in the world.

The first stoves started heating in the cold tents before 06.00 am this morning, and the aim was to start the descent for Base Camp before 08.00 am. Everone was out of the tents with good margin for that, and down in Base Camp around 11.00. Allthough most of the icefall seem to be safe, a few parts doesn't look too good, and schould be crossed as early in morning as possible. Another factor is that the sun burns you up if you spend the whole day in it with ice and snow all around you.

We will have a new restday tomorrow, and then move up to Camp1 and continue to Camp2 at 6500 meters the day after for a couple of nights, and then back to Base Camp again. The sherpas have now done five trips with loads to Camp 2, and are all in good condition.

Climbing Everest is very much "a waiting game" and "the art of seeing that all action counts" which also includes the "action" of someimes doing comepletely nothing. That might be the most difficult part for some of us...

John Gangdal (Norway), Expedition Member Jagged Globe Everest expedition.

01:00 11th April (GMT) - Peggy Foster,Canadian climber, reporting from base

Today is our second rest day at base camp, before we leave early tomorrow morning for our first ascent and night at camp 1. As I am writing to you, a few of my fellow team-mates are washing their laundry by scrubbing cloths on a large stone and rinsing them in a murky bowl of water. Along side of them, a Sherpa is grinding chilli peppers on a stone in preparation for lunch. Others team mates are showering, preparing equipment, or resting for the demanding ascent to camp 1.

Rest days at base camp are busy with team meetings on necessary discussions such as use of radios, stoves, and high altitude medical information. Today's team meeting before lunch is to become familiar with the use of oxygen equipment. This morning at 3:30 am a group of Sherpas left our camp with 55 bottles of oxygen to be taken to camp 2.

Our expedition team's village sits at the far side of Everest base camp sheltered from the hustle and bustle of the core of base camp. The village center is the Puja Stupa, from which streams five series of prayer flags embracing our expedition camp.. On each stream is five different flags representing the elements honoured by the Sherpas - water, clouds, earth, sky, fire. Every morning juniper is burnt at the stupa to ask the mountain for our expedition team's safety and blessing as we begin another day as a guest in this land.

In addition to the ten climbers and two expedition leaders, we are fortunate to have the support of 17 Sherpas who are the driving force behind our team. The Sherpas ever smiling faces and cheerful spirits are an important cultural element of our Everest experience.

The sounds of rocks tumbling and avalanches falling in the distance, are a frequent reminder in the silence of the night of the forces of mother nature. The sun rising over the ridge in the morning is a welcome sight as the frost burns off the inside of our tents and we emerge from our slumber .

The international favour of our team is a real gift. Last night, Borge entered our communal mess tent at dinner time with a leg of a white reindeer dried and salted which he had brought from Finland. At first I thought he had found the remains of a Yak and was playing a trick on us, yet when he carved off a hunk of meat and preceded to eat it I was assured this was a very special treat !

We will be thinking of you as we climb through the magic of the khumbu ice fall during the night, and emerge at sunrise to the entrance of the Western Cwm.

Namaste, Peggy Foster, Jagged Globe Everest expedition.

01:00 9th April (GMT) - Written by John Crellin ( from Isle of Man)

I woke up at 3:30 am and laid in my warm sleeping bag waiting for the 'chink' of metal cups which would mean the delivery of a hot cup of tea from the Sherpas next to my tent.

The tent was cold and icy, so I didn't want to waste time as I dressed to go down to breakfast. I managed two bowls of cereal. I am always amazed at other climbers who are able to eat full hearty breakfasts of porridge, eggs and toast before an endurance climb!

We set off walking across the undulating moraine-covered glacier for the base of the Kumbu icefall. This walk in itself is an energy-sapping task - especially on a full stomach!

Jon, Borge and Fred set off by themselves whilst the rest of us split into two groups led by Robert and David.

The first part of the ice fall is a maze of peaks and troughs before the labyrinth of stacked ice blocks. As I looked ahead, I could see a broken line of people darkly dressed, like ants climbing an iced cake!

We walked our way steadily through the icefall, crossing ladders, climbing ladders and jumaring our way upwards.

The climbing is exhausting, yet you can completely appreciate the spectacular scenery.

As we acclimatise, the simple task of climbing up 500 meters inevitably brings on a severe headache for some of us - I being one of them.

After five hours of climbing, at 10 am, the sun hit us and the icefall turned from a freezer into an inferno, it was time to turn back to base camp. We had reached 5800 meters, which is 200 meters short of camp 1. Two hours later we were back at the base of the icefall, taking off our crampons and having a well deserved drink - a very successful acclimatisation climb!

My head was pounding, so after a few headache pills and a light lunch, I slept for five hours. At 7 pm, I dragged myself down for dinner before another ten hours of rest. Plenty of fluids and lots of sleep gave me back my climbing legs!

John Crellin (Isle of Man), Everest 2003 Expedition

01:00 7th April (GMT) - Everest team arrive in base camp

All the team are now at BC, including leader, Robert Mads Anderson who arrived on Saturday, only one day after the rest of the team despite arriving in Kathmandu a week later! The team is in great form and looking forward to the first foray into the icefall on Monday. The weather is great so far except for the last 2 mornings when it snowed. The puja was yesterday (Sunday).

Steve Bell