01:00 12th June (GMT) - Letter in the Sunday Times

The following was published in The Sunday Times (United Kingdom) on 12 June, following an inaccurate piece of reporting the previous week:

EVEREST: We suspect that because of the brevity of SMS text messages (e-mail was not available above advance base camp), Lady Fiennes misunderstood the situation on Everest (News, last week). The impression is given that the Jagged Globe team did not have sufficient oxygen for the climb, particularly for the summit attempt. On the contrary, we had more oxygen per climber than any other team this season (perhaps ever), and we did not buy oxygen from other teams or climbers. In fact, Jagged Globe supplied so much oxygen that we were able to start using it lower on the mountain than anyone else and we maintained this advantage all the way to the top. Our overwhelming success speaks for itself with eight members and six sherpas reaching the summit on June 3 and 4. — The Jagged Globe Summiteers, Kathmandu.

01:00 9th June (GMT) - Good things come to those who wait...

As the first flakes of monsoon snow begin to fall on Mount Everest, both our South Col and North Ridge teams are back in Kathmandu, where they will celebrate their climbs with a party tonight at the Summit Hotel.

Spring 2005 will be remembered as one of the worst weather years in memory on Everest. Our South Col team had completed their acclimatisation by 28 April, with a night sleeping at 7,300m. On the same day on the other side of the mountain, members from our North Ridge team reached 7,700m whilst testing our new oxygen masks. They had climbed from the North Col at 7,000m to 7,700m on a flow rate of 2 litres per minute in just 4 and a half hours. We were beginning to feel very positive as the reports came through that team members were feeling strong, the sherpa team were starting to stock the top camps and the weather was still okay.

Then the winds came. The Jet Stream – a high altitude wind that blasts the upper reaches of the mountain at speeds of 80 miles per hour, positioned itself over Everest and showed no signs of budging. By mid-May, people started to get twitchy. Last year, Kenton Cool and Clive Jones were the first to top out on 15 May – a year to the day later, Kenton and this year’s South Col team were getting ready to leave base camp for a summit attempt. This attempt ended just above camp 3 a few days later, when it became clear that the forecasted lull in the wind was not going to materialise.

The first climbers of the season summited Everest in a brief window and extremely marginal conditions on 21 May, via the North Ridge. The highest that anyone from the South side reached that day was the South Summit (8,500m), before they were forced back by wind and cold. Finally, the Everest forecast models seemed to agree that the Jet Stream would start to move away from the mountain at the end of May. On 26 May, our South Col group left base camp and climbed to Camp 2, where they waited. They then moved up to camp 3 and on to camp 4 at the South Col, on 30 May. With the winds still strong, but decreasing, three team members, three sherpas and expedition leader, Kenton Cool reached the top of the world on 31 May and descended back to the South Col. Kenton descended quickly to base camp, having sustained a cut above the eye from rock fall just above the South Col.

On the North Ridge, climbers had summited again on 27, 29 and 30 May. The night of 1 June was extremely windy and our team were in two groups, pinned down at camp 2 at 7,500m and camp 3 at 7,900m. Leader, David Hamilton, phoned from camp 3 to say that he thought they would be descending soon. Later, he said that the second night at camp 3 was “the worst night I have ever spent in a tent”. Two out of the three tents in camp 3 were broken by the wind. When we had a call from David the following day, we expected it to come from Advance Base Camp, it was from the top camp at 8,400m! Team member, Tore Rasmussen joked over the Satellite phone “We are having a jolly good time here, brewing up, talking and enjoying ourselves.” The other half of the group had moved to what was left of camp 3. Over the next two days, in clear conditions, with very little wind, the team’s patience finally paid off and 8 out of the 11 original members summited. They did so quickly, with both groups topping out by 7.30am. On his descent, Ian Parnell commented that they had so much oxygen in the top camp, they were able to descend on a flow rate of 3 litres per minute.

As has been widely reported in the National Media, Sir Ranulph Fiennes took the decision to turn round on summit day. Ran was fearful of having a heart attack after he felt chest pains less than an hour out of the top camp. At a press conference in London on Tuesday, Ran described how he was feeling strong up to that point and was the first of his group to reach each camp, as he moved up the mountain. Whilst clearly disappointed not to summit, Ran’s main concern is to raise £2 million as part of his Healthy Hearts Appeal for the British Heart Foundation. As he sees it, if he achieves this aim, then the ‘Everest project’ will have been successful. You can visit www.bhf.org.uk to find out more about this appeal and to donate to it.

So that’s another Everest season over. These were the 9th and 10th Everest expeditions that Jagged Globe has organised and the 8th and 9th that have put members on the summit, making us the most experienced and successful British company on either side of the mountain. This year, a total of 12 out of a possible 17 members (leaders and climbers) topped out, despite the bad weather. This outstanding result is a testament to each team’s patience, commitment and hard work, as well as just a little luck!

We continue to run our expeditions with a clear ethos – to make sure that team members are well prepared and to make our expeditions as well resourced as any on the mountain. Crucially, that means the very best oxygen system and lots of it to spare, a high level of Sherpa support, the best equipment and expert leadership. On Everest, that’s what counts.

01:00 8th June (GMT) - Travelling back to Kathmandu

Most of the team are travelling back to Kathmandu today, though some members left BC earlier, anxious to get home to their loved ones. Ran was back in London yesterday for a press conference (see piece in The Times today. Although he looked pretty tired, he talked enthusiastically about a couple of future projects - one of which is to work towards climbing the North Face of the Eiger in a few years time. Ran certainly has the climbing bug!

01:00 6th June (GMT) - Summit stories

Today, most of the team are still in ABC organising taking everything down off the mountain. Our incredible Sherpa team will continue to work to strip all the camps and bring down tents etc. Ran has broken all records by getting back to Kathmandu from ABC in just over a day! (Ran is flying out of Kathmandu tonight to get back to the UK and honour some important engagements that he has arranged - remember that this expedition should have been back last weekend...). North Sea Trawler man from Grimsby, Jens Bojen is on his way to BC. At age 62, Jens is the oldest Briton to climb Everest. Sibusiso Vilane from South Africa, is now the only black person to climb Everest twice and by two different routes. With everyone now safely down off the mountain, we are happy to say that despite the appalling weather, this has been the most successful Everest season for Jagged Globe and any British operator. On 3/4 June, six team members, both expedition leaders (David Hamilton and Neal Short) and six Sherpas summited via the North East Ridge. They climbed all the way from the North Col on oxygen and even descended back down from the summit on oxygen at 3 litres per minute! On 31 May, three team members, three Sherpas and expedition leader, Kenton Cool summited via the South Col route. Both David and Kenton have now summited Everest twice in consecutive years as leaders of Jagged Globe expeditions. But without our amazing Sherpa team, none of this success would have been possible and we would like to thank them for their efforts throughout both expeditions, and crucially, on summit days.

Our condolences go out to Robert Milne's family, who was reported to have died on the South side of Everest yesterday. Robert was named on our permit as part of the sharing arrangements we have with Henry Todd, but wasn't climbing with the Jagged Globe team.

Here's David Hamilton's report on the first summit day (3 June) from the first half of the group:

"The team started out from the top camp 8,300m at 11.30pm on 2 June. It had been windy before that point but had died down for the summit attempt. The wind was blowing at highs of 20-30 knots and conditions were reasonably cold but not exceptionally so.

Mingma (Tore's Sherpa and 10 time summiteer) headed off first with David Hamilton following closely behind. Then Alex and Pasang (the younger brother of Mingma) followed and at the back was Sibusiso and his Sherpa, Nwang, also a multiple summiteer.

The team climbed up and on to the ridge in the dark and over the first step. The second step, which is the most difficult, is covered in old ropes and Chinese ladders (put there in 1975). At the 3rd step, the most straightforward, dawn came. There was no cloud and the views were amazing. The next section was snow and then on to rock similar to that of the dolomitic towers.

The team traversed the narrow ledge for about 100m, roughly 100m below the summit. They then gained the summit ridge and there were plenty of foot steps from previous teams. They enjoyed the summit to themselves and spent 1 and a half hours on the top taking photos and calling family and friends. David then videoed Sibusiso singing the South African national anthem whilst holding a picture of Nelson Mandella. It wasn’t easy singing without a mask and oxygen! They left the summit at 7.30am and were all at the top camp by 11.30am. Alex continued all the way to ABC that day."

Here's assistant leader, Neal Short's account from the second half of the team on the morning of 4 June: "Ian, Mark, Jens and Neal left shortly after 11pm with crucial Sherpa support from Nima Gombu, Nima Tenzing and Phurba Namgyal. Ran at this point had already turned back as he had left 1 hour earlier than the rest of the group. Approaching the ridge the wind picked up and began to cause concern as to how it would develop. We shared a night-time ascent across the notorious steps with about 20 other climbers. At sunrise we stopped to change to oxygen and have a drink (if not frozen!) and then made for the summit pyramid snow slopes. At 7am, with adrenaline surging, tired legs forgotten about with elation, the team reached the top of the world after two hard months. For Mark, this was his 2nd attempt, for Jens, at 62, this was an amazing achievement. Neal and Ian followed up the rear and enjoyed their time on top. All felt extremely privileged for the opportunity and indebted to the strong Sherpas. The descent took around 5 hours and the team had enough oxygen to remain on it at 3 litres per minute."

01:00 4th June (GMT) - More summits!

0945 GMT Apologies for the slow update this morning, but we were getting conflicting reports about who had actually summited this morning. Neal Short has just called on the Sat phone from Camp 4...

Currently, Neal Short (UK), Jens Bojen (UK), Ian Parnell (UK) and Mark Campbell (South Africa) are in camp 4, having all reached the summit by 7.30am local time. Three Sherpas were with them (no names as yet). So far, we have few details of summit night but know that Ran made the call to turn round and descend, shortly after the team left the top camp. He is in radio contact with the rest of the team and is currently making his way, together with his Sherpa, towards the North Col.

1130 GMT We've just heard than Ran is with David and they are both descending from the North Col to ABC. They will be at ABC in the next couple of hours.

1400 GMT Neal, Jens, Ian and Mark are tucked up in Camp 3 at 7,900m. They will descend to ABC tomorrow.

*In the last two nights, 14 members of the Jagged Globe team have summited Mount Everest via the North East Ridge from Tibet (2 leaders, 6 team members and 6 Sherpas). On 31 May, 7 Jagged Globe team members summited Everest via the South Col Route from Nepal (1 leader, 3 team members and 3 Sherpas).

Link to Sir Ranulph Fiennes Healthy Hearts Appeal - British Heart Foundation website [opens new window]

01:00 3rd June (GMT) - Summit!

0847 GMT. We got the message this morning that the first half of the group reached the summit by 7.20am local time (roughly 5 hours ahead of GMT), having left Camp 4 at 11.30pm. That's very quick! Last night's summit team included leader, David Hamilton (UK), Sibusiso Vilane (Swaziland/South Africa), Tore Rasmussen (Norway) and Alex Harris (South Africa), plus three of our Sherpas (names to follow). They spent 1 hour 15 minutes on the summit, taking photos. David called from Camp 4 at 11.30am, where they stopped for a break before continuing to descend.

With this ascent, Sibusiso Vilane enters the history books as the only Black man to have climbed Everest twice and by two different routes.

The second half of the Jagged Globe team (including Sir Ranulph Fiennes) are now positioned at Camp 4 (8,400m). They will be going for the summit tonight.

Meanwhile, we'd also like to make a special mention for Rosalind Buckton who has come back up to ABC, where she has been for the last few days. Rosalind had gone back to Kathmandu at the end of April, because she hadn't been well at ABC. She really wanted to return to the expedition, to support the rest of the team in their summit attempts. So she's made the journey back, despite knowing that her own summit chances were out of the question and we're sure the other team members appreciate her presence there in these crucial stages.

UPDATE 1400 GMT. Ran, Neal, Jens, Mark and Ian are snuggled in at camp 4 and ready to go for it in a few hours from now. They're in a Terra Nova Hyperspace tent (arguably the best mountain tents on the market :-)) and are sucking in their bottled oxygen.

All members from this morning's summit are back in Camp 3 at 7,900m. Sibu was late getting back into camp as his oxygen ran out on the descent. One of our Sherpas was despatched with more oxygen and he was with the rest of the team at Camp 3 by 6pm local time.

Link to Sir Ranulph Fiennes Healthy Hearts Appeal - British Heart Foundation website [opens new window]

01:00 2nd June (GMT) - Team at C4 and C3

Contrary to today's report in The Times, the Jagged Globe Everest North Ridge expedition continues to battle it's way towards the summit. Sir Ranulph Fiennes is currently at Camp 3 (7,900m), hoping to start his climb to Camp 4 (8,400m) in a few hours. It's getting exciting.

Having just spoken with expedition leader, David Hamilton and team member, Tore Rasmussen, who are sat in a tent at 8,400m, here's an update on the last 24 hours:

David, Tore, Fred, Sibu and Alex spent two nights in Camp 3 being battered by atrocious winds. David described last night as “the worst night I have ever spent in a tent”. If you consider that David’s career for the last 20 years has been leading mountaineering expeditions to the Himalayas, it must have been a pretty rough night! Two out of three of the tents in Camp 3 were broken by the wind. So they got out of there and started to climb to Camp 4 at 8,400m. Unfortunately, some way between C3 and C4, Fred Ziel did not feel well and decided to turn round. Fred has descended to ABC with Phurbua Sherpa and is being looked after at ABC. Speaking to Tore a few moments ago, Tore said “We are having a jolly good time here, brewing up, talking and enjoying ourselves.”

There was no sound of tents flapping and they were feeling really good and confident about trying to reach the summit tomorrow at around 7a.m. Three Sherpas are also with them.

So, the second half the team (Ian, Neal, Ran, Mark, Jens) are currently in the remnants of camp 3 (7,900m) alongside Russell Brice’s team. There was some confusion about Ran descending. We think this was due to him leaving the North Col early to get to Camp 2 when it was really windy on 1 June. David made the call for the second group not to ascend to camp 2 (7,500m), but it seems that later they did, hence the report on the website yesterday that the first group were stuck in Camp 3, but the second group hadmanaged to move to camp 2. We think that all members of that second group are now in Camp 3 – David spoke to Ian Parnell via radio earlier – Ian’s in a tent with Ran and Neal.

Because David and the first group were stuck in C3 for 2 nights due to the high winds, they depleted a lot of the gas and oxygen in C3, but the guys there now are working together with Russell’s climbers to make the best of what is not going to be a comfortable place to be. If they can make it to camp 4, they should be in a much better position tomorrow. There is plenty of oxygen and gas at camp 4, and the tents are much more sheltered from the wind up there.

At the moment, the best forecast is from the 3rd June, so it looks promising for the 2nd team in terms of the weather outlook (who would hope to summit Saturday morning). That’s all for now.

01:00 1st June (GMT) - Team at C2 and C3

The bad news this morning is that it's been a very windy night. The first half of the group who were at C3 (7,900m) haven't been able to continue to C4. The second half have moved to C2 at 7,500m.

UPDATE: David has just called in from C3 on Everest. You can hear the wind in the background. It is very windy, but they're going to stay put for the time being in the hope that it's going to calm. They lost one tent which was shredded by the wind, but Himex have kindly loaned them a tent. Stay tuned...

01:00 31st May (GMT) - Team at C1 and C3

Tore, Sibu, Alex, Fred and David are now at camp 3 (7,900m), having climbed all the way from the North Col this morning. They're feeling good, but report that the winds are picking up again. This concurs with the most recent forecast, which suggests stronger winds again over the next couple of days - not good news! These forecasts are frustrating to say the least, so we'll just have to see. The rest of the team (Ran, Ian, Mark, Jens and Neal) are on the North Col, planning to climb up tomorrow.

01:00 30th May (GMT) - All systems go!

We got the message yesterday as our North Ridge team prepared to depart Advance Base Camp this morning (30 May) for the North Col. They hope to summit 2 or 3 June. The latest forecast looks okay, with lower winds and no precipitation towards the end of the week. More to follow...

01:00 27th May (GMT) - Confirmed summit push

Ian Parnell just called in today and says that everyone is in good spirits and getting excited now for the summit push. They still plan to go within the next couple of days.

01:00 26th May (GMT) - Date for summiting

David Hamilton has just called in from ABC on the North side of Mount Everest. Our team are in good spirits and are looking at trying to summit around 1/2/3 June, after what they anticipate will be the initial wave of climbers going for the top around 30/31 May.

Today's forecast indicates that the jet stream is still about 745 miles north of Everest, with winds of 90 knots at 12000m. Between now and 31 May, it is due to move to 1500 miles away, to the north and northeast. Winds are forecast to be lessening to between 20 to 30 knots at 8000m on 31 May. Into the first few days of June, these less strong winds should remain at about the same level. Monsoon activity is starting to occur to the south of India, but precipitation isn't expected to reach Everest until at least 1 June.

01:00 24th May (GMT) - Everest summited

Climbers reached the summit of Everest for the first time this season on 21 and 22 May. These were mainly smaller teams and independent climbers who battled their way to the top in extremely cold conditions. It has been reported that the one of the first climbers to reach the top, a Slovenian, was lost on the descent.

Our team are still in ABC awaiting the forecasted trend for lower winds, which may provide a window from 29/30/31 May.

01:00 20th May (GMT) - Still no summits

As far as we are aware, all of the teams that had been making summit attempts in this vague window of 20/21 May have turned back and are coming back down off the mountain. It's been the worst weather day today in the last two weeks - cold and snowing intermittently.

Unfortunately, it was the day that our North Col climbers had planned to climb to the North Col. Five of them made it, together with Ian Barker, plus Sibusiso Vilane, who went along to help out. There wasn't much in the way of views, but the climbers were pleased to make the col. On Lhakpa Ri, Luigi Giacomelli summited with two Sherpas, plus Fred Ziel, David Hamilton and Gianni Capano, who went along for a day out. David says that he was surprised at how challenging Lhakpa Ri was and commented on the spectacular 50 metre knife-edge summit ridge. From the top, they had good views of the Kangshung Face of Everest, the North Face of Lhotse and the North East Ridge of Everest.

All the team are in ABC and all are well, though they are still not expecting to be making a summit until the end of May.

01:00 19th May (GMT) - Winds still strong

All the team are now in ABC where it is sunny, but there are still very high summit winds as previously forecast. There was a large meeting of expedition leaders yesterday to discuss strategies and the fixing of rope. It was decided that the mountain was too dangerous for the Sherpas to work above 8,000m, where temperatures are around -30 and winds are blowing at 35-50 knots. David Hamilton reported that he was happy with the rope-fixing and that Russell Brice's team had fixed the majority of the ropes (teams paid US$100 per climber to the Chinese Mountaineering Association (CMA), who contracted Russell Briceto fix new ropes and anchors on the route this year - Ed)

The winds are still forecast to be very high until the end of the month. About 25% of teams (mostly smaller teams), will attempt the summit in the potential small window of 21/22 May, but most teams, including the Jagged Globe North Ridge Expedition, will be waiting until perhaps the first couple of days in June.

The Jagged Globe North Col climbers are now camped next door in ABC. They will be attempting to climb to the North Col tomorrow and Sibusiso and Jens will go with them, to keep active. The Lhakpa Ri team are going to the summit of Lhakpa Ri (7,045m) tomorrow and both Fred and David will go with that team. Lhakpa Ri is probably the most climbable 7,000m peak in the world - Jagged Globe has another expedition there 20 Aug to 15 Sep '05.

So for now, it's looking like a bad weather year on Everest and we just hope that the climbers can hang in there and get that elusive window before the monsoons come.

01:00 15th May (GMT) - Interpreting the forecasts

Our North Side team are currently split between ABC (David, Sibu, Gianni, Jens, Fred) and BC (Tore, Mark, Alex, Ran, Ian, Neal). Our North Col and Lhakpa Ri climbers are making their way up from BC at the moment.

High winds continue to be forecast until the end of this week, so we can't imagine the team looking to summit until around the 22, 23, 24 May. Obviously, there are various forecasts in base camp, some more optimistic than others, but our guys are being realistic and don't think they'll be moving up in the next week. There are reports of Norweigans attempting the summit last week and coming back down with frostbite and others saying that they would have been blown off the ridge if the fixed ropes weren't there. It's hard work, killing time at these altitudes, when you're eager to get on with it. Unlike the teams climbing Everest from the South side, who really only need one day of less strong winds to climb from the South Col and back, the North side climbers need a four-day window. As soon as they are on the North Col at camp 1 (c7,000m), they are exposed to the winds, so it means they have to wait a bit longer than the South Col climbers to position themselves for the summit climb.

Yesterday, some team members kept active by making a 3-hour walk up to the Rupa (sic )La (6,600m) where a Chinese Scientific team are doing a study. Apart from that, they are listening to the BBC World Service and reading books. In four or five days, everyone will be up at ABC (around 20 May). At the moment, most teams on the mountain are still in base camp.

01:00 13th May (GMT) - A small selection of photos

Covering Sir Ranulph Fiennes' attempt of Everest is the photographer and mountaineer, Ian Parnell. Here are a few shots of Ian's. These and many others are available for media use, through Ian's agent www.eyevine.com.

Strong winds continue to be forecast for the next few days, though it looks as though they might start to ease from Thursday 19 May. Our team will all be back in ABC this weekend...waiting patiently.

   

01:00 11th May (GMT) - Moving back up to ABC

Assistant leader, Neal Short, arrived back in base camp today having escaped to Kathmandu for some root canal dental treatment. Gianni (BC Manager), Fred, Tore, Jens and David are at Interim Camp and will arrive back in base camp tomorrow. The rest of the team (Mark, Alex, Ran, Ian, Sibu and Neal) are following two days later. It's sunny now, but quite windy, although the valley temperature is increasing to be pleasantly warm. Currently, there are no thoughts on being able to summit before 18-20 May.

01:00 9th May (GMT) - Relaxing in base camp

There's not been much action this last week, as the team have been down in base camp. Team members have been getting a few chores done, such as washing clothes and themselves! There has been a lot of snow the last few days with increasingly strong winds. The forecast isn't great, so we don't expect much to happen for a few days. The North Col team arrived in base camp today, led by Ian Barker.

01:00 3rd May (GMT) - Team resting in base camp

The whole team are now back in base camp and have been for the last couple of days. Due to the weather, the climbers who went up to the North Col on 29 April were unable to climb higher than that, but are glad to have all spent a night at 7,000m.

01:00 29th April (GMT) - More acclimatisation at the North Col

It's still snowing on the north side of Everest today as some members of our team (Neal, Ran, Mark, Alex, Jens and Sibu) have battened down the hatches at camp 1 on the North Col. They will spend the night there tonight and plan to climb up to between 7,500m and 7,700m tomorrow, as part of their acclimatisation. It's also an important time psychologically, as the climbers scope out the route and get a feel for how the ridge looks - if they can see it! There have been reports today of tents blown off the North Col, but all of the Jagged Globe tents are in good order.

The climbers who used the new masks yesterday described them as a "major improvement" over the Poisk masks. Both Tore and Fred climbed from 7,000m to 7,700m on a flow rate of 2 litres per minute in just 4 and a half hours. That's pretty good going for that kind of altitude and they said that the masks were comfortable, with no problems.

Next update on Tuesday 3 May.

01:00 28th April (GMT) - Team members reach 7,700m

David, Tore and Fred reached 7,700m today (Camp 2) and descended back to the North Col in heavy snow. Ian headed back down to BC, having slept at the North Col last night and we're sad to say that Rosalind went with him as she is leaving the expedition. Rosalind has been having some breathing problems at ABC and in consultation with Dr Hillebrandt here in the UK, she decided that the best choice for her health was to head back to Kathmandu. The rest of the team put off their climb to the North Col today and all of them hope to move up tomorrow to sleep there (though the forecast isn't exactly promising). The Sherpas have gone down to BC as well today to have a rest, instead of carrying to 8,300m (Camp 2) due to the snow above 8,000m.

Interestingly, the guys who went to 7,700m did so on oxygen. More news on that to follow, but as the Jagged Globe team has lots of oxygen (approximately 6 x 3L bottles + 3 x 4L bottles per member) and newly designed masks, which are more comfortable and should deliver the oxygen more efficiently (compare the two photos), one tactic may be to climb on oxygen all the way from the North Col.

N.B. Jagged Globe teams on both the South and North sides of Everest are using brand new masks, designed by Ted Atkins and based on a Tornado fighter pilot mask.

01:00 27th April (GMT) - Sleeping at the North Col

Assistant leader, Neal Short has just called in from ABC. Both Ran and Mark made it up to the North Col today, with David, Fred, Tore and Ian. The latter four are going to spend the night up there tonight. Tomorrow, Neal, Sibu, Alex and Jens are going to head back up to the North Col to also spend a night. The weather continues to be pretty settled, though they are concerned that it will break in the next few days. We're just waiting for today's forecast (which is coming in from our forecasters in Washington, USA). The guys want this before setting off tomorrow a.m. Our amazing Sherpa team made a carry up to 8,300m today and plan to repeat this feat tomorrow!

01:00 26th April (GMT) - Acclimatising at the North Col

Update from leader, David Hamilton at ABC.

On Saturday 23 April, the first members of the group (David, Fred, Jens and Tore) made a trip to the North Col and dropped some personal kit off in the tents. The same day, two of our Sherpas made a light load carry to 8,300m to mark out our campsite. On Sunday, Neal, Alex and Sibu also arrived at the North Col, with Ran reaching a high point of 6,770m. On Monday and today, everyone rested at ABC. David and Ran plan to go up to the North Col tomorrow, with Tore, Fred and Jens also heading back up to sleep there. They will also have a look further up the route. Later in the week, the other half of the team will head up to the North Col to sleep. At this stage in the expedition, members are acclimatising at different rates, but we would expect everyone to be heading back down to ABC early next week, after spending a night at the North Col and completing this acclimatisation phase.

01:00 22nd April (GMT) - High camps being established

Yesterday (21 April), half of the team arrived back at Advance Base Camp (David, Gianni, Fred, Tore, Mark and Jens). The other half (Alex, Rosalind, Ran, Sibu, Neal and Ian) are due to arrive today. The plan is that within the next two days, we will all climb up to the North Col.

Our Sherpas have been working really hard over the last few days and have cached a large amount of equipment at the North Col. They have also established a camp at 7,700m. This afternoon, two of our Sherpas will be sleeping at the North Col, then tomorrow, they will establish the highest camp on the mountain at 8,300m. Today, strong winds aren't making ABC the nicest place to be today and the dry air is causing a few problems with coughs and chest problems. Our Sirdar, Nima Gombu, has descended to base camp for a rest, which just goes to show that even 10-time Everest summiteers can find life on Everest tough going! That's all for now.

David Hamilton, Expedition Leader

01:00 19th April (GMT) - Camp established at North Col

Our Sherpas have now established Camp 1 at the North Col, having made a big carry on Sunday (17 April). All the team are still in base camp today, with the plan still to move up to ABC on Wednesday and Thursday.

01:00 18th April (GMT) - Team resting in base camp

Everyone is back in base camp for a couple of day's rest, before heading back up to ABC on Wednesday and Thursday. There are now a lot more teams at Base Camp and the weather has improved a lot.

Overall, the team are healthy with no acclimatisation issues. There's a good mix of climbers in the group, and the team is benefiting from having lots of experienced individuals in there. Some members have attempted Everest in the past and most have climbed or been on expeditions to other 8,000m peaks. In the early stages of an Everest expedition, this kind of experience allows you to relax and not get too concerned about the later stages. So they're taking every day as it comes and looking forward to clipping on the crampons, once they're back in ABC and preparing to climb to the North Col - their next objective.

01:00 15th April (GMT) - The North Col is reached

Everyone is well and happy in ABC today. The skies are clear and blue, but it is still pretty windy. The winds tend to die down for a couple of hours before starting up again. The Sherpas have spent a lot of time over the last couple of days making ABC comfortable. Today the North Col (c7,000m) was reached for the first time, with the deep crevasse that barred the way bridged by a makeshift Chinese ladder. This will be replaced by a more substantial ladder before the bulk of climbers make their first climbs to the North Col. Our Sherpas have been up to the North Col and we have marked out tent sites up there. Our tents will go up to the North Col tomorrow (Saturday), whilst the bulk of the team returns to BC to rest.

01:00 14th April (GMT) - Team arrive at Advance Base Camp

The weather was very clear yesterday and not as windy as before. The team took 2 1/2 hours to walk to Interim Camp 1 (5,500m) on the 12 April and 5 hours to walk to the 2nd Interim Camp at 6,000m on 13 April. We arrived in Advance Base Camp (ABC) at 6,450m today after 3 more hours of walking. The Sherpa team have built a great ABC. There are a dozen Terra Nova Hyperspace tents for team members and the big Mountain Hardwear Space Station is set up as the mess tent. Everyone is feeling the altitude today. Our Sherpa team and others have begun fixing the rope, though they were stopped just before the North Col (c7,000m) because of a 10 metre wide crevasse. It will be a joint effort between some of the bigger teams to fix ladders across this crevasse. We are going to spend another day up here at ABC acclimatising, before trekking the 15 kilometres back to BC on Saturday (April 16) to rest.

01:00 12th April (GMT) - Weather improving as team sets off to ABC

Conditions are now much better after the last five or six days and the winds have dropped. There have been reports of other teams having tents damaged at ABC as we now leave base camp to move up to ABC of the next three days. All team members are feeling really good and will be proceeding up to ABC very slowly as planned.

01:00 11th April (GMT) - Weather deteriorating in base camp

Expedition leader, David Hamilton has just called in from Everest Base Camp on the North side. The weather has been deteriorating over the last few days with high winds, cloud and some snow. The team are having to work hard just to keep the tents in good shape at BC. On the 8th, 30 Yaks and 6 Sherpas headed off up to ABC. Over the last couple of days, team members at BC have been sorting out food and supplies for use higher on the mountain. Despite the poor weather, they are still planning to leave BC and start trekking up to ABC tomorrow (12th), accompanied by 65 yaks.

There are still only about 10 climbing teams in base camp at the moment, with a predicted additional dozen expected to arrive in the next day or so. These teams have been held back by the recent Maoist blockades in Nepal, which have made travel outside of Kathmandu very difficult.

The Jagged Globe team are doing fine, with everyone looking forward to moving on up the Rongbuk valley.

01:00 6th April (GMT) - Team arrive in Base Camp

The main Everest North Ridge team arrived in base camp yesterday (5 Apr), two days after our Sherpas. Evereyone is well, with no altitude problems. They will start the process of moving up to ABC on 8 Apr. 30 yaks will carry much of the gear, with the main group moving to ABC over 3 days, starting on 12 Apr. Our team, plus three other teams are forming a co-operative to fix rope from the N Col to the summit.

22nd March - Despatches from the beginning of April

Look out for news from our team once they reach base camp in the first week in April