31st May - Final despatch

The essential thing in life is not so much conquering as fighting well.
De Coubertin, Olympic Games 1896

We had summits, yes. In fact many of them this season with nine out of the twelve we had at the South Col topping out this May. But most importantly, we fought well.

This spring season on Everest was a battle; filled with avalanches, a hot and dangerous icefall, snow storms, epic bacterial infections, and then the plight against all of these in our battlefield of thin air. And we fought through a wave of illness, rounds of early-morning escape through the icefall labyrinth while it was at its silent and most stable. And a massive sprint out of base camp as the cyclone of snow and rains angled for us. So the elements waged a fierce war and we held our own.

But we also held our own in keeping the mountain safe beyond our own Jagged Globe tents. Willie and Damian Benegas walk through the streets of Thamel mostly unrecognized, recovering with fresh salads and loads of Balsamic vinaigrette after spending the last 6 weeks in a near constant battle to keep Mount Everest and her sea of wild climbers safe and organized. They aided the HRA in returning a poisoned Sherpa back to life after a horrific bout of bootleg whiskey poisoning. The first case of someone coming out of this alive even in cases here in Kathmandu where proper hospital facilities exist. They, along with fellow base camp friends, organized and carried out the search and rescue effort for a fellow team hit by the seasons worst avalanche in the icefall. They, along with IMG and RMI brought down a fellow climber high in the death zone found collapsed at the Balcony after a grueling night out to the summit, fixing some of the route along the way. And beyond that, again with assistance from our other friends at base camp, we helped coordinate one of the most efficient and well-balanced week of summit pushes I've seen in years here. Strong teams staggered their summit pushes, balanced and divided their teams into pushes on separate days to keep down numbers, and teams radioed back and forth throughout these summit nights keeping one another informed of progress and bottlenecks.

It made me proud to be a member of the Everest South community working together not simply to conquer a summit but to do so in respectable style. We worked hard at making steps towards cleaning Everest, pitching off old rope, promoting use of solar and waste-returning bags. We worked hard at keeping people safe, donating our radios when other teams lost contact, sending out rescue teams when teams lost contact with their own members.

And to be honest, we sit here in Kathmandu pretty exhausted now. Relieved that we fought well and the mountain remained relatively safe for one more season. But broken physically and mentally from a season full of challenges. Our climbing members, bar one, have packed up and headed home gearing for what will be a giant readjustment back to work this Monday. Adele has headed home for a week of recovery before her next Himalayan Giant (Gasherbrum!) with David Hamilton. Tomaz has headed home for an even more eventful few months (!) And Willie and I dry out gear and equipment and salvage comms across the Summit Trekking lawns. Kit's new pet Donkey, Lucia, joins us sniffing around and chewing up notebooks adding a bit of humor to the day. And what more is there? That's the wrap-up for now. So until next Spring, same time, same place... that's all from Everest 2009.

Kindest regards,

Mara and the Jagged Globe team

27th May - Team stuck in Lukla

Mara called from Lukla this morning, where the Everest team are waiting out the bad weather and hoping to fly into Kathmandu tomorrow. They're enjoying 'fake' Starbucks coffee and hanging out with the Lama. We should have them home for the weekend!

22nd May - Whole team back in BC

Adele has just called in from BC to say that the team are now down, tired, relieved... but happy. More as it comes.

21st May - We've got em home!

It was yet another early start today but this time the low-stress kind as we frantically cleaned out the mess tent and organized our first day of fiestas for the team coming down. Nima and I first caught sight of our crew by Doug's now-famous hat. So basically a week of suffering at high elevations and not much changed on that end. Their packs were gigantic but the relief of coming to the end of the icefall must've provided the necessary amount of energy, so we basked only briefly in our ice-chairs on the lower stretches of the mountain before packing it all up again and returning into camp. So now Doug, Bill, Carlos, Nick, Ian and Willie have the heater going in the mess tent and munch again on salmon cakes and prosciutto.

What's the general mood? Seems to be relief on all sides really. Another crashing rock fall high above the icefall reminded us again it's not over 'til the crampons come off, so while the guys unwind here, I was back on the phone re-arranging descent plans for tomorrow for the rest of the team at camp 2. A 6am start still had the team moving in the heat the last few hours on the mountain, so it looks to be a summit-worthy 4am start instead for the rest of the group tomorrow. Well, after the heights, the marathon pushes, and the summits, just at daylight what's one last day of morning misery?

We had good news of more summits from our friends around base camp today and are now watching the arrival of yaks and even horses arriving into town, as the push is now on to break down camp and see all those rhododendrons blooming down valley.

Best as always from up here,

Mara & co.

20th May - Report from second night of summits

Hello again friends,

It’s 4pm and we’ve got everybody where they’re supposed to be.

Our summit push was off last night just after 8pm. A Russian team, an American team and a Swiss team joined us en route. So compared to the crowds of the previous night, it was a mountain nearly all to ourselves. We estimated perhaps half the number from the previous evening with an estimated 30 westerners and 30 Sherpas leaving the South Col May 19th.

Chris and Kevin obviously saved their best efforts for summit night. Before midnight we had word that they’d made the Balcony with Tsering Pemba, Pemma, plus Tashi and Tomaz all in tow. This was a bit of a shock to all of us here at base camp, as they were already 2 hours ahead of the times we’d estimated. Next came Ian, Amanda and Mingma, also looking strong, however Ian having pushed to the limit the previous day, made the decision to descend from here. Adele and Neil were our wild cards as over the course of the night we were to have no direct comms with either of them. The Sherpas did their best tracking movements, but the reality is in the dark at 8,000m, with full down suits and oxygen masks, even identifying a couple of Brits in a sea of Russians becomes a major challenge.

3 hours later the team of Kevin, Tomaz , Chris and Amanda called in to report arriving at the south summit. Ordinarily we’d be thrilled at the prospect of a group moving so efficiently together, but some simple maths had us realising they’d be approaching the summit in clear, starry, pitch black night!

So encouraging words were exchanged and some laughs about a picnic stop and then we heard from the team up top. Arriving between 4a.m. and 5.30a.m. the four, plus the Sherpa crew were treated to sunrise on top of the world. Chris praised his stash of Haribo chews and spent some radio time with his parents down here at base camp. Kevin, as usual, radioed down sounding like he was strolling down high street. And Amanda’s summit enthusiasm gave us confidence in their safe descent.

Adele and Lila Sherpa followed at 8a.m. reporting in from the top a fairly tough morning, but now they are all back down snug as Sardines in their tents the South Col again. The Sherpas took a few of the tents down this afternoon leaving our lot to four to a tent, so I suspect it will be a relatively early start down to Camp 2 in the morning.

That’s it from base camp from now. I’ll let the climbers weigh in and give their own updates as they arrive down here at camp over the next few days.

Many thanks to all of you following along back home.

Mara and the Jagged Globe team.

[Editors note: summiteers over the 19/20 May are 3 expedition leaders, 6 climbers and 8 Sherpas. Doug Waymark completes his 7 Summits with this ascent.]

20th May - 15:00 UPDATE: South Col and Camp 2

15:00 (Nepal time) UPDATE

Just a quick update from Base Camp. The team are currently tucked up in bed at the South Col and Camp 2. Willie's group descended to Camp 2 this morning and Ian also headed down with these guys. So we have Willie, Doug, Bill, Nick, Carlos and Ian in Camp 2 right now and Adele, Tomaz, Kevin, Chris, Amanda and Neil in Camp 4 at The South Col. Tomorrow morning Willie's group will descend all the way to base camp and Adele and Tomaz's team will descend down the Lhotse Face to Camp 2. We should have some further details of how last night went later today, including confirmation of the Sherpas who helped the team to the top. Without their support, we would not have had such a successful couple of nights on Mount Everest. For now, congratulations to the whole team, including those who have kept vigil at base camp all through the night for two nights on the trot! News from Everest Base Camp 04:00 Nepal time:

10:25 (20 May) Descending

Adele just called in from the Balcony, so the whole team are now in range of the South Col, which is a relief and excellent news. Well done team!

04:00 (20 May) Summit!:

Tomaz Jakofcic and Tashi summited first at 04:00 this morning, with Chris, Kevin and Amanda the next on top. We're still waiting on news of Adele and Neil. They've not radioed down to us...

02:45 (20 May) Nepal time:

The first team members have arrived at the South Summit. Yes, it's 02:45 : )

02:11 (20 May) Nepal time:

Ian has arrived back at the South Col

23:10 (19 May) Nepal time:

The first members of the team have arrived at the Balcony. That's 8,440m and 3 hours from the South Col. So they are moving at a similar speed to last night's team (they left an hour earlier). Ian is turning back due to exhaustion. Kevin, Chris and Tomaz are going strong so far. No update yet from Adele. Stay tuned...

(P.S. Sherpas summiting last night with Nick, Doug, Bill and Willie were Pem, Tundu, and Phurba)

19th May - Summit!

Update 07:15 local time

Doug, Bill, Nick and Wille have summited Mt Everest. The first summits of the c100 people who have left the South Col tonight. Congratulations guys!

19th May - Update: Back at the South Col

Update: Everyone is back safely at the South Col. Here's to a second evening of clear skies!

19th May - The next 24 hours...

11:20 GMT (16:07 Local time).

Our climbers from last night will now be enjoying a long sleep at the South Col, whilst our base camp team are also having a well-earned rest, having stayed up all last night to support our climbers. They're going to be doing the same again tonight.

So at the moment, Willie, Doug, Bill, Nick and Carlos are tucked up in bed at the South Col and Adele and Tomaz will have moved up from Camp 3 with the rest of the team and will be trying to get some rest. We hope to post up some more details of summit night last night, once our base camp team are able to speak to the team on the South Col. We will also bring you an update on the second half of the team. Stay tuned.

Tom Briggs, Jagged Globe HQ, Sheffield

19th May - Summits and drama

22:30 Local time:

"Well it's daylight at just past 4am and though our comms with our summit team comes by way of relays down from South Col to Camp 2, here we've just got word that Bill, Doug, Nick and Willie are beyond the South Summit and just 2 hours shy of the summit! This is rather astounding considering we'd suspected there'd be some rope re-fixing to do along the way and add to that the wind speeds predicted to be 20-25 knots through the night...well... it's shock all around this tent anyway!

I'm typing away to stay occupied this next bit as Nima is snoozing below the base radio here in the comms tent and even Pasang, Sucre and Karma, our faithful cook staff have all finally succumbed to the temptation of some zzz's. I'm awake by the heater as I'm more or less on duty for the next round of coffee. And, to add to the fun, the Sherpas climbing with our second team departed Camp 2 within the last hour while our crew on the Lhotse Face are just now waking to the world."

So the above was typed up what seems a life time ago. Satellite disruptions limited sending it but now there's so much more to report!

It's just past 9pm now. So far, the last 36 hours have included the following:
8:45pm: Nima lights the juniper and prepares the incense at our puja and leads prayers for summit safety
9:00 pm: Summit Team 1 departs South Col
1:40 am: Change of oxygen as team 1 reaches the Balcony.
3:10 am: Summit Team 2 Sherpas leave Camp 2 en route to the South Col
4:04 am: Willie and team reach the rock step
4:30 am: Summit Team 2 prepares to climb from Camp 3 on the Lhotse Face
5:05 am: Willie and team make the south summit, continued comms relays thru camp 2
7:06 am: Nick, Doug, Bill, Willie, Pem, Tundu, and Phurba stand on top of the world.
9:16 am: Willie and team arrive to South Summit on descent, sharing the mountain with over 100 westerners and sherpas in the biggest summit push and return of the season so far.
10:54 am: Clouds and wind roll in, we organize for movement high on the mountain between teams, fix new ropes for descent.
11:00 am: Tomaz arrives South Col with Chris, Adele, Ian, Kevin, Neil, and Amanda climbing the Geneva Spur.
11:15 am: Forecast comms between base and Swiss meteo in Bern confirm second window of good weather this evening.
11:30 am: Relays thru mid-mountain camps confirming tonight's summit push.

This would then ordinarily be followed by reports of Team 1 returning to recover and rest at the South Col, Team 2 turning up the oxygen and sucking down juice also at the South Col, and me and Nima and the base camp team retiring also to recover for the afternoon hours before the second push...

Instead, while our team did in fact return safely to said locations the drama of the morning continued for a few of us. With high mountain communications spotty all across camp, ours became the focal frequency to identify locations and movements of an assortment of other teams also on the mountain. This was followed by relays between teams at camps 2 and 3 assisting in contact with those high above the South Col. And then, Willie, in typical style, was called upon to return up the mountain and coordinate a rescue effort for a climber from another international team struck with what appears to be cerebral edema. It was yet another example of an all-mountain effort with RMI, IMG, Jagged Globe, the Croatians, HIMEX, HRA, and Patagonian Brothers all contributing to the cause. Dr. Lana, our excellent point-of-contact mid-mountain continued to facilitate comms between the rescue team -- now consisting of Willie, two of our sherpas, an IMG sherpa, 2 summiters from RMI and Tindu also of RMI, all bringing this climber down to safety -- while those of us at base now worked at identifying the ill climber and his respective team and prepared contingency plans for his care on the Col tonight.

And par for the course, with Ang Jungbu, Tucker and I all juggling multiple radios on multiple frequencies keeping up with these various causes, on came Russell with news that he'd had an unexpected arrival at his camp on the Lhotse Face, where now one of his guides, Adrian, was administering oxygen to a yet-unidentified climber. So off we went establishing again appropriate medical attention and team identification.

Somewhere on this mountain people are sleeping. For the moment I know not where.

But for now, Nima, our cook crew and I are again established in the comms tent with the heater on, the radios lines up, and news of our second summit crew having left the South Col in what appears to be an unusually calm night compared to this last. Four teams share the mountain with us tonight. A fraction of the crowds we saw on the mountain just a few short hours ago. And with forecasts of 5 knot winds throughout the night, this looks to be a decidedly different affair from the one previous.

More soon,

Mara, Nima, Pasang, Tshering, Sucre, and Karma -- your faithful Jagged Globe base camp team.

22:09 18th May (GMT) - UPDATE: 02:51

Update 02:51

Carlos has lost a contact lense and is descending to the South Col. Others report windy, but okay. More as it comes...

18th May - Team on the South Col!

Hi again,

We woke to frightening winds here at base camp this morning! Tents blown over, prayer flags flapping wildly but calling up to the high mountain the skies are relatively still.

Willie and his team arrived within the hour up at the South Col. They're joined by a few new teams also making the climb from Camp 3 today along with four teams who elected not to climb last night and have remained at the Col to aim for their summit push tonight as well. Ordinarily this would have me mildly frantic over numbers but the teams up there are friends of ours and the sherpas - guys we've climbed with season after season so it seems to be an 'A' team settling in for drinks and sleep and a late-night departure towards the summit.

As for our second wave of climbers, the last of the team made it into Camp 3 this afternoon just before 11. This again means plenty of time for R&R before the next push.

Tomorrow morning will be full of entertainment then as Bill, Doug, Willie, Nick and Carlos will be making their way to the top as the sun comes up. Amanda, Neil, Kevin, Ian, Chris, Tomaz and Adele will simultaneoulsy be climbing up to the Yellow Band and beyond at around the same moment. Carlos apparently wins the prize for best raccoon eyes for the day as the sun's caught him on the Lhotse climb. Willie wins the prize for boredom up at high camp for counting the hundreds of individual tent squares after tasking himself with making high altitude quesadillas.

The crew at 3 today remain all but silent. Think the heat may have caught up with them as radios have fallen quiet and siestas set in.

I'm off to the other side of camp now, sorting last minute oxygen bottles at high camp with a team that's just left the mountain.

To Sonic, Lehane, Ronaldino, Bazzy, the Irish boys, and the rest of you crew from year's past, I'm sure you remember the excitement and terror of these hours before the final push. Send us your positive waves!!

All the best as always,

Mara & the Jagged team

18th May - And they're off!

21:15 local time:

Mara called to say that the team departed the South Col at 21:15. They made a quick getaway, as there are a lot of people heading for the top today, and they wanted to be out in front. They said that the winds are lighter than expected, so that's good news.

18th May - 00:30 - at the Balcony

00:30 local time (19 May): We have no direct comms at the moment, but our Camp 2 crew have relayed that the team are already at The Balcony (8,440m , 27,700ft). If that is true, then they are moving mighty fast. In any case they are full steam ahead. [

17th May - Post from Chris's parents

This post is from Jeff and Sandy Grubb who are in base camp to support our son Chris, one of the climbers.

Base camp is unlike any place we have been in the world. A tent city but a fully functioning tent city, even including a bakery. While fully functioning, everything is packed in and will be packed out. The Sherpas do an amazing job.

This morning we got up with the second group of Jagged Globe climbers at 2:15 am. They enjoyed a very complete breakfast prepared by the Sherpa staff. The group was off at 3:00 am and we were able to watch the progress through the icefall by following their head lamps until about 5:00 am when the sun came up. We were saying prayers for them and all the teams moving up the icefall.

Two individuals, David and Neil, turned around in the icefall and returned to base camp. While disappointed both told us what a good experience this has been. While summitting is the ultimate goal both David and Neil made it above camp 2, during the acclimatization, an amazing accomplishment.

All the other Jagged Globe climbers and guides are tucked safely in their tents at Camp 2. The group that left BC on 5/14 is expected to rise early in the morning to move to Camp 3; the other group will go the following morning. Everthing is dependent on the weather but at this point there is general consensus the summit window is imminent.

Jeff and I enjoyed a trek around base camp this morning (once we knew Chris and the others were safe) and into the very first few feet of the Khumbu Icefall. EBC is a vibrant international community established on the glacier itself, the terrain changes daily. The icefall is beautiful and terrifying at the same time. The climbers move through it quickly in the coldest hours of the day when shifting is minimal.

Mornings here have been sunny and bright; our tents warm to 'sauna' temperatures by noon. About 3:00 a light snow begins to fall and temperatures plummet -- time to pull on our down jackets and enjoy a hot cup of tea -- all while waiting for the next radio dispatch from the mountain.

16th May - Up to Camp 2

The generator hums as Kay Mitchell and her Caudwell trekking team run more medical samples here at base camp this morning. Alun Richardson and his High Passes trekking crew stopped in for soup and in the meantime all the remaining members of our team climbed their way back up the icefall towards Camp 2.

Kevin, Chris and Tomaz arrived first, greeted by Phurba Sherpa with juice just below camp. Ian and Mingma called in the next and then Neil Taylor, Amanda and Adele made their way in. It was a harder day for Dave and Neil Thomson again. Neil's earlier injury flaired climbing across the ladders in the early hours and the decision was made to descend. For Dave, it was one last fighting chance, but the timing just wasn't right so he's also made his way back here to base camp. Neil will assist with comms here the next week and Dave will make his way down valley and back to civilization at the Summit Hotel in Kathmandu.

As for Willie, Carlos, Doug, Bill and Nick - these guys are sticking out a recovery day at camp 2 as well and organizing for their climb up the Lhotse Face tomorrow morning. Willie's spent most of the day fixing our comms from the sounds of it, while the others try and face a final few high altitude meals.

Down here it's a hard to read the weather. We're hit with radiating sun first thing in the morning, some sleet after breakfast, and now some clouds rolling in which seem to be creating a bit of a cold weather inversion for us down here while the higher stretches of the mountain bake in sun and windless skies.

After today's 2am breakfast call, tomorrow's start is a relatively leisurely one just after sunrise. With coffee and chapati sustaining us, we'll keep you posted.

Cheers from B.C.,

Mara & team

09:12 14th May (GMT) - Getting ready for the summit push

Hi again,

A few tidbits on the drop down to Pheriche from Neil below. As you can see fun was had by all :)

--------------------------

Neil says:

Last week most of the group left the Base Camp in small groups for sunny delights of Pheriche. A good 4 hour walk down the valley and 1200m lower than Base Camp. This was an opportunity to spend 3-4 days relaxing, breathing in more O2 and attempting to eat as much as possible. The Himalayan Hotel provided all the necessary comfort and everyone enjoyed their best night's sleep, albeit in beds designed for midgets.

The return journey was split by most, spending a night at the Eco Lodge at Lobuche. As a previous visit the food was average, the doors drafty, the yak fire struggled, however the staff were helpful and friendly.

The following day meant a 3 hour romp back home to Base Camp and a distinct change in the weather - snow is in the air. Green grass, baby yaks, double eggs and chips seems a long way away!

-Neil

-----------------------------

And now here at base camp Willie organizes summit gear for the team, Tomaz makes up med kits, Adele packs the food, and I'm working on a back up power system for 19,000 feet. Tomorrow, weather permitting, our squad of Doug, Bill, Nick, Carlos and Willie head up to camp two and get themselves in position for a summit push after the weekend.

Tomaz, Adele, Chris, Neil, Neil, Amanda, Dave, Ian, and Kevin angle to be a day behind. So, in another 48 hours we should see the whole team back up the mountain readying for our final launch. I'll keep you updated regularly over these next days and then all things running smooth, next week should be filled with news of our team pushing to the top.

Winds are up this morning but the skies are so far clear and base camp buzzes with packing and washing. Credit to Sundeep, leading our Caudwell trekking group up here these last couple nights. Not only did I rope him into assisting with a Sherpa medical evac his first hour in camp, he's also brought along a coffee table photo book for Mingma and the Sherpas from the 2007 Caudwell Expedition. The boys have been huddling around it laughing at memories all morning.

All the best from Everest B.C.,

Mara & co.

09:06 12th May (GMT) - Snow in base camp

Hi friends and family,

It's a late morning as I write this as we've spent the early hours shoveling out all the tents here at base camp. The snow came down and then more, and more, and more.

So today base camp is again quiet as climbers all around take shelter from all this powder in the comforts of cook tents and mess tents. Our team? Kevin keeps occupied sorting more food for me. Amanda's baking mid-afternoon dessert, Bill & co are back to board games (though the Monopoly match remains unresolved). Willie and Carlos, Dave, Ian, Peter and Neil seem to be hiding out in their respective tents.

It's a bit of a sudden shift this wave of snow here at base and higher on the mountain, and from the looks of forecasts we may be settling in here without heading up the mountain for at least a few more days. For the moment, it's still only Shiva, our Camp 2 cook, who is up the mountain keeping the tents roped down.

A few words from Nick, one of our climbers, here shortly. At the moment I think he's distracted by the oddly-timed arrival of Pasang's dessert tart.

Best from B.C.

Mara & the Jagged Globe team

7th May - Sad day in base camp

It's somewhat in a state of shock I'm writing this update. Base camp is eerily quiet this afternoon after a second, severe avalanche above the icefall. Jagged Globe members are already down valley resting in Pheriche so it's just the guides, the sherpas and me up here for the moment. All of the Jagged Globe team are safe.

On some other websites you can probably read more details of the tragedy this afternoon. Out of respect for the family of those involved I will not post names or great details of the incident. We, as in the community at base camp, have lost a sherpa family member today. And I'm at a loss for what more to say.

Willie, Damian, Dave Hahn, Dowa Steven, Tomaz, Pema, Pem Tsering, all the many other Sherpas who turned on a moment's notice to head straight back up the mountain to help with the search and rescue effort, we thank you.

It's a warm mountain this season, we all know it. We hear it every night and with regularity throughout the days too and we do all that we can to climb it in as safe a way as we know how.

From base camp,

Mara et al.

4th May - Acclimatisaton complete

We've got the whole team back home! Nima welcomed down Kevin, Ian, Neil, Amanda and our guides and cooks with loads of drinks at the base of the icefall this morning. And with that we've got the whole Jagged Globe team here recovering at base camp.

So it was a full morning of email updates, shower rotas, yet more chorizo plates, and some heavy scrutiny of the forecasts before we settled in. I'm typing this here in the mess tent this evening as half the crew plays some sort of guess-the-80's-theme-song game, Willie and Chris play suicide chess, Dave and Carlos make their early evening exits, and Amanda and I huddle near the heater keeping the feet warm. All in all a good day.

As for up high, again, it's a day of thanks. After some early season meetings of the leaders from all over camp it was decided we'd make this year the year of the clean up the mountain. We've mentioned the work of some of our fellow teams carrying loads of trash off lower sections of the mountain and now it was a clean up effort up high.

This week saw a couple of our mountain's strongest up high above Camp 3 cleaning up the Yellow Band. In years past this has been a tangled mess of new and old rope with Sherpas and climbers alike pulling hard at whatever was available. It took a concerted effort of the teams organising here to get the necessary equipment and manpower up and organised, but finally we've cut out over 400 meters of old and frayed rope and replaced this with six well-placed bolts on the Yellow Band. Now, we'll leave it to the armchair enthusiasts to debate the ethics back home, but here it's the Sherpas, hauling massive loads sometimes 9 or 10 times up and down this section of the mountain, who get the last word.

"Oh Di (brother), long life!"

All the best from BC,

Mara & team

2nd May - Icefall collapse

So the mountain wakes up again. Today it was the icefall where we saw most of the action. Just after breakfast this morning, thankfully, a particularly slow day up and down from base camp, the West Shoulder let off a massive break coating all of the icefall and sending a snow plume all across base camp as well.

We're writing now as all climbers and sherpas are accounted for here at base camp. Chris, climbing back down from Camp 2 this morning, radioed in 20 minutes before the drop to tell me they'd reached the last ladder in the icefall and were only an hour or so from camp. So as you can imagine, when the shoulder thundered down Neil, Peter, Graham and I gasped for breathe realizing where our teammates were.

Sucre, our cook assistant, and I made our way up to the base after establishing contact with Chris and Nima, and confirming their safety above. Then, it was a focused series of radio calls across camp establishing just which teams also had members in the icefall near the slide. Its with relief we're reporting now that the sherpas and climbers mid-icefall were also only dusted and no injuries presented anywhere on the mountain.

Was a sobering moment for the team listening in from camps 2 and 3 where they're established for the day. And it certainly reconfirms for us that our acclimatization plan, which limits runs through the icefall this season, is square on. Tomorrow sees Nick, Doug, Carlos, Bill and Willie joining me, Chris, Peter, Neil and Graham here at base camp. The remaining members come down Tuesday and Wednesday on the current schedule, so we'll let them write in with their observations of a week on the mountain soon after.

Best from a snowy mountain,

Mara & team

1st May - Snow arrives on Everest

So as predicted, the snow finally arrived.

This kept our team sleeping-bag bound in the late afternoon hours yesterday, but today was back into action. As of our last radio call with Tomaz and Adele, we've now got nine of our members either sleeping or touching camp 3. The wind's blowing down here but up on the Lhotse Face they're reporting a breezeless morning and some epic views from their perch.

The Sherpas are running the final loads up to the South Col this afternoon as well and so in another two to three days we'll have the full crew back down here at base camp, climbers and support team, all resting up for the final summit push which looks to be another 10 to 14 days away (Roughly!)

Graham and I are working hard scheming up ways of getting some of these chocolate desserts and the remaining cheese and marmite tarts up beyond the icefall, but so far it's just the wayward base camp staff and wandering guides who're stopping by to sample. Neil and Peter - down from their acclimatization push within the hour - we've saved you two!

As for the big picture, all of us here on the mountain expect a bit more snow over the next few days but we're still looking like a fast-approaching summit season...

All the best,

Mara & co

29th April - On the Lhotse Face

Hi everyone,

Writing you as the morning heat hits base camp. Just got a call down from Willie, who's on the Lhotse face with Doug, Bill, Nick and Carlos. Adele also called in from mid-Western Cwm to report she's on her way up with Amanda, Neil, Peter etc and requesting some juice on arrival. Tomaz, Kevin and Chris remain at 2 for their first official rest day and all report a second day of calm skies up there.

It's been a busy 24 hours here at base camp as well. The Sirdars, or lead sherpas, from each team met yesterday afternoon to plan the rope fixing above the South Col and through to the summit. And it's nice to see that even with the addition of new teams from the Tibetan side of the mountain this season, there's still quite a bit of cooperation amongst the teams to gather rope, oxygen, and man power to make this summit fixing happen efficiently and safely.

And a second shout out to the icefall doctors. While most of the teams focus up high, they've had their hands full keeping the base of the mountain, the icefall, in condition this season as this bout of warm temperatures, melting ice and an active west shoulder make this opening section of the mountain a constantly shifting maze. There's some speculation that a new line may be put through near the top hundred meters of the icefall but in any case Nima and his icefall team continue their mission of securing and redirecting the route on a near daily basis. As for us, we're sticking with the original schedule: early, early starts and ascents and descents while this section of the climb remains cold and still.

More for you after our next radio call.

Best from Everest,

Mara & Team

26th April - Summit Hotel chef in base camp

The Everest team are honoured by the arrival of Graham, the chef from the Summit Hotel, Kathmandu, who is spending three weeks at Base Camp to work with our resident cooks. We understand that the menu for lunch today is:

- Thai coconut soup with vegetables, seaweed and mixed mushrooms
- Pink salmon and French Himalayan cheese fishcakes
- Mixed mushroom and sundried tomato risotto
- Coconut, cornflake and peach fool.

(See photo, taken inside the busy kitchen.)

The team are very excited about the next phase of their expedition, which starts tomorrow (Monday). At 3am we will be setting off back up the Ice Fall. We start so early as it turns into an oven as soon as the sun hits it.

Our Base Camp will be temporarily moving up to Camp 2 at 6,300m where we have the luxury of a mess tent and Sheeba to cook for us, unlike Camp 1, where we have to look after ourselves.

Camp 3 (7,200m) is now fixed so we will acclimatise by visiting and returning to Camp 2 on the same day. This will be our first experience of the Lhotse Face. After a rest, we will climb again to Camp 3 and will experiment with sleeping on oxygen for a while to get used to the somewhat claustrophobic masks.

If the weather is kind and things go according to plan, we will be back down to Base Camp on our around 5th May.

We are all well and send best wishes to our families, friends and supporters.

With love,

Amanda.

Mara adds:
"Just a short one to say we've just had word from Carlos and Ian, who've now made it into camp 2 and with that we've got everyone snug in their appointed tents for today (Monday 27 April). Half the crew settled in at camp 1, Tomaz and Chris took an acclimatisation trip up to camp 2 and met Doug, Bill, Nick and Willie for lunch and Amanda, Neil and I enjoyed a second day of culinary delights here at base camp with Graham before their launch up the mountain tomorrow."

24th April - Sherpas fix to Yellow Band

It's been a full day of recovery here at base camp for the entire team. It's been a moveable feast up here, as we've had parts of the team sleeping as high as Camp 2, others sleeping as high as Camp 1 and a few here keeping the kitchen staff and the base camp team company, recovering from various high altitude ills.

Amanda sounded perkiest calling down from Camp 2 checking in on the team here at base camp. Ian and Willie had an adventure coming down the icefall in exciting conditions. Adele led the parade up to our highest point, and the sherpas have been putting on quite a show, helping fix the route as high as the Yellow Band today (24 April). This point, well above Camp 3, brings excitement all around camp, as it means the route is steadily coming into shape nearer and nearer our high camp at the South Col.

This afternoon, we welcomed trekkers in from the Caudwell Xtreme group, who're continuing testing from their 2008 ventures up the hill.

All the best as ever,

Mara Larson, Base Camp Manager

23rd April - Team up in Western Cwm

We apologise for the lack of updates from our Everest team since last week. Mara was in touch on Sunday to say they were having problems receiving emails, though from our end, this now seems to be fixed. They headed up to Camp 1 on Monday and we assume they are on their way back down from here, or from Camp 2. We should have some words for you shortly!

Tom at Jagged Globe HQ, Sheffield

17th April - Quiet day at base camp

Hi friends,

It's another day in 5300m paradise. Well, an odd paradise as its balmy and sunny here and Willie sits beside me sorting equipment in flip flops and a t-shirt. Not a typical mid-April pattern.

The warm skies have proven beneficial in at least one way as a super-bug made its way through camp this past week and little Dave, big Dave, Neil, and Ian suffered through a few days of colds and such. The sunshine's helped clear things up and they're sat outside on the patio now enjoying a second rest day of fried eggs and toast and some french pressed American coffee (Thanks to Carrie at Coffee Bean International!)

Today will be a quiet one as yesterday was the day of organizing. High altitude food supplements of chocolate bars and cheeses, boiled bags of food and sachets of coffees were packed away for all the higher camps. We've also said farewell to Shiva, our camp 2 cook, who left early hours this morning for camp 2 where he'll set up the base of operations throughout the remainder of the trip.

Tomorrow is another day of action as the team makes a second run through the icefall, topping out just below camp one and returning here to base camp.

We'll keep you posted.

Cheers from BC,

Mara & team

12th April - In Base Camp

Hi again,

I write from the sunny comforts of our comms tent as the team makes their way back down from the icefall this morning. It was a 5 o'clock start on a particularly cold morning but the team made it up as high as 5600 meters and back down here in time for an early lunch.

Base camp itself is quite a hopping place this week. Yaks share the trail with climbing teams and trekking groups and it seems to be a nonstop train of supply arrivals into camp. We've still got loads of blue barrels to sort out just in front of our dining tent and unsurprisingly, out front yet another film crew rolls the tape getting Doug and Bill flashing some pearly whites!

All the best from BC,

Mara & team

10th April - Trek update from Luke

Photos

11 days into our trek, and lots to report. On a personal note, my Dad and I have seen more of each other naked in the past 11 days than during the past 11 years. Baby wipes aside, today marked our arrival at the village of Gorak Shep (5160m). And an ascent of Kala Pattar (5600m(. For trekkers this is to be the highest point of our trip, and Personal Altitude Records [thanks Doug] for most of us. Kala Pattar was quite a slog and we were once again grateful to Adele for her mastery of motivation and leadership (she isn’t paying me to write this!).

Highlights of earlier sections of the trek include reaching Ama Dablan basecamp, discovering the delights of trail-side bakeries, and listening to a trekker’s guide to uncouth practices in an English pizza-joint, that shall rename un-named!

Stunning daytime vistas have been complemented with evenings of DIY entertainment, including charades and quizzes etc. Tonight, however, we look forward to our arrival (tomorrow) at Everest Base Camp. We trekkers will have the chance to experience a few days of life with a Summit Team, as well as the chance to say goodbye and good luck to our newly-made summit buddies. We are sure they’ll miss us too!!

Luke

7th April - Acclimatising around Dingboche

Hello again,

It's day 3 here in Dingboche and we woke this morning to our first sight of snow blanketing the village. This was a lucky break for all as for half the day it was a day of rest and the other half had a nice stroll up this side valley exploring the sights from up above at Chukung.

Photos are of our climb up Nagartchung Peak, 5,085 meters. We summited in clear skies and enjoyed a rest inhaling the thin air before descending yet again into a blanket of afternoon cloud.

The climbers are finally pulling their weight introducing us to new post-dinner games, this time it was Bill and his version of Scattegories. (Won by Neil).

And to top it off, our team is now complete as Willie Benegas, our Argentinian guide, made his way up to Dingboche mid afternoon yesterday. In true Benegan fashion it was a shorts and running shoes arrival.

So sending down all our best,

Mara & team

5th April - Dingboche

Hi again all,

It's been a packed few days for the summit and trekking teams. On leaving Namche we made our way next to the village of Deboche where the team spilled into two seperate lodges since the trail's become packed with large expedition groups. It was a grueling hike in having dropped as low as the valley floor before climbing arguably the most sustained hill of the trek all the way up to the Tengboche Monastery.

Our trekking group is mixing in well with the climbers on these climbs and as per our usual course, we spent the midday sampling apple pies and fresh coffee once back together at the top of the hill.

Having convinced Phil, Roger, and the rest of our trekking crew that they'd now conquered the toughest bit of trail we then launched the whole team off-trail early hours Saturday for a climb in to Ama Dablam base camp! This brought us up above 4,400 meters where the clouds parted briefly and we enjoyed a "picnic" of chapatis, eggs, and Nak cheese. Many among us had spent time on the peak so stories and happy memories flowed.

And then it was back down the mountain to the village of Pangboche where we set up shop and Emma's yoga sessions finally brought in the sherpas too. And now we're caught up to today, where the trekking and climbing team's split briefly, with the trekking crew heading further up the trail to Dingboche while the climbers remained behind for puja blessings from the high lama, Lama Geishe, high atop Pangboche.

For now, its back to the tea house where the cake's baking for Luke's surprise party this evening, he's 30 and what better place to ring in the big day.

All the best from a happy and healthy team,

Mara & co.

2nd April - An Everest Preview

So today was our first glimpse at the mighty peak. A sunny morning of some laundering and breakfast here in Namche and soon we were off towards the Sherpa village of Khumjung for a little altitude training.

Rounding the hillside above our village Everest, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam all came into view and reminded us just what it is we're climbing into these coming weeks.

Mid morning tea was had at the Everest View Hotel, a famed viewpoint around 3900 meters and from here we descended into Khumjung to sample the delights of the local bakery. Apple strudels got highest ratings and helped distract from some emerging high altitude headaches but now down here in Namche again, the team's back in fine form and enjoying the sites and sounds of bustling village life.

All the best from team JG,

Mara & co.

1st April - In Namche

Greetings friends and family,

It's the start of the season once again and the Jagged Globe team sends in our first report from up here in Namche Bazaar.

We'll introduce you to the cast of characters over the coming few weeks but its a big family we've got up here this time. The climbing team consists of 13 team members spanning the globe from Brazil to America to South Africa, with our British members as usual holding the majority. And keeping energy up is our spirited Everest base camp trekking team of 9. Add to that our guiding crew of Adele Pennington, Tomaz Jakofcic, Willie Benegas leading the team up the mountain and Mara Larson manning operations at base camp and we've got a very full house this spring!

Details to come but for now, here's a group shot of all of us beginning the day entering Sagarmatha National Park and then winding down on arrival here at the Sherpa lodge with a yoga session led by fearless trekker Emma.

Our next few days see us based here in Namche, enjoying our first taste of high altitude air and some scenic acclimatization climbs up to the Sherpa villages just above.

All the best from 3440m,

Mara & the Jagged Globe team

30th March - Arrived

Hi,

Me and my bags have arrived safely arrvied in Kathmandu along with the rest of the team. Carlos, the trips brazilian congintent had a nervous cday or say waiting to be reunited with his bags but they too have arrived in one piece now. We are quite a sizable team 13 are going for the summit, 3 guides, 7 trekkers (Not fans of Star Trek apparently!) coming along to base camp and a couple of additional support staff and thats before you start counting the sherpa and porters etc..

Rather worrying several people on the trip have have heard of me by reputation which is either a very good thing or a very bad thing I'm not which yet..

For those of you that read the guardian glossy magazine of Saturday you should have spotted half the team including Ted the official team mascot.

We have spent the day checking kit and repacking ready for the the flight to Lukla tomorrow and having a whistle stop tour of Kathmandu.

Doug