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Adventures International Everest Expedition 2002
Welcome to Adventures International Everest 2002 Expedition Reports, where you can follow the progress of this year’s trip on the south side of Everest. This expedition is actually a combined effort with Alpine 8000 from Britain; we will share a permit and base camp facilities. Guellermo (Willie) Benegas is leading the Alpine 8000 group; Scott Woolums, Adventures International Director, is leading the North American party. Scott is an accomplished high altitude guide, with 25 years experience. This is his second attempt on Everest; he has previously guided 16 Himalayan climbs including summits of Pumori, Ama Dablam, Great Trango Tower, and Cho Oyo, plus 26 expeditions on Aconcagua and a record 30 ascents of McKinley on 42 expeditions. For our part we have assembled a solid team of climbers including Jack Gerstein from Colorado, and the father and son duo of Bruno and Jason Rodi of Canada--all of whom have previously climbed with us in the last 5 years on various high altitude peaks around the world. Everyone on our team is capable of summiting providing favorable weather! The team will be supported on the mountain by a strong group of Sherpas, lead by Sirdar, Phenden Sherpa.
This is the style of trip we believe in: small, well organized, experienced, easy to manage and focused on climbing the mountain not the politics surrounding it. We have consistently limited our trips to 6 or less, which represents our commitment to safety and quality personal experience. Stay tuned for frequent dispatches from the field…
Scott Woolums
Adventures International Inc.
Everest 2002 Expedition Report
May 2nd 2002, Camp 2
We’re all tucked in here at Camp 2, getting ready to go up to Camp 3 at over 23,500 ft. tomorrow for a couple nights. This is our final acclimatization trip before the summit push. After this we’ll go back down for a good long rest after spending over 12 nights above base camp.
Yesterday we came up through the Khumbu icefall; everything has changed again. Near the top of the icefall, a difficult vertical ladder and ice wall have completely collapsed and looks like a bomb went off. It’s been very important to start early and move quickly, as later in the afternoon, everything starts melting and falling. Our 4th trip through now, each one a bit scarier as it gets later in the spring. As the monsoon draws closer everything warms up creating an increased risk from both the weather and avalanche in the icefall.
Everything is coming together for our summit attempt. Our team is acclimatizing well and ready to go. All the camps are being established; the route to the South Col is in now, so Camp 4 will be set up very soon.
Staying at Camp 2 and higher demands some mental toughness as any simple task can put you out of breath. Even putting boots on in the morning is a challenge. We have a good camp near the top of the Camp 3 area, protected from most larger avalanches and spindrift slides. Still it’s very steep ice right outside the door. We have set safety ropes up around the tents in case anyone takes a slide. Our camp is set in about the safest place around, although all of Camp 3 is very exposed to avalanches coming down off Lhotse. This simply is not a place to be during any kind of a storm like we had all last week.
Look for us to call in another update in the next day or so from Camp 3. This is where things get a bit more exciting. We hope to spend 2 nights there, although in any bad weather we will come down as soon as possible.
It’s interesting how all the teams are slowly lining up their summit days. Lots of different strategies forming, and really it just comes down to having some luck with the weather when we’re all ready to go. Forecasts are great, but far from accurate enough, especially as a summit attempt has to be planned almost 8 to 10 days ahead.
So let's hope the mountain will allow us higher as we take each next step up.
Scott Woolums
Adventures International Inc.
Everest 2002 Expedition Report
May 4th 2002, Camp 3
We’re resting at Camp 3 today, after coming up the fixed lines of the Lhotse Face. It was a great effort by all moving from Camp 2 to Camp 3, a physical and dangerous climb. Fortunately we’ve had some good weather to move about in: calm and clear with great views.
Camp 3 is spectacularly perched right in the middle of the Lhotse face, which drops away to Camp2 - 2000 ft. below. Another 2000’ above us is the Yellow Band, Geneva Spur, and finally Camp 4 at the South Col. A more windswept place than the S. Col is hard to imagine! Our tent platforms at C3 are literally chipped out of hard blue ice, and the tents are tied down to the face with climbing ropes. We have a narrow 1’ wide porch outside our tent door, then the face drops off all the way to C2--crampons only outside the tents!
Jack, Jason and I are here acclimatizing. This is a difficult process at this altitude, compounded by sleepless nights, lethargy, mild headaches, breathlessness, and endless coughing...even simple things seem extremely difficult. We have planned two nights here to adapt as much as possible to 24,000’. Sleeping here is kind of a joke as we wake every half hour or so. Thick frost covers the inside of the tent and the wind hammers outside. We’re mostly just waiting for the sun to come up.
Today, our Sherpa team made it up to Camp 4, so things are progressing. It will still take 10 or more loads to the S. Col before it is fully supplied and ready. Tomorrow we plan to head down, into thicker air, to recuperate before the final summit push.
More details when we return to Basecamp on the 6th.
Scott Woolums
Adventures International Inc.
Everest 2002 Expedition Report
May 6th 2002, Basecamp
Whew! We’re back in Basecamp after a long trip up high. Jason, Jack and I just returned from Camp 3 at almost 24,000 ft. after spending 2 nights there. It was great trip up, with good weather and everyone moving well. We all feel tired, but well acclimatized. Now we’re ready to focus on the summit!
The team plans to take some R and R down in one of the lower villages before starting back up for the top. We need to recharge our batteries as spending so much time up extremely high takes a lot out of everyone.
All the teams on the mountain are either completing their final acclimatization trips or have already done so. Now it’s a matter of waiting for a good forecast to put together a summit push. This requires a lot of coordination to carry all the supplies to Camp 4 at the South Col and fix lines above, then allow time for all the summit team Sherpas to rest up. Finally we’ll plan the schedule to reach Camp 2, where we’ll remain for a couple days, before moving up to Camps 3, 4 and the top!
Our strategy calls for us to start using oxygen for sleeping as soon as we arrive back at Camp 3. The following day we’ll climb to the South Col where we’ll meet our Sherpa summit support team. We will try to get some rest there and hydrate with hot drinks; then we’ll leave that night for the summit.
Right now all the teams are trying to get equipment, food and O2 to the South Col. With some intermittent bad weather it’s not an easy task. Today almost 60 Sherpas started for the S. Col, although the weather changed for the worse mid day, everyone is ok. Now we’re trying to coordinate efforts to get some fixed lines in to the summit. We need to have lines fixed up to the balcony, and onto the south summit. We plan to have 2 or 3 Sherpas up a day or two before we will arrive at the S Col, to fix line as far as possible. It seems a lot of groups are starting to look towards the middle of May for summit attempts. We are planning to first get all loads to the S Col, then allow some rest for all. At that point we will be looking towards weather forecasts for an idea when will be best.
At present our priority is R and R (rest and rehydration), good food, showers, laundry and preparing ourselves for the summit! Things are winding up, so we'll see what happens as next week draws closer.
Scott Woolums
Adventures International Inc.
Everest 2002 Expedition Report
May 8th 2002, Basecamp
Our team is all down now recovering from being up high for awhile. The low altitude air here at Basecamp (17,500 ft) feels great. Our Sherpa team finished putting in our Camp 4 at the South Col yesterday, so everything is ready for our summit attempt. Just need some recovery time before going up high again. Our Sherpas will be down today and also need a well deserved rest. They normally take 5 or more days off before we all start back for the summit push.
Have heard reports that the Korean Team may be trying the summit today, looks pretty good up there too. Several other teams are also lining up to go up very soon, probably before we will try. Lots of different strategies in play right now.
Our whole team is dropping down to the village of Dingboche to speed up our recovery from being high. Even at Basecamp here, your body is slowly deteriorating or is just not bouncing back fast enough. So most teams after acclimatizing will go down to lower altitudes to refresh and recover.
We are a team of 3 at this point, Jason Rodi, Jack Gerstein and myself. The Alpine 8000 team of Willie Benegas, Robert Geier, Maria Maccecchini will also be going up with us. We are hoping to be back here at Basecamp on the 11th, and then we’ll start looking seriously at the weather. Things will happen fast from here on. We’re all really excited and feeling ready to go after a short break.
Namaste from all of us here at Basecamp.
Scott Woolums
Adventures International Inc.
Everest 2002 Expedition Report
May 12th 2002, Camp 2
We’re on our way to the top! Jason, Jack & I just moved up to Camp 2 today with the Sherpa team. We’re all in good spirits and super energized after three rest days at lower altitude in Dingboche.
There was some wind at Basecamp when we departed this morning with strong wind blowing off the top. Hopefully the wind will subside over the next few days. The weather has been cloudy the past few days, but it’s calmer this evening and some good weather appears to be moving in; the forecast looks promising.
Basecamp is on a glacier itself; so as the season progresses and temperatures increase we hear popping and cracking day and night as holes begin to open up—it’s a bit spooky. The icefall is also becoming more active. There were 2 big avalanches today on either side of the route and a major collapse in the center. A whole section of the route will have to be replaced. We were fortunate to pass through the icefall a couple hours before the collapse.
Lots of activity on the mountain now, as most teams are moving into position for summit attempts. No one has summited yet though. The excitement level is high as the goal everyone has been working so hard towards is finally approaching.
We’ll take a rest day here at Camp 2, before moving up to Camp 3 on the 14th where we’ll start using oxygen. Then we’ll move up to the S. Col and high camp on the 15th. Two Sherpas will remain at Camp 4 for safety while the summit team, six Sherpas and six members including Alpine 8000 team led by Willy Benegas, plan to make our summit bid on the 16th.
Stay tuned for updates as we work our way up...
Scott Woolums
Adventures International Inc.
Everest 2002 Expedition Report
May 14th 2002, Camp 3
Willie, Robert, Jack, Jason and I just reached Camp 3. Maria is not far behind, hiking up with one of the Sherpas. Everyone is in great spirits and enjoying perfect weather up here. The sun is shining and it's actually hot, not even a breath of wind. We experienced varied weather on our hike up from Camp 2 this morning: wind, snow, fog, and finally sun. Right now the top of Everest looks cloudy, but not windy.
We'll more than likely use supplemental oxygen while we sleep tonight and then get an early start for the South Col. It seems that everyone's push for the summit has converged on the same day, which means the potential for lots of people on the fixed lines.
Our next update should be from the South Col...
Scott Woolums
Adventures International Inc.
Everest 2002 Expedition Report
May 15th 2002, 2:15pm, Camp 4
We left Camp 3 at 6:20 am. The hike up from Camp 3 to Camp 4 on the South Col took about 6 ½ hours. The route is very steep, 60 degrees for much of it. We all used bottled oxygen for most of the climb.
Our group was the first in line this morning, but you should see the line now! There are about 80 people on the fixed line heading to the South Col including the Sherpas. Camp 4 will be packed when everyone arrives!
It’s early afternoon and it’s blistering hot with not much wind here; the evening temps actually aren’t that bad in the tents (it gets a little chilly).
There is a lot of snow up higher and the wind has really been blowing it around. One of the teams attempting to summit today had to turn around because it was so difficult breaking trail. Six sherpas are going to head up there to break trail and to fix lines to the South Summit. Thought I might go up with them to help out.
Our team plans to start for the summit in about six hours, which would be around 8 pm tonight. We are planning on it taking around 9-10 hours to the top...
Scott Woolums
Adventures International Inc.
Everest 2002 Expedition Report
May 16th 2002, Summit
10:45 am, May 16, 2002, Jason Rodi and I have just summitted! Willie Benegas from Alpine 8000 is here, and team member Robert Geier is just arriving. The weather is beautiful with sun shining and only 5-10 mph winds; the temp is about 0-10 degrees F. There are about 30-35 other climbers on the summit right now, about 25 more are on their way down after summiting, and at least 15 more on their way up. The lines were really jammed, creating about a 45-60 minute wait at the Hillary Step.
Been a long day already. It took us about twelve hours to summit from the South Col. Here at the top I take five steps and I’m out of breath. This is a tough mountain. I have gained even more respect for it than I already had...
Scott Woolums
Adventures International Inc.
Everest 2002 Expedition Report
May 17th 2002, 7:00 am, Camp 4
Descended to Camp 4, had hot drinks and crawled right into our sleeping bags--I slept like a baby all night. About an hour into the descent from the summit a vicious wind kicked up. It started out as spindrift, but then it came down like a hammer and turned into a 30 minute white-out. It was impossible to know what direction to take to camp at the bottom of the fixed-line, so we stayed put until it passed.
We'll head down to at least Camp 2 today and possibly clear to Basecamp. It'll take all day carrying heavy packs. The risk factor is still quite high, as we have yet to descend the Lhotse Face and get through the Icefall. With the wind kicking up and moving the snow around, the Lhotse Face may be really icy. The route through the icefall is also falling apart; it's been warm and crevasses are opening up. We just have to get through that mess and we're back.
It will be total euphoria once we get down to Basecamp. As for right now, at 26,000 feet, my brain is starting to feel like oatmeal.
Scott Woolums
Adventures International Inc.
Everest 2002 Expedition Report
May 18th 2002, Basecamp
Yahoo! We're all back safe in Basecamp after a successful climb of Mt. Everest. Everyone is very excited and the mood in Basecamp is indeed euphoric after 54 climbers summited on the 16th of May.
We all managed to hit the weather just about perfect. Moving up to Camp 2 from Basecamp on the 12th, we spent a day acclimatizing and relaxing before going up to Camp 3 on the 14th, then to the South Col (Camp 4) on the 15th, leaving for the top actually at 10pm on the 15th, climbing through the night and reaching the summit at 10:20 am, May 16th. In our group, Jason Rodi and I reached the top after a long night, almost 12 hours out of Camp 4. Jack Gerstein turned around after reaching a point higher than the Balcony at 28,000 ft. At this altitude its very important to continually and honestly assess yourself. Jack was not feeling 100% and made a very solid decision to head back to Camp 4 at the South Col, with Nima Sherpa. (Failure to make these tough decisions can be the cause of serious problems on Everest.) Way to go Jack, an amazing effort to get to 28,000 ft.! Later we heard him saying "I'll be back"...
The final summit push actually began the day before as a group of 6 Sherpas from several different teams broke a trail though extremely deep snow all the way up to the Balcony, fixing lines along the way. They could not get higher as high winds were blowing plumes of snow off the ridge above the Balcony. So late on the 15th, as more and more groups arrived at the South Col to try the summit on the 16th, plans were made to coordinate an early group of Sherpas and Willie Benegas to fix lines above the Balcony a couple hours before all the expeditions would go up a bit later. The plan worked pretty good. Right behind them the Sherpas and members from at least 8 different teams made it over the Hillary Step and onto the summit! Quite a crowd on top, but everything worked very well. At least one team from the north side summited also.
On the way up, after the long dark hours of climbing by headlamp, we enjoyed a brilliant sunrise out over Tibet, with Lhotse and Makalu below. Followed by a perfect day until about 1 pm when a strong wind quickly moved in blowing snow around. This caught a number of people out up high, us included on our way down. At the bottom of the Triangle Wall fixed lines, we could not see camp in the whiteout. Fortunately, it did not last too long right then; with a little clearing we found our way into Camp 4.
Descending from the summit we stayed the night at Camp 4, sleeping at over 26,000 ft., fortunately with oxygen. We all were very tired after a long day. Had some very strong winds till midnight, then things calmed down for the next day.
Now we're slowly packing up, organizing yaks for the trek out, and saying good bye to friends that we have spent the last month and a half getting to know here in Basecamp. Feels a bit sad to leave; but so very happy we can depart this early in the season. Looking forward to summer.
Will have a couple more updates as we trek out to Namche, Lukla and then Kathmandu. What a fantastic trip!
Scott Woolums
Adventures International Inc.