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Mountain-Link Everest 2004 Dispatches 6 through 8 April 8 - 15, 2004
Dispatch 6 - April 8, 2004 by Richie Gardner What we've all been waiting for took place at 5:00 am this morning. No that isn't a typo, I did say 5:00 am. According to the Tibetan calendar the best time for our Puja was April 8th from 5:00 to 6:00 am. For those of you who don't know what a Puja is, it's a religious ceremony held very sacred to the Sherpa people. No one climbs until the Puja is complete. Don't think that this is some dull religious experience either. There is a lot of socializing with other climbers, tossing rice at the alter, chanting and sipping some local and imported spirits. I got my hands on this stuff called Chang, WHOOOO-WEEEE. The local folks are much better at dealing with that buzz than us western wussies. We did have some great Tequilla and Jack-D that made our palletes more at home. After the Puja, our Sherpa crew was off to climb in the icefall and check out the conditions. Of course, they were only gone for about an hour and a half and probably covered over half of it's distance, just warming up. I really wish I had Nepali lungs. Most of the summit hopefuls on our team sampled the icefall today as well and are pretty stoked to spend some nights above it in the not too distant future. Anyway, the engine is running and the climbing has begun! Check back soon for some more juicy photos and news on our progress.
Dispatch 7 - April 12, 2004 by Jeff Justman The backbone of our Himalayan adventures are our Sherpa crew. Every year I look forward to returning to the Himalaya to climb with these guys. As you' ll see by their brief resumes (sorry I just don't have time to write everything they have accomplished), these guys are the best. Dawa Sherpa: Dawa Sherpa is from Taksindu in Solu Khumbu where he lives with his wife and 5 sons. His brothers Tendee Sherpa and Kale Sherpa are also climbing with us. Dawa Sherpa has been working with Mountain Link since 2002. Dawa has been there and done this:
Dawa Sherpa's favorite Musician: Beyonce Lhawang Dhondup: Mountain Link Senior Guide; Expedition Leader; Expedition Sirdar A native of Tibet, Lhawang now resides in Berkley, California. Lhawang guides worldwide for Mountain Link and is our "go-to" man for Himalayan Expeditions.
Lhakpa Nuru Sherpa Okay, here's the deal with Lhakpa Nuru, he's a bad ass. I know, I know you are saying "you can't say that about a Sherpa"! Well, the guy just ran up to Camp 2 and back down to Base camp in 6 hours! If that's not enough, here's a bit of what else he's done:
Kale Sherpa: Camp 2 Cook Kale Sherpa is 28 years old and is being mentored by his two brothers Dawa Sherpa and Tendee Sherpa. Kale will be assisting the team as our Camp 2 Cook. This was decided after the team allowed me to cook up my famous Tuna/Peanut Butter/S'mores Sandwiches. I swear they're good. Kale Sherpa has been on 4 Everest Expeditions and participated on Janu a rarely climbed peak in Nepal. In the off-season, he runs Mountain View Lodge in Taksindu. Dawa Gyaltsen Sherpa: Expedition Chef Dawa Sherpa is the 7 time Everest Iron Chef Champion. Last year winning with his Lobster sautˇed Dhal Bhat. Professionally trained in Chamonix, France, Dawa is instrumental in our team's success. Jeff Justman; a.k.a. JJ: Mountain Link Senior Guide; Expedition Leader After 2 previous Himalayan Expeditions to Dhaulagiri and Manaslu, JJ is bald! Enough on him! JJ's Infatuation: Salma Hayek
Richie Gardner: Base Camp Manager "The G.M." Recently retired as the System Administrator from Mountain Hardwear, Inc. he is in charge of keeping the gears moving here in the Communication Tent and what not. He is most often heard saying, "Nothing works up here! I'm done with computers." Jumpin' Joe Hughes: Owner/Athletic Trainer, Sedona Fitness; Mountain Goat Joe Hughes has been climbing mountains around the world with Mountain Link since 2002. Joe along with Liz Pace are providing students around the United States an opportunity to learn the many facets of mountaineering, including how to achieve your dreams. Dispatch 8-April 15, 2004 by Jeff Justman As a kid every first Saturday in November I would be woken up by my Mom, "get your lazy butt up, get outside and start raking the leaves". So I'd hesitantly crawl out of bed, eat my Cocoa Puffs, try to avoid the inevitable until my mother would start yelling at me to get to work. Once outside I would rake like a madman putting all the leaves in the nice little garbage bags the city of Appleton, Wisconsin specifically gave us for the job. Having finished I would put the rake away and start heading for the neighbors to play football when my Mom would open the door and shout, "don't forget to get on the roof and clean the leaves out of the rain gutters". Throwing my head back in disgust I'd cry, "aah Ma, can't I get 'em in the spring"? "JUST DO IT" my Mom's face would already be turning red.
Back to the present I have to laugh seeing that my Mom helped train me to navigate the maze of ladders in the Khumbu Icefall. The very last ladder system in the icefall is a collection of five or six ladders connected vertically. I'm not exactly sure how many are tied together because I was too busy looking down to see if my Mom was holding the ladder. Thanks Mom!
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