Thursday 14th April, 8pm. Everest Base Camp
(EST is 9 hours 45mins behind Nepal)

Eat well, keep fit and say your prayers

Diary by Harold Mah

Everest Base Camp (Harold Mah)

The power just went off in our tent which reminds me never to leave home without a flashlight! Technology is a little hard to manage at Base Camp and the only things that run reliably are my satellite phone and the HP laptop. We’re waiting for a cable to find its way up the mountain to us. Several people knew that I was suffering with neck pain from the weeks of sleeping rough and arranged, through Mountain Madness, to get a pillow sent up to me from Kathmandu. Thank you. I shall have sweet dreams tonight!

Today was a rest day. We showered, did laundry, read, sat around and just rested. Tomorrow we will ascend the Khumbu Ice Fall once again and go all the way to Camp 1. We will spend the night there and then go on, half-way to Camp 2, before returning to Base Camp. This slow process of acclimatization is needed, particularly for Sean, as we get ever higher. Sean has a long, long way to climb to get to 29,028 feet and his body needs to be prepared. We’ve been working with the sherpas to plan the logistics of Sean’s ascent and how we move films and batteries and supplies to the higher camps.

Base Camp has expanded now to accommodate 24 different expeditions and 500-700 people. It’s a small temporary town in one of the world’s most inhospitable environments.

This evening the Brown University party, with whom we camp, invited over a Belgian party which included a 58 year old who got to the summit last year, providing more inspiration for Sean. Brown University are working with NASA and have found everyone extremely helpful when doing their research.

Sean talked to a Lama today who conducts puja’s, or blessings, and asked him how to keep healthy. He said: “Eat well, keep fit and say your prayers”.

I have been working with the cameraman, Nang Chhumbi Sherpa, 26, who will be taking some climbing footage of Sean for the Rogers programme. I told him to make sure he took pictures of Nepal as well as Sean and to film from his heart. He lives in Kharikhola which is about a day’s walk the other side of Lukla, with his wife and 6-month old daughter, and comes from a big family of ten. He has been a sherpa for 7 years and has already been to Everest 6 times and got to the top in both 2000 and 2004. I think Sean will be in safe hands. When he’s not climbing he’s a farmer and grows potatoes, corn, wheat and millet. I asked him what he’d like to say to Canadians about his country and he grinned and said, “Tell them it’s a beautiful country with mountain peaks and yaks and it’s at the top of the world”.

More later.

Harold

Editor’s note: At the time of sending Harold’s blog out, we have not heard from Terry in Kathmandu. As soon as we get an update we will forward it on to the distribution list.

Terry Kell is returning to Kathmandu, with most of the expedition party and they will return to Canada within the next 7-10 days.

Harold Mah is staying at Base Camp to support Sean Egan when he makes his summit attempt in May.