Mount Everest Cybercasts

Hello Everyone,

Today we finished up our skills review in the lower icefall. The team did excellent with the skills and pushed themselves physically and mentally simulating the endurance it will take to efficiently climb to camp 1 in a few days. We will go on another hike tomorrow and then spend the next couple of days getting our gear prepared for Camp 1 and Camp 2. Our Sherpa team have carried several loads to Camp 2 so far and will be carrying several more before we head up. Our entire Sherpa team and climbers are all healthy and staying strong.

Thanks for following along,

Ben Jones
Expedition Leader

Hello Everyone,

The team is doing great here in Basecamp! We are getting very acclimatized to around 17k ft, and staying healthy.

Yesterday we started our technical skills review at camp and today went out into the lower icefall to review more. Tomorrow we will finish up our review and be a step closer to heading up on our first rotation up the mountain to Camp 1 and Camp 2.

We’ve had some afternoon snow showers the last several days but overall the weather has been great.

I will send out some photos tomorrow!

Thanks for following along,

Ben Jones
Expedition Leader

Hello Everyone,

Today we went on another hike to help acclimatize our bodies to a new altitude of 18,500ft. It was a bit cloudy today so we didn’t get to see all of the spectacular views we normally do on this hike but still a great hike. Everyone is feeling better each day here at Basecamp as we adjust to the altitude. Tomorrow we will begin some of our review and practice on crossing ladders, then we will spend the next few days doing this in the lower Khumbu icefall. We are all healthy, and doing well here in Basecamp!

Thanks for following along,

Ben Jones
Expedition Leader

Hello Everyone,

Yesterday we made it to Basecamp in beautiful weather! The team is doing very well with the altitude but a few people have some minor symptoms that should go away in a day or two as our bodies get use to living at 17,500ft.

Today was a complete rest day, we played some card games, got our solar system all hooked up and got the wifi running and enjoyed some great meals cooked up by head chef Gopal.

Tomorrow we will have another complete rest day here getting things in order before we start or review of skills in the lower icefall. I will be sure to get more pics in the next few days so you can see what it looks like here. This afternoon we got our first snowfall but expect to have clear blue skies again tomorrow morning as the usual trend in weather here at Basecamp.

Thanks for following along!

Ben Jones
Expedition Leader

Hello Everyone,

Yesterday we made our way from Dingboche to Lobuche, arriving in the early afternoon to a new elevation of 16,200ft. The team is in great spirits and enjoying the beautiful hiking each day as we gain more and more altitude. Lobuche is our last stop though before Basecamp. Today we went on a hike near the old Italian pyramid research station and gained several hundred feet in elevation to some spectacular views and our first distant glimpse of Basecamp. Tomorrow we head to Basecamp, and we are excited to get to our home for the next 6 weeks. I’ll be posting photos of our climbers and staff soon after we arrive at Basecamp.

Thanks for following along,

Ben Jones
Expedition Leader

Hello Everyone,

Today was a rest and acclimatization day here in Dingboche. We did go on a hike though, to further acclimatize and we gained about 1,000ft getting to a new high point on the trip so far at 15,500ft. The team is feeling good and doing very well with the altitude. The last few days were a bit hazy but today we had perfect blue skies in the morning. Tomorrow we will head to our last village before reaching Basecamp. We will stay in Lobuche at 16,200ft for two nights.

Thanks for following along,

Ben Jones
Expedition Leader

Hello Everyone,

We had another great hiking day today with perfect weather. We moved from ~12,500ft to ~14,500ft at Dingboche. Along the way we stopped in upper Pangboche to receive a blessing from a Lama at the monastery for a safe climb. We are not allowed to take photos in the monastery but it’s always a special event to be a part of.

The team is fit, healthy and having fun! Tomorrow we will have a rest day here in Dingboche with a short hike to further acclimatize.

Thanks for following along,

Ben Jones
Expedition Leader