ON THIS PAGE YOU WILL FIND REGULAR UPDATES ON MY PROGRESS AS I ATTEMPT TO ACHIEVE THE SUMMIT OF MOUNT EVEREST.

If you would like a view from the top of Mount Everest click link below.

Virtual reality 360 degree panorama from the top of Mount Everest

A GOOD EXPEDITION                                                                                                                                                           

        I want to give a more detailed account of the events of

our summit attempt for the people who have been following

 the story on the website.

        Overall this was a very good expedition. We were a

fairly strong group, stayed healthy, and perhaps most

importantly (with one exception) all the members got along

very well. We acclimatized well, making several trips to

the North Col at 7,000 meters and on one occasion

 spending five nights there. We then took five or six days

 of rest to eat, sleep and recover. Five of us went to lower

 altitude in the village of Jangmu for this, the others stayed

 in Chinese Base Camp. This effectively divided us into

teams A and B, which was fine since there were not

adequate tents at the high camps for everyone to go

at once.

       We picked May 18^th and 19^th for our summit

days. The weather had been reasonable and several

teams had been successful in recent days. Leaving

CBC we hiked the 12 miles to Advanced Base

Camp in one day. I felt strong and it took only

seven and one- half hours, much faster than early

in the expedition. After a rest day in ABC we climbed

to the North Col and spent the night. This is fairly steep

snow with crevasses but we were very familiar with

this route by now.

       The next day, although we had previously

climbed higher without O2, most of us elected to

use oxygen to save as much strength as possible

on our climb to Camp 2 set between 7,700 and

7,900 meters. The sun was very intense and some

wind in the afternoon was actually a relief because

from the North Col up we were wearing our down

suits night and day.

ARRIVAL AT CAMP 2

      I was the first person of team B to arrive at

Camp 2 and was irritated to find the stoves for

melting snow had been taken to Camp 3 by team

A.  Stoves should have been in both camps but

things get mixed up or “lost”. Dan arrived and

said a Sherpa was bringing stoves up from

Camp 1, but it was about a three hour wait before

I could melt some snow. Consequently I did not

eat or drink as much as I should have.  Dawa and

I were quite warm and comfortable in our tent. 

The wind stopped at 1:53 a.m. and  I  was

optimistic for the next night.

     I was excited to climb the next morning. This

was higher than I had ever been. The group of Dan ,

myself, Andrew, Myles, Deno, Dawa, and a

Tibetan Sherpa, Adin, stayed relatively close

together. All of us were using oxygen at 1.5 to

2 liters per minute. The weather was sunny and

nice. When in a good rhythm I could take one step,

four breaths, one step, four breaths, etc. If my foot

slipped a bit it might take eight breaths to recover.

The climbing was not technically difficult but even

tiny ledges took a lot of effort. I enjoyed watching

the surrounding 7,000m peaks fall away below us

and was impressed that the summit pyramid of Everest

seemed to get bigger not smaller. I recall thinking this

 is a really big mountain. 

       About an hour and one-half below Camp 3

I met a friend of mine coming down. Roland and

I had summited Ama Dablam together four years

ago. We had met unexpectedly in base camp this

trip. He was climbing with a French husband and

wife team whom he introduced. It’s very hard to

recognize people in high altitude gear but I noticed

his hair and he recognized my white pack. I asked

if he had summited.  He had reached the top the day

before but said his friend had developed “edema”

on the way down and “didn’t make it”. I asked if it

was the man or the woman and he said  “the man”.

This was sad news.  Mon and Neil from our team

had climbed with that couple on Cho Oyu.

BAD WEATHER MOVES

IN

       Shortly after this I looked up and thought for a

moment my goggles had fogged up but realized it was

clouds coming in very fast with high winds and some

snow. We were on a traversing ledge at this point

and everyone rapidly closed up all zippers, cinched

down their hoods and changed to their big mittens.

I was not cold but the wind and blowing snow made

climbing much harder for the last hour into Camp 3.

     Camp 3, also known as high camp or Camp 6,

is not very pleasant. It is on a broad windswept

slope and in the blowing wind and snow looked

very desolate. My Sherpa, Dawa, was on his

19^th Everest expedition. He surveyed the weather

that was making it impossible to see the summit and

said “I think maybe not possible”. I was still hopeful

the wind would die down as on previous nights

although this was a much stronger wind.

      The first tent we entered was at a steep angle and

used oxygen bottles were hanging over the edge in

 the outer half of the tent. Dawa and I sat in this

tent a few minutes then Dawa said, “This not good

place.”  He crawled back out and the tent floor

shifted about five inches in the wind. I did not waste

any time getting out of that tent. Dawa tucked us into

another tent abandoned by the Korean team, I think.

I had to crawl back out to retrieve some gear I left

in the first tent and find a clean cooking pot. When

I returned Deno was also in the tent. Apparently

the tent he had gone to was occupied by JP from

team A who had stayed in camp 3 and told Deno

he was too sick to share a tent. Dawa had gone

off to look for our oxygen supplies. Deno and I

settled in to get the stove lit which is not easy.

I went out again to chop some snow to melt.           

HIGH ALTITUDE

HOUSE CALL

     I was back in the tent with my outer boots off

and in my sleeping bag when Dawa came back with

some oxygen bottles and news that JP wanted to

 see the Doctor. I was not too happy about this. 

It was now dark and I was tired of crawling in and

out of tents. It does not sound like much but it

involves getting out of the sleeping bag, putting on

outer boots that are like ski boots, putting on

frozen crampons, crawling out of the tent and

under securing rope which crosses the doorway,

pulling my pack out of tent because I don’t dare 

go out in the dark and wind without oxygen, and

struggling to re-zip tent doors. I do not remember,

but later Deno me told I growled that if I had to

make a house call here I was putting the oxygen

on FOUR liters per minute. Anyway, I got over

to JP’s tent where he looked much more

comfortable than I was. He said he has a headache

and is worried he might get cerebral edema. I told

him he is not going anywhere tonight, take some

decadron and go down in the morning.           

THE WIND CONTINUES                

       The wind continued to blow hard.  Normally

people leave for the summit between 11 p.m. and

1 a.m., but in wind like this no one was

contemplating leaving.  It would be fatal to try.

Until about 4 a.m. I was hopeful the wind might die

down.  After that I knew we didn’t have enough

time to go. It was still windy in the morning, a

snow plume was blowing off not just the summit

but the entire summit pyramid. We waited till the

sun was up at about 10 a.m. and then descended.

      It was not reasonable to wait a day at Camp 3.

We would use up our oxygen supplies and risk

getting stuck there in worse weather.  In the

notorious “death zone” people tend to get rapidly

weaker while they wait. I left my oxygen bottle on

and descended all the way to ABC. Several tents

 in Camp 2 have been completely shredded by the

wind.  Some members stop to sleep at the North Col.

      We are very disappointed. I debated the pros

and cons of another attempt after a rest at ABC. 

I was quite tired and had some minor aches and

pains as well. I did not feel I could recover

physically and emotionally to have another

go with an adequate reserve of energy to be safe.

       Hector and Colin from team A summited

the day before but Colin had fairly severe frostbite

on fingers of his left hand even though he said he

never felt cold. Hector took eight hours up but

eleven down and felt like he was not going to

make it. JP was exhausted and Phil told him to

turn back and descended with him. Neil did not

leave camp three to go up and Mon went only a

short way up above camp 3.

      Andrew, Myles, Phil and Dan felt they

wanted another attempt and stayed at ABC

while the others returned to base camp.

HIGH RESCUE

        From the reports in the last couple days

it looks like Dan and Andrew made another

attempt on May 25.  At 8,700 meters they

found another climber who had been left for

dead the day before, alive and sitting up.

http://www.everestnews.com/Summitclimb2005/everesttibet2006disps05282006.htm

has the story on this.  The photo with

the report is of Deno and me at camp 3. 

Dan and Andrew gave up their summit to

rescue him in one of the highest rescues ever

accomplished.

      Overall I feel everyone made a good effort.

It is very unusual for a whole team to make it as

 high as 8,300m and we are all down safe.           

                                                                   --Ken Stalter                                                                                                                                                                                               

According to Everestnews.com, on May 22nd Dawa Sherpa (Ken's personal sherpa) did a speed climb of Everest from the North traverses from Chinese camp to Nepal base camp in about 20 hours.  This shows the remarkable ability of Sherpa climbers as a typical climb by a western climber from North to South would take a few days even by an elite climber. 

     Ken called again and asked that information about his teammates be posted for their families and friends to see:

Colin is at the North Col where he will spend the night because he is tired.  He summited the mountain on May 18 and has frostbite on his left hand.

Dino is also at the North Col.

Dan and Myles were on their way to ABC from the North Col, and I could hear Dan's voice while I was on the phone with Ken, so Dan had arrived at ABC.

Phil is in ABC and has frost nip on his right hand, but told Ken he has "had worse."

Andrew is at ABC and is disappointed he didn't get to the summit.  He is feeling strong and debating a second attempt.

Hector summited on May 18.  He is at ABC.

Mon and Neil are at ABC and are fine.

     Ken said is was hard hike down from Camp 3 with lots of wind.  The tents at Camp 2 were torn to shreds by the wind.  Phil had spent the night at Camp 2 and told Ken he thought he was going to die.  He had no oxygen, no way to make water, and he was afraid the wind was going to blow his tent away.

     By the time he made this second call today, Ken had eaten and drunk "alot," he said and was feeling much better.

     Ken has returned to Advanced Base Camp after reaching Camp 3 on May 18.  "The winds were very high and it was not safe to go higher."  He does not think any summit attempts were made from the north side on May 19.  All Summitclimb team members are descending today, Ken reported by sat phone.  Two members of the first group did reach the summit on May 18.

     "I did some hard climbing up high, and I'm pleased with that, but I don't think I will make another attempt during this season.  It's like doing an Ironman (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and 26.2 mile run) everyday three days in a row," he said.  He explained that all he had been able to eat for the last two days was a few packages of uncooked Ramen noodles straight out of the package.  "Maybe if I was 30, I could recover and try again."

     Although he feels depleted physically and mentally, he says his health is good.  He looks forward to coming home but says it will take some time to arrange an early departure.

     Ken and a group of Summitclimb teammates should be in Camp 3 today waiting to head for the summit about 11 p.m. tonight their time.   That is 11 a.m. today for us in New York.  Climbers start early and climb through the night in order to reach the summit early in the day and have plenty of time to descend safely to lower camps.

     The part of the team that did not go to Jangmu to rest, set out for the summit on May 17 and I have not yet seen or heard how they did.    JS

     Ken called at about 7:30 p.m. his time from Camp 2 at 25,900 feet.  "The weather is good.  It snowed some on the way up, but now it has cleared.  It's not real cold and there is no wind."  He said it was a long climb--7 1/2 hours from the North Col to Camp 2.  He said he is feeling good.  He will use oxygen to sleep tonight.  Tomorrow SummitClimb team will move to Camp 3 above 27,000 feet.

     The plan is to go for the summit leaving Camp 3 in the very early morning hours of May 19. 

     Ken and team members moved to Advanced Base Camp (21,000 feet) directly from Chinese Base Camp yesterday without spending a night at interim base camp.  Ken said in his phone call that he is tired from the long hike and will spend today resting at ABC.  Team members who didn't go to Jangmu will move up to the North Col today.

     The weather report SummitClimb team has received is that conditions will be favorable on the mountain through May 19, so they hope to advance to Camp 1 at the North Col, Camp 2 at 24,600 feet, Camp 3 at 27,200 feet and then the summit by about May 19.  Ken plans to start using supplementary oxygen on his way to Camp 2 to conserve his strength.

     He knows that other climbers reached the summit yesterday and many more are headed up today.  He hopes the mountain will be less crowded later in the week because it will be easier to use the fixed ropes and ladders.

     His phone cut out during the call and when he called back he said it was reading "Critical Temperature."  "It's not even very cold right now," he said.  So if phone equipment cooperates, Ken will be checking in as he advances up Mount Everest.

     Ken called from Chinese Base Camp today after a six hour long bumpy bus ride from Tingri.  He says he is rested and "full of steak."  Tomorrow he will move up to Advanced Base Camp at 21,000 feet and wait for the weather to improve for a chance at the summit.  "It's fairly windy.  Some people have summited, but they are very strong and it is still early," he said.

     Ken and team members from SummitClimb are headed back to Tingri and then Everest base camp.  Brief email from him today said it will take a couple of days to get back to camp, and then weather permitting, they will start a summit push.  He said he slept well in Jangmu and ate "a lot of food, meat in particular, so I hope that will pay off."

Today's report is brief:

   Hi, Not much to report . We will stay here today and
tomorrow then head back up. You can see photos of Dawa
at http://www.worldpeacekeepingexpedition.com. We are just eating
and sleeping. Everyone feels fine.  Ken

   You can also see pictures of Ken (on the ladder) and the team on EverestNews.com at this address:  http://www.everestnews.com/Summitclimb2005/everesttibet2006disps05052006.htm

More email today:

Hi, Slept very well last night. Although this involved
some traveling it is much less boring than base camp.
Everyone is hopeful to get back up for a quick summit
but we have to be patient.
Jangmu is an ugly place but our room is clean and able
to get a warm shower yesterday for $3 per night.  We saw
lots of Tibetans plowing with yaks and wooden plows and
planting by hand on our drive down. Dawa plowed a
couple of furrows.
Ken

      Ken is in the Tibetan town of Jangmu and was able to send email:

Hi.  We (Dan, Dawa, Kipa, Myles, Deno, Andrew, and I)
are in Jangmu to rest and recover at a low altitude
for about 4 days before going back up for a shot at
the summit. We hope to gain back a little weight and let
our lungs recover in the warm thick air. My lungs have
not been a problem but many have coughs. The other
members elected to rest at Chinese Base camp but that
is extremely boring. Anatoli Boukreev, the great
Russian climber, always favored getting as low as
possible for a few days before a summit attempt. Will
try to write more tomorrow.  Ken

     "I'm in Chinese Base Camp and feeling much better," Ken reported in his phone call today.  He and SummitClimb team members are all at CBC, 17,000 feet, recovering from their five or six days at the North Col.  Ken hasn't had any specific ailments, but said he felt very fatigued from the nights at 23,000 feet.

     Tomorrow some of the team will catch a day-long ride on a Land Rover to even lower ground in Tibet to get supplies and spend a few nights at less than 12,000 feet.  The big concern for climbers going into villages is catching some sort of gastrointestinal bug from the food or water that could lay them low for days.  As the expedition doctor, Ken left home well supplied with medicine, no doubt with enough to treat the whole team if need be.

     "Do you hear that yelling?" he asked while we were on the phone.  Ken explained that tourist groups come and stand on the perimeter of the camp and look at the climbers and the tents.  "I guess Everest Base Camp is on the list of places to see in Tibet."

     Ken said the team aims to be in good position on the mountain to try for the summit in mid-May.  As always, health and weather are the unknowns.

     Ken called on the satellite phone today to say he and some members of the SummitClimb team have returned to Advanced Base Camp after spending four nights at the North Col at 23,000 feet.  He explored part of the route to Camp 2 but the winds were high and made the trip difficult.

     Dan Mazur, the team leader, has stayed at the North Col with others of the team and plans to spend a night at Camp 2 before returning to base camp to rest.  Ken says everyone continues to be healthy.  A few teammates have coughs, but he does not.   He says he is tired from the four nights at the North Col and felt for him that there were "diminishing returns" in staying at the higher camp.

     He heard the report that six Sherpas, three Nepali and three Tibetan, had summited from the North side on April 30 and noted that "this is very early in the year to summit."   Ken will return to base camp at 17,000 feet to regain his strength for a few days before heading back up the mountain.  A summit try is most likely two or more weeks away.

     All climbing members of the SummitClimb team are at the North Col, Ken reported in a satellite phone call today.  They slept there last night, will rest today, and explore up to camp 2 at 24,600 feet tomorrow.  Dawa Sherpa went ahead today taking oxygen canisters to the higher camp.

     Ken again gives a mixed weather report with sun beating down early while they hiked.  Later in the day it snowed, but not much wind and not overly cold.  Ken had a slight headache when he got to the North Col but he reports it is gone today. 

     Ken and the SummitClimb team carried gear to the North Col yesterday and have returned to Advanced Base Camp.  In a satellite phone call, Ken said the sun was hot as they headed up the mountain.  "The sun was shining and reflecting off the snow.  We stripped to our long underwear going up."  Later in the day it started snowing, and was quiet with no wind when they returned to ABC.

    The plan is to return to the North Col tomorrow and spend a few nights at this camp at 23,000 feet.  Ken says he doesn't have much appetite--an effect of the high elevation--and it is hard to eat, but he knows he needs the fuel so he keeps at it.  Otherwise he says he continues to feel good.

     Ken was able to use his solar charged satellite phone today to call home.  He reports that the SummitClimb team is back at Advanced Base Camp at 21,000 feet.  “Everybody is fairly healthy so far.  There are some little sore throats and a little diarrhea, but everyone is hanging in there so far.  It will get worse,” he predicts.

     He says he feels better now that they are doing something.  His main complaint during his Everest attempt in 2004 was the boredom of waiting for the body to adjust to the altitude and waiting for good weather.  On that earlier trip at Camp 3, he and Dan Mazur ripped a paperback copy of Moby Dick in half so they could both read it.  Ken still hasn’t read the first half but he did take another copy with him this time.

      During today’s call the sun was shining and there was “almost no wind” at ABC, but Ken says it is cold.  “It was 6 degrees F. in my tent earlier this morning.”  He now has three sleeping bags so he is warm.  

     Over the next 10 to 12 days, Ken’s team wants to get to camp 2 at 24,600 feet in order to continue acclimatization to the high altitude.  As always, this will depend on the weather and it is often worse on the north side of the mountain.  JS

More email from Ken:

Hi, Boring day today resting but warmer and less wind. Our Nepali
Sherpas
are very worried about the current unrest in Nepal. I let Dawa use the
phone
to call home a couple times. We heard 3 Sherpas died in the ice fall on
the
South side today. Our plan is to rest one more day then go back up to
ABC
over two days then rest a day and try to go up to sleep at N. Col.
Weather
permitting of course.

Today we have email directly from Ken:

 Hi, We are fine. More snow today in CBC. We were lucky to come down
before
the snow started as it was a 12 mile walk. We had good luck at ABC and
got up
to the North Col. Weather was very cold, below zero at night and high
of
15-20 during day. Strong gusty winds. There is a large crevass at top
of Col
crossed by a 20 ft. ladder. Everyone remains healthy. I think we were
the
first non Sherpas to grt to the Col at 7000meters. We plan three more
rest
days here then back up again.  Ken

      On http://EverestNews.com today at the SummitClimb updates you can see a picture of the team.  I'm pretty sure that is Ken in the center in the red jacket.  JS

     Ken says it is snowing hard at Chinese Base Camp.  About a foot had fallen when I talked to him.  "I expect that the teams that have moved up to Advanced Base Camp are really getting hammered with snow and wind," he said.  The SummitClimb team is the only group that has been to the North Col and is now having some planned rest and recovery days at base camp.

     The climbers are spending their time resting, eating and reading.  "Everyone is feeling fine except for the anticipated headaches and low appetite." 

     Team member Myles Osborne measured 4 degrees F. inside the tent at ABC before they came down. Ken said base camp is much warmer.

     Ken and the team hiked to the North Col of Mount Everest yesterday.  I asked Ken if they had carried gear to this camp at 23,000 feet and he said, "It was a great plenty just to go up and back in one day."  All climbing members made it except for two who stayed behind at ABC, one with a sore throat and another with a headache.

     "It's cold and windy at this altitude.  We are going back to base camp to recover for the next five days."  Ken said some of them may go to the village of Tingri for a day or two for supplies--and perhaps a hot shower?  It is a five hour jeep ride from Chinese Base Camp. The elevation is 14,250 feet and will give the climbers a chance to catch their breath.  Ken says this town makes him think about how the towns in the American Old West would have looked with dusty streets and horses.

     The Tibetan nomads passing through Tingri seem to get a kick out of Ken's long hair that is a lot like their own, and share their hair ornaments with him.  Ken was learning a few Tibetan words before he left Franklin, so I expect that will also benefit him during his forays into town.

     Today we have a wealth of information from Ken—both email and a phone call.  He says he is feeling good.  His pulse rate is down and blood oxygen level is slightly improved.  He has no headache and his appetite is good.  Lack of appetite is common among the climbers and Ken says they lose weight just sitting around in their tents.  Now that’s the diet for me.

     Yesterday SummitClimb team members attended a combined Puja/blessing ceremony.  “This is traditional for the westerners and very important for the Buddhist staff.”  The monk told the climbers it was an “auspicious” day.  Ken writes:

     Very cool. Perfect weather warm, sunny, not much wind. Very old lama with few teeth. Tiny ancient monastery on top of rocks with view of Everest. After went down hidden hatch to underground cave where Rimpoche hid when Chinese came. About 4 feet wide 20 feet long  and 5 feet tall. Covered with ancient tankas.

     Weather is not too cold though did snow in early AM then sunny but windy. Warmer here than Hotel in Lhasa which looked very modern but NO HEAT. Did a short easy hike of about 2 hours today to acclimatize.

      Ken is at Chinese Base Camp acclimating to the high altitude.   For a day by day itinerary you can go to http://everestnews.com, click on the tab for Everest 06, then subcategory North-Tibet, then first title SummitClimb.  This is the group Ken is with, and the organizer, Dan Mazur, has a lot of good information about the trip, photos, and a plan for each day.  Remember, our guys are about one week ahead of the stated itinerary at this point.  I hope in the near future Dan will start to post updates at that site.  Any way I can keep up with Ken is good and this site has lots of interesting stories about Everest and climbing in general.

     Also please remember the bone marrow registry drive on Monday, April 10.  This is free and that is great because some potential donors are unable to participate due to the usual cost involved.  Here's the information again:

National Marrow Donor Program Registry Drive

When: April 10, 2006
          11 am – 1 pm

Where:          Oneonta Family YMCA
          20 Ford Avenue
          Oneonta, NY 13820

     "I'm feeling good.  My pulse ox is 83."   The altitude at Chinese Basecamp is 17,000 feet, and acclimation to less oxygen in the air has definitely started.  He will stay here for about five days before moving up to the next camp at 19,000 feet.  The rest of the climbing team arrived today too.  Ken said tents are set up and everything is in place.

      From Llasa Ken traveled with Tibetan Sherpas.  "I had the opportunity to drink rancid yak butter tea four times a day.  I drank one cup at each meal while the Sherpas drank eight.  They like that I try it."  They tell Ken he will never get chapped lips if he drinks the butter tea.

When: April 10, 2006
          11 am – 1 pm

Where:          Oneonta Family YMCA
          20 Ford Avenue
          Oneonta, NY 13820

is readily available at 20 rupees per hour ($1=69R).

     He met his climbing team and says they all seem compatible.  He and Dan Mazur went to the hospital to visit Lakpa Chirri, a Sherpa who would have been going with them to Mount Everest.  Lapka fell while climbing Pumori and broke his leg--a tibial fracture with a nerve contusion.

     Over the next few days the team will go to the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu to apply for visas to enter Tibet.  They will also be purchasing supplies, packing, touring the city and shopping.  Ken has friends in Nepal from working in the hospital in Patan in years past, so he will probably be looking them up.  Kathmandu is a big, busy, smoggy city, so Ken will be glad when they can head to the mountains.

      I'm looking forward to keeping everyone updated when I hear from Ken.  Thanks for all your interest, support and prayers for Ken's adventure and our cause of raising funds for research and treatment of childhood leukemia.  Our Leah was a wonderful little girl who liked to hike with her Dad on the hill behind our house.  I guess it is in the genes. 

      Keeping you posted--Janice Stalter