Finished with first rotation up the mountain

Tonya and team are back in ABC after climbing up to Camp 2 (6,670m - 21,883ft). They experienced super high winds throughout the trip and said it was tough going.  They had hoped to stay at Camp 2 for a several nights, but given the high winds and very real risk of having their tents destroyed or blown off the mountain, they came back down a bit earlier than planned.  Back in ABC everyone is resting, eating and relaxing...with jet stream winds scraping the summit.  For now Tonya is going to rest a few more days and the team will be making decisions on when and how to proceed.  Some team members may be starting a summit push within the next week, and others may take a second rotation up to the higher camps and back to ABC, before making a final push to the top.  More than anything those decisions will be based on logistics, weather, and health.

 

The route up to Camp 1

 

 

 

View from Camp 2, looking up to the Makalu La

Camp 1

Tonya reached Camp 1 today (around 3pm local Nepal time, April 27th).  Situated at 6,347 meters, it was slow going due to strong winds and fresh snow.  Tomorrow the team plans to continue up to Camp 2 at 6,670m, before returning to ABC. 

On a sad note, news is beginning to filter out about a climber who died close to the summit of Makalu on April 23rd.  Tonya had mentioned this in an earlier text, but I was waiting until facts became more clear to write about it in this blog.  It appears a Chinese climber reached the summit along with three other teammates and fell on his way back down the mountain.  Below is a link to some further news on the accident.  The climbers, who summitted quite early in the season, were from a different team....everyone on Tonya's team is safe.


Makalu Accident:
http://www.explorersweb.com/everest_k2/news.php?id=21427

Heading to Camp 1

Tonya (and team) carried loads up the mountain yesterday, stopping about half way to Camp 1.  More than anything the carry was an acclimatization run to help everyone keep adjusting to the altitude.  They will be making a move to Camp 1 on April 27th, weather permitting.  It has been snowing quite a bit, and cold, which has meant lots of rest and relaxation at ABC. 

Getting ready to move up....

The latest from Tonya is that the team is still in ABC.  Weather has been relatively miserable - cold and snowy; most everyone on the team feels like they have a hangover despite no alcohol intake -  the general malaise of newly acquired altitude; and the main discussion topics are centered around what kinds of food they will eat when back in civilization - pizza seems to top the list.  So, in other words, sounds like business as usual for an 8000 meter peak base camp.  Their Puja - the traditional Buddhist celebration to honor the mountain gods and receive a blessing to climb - is scheduled for tomorrow morning (local Nepal time) and from there they will begin to move up the mountain.  Not sure if the entire team will be moving together all of the time, but within the next day or two most team members will explore options of moving to camp 1, weather and health dependent.

 

Himalayan Puja celebration

Advanced Base Camp

Tonya and her team reached Advanced Base Camp today.  For all intents and purposes, this camp will serve as the main base camp for the duration of the expedition.  Located at an elevation of 18,700 feet above sea level, Makalu's ABC is one of the highest base camps among the 8000 meter peaks.  The weather was barely cooperating on the hike to ABC...it took the team 8-10 hours of trekking in fresh snow with high winds and low visibility.  Throw in some major boulder hopping on rocks covered in ice, and all in all it proved to be a relatively exhausting day.  Sounds like the team is relieved to be in the dining tent enjoying hot food and tea before crashing for the night.  Before leaving for the mountain, Tonya had heard there would be 15 climbers on Makalu this season (plus their respective support and Sherpa staff), and in the next few days all of the teams will be settling into ABC.  After a few days of rest, the teams will collectively begin working the route above ABC and figuring out how best to get up the mountain.

Hillary Base Camp

Tonya is now at Hillary Base Camp.  Situated at just under 16,000ft, Hillary BC is not the true Base Camp for Makalu, but it is now just a short hike to the actual Base Camp.  The team has decided to stay at the Hillary camp for the next couple of days and wait for two remaining teammates who have been hiking in from a lower elevation.  So, the entire team should be together again today or tomorrow.  Sounds like it has been snowing a lot over the last few days, but the weather is beginning to clear and the sun is out for the first time in several days.  Tonya says this in the most beautiful mountain valley in the world...with incredible views of Makalu.

 

The view of Makalu from Hillary Base Camp.

Hiking to Base Camp

Tonya and team are all now out of Kathmandu and hiking towards Base Camp.  Several team members took a helicopter to almost 14,000ft and are just a day or two from Base Camp, while others on the team chose to hike in from much lower down and will have about 10 days of hiking before reaching camp.  Tonya and two other team members opted for the middle ground between those two options...and landed yesterday morning (Nepal time) in the village of Tashigaon - at an elevation of almost 7,000ft.  Tonya is looking at four or five days of hiking and good acclimatization before reaching Base Camp.  It's about 5:30pm on April 11th as I type this, which means the sun is just rising in Nepal and Tonya is most likely getting ready to head out for day two of the trek to BC....

 

A map of the trek into Makalu Base Camp

Off To The Mountain...Well...NOT QUITE

We are delayed in Kathmandu after a rather frustrating day yesterday.  Simply put, we could not get out. It has been a very long day. It is also a very long story. The weather was horrible in Tumlingtar, our anticipated destination and starting point of our trek to Makalu BC. Weather is projected to be bad for many days. We had to make a hard decision as a team to postpone the flight via airplane and devise a Plan B...so we have decided to share the cost of a helicopter....we go by chopper tomorrow. 

Our team was in conflict over the decision. Two members chose to go to Tumlingtar via bus. This will take two full days....then they will proceed on foot the full ten day hike. Two other members decided to take the chopper to 14,000 feet just two days from Basecamp. They will be way ahead of the porters and Sherpas etc..... Will, Arjun and I have decided to get on the same chopper but get off at a lower elevation for better acclimatization and to be closer to our bags. We will have a six day hike from there and avoid all of the low heat and leeches etc....We will avoid the lowland hiking. It was a tough decision but we feel good about our choice. 

All part of the adventure.

Plan B....Planes won't go, so it's a chopper ride to the Makalu region.

Off to the Mountain

This is the moment I have been waiting for.  We begin our travel to the mountain.  I am very excited and nervous all the same.  It takes so much to get to this point.  While it truly is the trip of a lifetime and the most beautiful mountain ever....it is down right frightening at times.  brad told me that ever since I decided to go, I stopped smiling.  Our teammate from Belgium last night confided that he too was stressed.  I loved his honesty.

In many ways it is hard to relax until this point.  Despite all the help we get from porters and our agency, there is so much to manage.  We will be in the middle of nowhere.  For the first time, I am taking a full medical kit.  I feel so good that I invested in Wilderness First Aid and Advanced Life Support classes over the last two months.  It gave me a greater confidence.

I will live out of one small barrel and one duffle bag now for the next 55 days.  I have a spare pair of crampons, a spare headlamp and one spare pair of glacier glasses.  Excess baggage fees came in at only $175 to get here....double that for the trip home.  That is the extent of the redundancy.  Now the rest depends on health, weather and teamwork.

The little things that will make my trip comfortable include: the home made beef jerky provided by Ted, the extra sims card from Jamie for emergency phone calls, the very new oxygen mask and regulator from TopOut, the warm Marmot sleeping bags and my Thor base camp tent, having Will Cross on the team (a friend of Brad's), my custom 8000m suit, my pink goggles from my dear friend Sam, my iPad that houses pictures of all my friends and family...(on Everest I did not have this), a new clear Nalgene bottle, one bag of Reece's peanut butter cups, a box of earl grey tea (yes Laura Kinman, there will be London Fogs made at BC), and most importantly the full support of Brad!

I hate to say goodbye...but it is time.  Love to all.

Departing

The day has finally come.  In the morning we leave for the airport to fly to Tumlingtar to begin our trek to the mountain.  I will no longer have easy communication but will call Brad regularly with updates which he will post on this blog.  we had a team dinner this evening.....the restaurant was so nice that I could actually have real ice cream.

Today I received my training on the TopOut oxygen system.  this is really a sweet system.  Ted Atkins has a new model in the field this year that has the control for the gas flow in the front.  in the past your regulator control is on your back on the top of the tank.  As I climber you would either need to rely on another climber to adjust your flow or take your pack off.  This is a really slick system.  Ted made me a custom knob in pink which will match my pink goggles.

Today I had the honor of meeting Chris Bonnington's Sirdar in the courtyard of Asian Trekking.  I will post the photo when I return as iris too hard to get it off my iPhone.  I knew I was in the presence of a special man when Billi Berling bowed in his presence.

Will and I spent the bulk of the day looking for a coffee press and finally found the perfect one.  We had pizza at Fire and Ice.  walked to the local grocery store and bought good toilet paper and extra lighters.  We stumbled on a lighter with a three inch flame....this is sure to work well.

We purchased our oxygen today.  It is pricey....but better than what we paid on Everest.  I basically pay $390 per bottle from TopOut and get $200 back if we return the bottle.  Yep, I have decided to use it.....I would one day like to climb without it but will test the waters on a lower 8000m peak.  Makalunis too high and has two much difficult climbing on summit day.  Having oxygen will increase my odds of success and keep me warmer.

Our gear left for BC today.  We will now hike with small day packs and one small duffle carried by a porter.  We will stay in tea houses.  Given the remote nature of this mountain, people tell me it will seems as though I have stepped back in time 30 years.  I will be carrying a very comprehensive medical kit based on the help and support of Doctor Dave, Carl Weil, Ted Handwork and Myndear hubby.  I have so much more confidence now that I took my Wliderness Advance Life Support course.

It is my plan to journal daily and share all entries upon my return.

Hugs to all!

In Kathmandu

Kathmandu is always a little hectic, a little crazy, and a little wonderful all at the same time.  The best part of hanging out in Kathmandu while waiting to leave for the mountains is catching up with old friends...

Great to see Billi again!  Billi Bierling does an amazing job of keeping track of all expedition records in Nepal with Elizabeth Hawley

 

Can't believe it has been almost five years since I last saw Birendra Singh..."Bernie" was our LO for the Annapurna IV expedition in 2008.

 

 

 

Dear Friends

Dear Friends,

I have now met my team for Makalu and wanted to tell you a little bit about them.  This is the second time that I have come to Nepal and joined a team of complete strangers.  When I did it in 2006 I said I would never do it again and yet I am doing it again.

We have Mr. Gia Tortladze from Georgia on his 30th expedition!, Mr. Will Cross from the US, a good friend of Brad's and someone I had met at OR a few years ago (so nice to have a friendly face), Mr. Arjun Vajpai from India (only 19 years old), Ms. Krushna Patil also from India, Mr.
Dominique Dejose from Belgium, and Mr. Juan Fernando from Columbia making his second attempt on Makalu.

It is a great group with a lot of experience.  We understand that Don Bowie will be flying in to climb the mountain as well.  Most of us are using oxygen but two members are attempting the climb without.  Those of us on oxygen (myself included) will all be using Ted Atkin's TopOut system.  I met with Ted yesterday for three hours and learned all about how he designed his most widely accepted regulator and mask system.  As of next year, he will be bottling his own oxygen in Nepal.

On the 10th we will fly to Tumlingtar to begin our 11 day trek to base camp.  My communications will be very limited once we begin our trek.  I do hope to get a few texts out to Brad via my inREACH Satellite system that is designed to create two way communication in text format.

I wish I had planned this trip farther in advance as I think it will likely be an amazing trek, off the beaten path, to the base amp.  It is likely that Will's father will be trekking in while we are on the mountain.  Krushna is also hopeful her boyfriend will make it in.  I will take a lot of photos to share upon my return to Kathmandu so that you may all consider this trip in the future.

Tonya

 

Ted Atkins with some of his TopOut Oxygen equipment.

Dear Jamie (On Sorting Life Out)

Dear Jamie,

I am honored and proud to have you as a friend.  You have a remarkable way of dealing with people and of treating them with respect and kindness.  The longer I know you, the more I respect all that you have accomplished.  I admire that your real love rests in exploring and in taking people to new places.  The road less traveled along with paths that produce some resistance tend to deliver the greatest rewards in life.   The world today leaves little opportunity to tap unchartered waters yet you my friend have managed to do it.

It seems to me that it is rare to meet people that "do what they do" for all of the right reasons.  If not careful our life gets created by default when we really need to take responsibility to design it.  Some how you have managed to do so and in the process you have enriched the lives of so many from the locals you hire to the clients you guide.  Those that have not discovered you yet will be amazed when then do.

You can learn more about Jamie by googling www.projecthimalaya.com and once you know him you will hang on to his friendship and never let go!

Dear Fear (On Surviving)

Dear Fear,

I am constantly asked what scares me about these big mountain trips.  The truth is that I am scared of a lot of things.  My biggest fear is not surviving whatever the mountain might throw my way.  i guess you could call this the unknown.  wrapped in that unknown is the unforeseen wind.  wind tends to break me down.  It zaps my energy and makes me very cold.  It is often hard to escape as there is no real place to seek shelter from it.

I have always been told that fear is a good thing in the mountains.   What cannot happen is panic. Panic prevents you from being able to rely on experience and get yourself out of a bad situation.  As long as you can continue to think clearly you can draw on past experiences.  I must remind myself every day that I have paid my dues.  I have climbed when I cannot feel my fingers.  Survived an all night bivy.  Crawled to the Refugio on what felt like fumes.  Trained with the best.  Climbed with the very experienced.  Learned from my many mistakes.

Yep this my way of convincing myself I am ready.  It is not easy.  I want to be surrounded by those with more experience.  I want to share the climb with close friends.  I wish we had a medical clinic at base camp.  I would like a cell tower close enough to maintain communications.  I would like to have fixed lines set to the summit.  I would even like to take a chopper to base camp.

With all that said, it will be more rewarding and enriching without any of the above.  It is only when we push ourselves beyond our comfort zone when we truly find growth and reward.  For me this is a true step from all that is secure to something that is unknown.  I am excited to choose this path and walk alone towards something new.  Sharon Connolly promised to sit on my shoulder and go along for the ride.

Tonya

Dear Makalu (Coming to See You)

Dear Makalu,

I am looking forward to meeting you.  I love that you are so far away from the fray....you stand pretty and proud all by yourself somewhere between Kanchenjunga and Everest.   You attach yourself to no one.  You play hard to get being that it takes 11 days to simply stand at your feet.

You keep to yourself.  You are rarely on Facebook.  People do not write much about you and yet you are the 5th highest mountain in the world.  Climbers gasp at your beauty.  I first saw you from the top of Everest and you were just standing all alone so peaceful.

While there is a birthday party going on Everest, you will be having a private dinner party.  I understand just 14 people other than me, have been invited.  We will be there to celebrate you.  It is not my preference to go to a party by myself when I do not know the other guests.  I was happy to hear that you have invited Will Cross....a good friend of my husbands.  It is always nice to run into a familiar face after traveling so far.

I have had mixed emotions about coming to see you.  It is not easy to travel so far by ones self.  I have spent a few nights in tears followed by numerous days in utter joy.  Tomorrow I will get on a plane from Denver to JFK to Dubai to Kathmandu.  If all goes as planned I will be knocking on your door sometime on or around April 20th.  I will be the one in the red and orange Marmot tent.

Tonya

Dear Chris (On Staying Strong)

Dear Chris,

Seven years ago I came to you two months before going to Everest begging you to be my weight trainer and kick my butt into shape for the mountain.  I figure the man who guided a blind man up the mountain, would be the one to help me the most.  I am not sure what you were thinking but you graciously accepted the daunting task.

Given that we only had two months until my departure, I got my money's worth when you told me the best thing I could do would be to eat all the Haagen Dazs, cheesecake and mac n' cheese I could muster between now and my departure.  What woman would not pay money for this type of counsel?  At the time I was 96lbs.  While I got up to 112lbs before the trip, I returned close to 97lbs (of course Brad and I spent a week eating good food in Thailand before returning to the states).  This time I will leave a full 120lbs but I have slowly been getting there over time.  What is interesting is that I wear the same size as I did on 2006 - proof that muscle weighs more than fat.  I feel so much stronger and confident with all your years of support.

What I want the world to know is that our weekly workout sessions for the past seven years have been so varied.  Not once have we ever done a repeat of a prior workout.  Somehow you have managed to keep it very interesting and fun.  People always ask what I do to train for the mountains...if they could only see the fun we have each and every week.

In addition to keeping my body strong you also work on my mind.  Our minds can talk us out of any and every thing.  You remind me not to worry about the mountain at all as my thoughts will change nothing.  You have done a marvelous job of reminding me to take it one day at a time which supports my mantra of "Eating the Elephant One Bite at a Time."

Sharon Connolly and Chris Morris at Mountains Edge

Dear Brad (On Letting Go)

Dear Brad,

Words do not exist to tell you how much your positive attitude and unrelenting support of my trip to Makalu means to me.  I only hope that through your acts of love and support, I can learn to give it back when your turn to go rolls around again.  I cannot help but want to hold you back and keep you safe.  Letting you go is always the hardest thing ever as I feel so far apart.  Yet when you let me go, I feel closer to you than ever before.  Why does it work this way?

I am excited to take all the grace and calmness that you have displayed in the mountains with me on this trip.  You have a way of remaining very relaxed and calm.  You often think I do not listen to you and yet, I have heard every word and observed every move you have ever made.  All of your acts, all of your pearls of wisdom fill my toolbox.

That my love is when I flipped the switch and realized I was ready.

I love you.

Brad and Tonya at Everest BC 2006

Dear Ted (On Time and Money)

Dear Ted,

You are the friend that told me years ago, "You will never have enough time and or money to climb Mt. Everest."  Sure seems the advice holds true again today as I struggled with making the decision to climb Makalu.  It never feels right to spend so much and be gone so long.  It is hard to rationalize but your advice rings loud in my head when faced with the decision.

I wanted to thank you for pushing me to take the Wilderness First Responder course followed by the Wilderness Advanced Life Support course during the last three months.  What I learned in those classes has given me a much greater since of confidence and courage to face the challenges imposed by the big mountains.  It meant a lot to me when you told me that I now KNOW BETTER.  In the past I have climbed a bit blind, following others, trusting others and leaning on others to get me from BC to High Camp and Beyond.  Now I have built a small arsenal of skill and I have reached a point where I do know better.

This trip is my chance to decide when to go, when to stop, when to eat, when to rest, when to push forward, and when to pull back.  I will remind myself daily that what goes with me on this mountain is the experiences shared with people like you Ted.  When the tough decision come up, I am lucky that I get to draw on thoughts of what would my dear dear friends do when faced with a similar situation.

I promise to move in marginal conditions and turn around the moment the mountain says to do so.

Tonya

Ted Returning from Everest in the 80's