Friday, May 14, 2004
Regarding my friends who trekked to the Everest Base Camp with Mountain Madness:
I thought some of you might be interested in this:
I sent the following query to my friends who recently returned from the Everest Base camp (South Side) after trekking there with the Mountain Madness group (keep in mind that last year they had summited Kili by a route other than the standard trekking route - and they were the only 2 from their group to summit) - they had sent some picture to me and I responded with:
"Hey thanks - those are great. I like the stories about flying into the Lukula airport - and I saw the neat picture. What I want to know is this: how would you compare the shape you were in to the other trekkers? Were you in better shape in general? Or average? And was there anything on the climb that you didn’t think you were experienced enough for? And, finally, when you saw the Kumbu Ice Fall did you wish you could have climbed though it on the ladders or were you glad you weren’t going any further?
Bob "
I received the following response (keep in mind that they only went to Base Camp - no higher:
"Hi Bob!
This is Didier replying on Wendy's email. Your email made it sound like you have an agenda (Everest or Base Camp?)...... We climbed 14ers all winter long and therefore did a lot better than the other hikers from 11,000 feet on. They were from LA, Arkansas, Texas and Winnipeg (Winter-peg) and didn't have the benefit of training at altitude like we did. The couple fro LA got vey affectd by the altitude and didn't show up for a couple of meals at 17,000 (Gorak Shep) When they showed up the next morning, I personally would have sent them back down. They looked terrible.
Wendy and I were the strongest hikers by far. The expedition leader (Willie Benegas, aka the King of Aconcagua - he's climbed it in record time and over 40 times - he's also a North Face athlete) paid us the ultimate compliment: he asked us if we were interested in climbing Aconcagua with him. He also mentioned to me that I looked just as strong as the clients attempting to actually climb Everest. He might have been nice but it boosted my confidence.
Wendy and I would show up in camp way ahead of any other climbers every day. I guess we're used to the altitude and to stressing our bodies going up those Colorado 14ers. Psychologically, we knew we could go as high as 18,500 (Kala Pattar) after having climbed to 19,340 on Kilimanjaro last year. As a result, however, we didn't take care of hydrating ourselves like we did on Kili. Instead of the 5 liters of water we drank each day in Africa, we "only" drank about 3 to 4 liters a day and still did just fine. I pushed myself going up Kala Pattar (starting at 17,000 and going up to 18,500) and did fine. I got a slight headache a Base Camp and took care of it with an Ibuprophen.
To sum it up, we got to Nepal in good shape and, as much as I hate to say it (Coloradoans can be arrogant that way), coming from (and training in) Colorado helped.
You asked about the Khumbu ice fall: AMAZING! Scary yet awfully attractive at the same time. Willie Benegas was ready to take me in with a spare pair of mountaineering boots and crampons. However, the trekking guide wasn't too keen on it, and rightfully so. His butt would have been on the line if anything had happened to me. I was already all dressed up and ready to go! Bummer! If or when I go back to EBC, I will get a permit to go up to Camp I. No doubt about it!!!
From an experience standpoint, it is a trek. Having some winter camping/mountaineering experience helped as far as how to dress, how to pace yourself, etc... We got snowed on every afternoon and had brought gear just for those types of circumstances. Others were not prepared for this type of weather. Wendy and I were the only ones to go up on acclimatization hikes durng our rest days. The other trekkers stayed in their tents or did some laundry but no physical activity. I'm a strong believer (now more than ever) that acclimatization does not occur unless one exerts some kind of physical activity on rest days. The old adage of going high and sleeping low rings truer than ever!
Hope this helps. Feel free to call me directly if yu have any moe questions at (303)978-1562. We're still looking at a good time for a slide show and give you more details as you look at our pictures. How does Saturday May 22nd look for you guys?
Cheers!
Didier "
I thought some of you might be interested in this:
I sent the following query to my friends who recently returned from the Everest Base camp (South Side) after trekking there with the Mountain Madness group (keep in mind that last year they had summited Kili by a route other than the standard trekking route - and they were the only 2 from their group to summit) - they had sent some picture to me and I responded with:
"Hey thanks - those are great. I like the stories about flying into the Lukula airport - and I saw the neat picture. What I want to know is this: how would you compare the shape you were in to the other trekkers? Were you in better shape in general? Or average? And was there anything on the climb that you didn’t think you were experienced enough for? And, finally, when you saw the Kumbu Ice Fall did you wish you could have climbed though it on the ladders or were you glad you weren’t going any further?
Bob "
I received the following response (keep in mind that they only went to Base Camp - no higher:
"Hi Bob!
This is Didier replying on Wendy's email. Your email made it sound like you have an agenda (Everest or Base Camp?)...... We climbed 14ers all winter long and therefore did a lot better than the other hikers from 11,000 feet on. They were from LA, Arkansas, Texas and Winnipeg (Winter-peg) and didn't have the benefit of training at altitude like we did. The couple fro LA got vey affectd by the altitude and didn't show up for a couple of meals at 17,000 (Gorak Shep) When they showed up the next morning, I personally would have sent them back down. They looked terrible.
Wendy and I were the strongest hikers by far. The expedition leader (Willie Benegas, aka the King of Aconcagua - he's climbed it in record time and over 40 times - he's also a North Face athlete) paid us the ultimate compliment: he asked us if we were interested in climbing Aconcagua with him. He also mentioned to me that I looked just as strong as the clients attempting to actually climb Everest. He might have been nice but it boosted my confidence.
Wendy and I would show up in camp way ahead of any other climbers every day. I guess we're used to the altitude and to stressing our bodies going up those Colorado 14ers. Psychologically, we knew we could go as high as 18,500 (Kala Pattar) after having climbed to 19,340 on Kilimanjaro last year. As a result, however, we didn't take care of hydrating ourselves like we did on Kili. Instead of the 5 liters of water we drank each day in Africa, we "only" drank about 3 to 4 liters a day and still did just fine. I pushed myself going up Kala Pattar (starting at 17,000 and going up to 18,500) and did fine. I got a slight headache a Base Camp and took care of it with an Ibuprophen.
To sum it up, we got to Nepal in good shape and, as much as I hate to say it (Coloradoans can be arrogant that way), coming from (and training in) Colorado helped.
You asked about the Khumbu ice fall: AMAZING! Scary yet awfully attractive at the same time. Willie Benegas was ready to take me in with a spare pair of mountaineering boots and crampons. However, the trekking guide wasn't too keen on it, and rightfully so. His butt would have been on the line if anything had happened to me. I was already all dressed up and ready to go! Bummer! If or when I go back to EBC, I will get a permit to go up to Camp I. No doubt about it!!!
From an experience standpoint, it is a trek. Having some winter camping/mountaineering experience helped as far as how to dress, how to pace yourself, etc... We got snowed on every afternoon and had brought gear just for those types of circumstances. Others were not prepared for this type of weather. Wendy and I were the only ones to go up on acclimatization hikes durng our rest days. The other trekkers stayed in their tents or did some laundry but no physical activity. I'm a strong believer (now more than ever) that acclimatization does not occur unless one exerts some kind of physical activity on rest days. The old adage of going high and sleeping low rings truer than ever!
Hope this helps. Feel free to call me directly if yu have any moe questions at (303)978-1562. We're still looking at a good time for a slide show and give you more details as you look at our pictures. How does Saturday May 22nd look for you guys?
Cheers!
Didier "
