Everest diary 2009

After almost seven weeks in the clean air of the Bavarian Alps I have returned to Kathmandu, where traffic and pollution is still as mad as it was when I…

I have just come back from a two-day ridge traverse in the Alps of Garmisch-Partenkirchen and I think it was one of the most beautiful but - apart from Everest…

I am sitting here in my front garden with Richard looking at the medals we received after having done a mountain race today. The medal says: ”Zugspitz Extremlauf” – well,…

I have just noticed that I have not updated my website since I signed the ‘Golden Book’ of that famous Bavarian village of Garmisch-Partenkirchen but life has not really given…

It has now been a week since I had the honour to sign my name into the famous “Golden Book” of Garmisch-Partenkirchen – well, it cannot be that famous as…

After having suffered in the sweltering heat of Kathmandu for three weeks, I am now trying to cope with wintery temperatures of around 10 degrees in my Bavarian hometown Garmisch-Partenkirchen.…

I have been back from Everest for over one week now, however, the fact that I actually made it up there still has not sunk in yet. Maybe it is…

Even though I was planning on writing something about base camp and the politics around Mount Everest, I first want to quickly update you about what (training) life is like…

Once again, I would like to apologise for having kept quiet for a few days but life in Kathmandu is still busy and I have not had enough time to…

After three days of running around in Kathmandu interviewing expeditions for the Himalayan Database, I have finally found the time to reflect on Everest and the experience I gained there.…

Once again I have to apologise for not having been able to update my website since I arrived back in Kathmandu on Friday afternoon. After we had been snowed in…

First of all I would like to apologise that I have not updated my site since I returned to base camp from the top of the world, however, we have…

You'll all be glad to know that Billi is now safely back in basecamp. Was great to see her this morning but I had to wait around 15 minutes as…

No news this afternoon from Gorak Shep. Sorry to let you down! Fair weather Alex Treadway didn't visit from base camp today (there is low lying mist which makes it…

I heard that Billi is safely in Camp 4 with most of the rest of her team at 7900m. There they will rest, rehydrate, eat if they can, keep warm…

I can't tell you how strange / tense it is sitting at basecamp living this summit bid through tiny bits of radio communication. Base camp is pretty deserted as most…

This is Billi's friend Richard in Gorak shep. All I know right now is that the weather is very good, very calm, very beautiful. Alex Treadway informs me that Billi…

As we have yet another day in paradise without much happening climbing-wise, I thought I should enlighten my readers about how mountaineers cope with “calls of nature” in the middle…

Finally, the snow showers have died down and we have enjoyed quite a warm afternoon. People are doing their laundry, catching up on emails and watching Monty Python’s ‘The Life…

It may sound weird for a German to be invited to the celebrations for the Russian Liberation Day at Everest Base Camp, however, that is what happened to me a…

This Thursday was a sad day for the teams at Everest Base Camp and the Sherpa community as a huge avalanche hit the Khumbu icefall and killed Lakpa Nuru Sherpa…

This is just a very short update as I am writing this in the internet cafe at Gorak Shep. Yesterday, I and six of my team members thought that we…

Whilst the Nepali prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has resigned and swine fever is spreading across the world, we have just received the news that Phurba Tashi, Dorjee Sherpa, Nima…

Apart from the fact that we still have not found the owner of the blue male underpants, which Ellen and I found in a sleeping bag on Lobuje, life at…

Once again, Team Didi (that is Ellen and I) together with Lance from the United States were the first to arrive at the summit of Lobuje Peak on Friday, 24th…

On Tuesday, Russell and the guides decided that we will not yet go up to Camp 1 through the icefall but go back to Lobuje Peak for another acclimatisation trip.…

The other evening, when most of our team were either at Lobuje base or high camp, a few of us were sitting in the “white pod” talking about life behind…

I have just arrived at Gorak Shep after having scaled Lobuje Peak this morning. It was the most beautiful morning and the conditions were perfect. I think it was the…

This is just a quick message from Gorak Shep, which is the last village on the Everest Base Camp trail before you get to the actual base camp. A third…