Whilst I was talking to Laserer, the leader of the âEco Everest Expeditionâ, Dawa Stephen Sherpa, came out of the icefall, where he and a bunch of other Sherpas had been looking for Lakpa Nuruâs body. âThere was no trace of Lakpa Nuruâs body but wecannot look for him any longer â it is too dangerous,â he said. They called off the search due to the danger of a further serac fall, however, according to Dawa Stephen most of the other Sherpas are very keen on staying there to continue the search for their friend. The impact with which Lakpa Nuru was hit must have been incredibly hard as the search team found one of Lakpa Nuruâs high altitude boots shortly after the avalanche hit.
The rescue mission seems to be over for now and many of the Sherpas are heading down the hill to the Tengboche Monastery, where a Puja (Buddhist ceremony) is being organised in Lakpa Nuruâs honour. Russell has also asked us for a donation for the family of the deceased â he was married with three children – as it is always hard for the wives to fend for their families once they have lost their husbands in the mountains.
In the meantime, many other Everest aspirants are also wandering down to lower altitudes in order to recover, enjoy thicker air and eat lots to do well on their summit pushes. However, it could be that this recent incident has made some mountaineers rethink their feat to climb Mount Everest, and we might see more people pull out of their expeditions and go home to the safety of their homes and families in the next few days. So far Himex has lost four of its team members due to the fact that they could not bear the thought of crossing the icefall another time. However, since yesterdayâs accident none of our members has expressed any wishes that they would like to leave the expedition. As I said before, the Khumbu icefall bears its dangers and even though hundreds of people have been through it since the start of this season, it is never certain when the next serac could come down. I guess that most people here are willing to take the risk in the hope that they will get through quickly enough not to be hit by a serac.
You might ask yourselves now how I am feeling about it and to be honest with you, I am asking myself the same thing. Well, I havenât even thought about giving up my feat to climb the highest mountain in the world for one minute, and for this reason I have to believe that I will be lucky and quick enough to cross the icefall without incident. Of course, I am aware of the dangers and I am not looking forward to entering the myriad of ice pinnacles again, however, my mission is to reach the top of the world and that is what I am here for.
On a different note, it seems that impatience has set in among some of the climbers. According to the latest weather forecast, the winds will only slow down around 20th May, which is almost two weeks away. I have always wondered how people prepare themselves mentally for such an undertaking but I think this is almost impossible. The physical training is easy but nobody really knows how much mental strength such an expedition demands â and this is not for the climbing but for the waiting and sitting around at base camp.
This afternoon Russell brought us a step further towards the summit by introducing the oxygen system to us. It all seems quite complex and I wonder how many things we have to deal with on our summit day, when we start from the South Col at 8,000m in the middle of the night â oxygen mask, oxygen bottles, oxygen flow rate, harness, crampons, gloves, mittens, etc. etc. I hope that I will be lucid enough to remember all the essentials for the summit, however, I will also have to remember the picture of my family, the âSamâs Barâ sign, the prayer flags for little Sid and the flag for AGFA, my main sponsor.
Ok, I had better go and play with my oxygen mask and write a list of all the things I have to take to the summit, and I hope that my pack will not be too heavy for me to reach my goal in the end.
Ernest Hemingway~ Theres nothing noble in becoming superior for your fellow men. True nobility is becoming superior to your former self.
Hallo liebe Billi,
denke ganz fest an Dich!!! und nicht nur ich, sondern viiiiiele Leute ausserdem.
Take care and BIIIIG hugs
Verena, Sam’s
Sorry……. to hear about your friend =-(
Wish it was over Billi. Last message from you was very sad. Glad you are still strong and positive, I know you will take care and remember what was on the the little shamrock card I gave you. God bless .
Billi,
Awful news about the avalance… we hear these things every year but I suppose now it ‘hits home’ so much harder because you are there. Please look after yourself and be quick on the ladders. Thinking of you!
hi liebchen – you give us a wonderful insight into the realities of all that you are doing. we think of you every day and I know that your mental strength is as strong as your physical strength – so hold on there Love all of us
take care of yourself, billi!
and remember that the top of the mountain is just half way to the real summit!
Liebe Billi, auch ich verfolge Dich tĂ€glich in Gedanken und lese mit Spannung Deine Berichte. Ab 18.5. bin ich mit Ella und Max drei Wochen lang in Gap (bis 7.6.), da werden wir uns wohl leider knapp verpassen. Alles Liebe und Gute wĂŒnsche ich Dir. Du schaffst das! GenieĂe jeden Moment, auch das Warten. Viele liebe Bussis aus L.A.
bĂ€rbele ich weiss gar nicht was ich sagen soll, es tut mir sooo leid um den fleissigen,armen mann,tut alles was ihr könnt fĂŒr seine familie,kann man etwas spenden?und du pass biite auf dih auf und iss viel,damit Du dein Ziel erreichst Bussi mama
Billi, Good luck to you. I always follow Everest each spring from the Midwest and find especially enlightening your comments and superb journalism. Thank you so much and I am cheering you to reach your goal!!
I am crushed that another family has been impacted by the mountains. Please pass on my sympathies to the team members and family.
All you have to remember is to come back down from the summit, to eat and hydrate on the way up, and to take a good summit photo of yourself. Everything else is can be left behind.
Hi Billi… It saddens me to hear about Lakpa, my heart goes out to his family and friends, this is a life changing loss for them. I’ve been keeping on eye on your progress and must say, it seems your adapting well, your strong and in good health… and from what I can tell your eating well? Anyway, from here on out, all you have to do is keep your head and the rest will follow… God speed- Craig