11 Nov - We are finished! After a total of 140km (87 miles) we are finally back at Lukla. If the weather holds we will fly back to Kathmandu tomorrow. It has been an outstanding trip, and we are very proud of the team. What an adventure!!!!

  

Summit ridge. Photo Don

  

At the Summit. 5 minutes away from Summit

  

From Camp 2. Team at Summit. Photo Don

  

Jangbu and Team. Photo Don

  

Mera La. Photo Don

10 Nov - We continued to hike down the valley to Namche. After all the time on the mountain Namche feels like New York City. We celebrated with pizza at the Namche Bakery.

9 Nov - Today we climbed up and over Amphu Laptsa pass. It was beautiful! Definitely one of the highlights of the trip. After a nice lunch in Chukkung, we hiked the last hour down to Dingboche. After weeks in a tent a soft bed felt great!

summit from Finland, and is the youngest woman from Finland to summit! Congrats Anni!!! - Don Wargowsky

Stray dog at the summit of baruntse with group. Stray dog baruntse 2018

8 Nov - After sleeping in and a nice, lazy morning we said goodbye to Baruntse and hiked to Amphu Labtsa high camp at 5,700m (18,700'). Tomorrow we will climb over the pass and begin our trek down the valley toward Lukla. Today we also learned that Anni is only the second woman to reach Baruntse's

    

Sunset. Hiking towards next camp. Photo Don

  

Landscape view from high camps. Photo Don

     

Summit ridge seen from camp 2. Glacier lake. Photo Don

     

Beautifull mountain view.

     

Porters carrying loads before crossing Amphu Laptse. Photo Don

  

Team members with dog following.

  

Ice training. Photo Don

     

  

Ice Training. Photo Don

  

At Summit. Porter carrying load. Photo Don

  

Climbing to Mera high camp. Photo Don

     

  

Amphu Laptse. Photo Don

  

Mera high camp. Kaji. Photo Don

  

  

Mountain with tents.

  

  

7 Nov - Summit day! All the waiting finally paid off! Mikko decided to stay in camp, do Anni, Don and Jangbo, Chhawang, and Karma Sherpa left for summit at 2am. It was a long, hard, beautiful climb. Anni climbed like a champion. We are very proud of how hard she worked to make the summit. - Don

  

Photo Torsten E

  

Everest Massif from Baruntse summit. Team on the Baruntse summit ridge.  Photo.Jussi K Photo.

  

• After summiting, the team returned all the way to base camp. We arrived after dark, but it was nice to be lower and warmer! Also, Mera the dog went to
  the summit! We believe this is the first K-9 ascent of Baruntse

6 Nov - The unusually high winds continue. Several of the team members have descended to base camp. They would prefer a nice, relaxed desend Back to Lukla. Anni and Mikko have decided to wait it out one more night. If the weather holds we will try for the summit at 2am. - Don Wargowsky

5 Nov - We are still waiting on better weather. The winds are a bit too high to climb. The team is warm in their tents! - Don Wargowsky

5 Nov - Team Baruntse summited . Congratulations and Best Wishes.

04 Nov - Today the team waited out more high winds. We have a few more days to work with and hope that that weather will cooperate. Despite the winds the team is still in high spirits and looking forward to completing Baruntse and exploring more of beautiful Nepal on our hike back to Lukla!

03 Nov - Today the team moved from camp 1 to camp 2 at 6,400m (21,000'). It was a short move, but steep. It is a bit windier than normal but also a bit warmer, which is nice! If the weather holds, we will try for the summit sometime after midnight tonight. It feels great to be so close! at camp 2 with us! She loves to climb - Don Wargowsky

02 Nov - The team has started our summit push! Today be retraced out steps from our hike 2 day ago. Then clipped into the fixed ropes for several hundred meters of climbing over rock and steep snow. The team us currently full and warm in out tents at camp 1 at 6,125m (20,100'). A great day for all!!! - Don Wargowsky

01 Nov - Today the team had a wonderful rest day with lots of food and hot showers. In the afternoon we packed up for our summit push. We can't to start climbing! Wish us luck! - Don Wargowsky

31 Oct - Happy Halloween! Today the team did an acclimatization hike to the base of the fixed lines below camp 1. We hiked dirt trails, scrambled over rocks and crossed a beautiful glacier. Several members said it was their favorite day of the expedition so far. Tonight we are back in base camp.

30 Oct - Today was a very fun day for the team. We practice ascending fixed ropes and rappelling on steep, icy terrain. We hiked to a glacier just outside of camp and spent a few perfecting our skills on overhanging ice. Meanwhile, the Sherpa team is fixing ropes high in the mountain for us. We are very grateful for them! Everyone is doing great and in good spirits. - Don Wargowsky

29 Oct - Today we had our Puja Ceremony. Prayers were said, flags were raised, and our crampons, boots, harnesses, and axes were blessed. It was a beautiful ceremony despite the cold and wind. Our climbing Sherpa are now ready to move above camp 1. Tomorrow they will push higher up the mountain preparing and ropes for the climbing team - Don Wargowsky

28 Oct - The team had a wonderful rest day at base camp today complete with hot showers! We rested, ate, read, and napped. Meanwhile, our outstanding Sherpa staff punched in the route to Camp 1 and fixed ropes where needed. Our staff of climbing Sherpa, kitchen staff, and Porter's are outstanding! - Don

Today the SummitClimb team picked up over 6 gain sacks of garbage in base camp that had been left by climbers and trekkers. We are doing our best to clean keep this amazing resource pristine. Please, wherever you travel, trek, and climb, be sure to practice leave no trace principals and pack out that you bring in. It is the right thing to do and protects these incredible mountains for generations to come. Thank you! - Don Wargowsky

27 Oct - We are very excited to have arrived at Baruntse base camp!!! We spent the day getting settled into our camp at 5,440m (17,850'). We have camp too beautiful views of Baruntse and our camp side lake. It is great to finally be here. The team has decided to name our dog Mera. She is enjoying base

26 Oct - The team moved 8km up the valley today. We are just one days hike from Baruntse base camp! On the hike to BC tomorrow we will have views Everest, Lhotse, Ama Dablam and of course of main objective, Baruntse! We are all very excited to get there. Also, we are please to announce a new member has joined our team. A dog climbed up the glacier to Mera La pass and has been traveling with us from 3 days now. She is the fastest climber on the team.

25 Oct - Rest day! Today we had an entire day to relax and recover from our Mera Peak climb. We ate, napped, ate some more, napped some more, then had a huge dinner complete with a fresh baked cake! We are excited to start making our way toward Baruntse base camp tomorrow. - Don

24 Oct - Today was a great day for the team. Everyone at high camp got up at 1am had a quick breakfast and started climbing. We had great weather and a beautiful sunrise. All the members at high camp summited! This was a new high point for Steve, Anni, Mikko, and Anna. After the climb, Steve, Silvio and - Don Wargowsky
Daryl had to head home. It was hard seeing them leave, but the remaining team members are excited to head toward Baruntse. Big day! We'll sleep well

23 Oct - Today the team moved up to Mera high camp at 5800m (19,035'). This was a huge gain in elevation, but the team did great and everyone is feeling well. We are all tucked into out tents and about to be served dinner in bed. We will wake up at 1am and make our push toward the summit of Mera. Wish us luck. We are looking forward to spectacular view from the summit in the morning!

22 Oct - The team slept in a little today, had breakfast, then went out to the rocky hillside to pratice ascending and descending fixed ropes (skills we will need for summit day). We spent the afternoon packing for our move to Mera high camp tomorrow morning. We are finally making the transition from trekking on trails to climbing a snow and ice covered peak! We ended our day with an amazing dinner. Pizza and apple fritters!!!
 

  

Team member coming down with help of rope. Photo Don

  

Mountain with prayers flag. Photo Don

  

21 Oct - Today the team took a "rest day" in Khare. We started our day with a big breakfast, followed by a hike up to 5200m (17,100') on a ridge next to town. The views were amazing and we took lots of pictures. After lunch we checked and fitted all the climbing equipment that we will need for Mera Peak. The team is in high spirits and looking forward to head up to high camp in a couple days.

20 Oct - Today the team made it's biggest jump yet in elevation. We moved camp to Khare 4900m (16,100'). Congrats to team member Silvio for reaching a new personal high point! We had another beautiful day filled with views of massive, snow covered peaks and mountain stream. For dinner we were treated to 9 separate dishes including momos and egg rolls! The team is doing great! Everyone is happy and healthy

  

Beautiful day and Beautiful Mera Peak. Photo Don

  

Camping Side. Photo Don

  

Player Flag. Looks good for rock climbing. Photo Don

  

Camp site. Photo

  

Rest day. Hiking toward next camp. Photo Don.

  

Mera Peak Camp site. Altitude watch. Photo Don.

  

Sherpa and Member. Photo Don.

  

Stone craft. Trekking toward kare. Photo Don

  

Mera backgroud with member. Mountain Dog. Photo Don

19 Oct - Today the team made the big move up to Tagnag 4300m (14,100'). We traveled along a beautiful, freezing river to a monastery, where we learned. that today was a "lucky day" Everyone is feeling well and going an excellent job of acclimatizing. Most all the members are enjoying a room with a bed tonight

 

Beautifull mountain view.

18 Oct - The team descended from Chatra, 4200m (13,800') to Kothey 3500m (11,500'). It was a wonderful hike down hill and along a beautiful glacial fed river. In Kothey, we were treated to warm showers, and a huge dinner of pasta, potatoes, vegetables, and a yak burger! we got our first views of Mera Peak today!

17 Oct - Big day! The team hiked up and over Zetra la pass 4600m (15,100') to Chatra 4200m (13,800). This was a big jump in elevation and team members could all feel the air getting thinner. The reward for the teams hard work was a tea house with amazing views and an actual wood floor!

16 Oct - Today we moved camp up to 4040m (13,250'). The trek up took a little over 3 hours and we were treated to beautiful views of the valley below with clouds moving in and out below us all day.

 

Team members crossing bridge.

15 Oct - Today we take a "rest" day. We need to give our bodies a chance to acclimatize to the high elevation so we hike to 3,720m (12,200') then return to camp for the night. Climb high, sleep low. Everyone us feeling great!

14 Oct:  After the flight to Lukla, we hiked 3.5 hours to a small, rustic tea house at 3,320m (10,900). We are all happy have great weather and be away from the busy Everest Base Camp trek. The food and camp are great!

We are off  the road to catch Lukla flight from Ramechhap as there is lots of traffic from Kathmandu airport due to Nepal's main festival coming up. Now we are at Lukla. We will update you more, please stay tune. Thanks.