Everest Nepal 2006
Everest Nepal 2006
30 March to 6 June, 2006
Hi readers, I am Arnold Coster the leader of the Summitclimb Everest/Lhotse expedition 2006. The last couple of days we have been very busy packing all the supplies for the expedition. Almost everything is ready now! Our plan now is to leave the 5th to Lukla and start our trek to base camp.
We have a very nice international team this year. On our Everest team everybody is from a different country! This makes this trip very interesting.
This are our team members:
Everest team:
Peter Morley, UK
Fabrice Imparato, French
Ron Oliver, USA
Mast Mali, India
Arnold Coster, Dutch
Lhotse team:
Tunc Findik, Turkish
Steve Hodges, USA
Staff team:
Neer Karji Tamang, basecamp manager
Jay Bahadhur, Cook
Temba Sherpa, Assistant cook
Lakpa Gormu Sherpa, Cook boy and high altitude cook
Phuri Sherpa, climbing Sherpa
Tenji Sherpa, climbing Sherpa
Furwa Jangbu Sherpa, climbing Sherpa
Maya Sherpa, climbing Sherpa
Dawa Tsering Sherpa, personal Sherpa
Pasang Galu Sherpa, personal Sherpa
Datenji Sherpa, personal Sherpa
In the next few days all our members will arrive in Kathmandu, so stay tuned for the next dispatch!
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Hi readers, Summitclimb Lhotse expedition 2006- 2 trekkers` dispatch
Namaste from Himalayas!
Great! Best desicion we ever made: follow Tunc Findik up to EBC. He is on his way to climb Lhotse. Yalcin my orthodontist friend from Ankara and I are tremendously enjoying the company though the trek is tiring from time to time. Myself, being from sea level, Istanbul, l was worried about the altitude but since now (Namche) no problem. Had viewed Ama Dablam and Everest today at 3800 meters at Syangboche. Dream came true. Aysen Erdil and Yalcin Ergir
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This is Arnold Coster, the leader of the SummitClimb Everest-Lhotse Expedition 2006. Yesterday all the climbers arrived in Base Camp and we spent the first night here at about 5,300 meters. All members are healthy and in high spirits. Today most members spent their time arranging their tents, because this will be there home for the next few weeks or so. Tomorrow we’re going to do a little practice, a little rope practice to keep us busy and just to get used to the altitude so we don’t spend too much time sitting around in Base Camp. We’ll just take it day by day and see what happens next. That’s it for now, cheers, and you’ll here from us soon again, bye, bye.
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Hello. This is Arnold Coster, the leader of the SummitClimb Everest-Lhotse Expedition 2006. Yesterday Fabrice, Steve, Peter, Malli, and me went for a walk in the Icefall to see how it looks and how high we could get. The Icefall looks a little bit more gentle than last year. There are only a few easy ladder crossings, and the route is trustworthy, although it’s a bit longer than last year. Fabrice, Steve and Peter made it almost to Camp 1 at 6000 meters. Me and Malli turned around at the top of the Icefall at around 5,900 meters. Ron decided to rest one more day in Base Camp, and Tunc went for an acclimatization hike elsewhere. Last night it snowed all night and right now it’s still snowing in Base Camp. I think there’s about 10 centimeters of fresh snow right now, so now everybody’s relaxing in his tent and doing nothing.
Tomorrow the 19th we will have the big Puja in our camp and our plan is that everybody will sleep in Camp 1 on the 20th. So, that’s it for now, you will hear from me more later. Cheers.
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This is Arnold Coster, the leader of the SummitClimb Everest-Lhotse Expedition 2006. After two days of snow, we’re going up to establish Camp 1. There was a lot of fresh snow in the Icefall, but all of the Sherpas did an excellent job of breaking trail for us. It was a day of hard work for everybody. Since the weather was uncertain at the end of the day, we decided not to stay in Camp 1. Everybody returned safely back to Base Camp the same day. I think we have an excellent and very experienced team of Sherpas this year. They work very well, and take good care of our members.
Today was a very sad day in Base Camp. Three Sherpas from other teams got killed in the Icefall this morning. They were trying to do their job by carrying supplies to the higher camps. Everybody is very sad, because the Sherpas are always there to help us fulfill our dreams, but this time they became the victims on the mountain. Our prayers go out to all their families and loved ones. This is it for now, stay tuned for more later. Bye bye.
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Once again, our condolences to the Sherpas, families, loved ones, friends, colleagues, and employers. If there is anything we can do to help, please do not hesitate to ask. From all of us at SummitClimb.com
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Update: Arnold is back: This is Arnold Coster, leader of the SummitClimb Everest-Lhotse Expedition 2006. Yesterday all our members rested in Base Camp after spending a while on the mountain. Also today we will rest. Most members are reading books or just walking around camp. Some members find it is the most difficult part of the climb. Most people spend a year or so training and getting prepared for a big Everest climb, and then they end up sitting in Base Camp in a tent. But this time spent hanging out in Base Camp provides an excellent foundation of acclimatization, which is needed for climbing higher. Tomorrow we set off again for Camp 2 and then try to push the route to Camp 3.
Peter is still resting in Tengboche, and Malli is still trekking in Chukhung. I hope they will catch up with us later. It’s lunchtime now, so I will get off the phone now and see what the cooks have prepared for us. So far the food has been excellent. We are eating a lot of fresh vegetables, pizza, apple pie, and much more. You will hear from us again from Camp 2. Bye bye.
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Update: Tunc Findik, one of the nicest guy to climb in these mountains: This is Tunc Findik, member of the SummitClimb Everest and Lhotse Expedition, reporting from Lhotse-Everest Base Camp. We have just returned from Camp 1, which is located at less than cwm glacier at an altitude of 6050 meters. Yesterday we climbed the Khumbu Icefall, of which the upper part was completely changed after the previous day’s ice avalanche. The night at Camp 1 was as usual, cold and not very comfortable. All the team is doing well. Fabrice and Steve decided to stay another night at Camp 1. Me, Arnold and Ron are at Base Camp relaxing and eating, all well. Peter is headed down to Tengboche for a few days there to rest, and our friend Malli decided to take a trek down the Chukhung Valley. Our Sherpas are all doing well and are as happy as ever. In the coming days we will be climbing up to Camp 2 and Camp 3 and be ready as soon as possible for the summit attempts coming in May. So, with all of our thanks and with best wishes to our followers and loved ones, goodbye.
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Update: This is Arnold Coster, the leader of the SummitClimb Everest-Lhotse Expedition 2006. Yesterday, Tunc, Fabrice, Steve, Arnold and Maya walked direct from Base Camp towards Camp Two at 6,400 meters. Everybody had a good night, and right now everybody is relaxing in his tent. The plan is that tomorrow we will walk a little ways to Camp 3 to get a little more used to the altitude.
Ron needed an extra rest day, so today Ron and Malli (who’s back from trekking from Chukhung) and Pasang Sherpa walked together to Camp 1 at 6000 meters to sleep there. And the next day they will join us in Camp 2. Tomorrow, all the Sherpas will join us at Camp 2. Today they have a rest day because they had a couple of days of hard work carrying heavy loads up to Camp 2 for us.
Tomorrow they will try to install Camp 3 for us at 7,500 meters. We are still waiting for Pete. Within a few days I hope the whole team is complete again. So that’s it for now. This is Arnold Coster, signing off from Everest at Camp 2 at 6,400 meters. Bye bye.
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Update 5/03/2006: This is Arnold Coster again, the leader of the Everest-Lhotse Expedition 2006. Last night, Tunc, Fabrice and Steve celebrated Fabrice’s birthday in Camp 3 at 7,200 meters. They all had a bad night of sleep of course, because it’s the first night high up. Tunc and Fabrice are on their way down to Base Camp right now and soon they will enjoy the good food down there again. Steve will stay one more night in Camp 2 and will leave to Base Camp the day after. Mali and Ron are also here in Camp 2 for two nights already. Right now they are doing a walk through the blue ice hole of the Remfi face.
Yesterday we saw a dog in Camp 2 following some Sherpas. We saw this dog before halfway in the Icefall. Is this a new altitude-dog record? Pete tried to climb to Camp 1 yesterday but he turned around. He will try again in a couple of days. So, everybody is doing fine here, and you will hear from me again later. Bye bye.
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Update 5/5/2006: This is Arnold Coster, leader of the SummitClimb Everest-Lhotse Expedition 2006. Yesterday all members and Sherpas came down from Camp 2 to rest in Base Camp. While Steve was coming down from Camp 2 he suffered severe frostbite in three of the eight fingers. Unfortunately this means he had to get down to a lower elevation to recover from this issue. Luckily a helicopter flew in to Base Camp this morning so Steve could get a lift to Katmandu to recover from his injuries. Also Pete was still struggling with his chest infection, so he also decided to fly back to Katmandu today. He’s planning to come back in a week, even though his summit chances are greatly reduced, but he still wants to acclimatize. So we hope to see him again when he comes to Base Camp.
All other members, Ron, Fabrice, Tunc, Mali and Arnold are in Base Camp now and are doing fine. Some friends fell out and a couple stayed. We are very sad that Steve has to leave our expedition because of his injuries. Fortunately he will recover one hundred percent from his injury in Katmandu, and he will have no permanent damage with his hands. So that’s it for now. When there’s more news you will hear it. Bye bye.
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Update: This is Arnold Coster, The leader of the SummitClimb Everest-Lhotse Expedition 2006. Today, Maya, Tunc, Arnold, Furwa Sherpa and Phuri Sherpa left Camp 2 to climb to Camp 3. At the bottom of the Lhotse Face we had a small problem. Furwa and Phuri Sherpa were caught in an avalanche, but luckily the avalanche had not enough speed and everybody was able to continue climbing to Camp 3. Now, Furwa Sherpa, Phuri Sherpa, Maya Sherpa, Arnold Coster and Tunc are all safe in Camp 3 at 7,200 meters.
The plan is that Maya, Tunc, Phuri and Furwa will continue to Lhotse Camp 4 tomorrow at around 8,000 meters. Arnold Coster will stay in Camp 3 and wait for Fabrice and Dawa Sherpa, and after they will try to summit Everest maybe on the 18th. So, everybody’s doing fine, and everything is going according to plan now. I’ll keep you in touch, you shall hear more from me tomorrow, bye bye.
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Update: Hello This is Arnold Coster, the Leader of the SummitClimb Everest-Lhotse Expedition 2006. Right now I’m sitting in Camp 3 at 7,200 meters today with Fabrice and Dawa Sherpa. Dawa Sherpa is taking good care of us, he’s making delicious tea and food for us. This morning, from Camp 3, Tunc, Maya Sherpa, Furwa Sherpa and Phuri Sherpa left for Lhotse Camp 4. They all arrived safely in Lhotse Camp 4 and will try tonight at 2am to go for the summit. Tomorrow morning, Fabrice, Dawa and me will leave for the South Col. Also, Mali, Ron and Peter will be arriving in Camp 2. So I hope tomorrow I can give you a new dispatch that is a successful summit of Lhotse and we arrive at the South Col. That’s it for now, bye bye.
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Update: This is Arnold again calling from Camp 2, 6,400 meters for the SummitClimb Everest-Lhotse Expedition 2006. Today Ron and Mali left for their summit attempts of Everest. Unfortunately, Ron curtailed his attempt shortly before Camp 3. It's too much, he said, and he descended back to Base Camp with Pasang Sherpa the same day.
Mali reached Camp 3 today together with Tenji Sherpa and will go for the South Col tomorrow. Pete went for an acclimatization hike to Camp 3 today and descended to Camp 2 again, and will spend another night in Camp 2 tonight. His plan is to rest in Camp 2 tomorrow, and on the 21st he will go for a summit attempt of Everest with Datenji, Pasang, Maya, Phuri and Arnold. Tunc, Fabrice, and Ron are all safe in Base Camp. So stay tuned for more, we are not finished yet. Bye bye.
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Update 05/21/2006: Here is Arnold again from Camp 2 at 6,400 meters for the SummitClimb Everest-Lhotse Expedition 2006. Yesterday Mr. Mali and Tenji Sherpa set off from Camp 3 at 7,200 meters to the South Col at 8,000 meters. After spending the afternoon and part of the evening there they set off to go for the summit at 2100 hours. This morning at seven o'clock they both stood on the roof of the world. So that is our second summit for our team. I'm very happy with them. Tomorrow, the 22nd, our last members will set off for their attempt. That means Pete, Arnold, Maya Sherpa, "Small Tenzing" (?), Phuri Sherpa and Pasang will have a go for it. After that, they will clean all of our camps and go down to Base Camp.
Tunc and Ron are on their way to Katmandu already, and they will arrive there in a couple of days. So that's it for now, bye bye.
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Update 05/22/2006: This is Arnold calling from Camp 3 at 7,200 meters, for the the SummitClimb Everest-Lhotse Expedition. Today Pete, the Sherpas and me climbed to Camp 3 at 7,200 meters to stay here for the night to go on to the South Col the next day. On the bottom of the Lhotse Face at one o'clock we met Dawa Sherpa, who is with our team on the Tibet side. He's doing a record attempt to cross Everest from Chinese Base Camp to the Nepal Base Camp in the short possible time. He had a bit of bad luck, he broke a crampon on the way down. But fortunately, our Tenji was also on his way down together with Mr. Mali, so Tenji gave him one of his crampons so Dawa could go on as fast as possible. Tenji descends into Everest on one crampon.
I just got the message-Dawa Sherpa arrived in Base Camp at five o'clock. That is bloody fast. I have no official times here but according to my knowledge it took him only 20 hours to start in Chinese Base Camp, cross over the summit of Everest, and finish in Nepal Base Camp. How proud of him we are! We want to summit at the 24th-- You will all notice we will go a little slower. So you will hear from us again tomorrow when we arrive in the South Col. Bye bye.
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This is Arnold again calling from the South Col at around 8,000 meters for the SummitClimb Everest-Lhotse Expedition 2006. Pete, Tenji Sherpa, Pasang Sherpa, Furwi Sherpa, Maya Sherpa and me are all on the South Col now, resting and drinking and eating. The plan is to leave tonight at around nine o'clock, climb all night and get on the summit of Everest early in the morning. I hope to call you tomorrow again with some summit news. Bye bye
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Update 05/23/2006: Hello EverestNews.com. This is Arnold again, calling from the South Col-8000 meters, for the SummitClimb Everest-Lhotse Expedition 2006. Last evening at around ten o'clock Pete, Maya, Pasang, Tenji, Phuri and me set out for a summit attempt. We'd gone all night, it was cold, and we were battling winds that whipped us to death. At around four thirty I began turning ill. I was vomiting and lost eyesight in one eye because of the altitude. I decided to descend to somewhere around 8,600 meters before everything got worse. ---Pete and Pasang were ahead of us with Maya and Phuri doing it after that. Pete and Pasang summited Everest at eight thirty in the morning, then Maya summited at nine and finally shortly Phuri also summitted at nine thirty. Now everybody is safe at the South Col. We'll all descend tomorrow to Camp 2. Everybody's too wasted now. This is it for now, bye bye.
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Update 05/26/2006: Hello EverestNews.com. This is Arnold calling from Everest Base Camp for the SummitClimb Everest-Lhotse Expedition 2006. Everybody is safe back in Base Camp today. Most of us are enjoying the good food of base camp. Some with some chang, local beer made from rice. Tomorrow, nobody has to think about climbing. We will all spend today washing ourselves. For some it's two weeks ago since they have done that-shaving, washing clothes, and slowly start packing.
Unfortunately, the day after tomorrow the Sherpas have to go up one more time to Camp 2 to clean the place. After that there is no more trace we were here. The plan is to leave Base Camp at the 30th. But by that time, you will hear from me again. Bye bye.
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Update 05/29/2006: This is Arnold Coster for the SummitClimb Everest-Lhotse Expedition 2006 for the last time from Everest Base Camp. Today our last loads came down the mountain and slowly the yaks are arriving in Base Camp to carry all our gear back to Lukla. All the members are already on their way to Katmandu, some are already at the swimming pool enjoying a beer. Tomorrow all the staff and me will leave Base Camp and then there will be no trace of us in Base Camp except a couple of empty tent platforms until the next expedition. We expect to arrive in Katmandu on the 2nd of June. In Katmandu I will give a final update, until then, bye bye.
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Update 06/19/2006: Hello, It has been awhile since you heard from us. The last news was that I was stuck in Lukla. We had to wait for 5 day before our expedition staff could fly out back home.
When I came back in Kathmandu I had to leave for a new trek next day. We left with two doctors and two other members for a trek to Patale, Patale is in the remote district of Okaldungha. Here are no big tourist trails, no roads, no electricity nothing. This is the region where most of our staff is coming from. The reason for our visit there is that we a operating a health post there.
The trek to Patale is very beautiful, the trail goes a lot up and down between terraces. Sometimes we gain and loose almost 1000m a day and end up at the same elevation again. It takes two days of long walking to get from the airport of Phaflu. When we arrived at Patale about a 100 people where already waiting for the doctors. The doctor's checked about 75 people, there where just too much people there too check all in just a day, because that how long we only could stay there. Fortunately we have two skilled local heath post worker there who could finish the job we started. We where also able to install a solar panel now on the roof, so the Healthpost has electricity when they need it. the Doctor also sponsored us a lot of medicine and medical tools the health post workers can us now.
It is very necessary people support our health post, if you want to help contact us at summitclimb
Trek members:
Arnold Coster, Netherlands, Leader
Maya Sherpa, Nepal, translator
Philip Heinegg, usa, doctor
Jennifer Heinegg, usa, doctor
Stephanie Heinegg, usa, nurse
Chantal Heinegg, France, mother
Jangbu Sherpa, Nepal, initiator
Tenzing Sherpa, Nepal, assistance
Lakpha Gormu Sherpa, Nepal, Cook
Here are also some pictures of our Everest/Lhotse expedition. I think our expedition was a big success.
Most of our members summited and we didn't encounter big problems except for the climbing difficulties of course. Here is the final list of Summiters:
17 may 2006 14:00 Tunc Findic, Turkey, Lhotse
18 may 2006 05:30 Fabrice Imparato, France, Everest
18 may 2006 05:30 Dawa Sherpa, kurima, Everest
21 may 2006 07:00 Malli Mastan Babu, India, Everest
21 may 2006 07:00 Tenzing Sherpa, Patale, Everest
24 may 2006 08:30 Peter Morley, UK, Everest
24 may 2006 08:30 Passang Galou Sherpa, solokhumbu, Everest
24 may 2006 09:00 Maya Sherpa, Patale, Everest
24 may 2006 09:30 Phuri Sherpa, Patale, Everest
Thank you for reading our dispatches and maybe we will meet one day, Arnold Coster, expedition leader