Urszula Crossing a Ladder

Best Gym in Base Camp

Happy Birthday Dave!

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23 April 2005

Back to the Life of Luxury

We woke up to spring like weather this morning and love was in the air. And by ?love?, I really mean a full on snowball fight between team members, the Sherpas and whatever other camps that we could get involved. Most of them didn?t find a snowball fight dignified enough for their taste, but we had fun despite their lack of participation. The Sherpas would definitely win in an all out war, not only due to their superior numbers, but also since the act of throwing snowballs isn?t that dissimilar to throwing rocks at yaks (the primary herding method in the upper Khumbu). I?ll leave out comparisons between the size of the yak?s rears and that of some of our own team members?

Sugar will now also be referred to as Princess, as appropriate. She has mastered the art of being fashionably late to EVERYTHING! This isn?t really an issue in Base Camp though, when all that she?s missing is the stimulating banter of the rest of the team sitting around in the dining tent. And to think, she continually says no to all of our offers to help her get dressed in the morning. I don?t get it.

To keep our chiseled bodies in shape, we?ve instituted a pull-up contest each morning. Trixie, with the help of Nima, built a pull-up bar out of an ice axe, a couple of biners and some rope. So far, there are only two participants and a gathering of curious Sherpas, but we?re sure the trend will spread in the next couple of weeks. The Sherpas mainly think that we?re crazy since the goal is to conserve energy while ?resting? at Base Camp. We have caught a couple of them practicing when we?re not around however, with the hopes of beating us at some point we suspect.

In other exciting news: I shaved this morning and then pranced around camp in my underwear while singing along to some hip hop (Trixie has the video on request), Jedi Yak Master and I have played Nintendo for six of the past eight hours and Trixie has been spending time promoting her modeling career. Check out the pics here or on www.isshehotornot.com

We?ll be in Base Camp until about Wednesday, weather dependent, and then heading up the mountain again.

And now Trixie would like to use this public forum for a personal message: The food here has been great, but I still having a mad craving for Pork Chops. Happy Birthday Dave! Love, Trixie

MC