image

Final dispatch prior to summit attempt - 27th May.   
Hi all,
At last! We have a confirmed departure date from ABC for our summit bid. The irony is that I cant put it into print owing the still numerous climbers watching our outfit for clues about ou

image

ABC 21st - 23rd May 2005.   
Hi all,
The window seems to have appeared, in a concrete way at last. However, its still a few days away. The winds are clearly forecast to drop to almost zero kph between the 2nd and 4th of June b

image

ABC 20th May 2005 Summit profile.   
Hi all,
We had the oxygen and radio briefing yesterday which definitely put us all in a more gung-ho mood.
The oxygen masks, regulators and bottles are all produced in Russia. The face-masks a

image

ABC 18th - 20th May 2005.   
Hi all,
Im afraid the agonizing over the weather continues. Yesterday, the 18th was easily my "worst" day so far. I suffered from a painful combination of homesickness, boredom, and fear

image

ABC. 15th - 17th May 2005.   
Hi all,
Well its deja vu. I arrived back at ABC yesterday the 16th, having left bc on the 15th and having spent one night again at desolate interim camp.
The trek up was easier than the previou

image

BC [still] 12th - 14th May 2005.   
Hi all,
Well I was wrong by one day. The first group of us, myself included, will depart for ABC tomorrow [15th]. Although we are all probably fit or acclimatized enough to make the trek to ABC in

image

BC [still] 9th - 11th April 2005.   
Hi all,
Same old, same old Im afraid. The winds dont appear to be ready to abate until at least the 16th, so the tedium continues. The jet stream has removed most of the snow from up high on the mo

image

BC [still] 6th - 8th April 2005.   
Hi all,
Still at bc Im afraid. However the weather has improved, at least down here and weve been able to shed the countless layers of down and thermal clothing for the last couple of days. Its bee

Later dispatches - Previous dispatches