~CONTENT POWERED BY FLOOD MARKETING~
Half way between Camp 1 and Camp 2
Sheridan’s own Darren Rogers is, as we write this article, braving the harrowing heights and dangers of the world’s most famous mountain – Mount Everest. Rogers, an avid adventurer, camper and mountain climber since childhood, moved to Sheridan in 2003 whereupon he became entranced with the Bighorns and settled in our sleepy little hamlet as a chemical engineer. Rogers’s drive seems to have always been to see how far he could push himself. This pursuance reached a head In April of last year when he attempted to summit Everest for the first time.
Rogers was at Base Camp 1, at an elevation of about 20,000 feet when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook the mountain, fracturing the ice at his feet and throwing him into a wall of white snow and whistling wind. Darren thankfully survived, and was airlifted off of the mountain and returned to Sheridan shortly after, disappointed but by no means discouraged.
He vowed to put his years of exhaustive physical training and thousands of dollars worth of permits to good use. He left for Nepal on April 17th, reaching the base camp on the 20th. Rogers has been steadily making his way up the mountain since then and plans to summit the daunting prominence soon, but all plans are subject to change on the face of Everest.
You can read the updates he has sent us here:
Date: April 18th, 2016
After a long but uneventful series of flights I arrived in Kathmandu last night. The earthquake damage is still readily seen. Walls that once stood eight feet have been partially rebuilt with stacked bricks without mortar finished with coiled barbed wire. Would have liked to have a day to look around more but early this morning I head to the airport for the flight to Pheriche via helicopter. I will turn SPOT on about 7:30 am (KTM time) once through security at the airport.It’s amazing how the sights, smells, humidity of city Kathmandu spark emotion, the city is the same yet different. And of course, nothing says I’m in Kathmandu like a nice cold shower!
Date: April 19, 2016
The Himalayan Hotel in Pheriche (13,500 feet) has been rebuilt from last year and the chili chicken is still good. Unfortunately the facility is filled with sick people from IMG and other treks. As people I knew walked in all said to stay away as both the flu and upper respiratory infections are rampant among the group. Fortunately, I am only here one night!!After breakfast of chili chicken I hiked up the hill behind the hotel to 15,430 feet. The body feels good at altitude … thank you Hypoxico! Pictures are not included because I couldn’t get them to go through the email. They are posted on FB. Tomorrow I plan to trek to Base Camp.
Date: April 21st, 2016
I left Pheriche yesterday and walked slowly arriving in Base Camp about 8 hours later gaining almost 4,000 vertical feet. Base camp is significantly smaller, not as busy, even relaxed. I arrived tired and had some edema around the eyes, a complication from jumping up too quick in altitude. After consulting with the head IMG guide, Greg, I took Diamox and stayed up all night drinking water and peeing … over 12 liters! The night passed fairly quickly with the sounds of small avalanches and rock fall of Nuptse and Pumori. Today I feel better and will spend the next couple days acclimating and resting.
Date: April 22, 2016
I’m not sure if my last email really made much sense. To clarify, drinking lots of water helps acclimate a person. I had gained over 13,000 vertical feet in less than 48 hours plus the exertion of trekking up over 4,000 feet created the edema under my eyes. Edema is not good, leading into either or both cerebral or pulmonary edema. Both are expedition ending and can be deadly. This is why I took a Diamox to acidify my blood to increase its oxygen binding capacity and drank significant amounts of water. It’s easy to stay up all night if your wellbeing depends on it!
Today I woke up with a headache and wasn’t feeling the best partially due to altitude and also due to the muscles at the base of the skull screaming at me. When I met Greg I said I’d probably take it easy walking up to the rest of base camp etc. However, Greg told another climber to go up Kala Pattar (means Black Mountain) and I changed my mind and decided to follow. The walk was strenuous but was just exactly what my body needed. The body needed to understand it was not done going higher and it needed to kick the red-blood cell manufacturing into overdrive! This afternoon though tired I feel refreshed. The attached photo is of Everest taken from Kala Pattar (18,500 feet).
Today (Saturday) is a rest day. I’ve had a really good night sleep waking at 2:00 am and feel really, really good today! The moon is bright and I’ve tried to take a few pictures. There have been three large seracs that have fallen this morning. The sound is mesmerizing. Tomorrow I plan to either make a dry run to the football area in the ice-fall or I may just head straight to Camp 1. If I go to Camp 1, I will be out of communications for a period.
Lastly, I so appreciate all the kind, encouraging email! I will answer all when internet connectivity allows … for whatever reason email is slow and more challenging than FB. Photos and messages are significantly quicker.
Date: April 24
Yesterday I went into the ice-fall up to the area known as the football field. I didn’t sleep much due to the excitement of going. After breakfast I met my Sherpa, Mingma Sona. Mingma is tall with a quick friendly smile. He checked my harness and we were off at 3:30 am. With his long legs I had difficulty keeping up.
The route through the ice-fall is farther towards Nuptse this year. The ladder crossings and climbs seem more intense this year. We made good time to the football field, 2.5 hours. The guides want climbers to this area in no more than 4 hours.
Date: May 2, 2016
Much has happened during the rest days. The first full day of rest was a short walk into the rest of Base Camp to stretch the legs then tent time reading, reflecting and some Internet. During the walk I stopped in at another expedition looking for a climbing friend. The friend had a similar accelerated acclimation plan as I did (flying basically into Base Camp). Unfortunately, he developed HAPE and was helicoptered out yesterday … expedition over.
Also and unfortunately, my high camp tent mate who I have shared earthquakes, avalanches, headaches, meals and stories had a blood vessel burst in the eye and was helicoptered out yesterday to see a specialist in Kathmandu. The outlook is their expedition is over as well. Fortunately, there is not any permanent damage or retinal detachment.
Around Base Camp there are several people hacking/coughing and I continually feel like I need to be on the mountain away from them as to not contract their issues (am in the charging tent next to an individual hacking as I type this). Currently, I am 100% healthy; no respiratory or G.I. track issues. Fortunately, I leave early tomorrow morning straight to Camp 2 where I will have a rest day then head to Camp 3 for a night without supplemental oxygen. After, I will return to Camp 2 for a night then get up early to return to Base Camp. After a few rest days at Base Camp, we’ll be looking for a five-day summit window. Therefore, today is shower and packing day … woohoo!!
Date: May 8, 2016
The climb to Camp 2 took seven hours the last of which was hell. Though we left at 3:00 am the sun was up as was the temperature. The heat radiating through the Western Cwm by 9:00 was draining. By the time we reached Camp 2, I was counting steps needing to stop every 20 … miserable!
After a rest day, it was time to tackle the Lhotse Face. The climb to Camp 3 at 24,000 feet is 3,000 feet of basically climbing straight up a 60-degree slope of mixed ice and snow. The morning of the climb was complete chaos as there was a team heading down to Base Camp. Breakfast was spicy ramen … not! I asked for a fried egg, received a scrambled omelet which I still cannot eat after Pheriche. So a granola bar it was and we were off at 5:00 am. As we started I felt off, out of touch, lethargic and we weren’t even to the bergschrund! As we approached the bergschrund the wind picked up chilling my fingers. Mingma was moving quickly and suddenly we were on the Lhotse Face. My fingers got colder though my feet were warm. I continued to move up the ascender using different fingers on both hands putting one foot in front of the other. I thought about putting on warmer mitts but they were buried in my cold pack and there really isn’t a safe place to stop to mess with gear. I focused on moving individual fingers, clenching a fist all the while ascending. As the sun hit us we reached lower Camp 3 where we took a short break. Then it was back on the Face climbing another hour reaching “high” Camp 3. Total climb time was 4 hours and 45 minutes. The entire IMG staff was amazed as the previous quickest time from Camp 2 to Camp 3 was 7 hours. Though it is not a race we ran up the side of the mountain!
The day was spent drinking water to hydrate / acclimate, trying to stay cool and taking in the phenomenal views of Cho Oyu in the distance. At this elevation the sun is so intense! Outside the tent you have to remain completely covered to not be scorched and inside the tent is a like a furnace with temperatures reaching over 100 deg F. When a cloud passes in front of the sun the temperature quickly drops.
Dinner was another yummy MRE and the sleepless night passed quickly and we were up and heading back down the Lhotse Face by 6:00 am reaching Camp 2 at 7:30 … just in time for breakfast. This time breakfast was a fried egg, bacon and toast! The day was spent lounging around Camp 2. The next morning, we left Camp 2 heading down through the ice-fall reaching Base Camp just in time for breakfast, again.
After a shower, shave and laundry I spoke with Greg regarding a summit rotation. The Sherpa are still fixing the upper parts of the mountains but should be done by May 10th (weather permitting). The weather reports are conflicting and not favorable with high winds up high and there is definitely not a five-day window needed for both Everest and Lhotse. Currently, I need two days of rest. Therefore, in two days I’ll know if the fixed lines are complete and the weather conditions. To make the most of time I may split Everest and Lhotse into two different climbs. Meaning climb Everest then descend then wait for another weather window and head back up. We shall see …
Photo is from Camp 3 looking west down the Cwm with Cho Oyu in the distance and Pumori below and Everest … only one more mile of elevation left!
Join the Sheridan Brand Text Club!
