Brown

Home again but still on Tibet time (writing in the middle of the night), six huge unopened TNF duffels and Dave's and my ski bags piled around. Don't want to open them yet; not ready to be home and I also know that my dirty, smelly socks are lurking inside. Compared to the quiet serenity of our Advanced Base Camp, at 18,200ft, next to a beautiful lake, Aspen, Colorado might as well be a suburb of Kathmandu. It feels noisy, loud and overcrowded.

Being in the Himalaya with the team has been a good part of the healing process; now family and friends will take over. Every moment with them means so much. There have been many times in the last week when I looked over at one of the team members and saw a quiet tear in his eye. Nothing to indicate what brought it on, just a moment of reflection. How deeply and dearly we value all of our friends. We have also laughed and enjoyed stories among moments of silliness. It is still so easy to hear Alex's voice as he hands someone a cup of espresso or hear Dave's funny laugh as he recounts something he shot the day before. We parted in various airports just a few hous ago and I already miss the team a lot.

Those of us left have been talking about the film project, specifically whether or not to finish it. We feel that the whole team worked hard to capture images and a story, especially Dave. He had so much enthusiasm for the film. In his tapes, one can see how he would get a shot from below the climbers and then outpace them to get a shot from above. He would do this over and over as the team climbed and skied. He was so strong and he put out so much energy. The best part is that his footage is technically perfect, well framed, in focus, and with good lighting angles. This is not easy to accomplish at sea level let alone with your heart pounding out of your chest in the thin air over 20,000ft.

Dave began demonstrating his shooting style long before we were even at high altitude. The team went on a mountain bike ride through Kathmandu during a day of strikes and minor riots. As they rode past burning tires and stone throwing demonstrators (high speed careening around corners in Kathmandu), Dave held a camera in one hand and one handlebar in the other. Afterward, he apologized to me that some of the shots might be a little shaky.

We all feel that it would be a waste to not finish the film, even if it were only for family and friends. I have a feeling lots of other people would like to see it, too. The valley below Shishapangma is one of the most beautiful any of us have ever seen and the team was really having a great time in the mountains up until the time of the accident. Dave was central to capturing the spirit of our experience. The next few weeks will tell as we re-enter our lives and discuss the project with our sponsors.

More important than anything will be that we do everything we can to help the families and friends of Dave and Alex to heal. Their loss is beyond measure and nothing for them will ever be the same again.

— Michael Brown, MountainZone.com Correspondent

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