Updates From Everest Tumpach Heading Toward The Khumbu Icefall Wednesday, October 15, 1997 (Thyangboche, Nepal) Well, today we reached THYANGBOCHE. The village is known for its famous MONASTERY in KHUMBU REGION. Each year in Oct. or Nov. on the full MOON there is a famous FESTIVAL called "MANI RIMBU". It is a Buddhist Festival and this year it will start on Nov. 15. The festival lasts exactly one month and two days. Today we left SHYANGBOCHE a little late due to waiting for my Sherpa, who is coming from Kathmandu. Unfortunately, he did not arrive so we hired three local porters and got under way to THYANGBOCHE by noon. From SHYANGBOCHE we trekked 200m uphill toward the village of KHUNDE and KHUMJUNG known as Sir Edmund HILLARY village. Sir Edmund Hillary, through his FOUNDATION, does many things — building local hospitals, schools and lately is involved in the reforestation of KHUMBU region. The trek to KHUNDE from SHYANGBOCHE is one of the most beautiful treks you ever go through in NEPAL. After we reached KHUMJUNG, we descended steeply on a trail towards PHUNGI TENGA village. When leaving SHYANGBOCHE, you can choose two different trails to join the main trail from NAMCHE BAZAR. The second trail follows the ridge, which will lead you to EVEREST VIEW HOTEL owned by a Japanese corporation. This trail takes 20 minutes longer. From the village of PHUNGI TENGA, the trail had a steep incline toward THYANGBOCHE-precisely 500m straight uphill. It took us an hour to get to the top. The moment you take the last step to reach the top—the MONASTERY will appear in front of you and so the first Tea house is named "HIMALAYAN LODGE". In previous times, I have always stayed in this lodge; it is the best one from the five you will find in THYANGBOCHE. Our porters arrived 20 minutes later; they had carried our heavy loads. While stopping at PHUNGI TENGA for cup of Nepali tea, we met BERNARDO VOYER from the FRENCH EXPEDITION to EVEREST. His news was not good from the FRENCH point of view, but very familiar to us. The FRENCH team started with seven climbers, but in the last attempt finished with only three climbers. They pulled out from attempting to reach the SUMMIT on Oct. 11. They tried, as we did, from the North COL side—until the last moment, but due to extreme winds, mother nature WON. The Spanish team quit on Oct 10. Four climbers out of eight stayed and tried until the last moment . The are still three teams left in the base camp of EVEREST, but all three teams are LHOTSE EXPEDITIONS. They are JAPANESE, KOREAN and two climbers from ITALY. The latest news we have is that the ITALIANS were at 8000 meters up at LHOTSE Ridge trying desperately to reach the SUMMIT, but as BERNARDO said, it is very unlikely because of the weather. The Japanese and Koreans were still at base camp yesterday, waiting for a last chance. That is good news for us, because the trail—ladders over crevasses through the KHUMBU icefall is still open. We have another two-and-a-half days before we reach EVEREST base camp. Tomorrow we will go to PHERICHE. It is getting dark here at 5:45pm so we do not have long days to walk in, as we did in AUGUST and the higher you go, the colder it is getting. The last report from Everest base camp is -5C in the afternoon, dropping to -25C during the night. Today is Oct 15. Last night as I was finishing the E-mail, power in the Tea house went OFF. I hope you will understand the situation with electricity here. I have already lost one computer due to a POWER SURGE. — George Tumpach PREVIOUS UPDATE | UPDATES HOME | NEXT UPDATE