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Expedition Dispatches
Satellite phone updates from the 1998 American Everest Expedition
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Wally Berg
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Hot Like Kathmandu
Wednesday, April 1, 1998 — Phakding
 | Hear Wally Berg's call from Phakding
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Satellite phones for Everest cybercasts provided by MVS/USA
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Lukla Helipad
(photo: Corfield)
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This morning I got a phone call from Kathmandu. Gyalzen informed that on the first Asian helicopter flight today he had gotten two large trunks of Dave Mencin's GPS equipment, various other items which he skillfully got though customs all the way into Nepal, as he is used to doing. He also got these on the Asian helicopter flight today and they came pretty early in the morning. Gyalzen also informed me that Dave Mencin and Cathy would be on a passenger twin otter flight later in the morning. So by about 11 or 11:30 we were all together in Lukla.
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Unloading expedition gear in Lukla
(photo: Corfield)
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The Sherpas have marched ahead to Phakding which is a beautiful camp, or village I should say, where we camp along the Dudh Kosi river at the lowest elevation we'll camp this entire trip. Believe me it is all down hill from Lukla and it puts us at 8,500 feet. Remarkably warm here. All the treks over the years I've done, this valley between Lukla and Namche, I've never seen it be quite this warm, and Sherpas are concurring with me in that — people that live here, they're kind of shaking their heads going "hot like Kathmandu." So it was really a beautiful day, almost too hot for hiking, but we enjoyed the sun and got underway as a team.
Now that we are down at Phakding we're relaxing. We had kind of a late lunch here, and the Sherpas are kind of organizing the loads that are coming in, slowly. I just saw one of those big trunks that I mentioned full of Dave's GPS gear arrive. We'll be on to Namche bizarre tomorrow, of course, the pleasure of walking downhill will be over tomorrow. You know many stories about the infamous Namche hill. We'll undertake that tomorrow. I'll call you from Namche and tell you how that went.
Charles Corfield who has described himself as "a dilettante with a cool pack."
(photo: Potterfield)
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We're excited to be together. Todd Burleson and the Alpine Ascents Team is camped just a few yards away from us. We're enjoying a beautiful late evening in Nepal, warm weather, baseball caps. Charles has his sporting white bush hat which is his trademark in nicer weather and up on the glacier on the Western Cwm when he is hiking in hot weather. We are really enjoying this. We'll call you from Namche and best wishes.
— Wally Berg, Expedition Leader
