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Hello, this is Eric Simonson checking in from Base Camp on the north side of Mt. Everest on May 4th. I just wanted to let everybody at Mountain Zone know that we're doing well, and that we've all now descended to Base Camp for several days of R & R.

Our Sherpas yesterday were successful in carrying to Camp VI at 27,200', and today, they descended from ABC all the way to Base Camp as well. So we are all back down here now for several days.

I also wanted to thank everybody who sent us emails and expressed good wishes to us. We're really pumped about our discovery, and we really appreciate the feedback from all of you. It's really gratifying. So on behalf of the team, I want to say thank you very much. We really appreciate it, and we're not done yet.

Finally, I wanted to wish Pete, and Bill, and the south side team the best of luck for tomorrow. I know they're going to be trying for the summit. We talked to them this afternoon up on the South Col. Hopefully, they're going to get a break with the weather and be able to go up and ring the bell in the morning. So knock on wood. Let's all give them our best wishes and hope for success.

Okay, that's about it for right now, and I hope everybody is doing well. Thank you. Goodbye.

—Eric Simonson, Expedition Leader

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