Burleson

Click to hear Todd Burleson's audio dispatch recorded over sat-phone.
From Burleson's Satellite Call:

Camp III at 23,500' on the Lhotse Face

Hi, this is Todd. I'm at Camp II right now at 21,000'. It's April 24th. We went and looked at the Lhotse Face today. It's very, very windy this morning -- a lot of wind over Lhotse, Nuptse and Everest. The Indonesian team is still at Camp III [23,500' half way up the Lhotse Face]. They haven't moved up yet. Their sherpas went up as though they were going for the summit but then turned around and came back, so their climb is in a holding pattern.

The whole group is here. They're all doing very well. Tomorrow we'll do an acclimatization hike, and then the following day, we'll probably descend to Base Camp for rest.

-- Todd Burleson, Expedition Leader

Burleson also expressed his surprise and regret at the loss of Mal Duff who is the official leader of the British expedition and was found dead in his tent at Base Camp yesterday morning. [Click here for the bulletin.] "It's a sad affair for all of us; he was a very nice man," said Burleson from Camp II.

Duff's body has been helicoptered to Namche for an autopsy. The British expedition has descended from the mountain, and it is still uncertain whether they will continue with the climb.

We hear that Guy Cotter's New Zealand expedition is making an acclimatization run to Camp III today, and while it is windy high on the mountain, all is quiet at Camp II and on the rest of the Western Cwm.

-- Freddy Blume, Team Scientist