The South Col at 26,300'

It is not clear what kind of gear the team may have had for their high camp. While there was speculation they had tents and sleeping bags, that seems unlikely because of the extensive sherpa support that kind of load would have required. Today, many sherpa were seen ascending to the South Col presumably to assist with the climbers' descent, but that isn't definite either. Because the Indonesians have not asked for help, many other expeditions on the mountain are not even aware of the summit team's situation.

The summit team of three Indonesians, three Russians (including "lead climbing consultant" Anatoli Boukreev) and several sherpas made the first summit bid of the season on Everest two days ago. They reportedly struggled through waist-deep snow on the ascent, and all but one of the Indonesians reached the top, some summiting as late as 3:45pm. They ran out of oxygen on the descent and spent the night at an emergency Camp V just below The Balcony at around 27,500'. The following morning, sherpas attempted to bring them more oxygen to help them continue with the descent. (Click here for yesterday's bulletin about their emergency bivouac.)

The team made their summit bid weeks earlier than is generally believed to be the safe weather window on Everest, but aside from the usual extreme temperatures, they have seen uncommonly quiet weather over the last three days.

We'll keep you posted as soon as new information is available.

-- Anya Zolotusky, The Mountain Zone