Everest '97 Coverage
Sponsored by Microsoft
Internet Explorer

EXPLORE





















CLICK BELOW to continue exploring

EVEREST '98

EVEREST '99




Poster Store


[Everest Posters]
Images from the Everest trek and climb.


The Bookstore

Click on a book for details and ordering info from The Mountain Zone Bookstore.


"Into Thin Air"
by Jon Krakauer
An epic, first-hand account of the 1996 tragedy.


The Climb
by Boukreev & DeWalt
Boukreev's account of the '96 tragedy.


"Everest Map"
by Brad Washburn
National Geographic centennial map, Washburn's Everest map and more.

Everest 97 NAVBAR
DISPATCHES FROM EVEREST
Team Scientist, Freddy Blume, reports from Everest

Blume
High Winds on Upper Everest Delay All Summit Attempts
Friday, May 9, 1997 -- 11 am (Base Camp)

Click to hear Freddy Blume's audio dispatch recorded over sat-phone.
Freddy Blume's Satellite Call:
Good morning. This if Freddy Blume from Base Camp on Friday the 9th of May. It's a beautiful day down here at Base Camp, but the weather up high on the mountain couldn't really be worse for climbing right now. We have no clouds at all, but as you'll see in the weather forecast, the winds aloft are just screaming. The plumes coming off the summit which we can't directly see the summit, but the cloud [and snow] plumes coming off are really spectacular.


High winds over the summit of Everest

So all teams, with two exceptions, are back in Base Camp. The Malaysians, who were very, very intent on summiting tomorrow the 10th, are currently pinned down at Camp III [23,500'] by the wind and waiting for a window of slight calm so the can so they can get back down here. And John Tinker and two of his British climbers are still at Camp II [21,500'] and will also be making their way down as soon as possible. Nobody is really in any danger -- it's just kind of a hunker-down day up high.

The wind is forecast to continue for at least five days, so right now we're looking at a total lull in any kind of summit attempts or even planning summit attempts by any of the groups right now.

Todd Burleson, Charles Corfield, and Wally Berg have gone back down to Pheriche at 14,000 feet to regain their health, and Greg Wilson, Eric Simonson and I are still at Base Camp all in reasonably good health ourselves.

Tomorrow's plan is for myself and a couple of sherpas to go to the top of Kala Pattar [18,500'] and replace our temporary GPS observation mark with a permanent one which will also serve as our summit measurement base station. Hopefully we'll have some good pictures when we get back from there tomorrow evening.

I think that's it from Base Camp. Like I said it's a gorgeous, sunny day here, so we're going to sit out in the sun and watch the clouds go by. Catch you later.

-- Frederick Blume, Team Scientist



[Dispatches from Everest Index]

[Top of Page] [Email Us] [Join Mountain Mail]

Photos by Todd Burleson/Alpine Ascents International.

1997 Everest Expedition with
Alpine Ascents International, Inc.
[Click for more info]

Best experienced with Microsoft Internet ExplorerClick here to start.

 © The Zone Network, Inc. 1997. All rights reserved.
No portion of the text or images on this page may be reproduced
without the express written consent of The Zone Network.