Snow Day
Snow day at Everest Base Camp. Right now the snow is an annoyance, but in a few days it could become dangerous. May 5, 2010.
By Marshall Thompson
Today we woke up to a winter wonderland. Well, not exactly. It has snowed about five inches during the night and base camp was, in fact, covered with a downy blanket of pure white snow that made hands itch to throw a snowball. I worked my way down to the communications tent where I talked to the team at Camp 2. They had just as much snow.
Suddenly, the winter wonderland didn’t seem so nice. Most of the team was heading up to Camp 3 today for acclimatization. One member, however, wasn’t feeling well and was going to head down to base camp today. The snow stopped all the plans. Everyone has to sit tight at Camp 2 until the weather improves.
At the time, I reported that all the team members would be coming down to base camp as soon as possible. However, the weather does seem to be better so they’re all going to stay at Camp 2 for one more night and then see how it goes.
The new weather report we got says there’s going to be snow every day this week. I’m worried right now that what may be an uncomfortable situation today will turn into a dangerous situation tomorrow. We’re staying in frequent radio contact and updating Apa and the team with the latest weather reports.
It should be noted that I’ve been told more than once today to stop worrying – everyone will be fine. I believe that. It’s just hard not to get worked up when you’re stuck at base camp looking up at the mountain. I’ve talked with Apa on the radio. His cough is gone and he seems very confident about what he’s doing. All I can say is that if I were stuck at Camp 2 on Mount Everest, I would want to be stuck with the guy who has climbed her more than anyone else.
Last week I asked Apa if he had a special relationship to the Chomolungma (The Sherpa name for the Goddess who is Mount Everest). He laughed and said, “Maybe she’s watching over me, because she’s let me climb her so many times.”
So to summarize: The bad news is our team is stuck at Camp 2. The Good news is they’re stuck there with Apa.
Wishing everone up there all the best!!! Hope all return back safe and in good health!! Do keep us updated.