Day #15-17

Location: Mt. Everest Basecamp
Altitude: 5364m
Local Time: 5:00pm / April 13
Weather: Cool (40's) windy

Finally, I have power again in my pda! When hiking I place my solar panel on the outside of my backpack in order to take advantage of all the sun I can get; however it was quite windy on 4/10 (the day that I sent the audioblog from Sean Egan's memorial) and I believe the strong winds broke a wire in my panel! Hopefully I can get that wire fixed soon, as we are now in basecamp for Mt. Everest and there are lots of resources.
I last wrote you from Lobuche about the memorial for Sean Egan, and since have visited Gorak Shep, where we did an acclimitization hike up Kalapathar and saw Mt. Everest basecamp for the first time ... and the infamous Khumbu Icefall. Even from this distance the Khumbu looked daunting! Gorak Shep is the last civilized place on the trail to Mt. Everest and despite it's isolation was quite hospitable. I had my own room for $2.00 and had a layer of ice on the floor as it was quite cold! Many trekkers stay here enroute to basecamp as well as those of us getting our last bit of acclimitization.
The following day (4/12) we trekked in to Mt. Everest basecamp and was amazed by the length and breadth of the tents that were to be home for the next 6-8 weeks. A sea of yellow, blue and orange colored tents were displaced along the base of the Khumbu icefall, and prayer flags could be seen everywhere. Most noticeable above all was the huge Khumbu icefall which towers over the tents. The picture was as I had seen for many years in books and movies, but now it was a reality. Wow, I am finally here. This journey started 7 years ago and on arrival to Mt. Everrest basecamp I was not disappointed.
After a welcome tea we selected our tents and I have to say that the view from my front door is the most spectacular in the world as I look directly at the Khumbu icefall. Pictures will be coming soon as I have yet to get camera batteries charged, but hopefully will do so tomorrow.
Since arrival our food has been great and we are playing catch up for some of the less than desirable foods we might have had enroute. Today (4/13) we did a gear check and then practiced walking across ladders. We had to practice this act as the Khumbu icefall is full of crevasses of which we navigate by walking across securely placed ladders. When we cross these ladders we will have a rope on each side to help stabilize us, and will be clipped in to these ropes as security against a fall off the ladder into a crevasse. Time in the Khumbu will be minimized as we don't want to spend any more time there than necessary as there is risk of shifting icefalls. Tomorrow, we plan to do a hike into the icefall to get some practice before we attempt to climb to Camp 1 which is located at the top of the icefall.

The winds and weather can be very unpredictable here as last night I felt like my tent was being ripped off the mountain, while now there is not a breath of wind. As I write this I hear an avalanche in the distance and totals 4 so far today. These avalanches are far removed from where we will be, but are a stark reality of the power of nature.
I did take advantage of today's sunshine to shave and wash my hair, something that had not been done in over a week. Boy, it sure makes a difference in your attitude when you clean up a little ... although I could use a bath. However, no one is complaining as we all probably have the same bad odor after wearing the same clothes over and over! Although it was nice to get to basecamp and get our gear that we sent here from Kathmandu as we finally had clean clothes. I felt like a kid at Christmas as I unloaded my gear into my tent. My tent is home now for the next 6-8 weeks and I have a variety of personal affects to remind me of home to include pictures of Carol and nieces (Kristen & Danielle), Cocky (University of South Carolina mascot), a University of South Carolina College of Nursing scrub top (signed by students and faculty), a variety of caps and hats from Almonte (my hometown in Canada), the Backpacker (my outfitting store in Columbia), Nortel (one of my sponsors), and the University of South Carolina. I also have a lot of flags to include the University of South Carolina, Canada, USA, Nortel, Richarson Plowden (a law firm in Columbia) and a variety of other sponsor products to include a bottle of Tunguska Blast which was provided by my good friend Tim Floyd in Columbia. The only thing missing is my wife ... but she is here in heart and soul!

Well, that is all for now as I want to get this off to the blogsite and download your responses from the past few days. Again, thanks so much for all of your support as it really makes a BIG difference when so far from home!