Day #31

Location: Basecamp
Altitude: 5364m
Local Time: 6:00pm / April 27
Weather: Cool (30's) very windy/snow

To paraphrase John Steinbeck, "The best laid plans of mice and men aft gang alay". Today we awoke at 4:30am to a very windy day, had a quick breakfast of porridge and hot fluids, and then progressed to the edge of the icefall which is our transition area for applying crampons and starting our trek through the Khumbu enroute to Camp 2. However, here we encountered many sherpas and porters heading back to basecamp and they let us know that the icefall was closed for repair.
Directly ahead of us at the transition area were the "icefall doctors" who are a core group of people that maintain the route through the Khumbu as best possible by restabilizing ladders, and/or affixing new ladders when routes have to be changed. The crew that I saw had aluminum ladders strapped to their backs and were on their way to make repairs. A few hours later we heard that the repairs had been done, but it was too late for us to head up through the icefall as an early morning start is the best in order to try and avoid as much of the sun and heat as possible. So, we wait until tomorrow and try again in the early morning.

* Following is an excerpt from my brother Danny's blog posted yesterday:
Subject: Blogger Locations
Message: As you can see there is a new item in the menu bar call Blogger Map Locations. If you click on
maps.google.com/maps/mss it will take you to the map where I'm trying to mark everyone on it who visits Pat's blog site. If you double click on the teardrop icon it will zoom in closer!

*I have challenged Mr. Geuer's grade six class at Holy Name of Mary in my hometown (Almonte, Ontario, Canada) to keep me up to date on the total number of bloggers as well as the total number of provinces, states, and countries in which they live. So please help this class project by keeping Danny informed of the above, and if you are just monitoring the site, a quick one time hello would be great! I hope that all of you can encourage family, friends, and colleagues to visit the site so we can really put this class to work ... and just think, what a wonderful way to learn geography!

**It was my high school geography class that got me interested in travel ... and so far to date I have traveled throughout 53 countries around the world! Who knows, we may be contributing to the development of an Indiana Jones in Mr. Geuer's class!

sYour Messages:

Carol:
Hi sweetheart. Great talking to you yesterday and thanks for the text messages. I will send a test text message your way but have been told it does not work for the US?
Hope you have a fun time hiking with Deb this weekend (wish I was there) and I guess Danielle (aka Oscar) won't be able to go due to her foot injury! Thanks for filling me in on your hiking, vacation, and plans to visit with friends schedules as it helps me to know that you are keeping busy while I am gone. I hope that you are able to squeeze some tennis in between all of these other appointments. I believe that it may take me some time to get back up to speed as far as physical conditioning when I return home (even though I am climbing the highest mountain in the world) as we use different muscles and breathing here. It will be interesting to see how I do on my first 5 mile run!
*I do remember our bathing at the communal water pump on the Annapurna trek ... you were a crowd pleaser!!!!
I look forward to our call on the weekend.
I love you and miss you terribly :>)

Pat :>)

AORN Friends:

Rose ... thanks for holding down the fort! I still have not heard from the latin lover, so give him a call. Say hi to all the gang! Do you have any idea how many at AORN HQ are checking in on the adventures?

Canadian Friends:

Danny ... thanks so much for developing the "Blogger Map". I have challenged Mr. Gruer's Grade 6 Class to keep me up to date with total number of bloggers, as well as total numbers of provinces, states, and countries represented since I am unable to access rhe map. Thanks also for topping off the sat phone account ... it does take a lot more time to send a private email!

Mr. Geuer's Class ... hey guys, great to hear from you! I appreciate the prayers and the fact that you continue to follow my journey. When you get a chance, check out the menu bar (Blogger Map) that my brother Danny has added to my site as it shows where all of those people that are posting messages live around the world. If someone from your class could keep me updated with how many bloggeres there are as well as from how many provinces, states, and countries they come from I would greatly appreciate it!

Chris, Victoria, & Kelly ... great to hear from my Almonte High School friends and glad that you are following the adventure. I sure did enjoy speaking to the class at ADHS and look forward to other opportunities to talk again. I am hopeful that what I am doing can inspire others as I remember fondly that it was a variety of teachers at ADHS that had a major impact on my life choices. We never know when we are doing something that will influence an individual to make a positive change in their lives, but when we do influence that one person it makes everything seem worthwhile. I appreciate the comment from Dan who was one of the students that heard my talk and stated that it helped him to "find what he wanted to do with his future". Hopefully I made a difference.
Thanks for all your support and I look forward to wearing the ADHS tocque on top of the world!

Sheila ... thanks for the best wishes from Newfoundland! Weather can be a hindrance, as it was today, but we have been blessed so far with light winds, small snow flurries, and moderately cool temperatures. Hopefully this will prevail!

Kayla ... I too am afraid of heights but have challenged my fear many times already on this mountain ... and it has helped! So, don't let your fears prevent you from doing things ... try to confront them as I have and who knows, it may help get rid of that fear!
Thanks for your support

Dan ... great to hear from you and thanks so much for sharing with me that I might have made a difference in your life. I think that life is all about choices, and the more you know what those choices are, the better informed you are when you do make a decision! If I can be of any help in the future please feel free to contact me as I truly enjoy working with students. Best of luck in school and hope you can continue to follow my adventure.

Columbia Friends:

Kristen & Danielle ... have not heard from you two in a while but heard that Danielle fractured a bone in her foot (ouch) and Kristen attended the prom. Send me an email with updates!

Greg ... thanks for the post and it comforts me to know that you are able to help Carol with anything that she should need in my absence. She is very independent, but it's great having neighbors like you that are so resourceful. Say hi to Priscilla.

Larry ... great to hear about the new car! You were definitely overdue. How many miles on your old car ... 300,000? Glad to hear that you are going to Myrtle Beach to visit with the family. Hope you get to see Carol as she will only be there for 3 days.
Safety is the priority here so we keep each other in check as best possible!

Belinda ... I am sure that all of us are passionate about something, and no doubt will go to varying degrees to defend that passion. My passion just happens to take me to the top of the world and thereby is slightly more visible than most. My sacrifice is time away from family, friends, and work ... but all are supportive, so makes it that much easier to do. The physical challenges that lay ahead are great, but that was known when I took up this adventure. Thanks so much for your support ... it makes a big difference!

Fleet ... great to hear from you! I believe that Krakauer may be partly responsible for me being here as his book, "Into Thin Air" captivated me! I have since met and introduced Beck Weathers at a nursing conference and have been a mountaineering junkie ever since.
I hope that Palmetto Surgery Center can contribute to the Summit Scholarship at the University of South Carolina as I am sure you are very aware of the great need for nurses! In fact, I don't know what leverage you have, but I believe that Dr. Rich and his group practice at your facility and probably could not do their jobs without nurses ... so would be a great group to approach for a contribution!

Palmetto Health Friends:

Sandra ... slopping on suntan lotion can't be done enough here as the sun is so intense. A good majority of the climbers seem to exhibit "racoon eyes" from the sun exposure and sunglass protection!

USC Friends:

Liesl ... have not heard from you in awhile? How is everything going with the Summit Scholarship?
Hey, could you contact Radio Station 93.5 as I listen to it religiously and would love to do an interview for their listeners on the early morning show (Dave and Charlie). The timing would be great as 8am in Columbia would be 6pm here! If they could build it up for a week or two and talk about the Summit Scholarship at the University of South Carolina I think it would go over real well as far as getting more support. You could try a few of the other stations also, but I love 93.5. I have not signed on as one of their registered listeners, but is my exclusive radio station in Columbia, SC. I think they would jump at the opportunity so hope you can make the contact!

Abbas ... great to hear from you. I know that you will be happy that the semester is over, however I know that you stay on to work all summer. Hope you get some vacation time soon.

Gloria ... great to hear from you, but am worried about your comment "and occassionally think up some more work for you to do at school". Just kidding, you know I look forward to helping out in whatever way I can. I hope that all the faculty is doing well and would love to hear from everyone before they head off for summer vacation. I do miss everyone ... and thanks for the prayers!

Tricia ... the beauty is everywhere you turn here, so no problem on keeping it in site. Hope you are doing well and no worries as safety is #1 in my book!

Jennifer ... great to hear from you and thanks so much for the kind words. It is my pleasure to advocate for nursing, and to represent the University of South Carolina as both have given
me so much of which to be proud!
Enjoy your summer away from school and look forward to seeing you in the fall!

Nathan ... thanks for the update regarding end of semester and the good weather that you are experiencing! Here it snows everyday and even though the sun is out, it is quite cool! I look forward to the heat and humidity of SC. I am sure that you did well in my class, but shoot me an email after it is all over to let me know how the breeze presentations helped ... or not!

All The Others:

Sally ... always great to hear from someone that has wanderlust (desire for travel and adventure). I love your area of the world as I have transited it many times enroute to Ottawa, Ontario from eiither TX or SC. Appreciate the cheers!

Nikki ... great to hear from a fellow nurse.. Congrats on your pursual of the postgraduate diploma in midwifery ... a very needed profession indeed! As you noted, there is a critical shortage in many specialties within nursing and it is for this reason that I am very passionate about making a difference in our profession. Hope you can spread the word about the Summit Scholarship! Best of luck in school!

George ... thanks for the address update as Danny is trying to update the blogging map daily. On return home I will be in touch to coordinate my visit!

Bill & Michelle ... glad that you have become better informed about the issues associated with the nursing shortage as diminished faculty and teacher/student ratios are two of the biggest hurdles that we experience!
I am anticipating some interviews also as well as potential calls to corporations to discuss leadership and teamwork. All of these are being worked on and hopefully will know more soon!

Judy ... how great to hear from you, as always. I love sharing the adventure and hope that it will encourage others, like yourself, to make a difference in our profession. I am already very aware of how passionate that you are for nursing and to what extremes you have gone to support your local chapter, attend your local, state, and national meetings, and how you have remained involved in the professionalism of nursing! We need more people like you to make a difference.
Nursing has been very kind to me and I have found that it does not take that much extra energy to make a difference. Imagine if we as nurses were more organized ... what a difference we could make!
Thanks as always for your support :>)

Tanila ... thanks for support from the peach state. Hope you are enjoying warm, but not too humid weather. I did ten years of ER nursing and absolutely loved it! That training has prepared me for anything and everything as that is what we experienced, as you know, on a daily basis! Hope you can spread the word about the Summit Scholarship.

Kurt ... I thought about going the whole trip without bathing ... but don't think I would be able to live with myself! Glad to hear that your enjoying good weather ... are you running more? Did I tell you that one of my team mates (Bob) runs a 2:17 marathon? Maybe I can draft him to the top! Say hi to the girls and let them know that I miss them a lot!

MC ...sun and wind protection is vital. The areas most affected by burns seem to be the nostrils as the sun reflects up off the snow. We try to lather all exposed areas as much as possible!

Mira ... I crossed paths with Attila and Paul in the Khumbu a few days ago as they were heading up, and I down. Both looked strong!

David aka Demento ... I could notice a little more SOB on exertion at Camp 2 ... but nothing major!
Hey, our MD from Great Britain (Anna ... see blog 2 days ago) is about 6 months into her Emergency Medicine Fellowship. She is interested in mountain rescue, high altitude medicine, and wilderness survival type experiences. I told her about your business and she was intrigued with the possibility of spending some time with you to gain some experience. Are you open to teaching?

Gomez Sisters ... great to hear from my favorite family in Corpus Christi, Texas. I would write to you in Spanish ... but it would be too embarassing! I sure miss Corpus Christi and all my friends there. I have been in contact with my friend George who lives near Galveston and we may plan a Harley Davidson ride to Corpus to enjoy tacquitos at Kikos on Everhart ... if he is still there? Thanks so much for the prayers.
*Hey, if you don't mind, could you look up Danny & Debbie Rajoppi in the phone book (there should only be one) and let them know about my blog site. I believe that Dorothy has probably heard me refer to Danny over the years as he was one of the first people I met when I moved to Corpus Christi from Canada. He is originally from New Jersey ... and still has the accent! Thanks so much!

Wendy ... Mike says hi and sends his love!