Day #48

Location: Lobuche
Altitude: 4910m
Local Time: 9:30pm / May 14
Weather: Cool (30's) sunny/windy

Summit Scholarship Update

Following is an update from Liesl:

The USC website for the climb
is now online at www.sc.edu/everest. The University of South Carolina team has created a comprehensive site
which includes many video clips about
your trek and your goal, links to news
coverage, great pictures, and how to make a gift.

Gifts to the cause have been coming in faster, competing with your climb, and we're now at $4,397! Recently, Palmetto Health Alliance made a generous Mount Kilimanjaro level donation. There are many other gifts mentioned even on this blog that are coming down the pike. Every gift helps us get closer to the "one dollar for every foot" goal. Let's continue to spread the word! We've been sending posters out all over the state and through the country, and are now
having more printed.

Online Giving:
https://giftsonline.sc.edu/contribute.asp
As of today, the Summit Scholarship is
available as a drop-down choice for
online giving. The new steps are more
simple:
Fill out all information as described. When you reach "Contribution
Information", enter as follows in the
drop-down categories:
1. Division/Campus: SELECT "Columbia
Nursing"
2. Category: SELECT "Scholarships"
3: Gift Designation: SELECT "Summit Scholarship Endowment Fund"

Today we departed Pangboche for our destination of Lobuche. The hike lasted about 4 hours (all uphill) and

Your Messages:

Carol:
Hi sweetheart. Great talking to you today! It's 9:30pm here in the guesthouse and all have gone to bed 30 minutes ago ... so will do the same now as it is cool in here without the fire going in the stove!
All is well and feeling better. Will arrive in basecamp tomorrow and hopefully more updates then on weather and summit opportunities!

I love you and miss you terribly :>)

Pat :>)

AORN Friends:

Bonnie ... thanks for your appeal to nurses to share their stories as I am sure that there will be more to come! Thanks also for sharing your own stories as they further validate the worth of nurses I agree that these testimonials will help validate the need to support the Summit Scholarship! Thanks for the astrology update!

Kay ... March 10 is my birthday so not too far off! Hope your surgery does not set you back too much ... but don't imagine that you will slow down!
Thanks for continuing to spread the word about the Summit Scholarship and as you can see above Liesl has made it even easier to donate! Contact Liesl if you want one of the Summit Scholarship posters.
Thanks for all your support and best wishes for a speedy recovery from your surgeries!

Canadian Friends:

Danny ... thanks for udating the menu bar! I called home yesterday at noon with expectations of talking to everyone ... but had an awful connection! I believe I have had that problem before when calling the farm from SC. Is there a problem with the phone? Hey, did you update my sat phone account as there is more time in the account than I thought I had? It will need updating whenever you get a chance.
Thanks for everything!

Brian ... great to hear from you and thanks for the fan support! I am feeling better and just in time as we approach basecamp tomorrow! Thanks for flying the flag ... keep it going for a little while yet!

Columbia Friends:

Alma ... my pleasure to do the interview. Will make plans to talk again after the summit! Glad that you had some vacation time with Carol ... I look forward to some with her on my return! Look forward to tons of cookies on my return also!

Kristen ... sorry to hear of your loss to Lexington :>(
Sorry to hear that exams are coming, but glad to hear that school is almost over. When is your last day! I bet that the lake was cold ... were you swimming? Keep in touch ... and don't forget our delivery plans!

Danielle (aka Oscar) ... sorry to hear that your foot injury kept you out of your final game and that it still bothers you! Hard to be on the sidelines isn't it? Best of luck in exams

Scott ... great to hear from you! I shared the hockey scores with a family of Canadians in our guest house and were very appreciative! Go Sens!!
Glad to hear that Jeff Gordon is doing so well .... Go #24!!
Small world meeting one of my nursing students ... hope they had something good to say!
Your right in that the "real fun stuff" is about to start soon so hope you can stay tuned in! Do appreciate the sports updates ... keep them coming!

Palmetto Health Friends:

Sandra ... glad to hear that you are going on vacation, and don't worry the blog will still be going on your return! I loved the quotes with #3 being my favorite! Will write it down and read it on top of Mt. Everest when I release Sean's ashes. Will share it with his kids later also!
Many thanks for the prayers and sharing your nursing story with Bonnie!
Enjoy your vacation ... you deserve it!

Kelly ... thanks so much for sharing your nursing story with Bonnie, and all of us. I am always intrigued to hear of why people went into nursing, and then to hear how much they give, and get out of nursing! Your story is a great example of how much nurses' give as you have pursued higher education and a more technical role in order to help those patient's undergoing surgery! Many of my students are interested in becoming CRNA's as there is so much hands on care, and pt/family interaction!
Thanks for your very convincing story of the many opportunities of nursing!

USC Friends:

Liesl ... WOW!!! Thanks so much for sharing the updated website information! Sounds like you and the team have been quite busy and with good reason! Video clips, news stories, pictures ... great stuff!!!
Thanks for saving copies of the Carolinian magazines for me. Can't wait to read the article on my return!
Thanks for the update on the Summit Scholarship total to date, and hope we can double ... no, triple that with responses from those on the blog!
Thanks also for distributing the posters to the local hospitals, around the state, and to other points in the country! I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate all that you are doing!
I have referred to your email above in my opening message and will continue to do so in the next week of posts so all can see how easy it is to contribute, where we are at with donations, and how far we still have to go!
Many, many thanks!

Bev ... hate that I missed graduation and convocation as both are exciting times! I do hope that all the pr helps with the Summit Scholarship and we are able to raise the needed funds! I am feeling somewhat better after 4 days of meds!
Enjoy your summer ... and slow down!

All The Others:

Bill & Michelle ... thanks "mom" for your concerns about my health. I believe the sinus infection was acquired on my way to basecamp and was bothersome there, but not too bad! Seems like the meds are working and feeling much better! Back to basecamp tomorrow and look forward to updates on weather, teams, and our opportunity to go for the summit!

David (aka Demento) ... what a weenie! And you call yourself a high altitude doctor! I wish you were here with me ... you would love the vistas, enjoy the strain of the hikes, and really get off on the international trekkers/climbers in the guest houses!
The sinus cold is much better, but have a nagging cough!

Wistie ...Thanks buddy, I have heard that saying lots of times in Nepal. Keep posted for the summit push ... Love to your Mum......Mike

Clarkey.... Thanks for the good wishes, business end of the trip and your saying about pain in exactly what I tell myself over and over again... cheers zop

Roger ... great to hear from you! Investment in time, money, and training vary quite a lot between all climbers! Some put more money into their expeditions and costs can vary quite a lot from $15,000.00 to $60,000-$75,000 or even more! Most should put a lot of time into training and do so by climbing other mountains where they gain valuable experience! Mt. Everest is not a mountain to be climbed as your first!
Equipment costs vary also with high altitude suits $750.00-$1000.00, high altitude boots about the same, and then there are the costs of down sleeping bags, high tech goretex tops and bottoms, and the list goes on!
In summary, it does take a huge amount of time, money, and planning to go on a Mt. Everest climb. Most mountaineeering companies will spell out all these expenses on their websites so their is no question of the costs! Most of us have done our homework and researched these sites. It's easy to do ... check them out!

Ann & Graham ... we are glad to be "on the trail again" and look forward to basecamp tomorrow! We hope that the weather window is a big one for us and soon!

Jen ... appreciate the quote, very timely! Thanks, as always, for all the positive strokes ... greatly needed as we approach the roof of the world!

Mark ... thanks for the Jeff Gordon updates! Wow, he sure is doing well ... and I'm missing it! I can only hope that the winning will continue after my return home!
The trek in to basecamp is done by families and young kids ... and I am impressed to see how young they are! Definitely do the research on best time, companies, porters, facilities, etc. as the trip will be that much better if all your questions are answered!
Appreciarte the well wishes as we are "just around the corner" from the event of a lifetime!

Gina ... thanks so much for sharing your story of nursing! Very thoughtful and passionate! We need more people like you. You WILL make a great nurse! I am sure that your passion would convince most, and hopefully Cari.
Thanks for the best wishes, and good luck in school!

Evie ... thanks for your continued support! Will have more news from basecamp tomorrow specific to our summit plans!

Ken ... doing well as we transition to basecamp! Will arrive their tomorrow and get updates on weather!
Thanks for the continued support!