Brian Smith on top of Mount Everest. Since Brian's photo on top of MT E was at night, I had a friend do a bit a photo magic to give him a daylight look. A buddy of mine called me this week to tell me that he came across our Everest ER 2007 series on YouTube. You can watch the 5 part series in it’s entirety now online (in 10 minute increments.) I am featured for about 27 minutes total in episodes 1,2,4 and 5. My summit footage with Willie and Tendi (filmed by Willie)is in episode 5. I get a flash in the opening scenes and am brought into the ER tent in the first 8 minutes or so. I get the most coverage in episode 4. The link to the first 10 minutes is here if you want to take a look. The rest of the links follow this first segment or can be found with the search bar-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktxzw1JLYO0 To contact Brian Smith: brian.everestclimber@gmail.com
The route. To contact Brian Smith: brian.everestclimber@gmail.com
I didn't have my camera during the massive avalanche that hit us inside the Khumbu Icefall during the recovery of Dawa Sherpa's body but Willie did! :-) Willie got this one off just before the avalanche hit us head on while everyone ran for their lives.
This is what it is like inside of an avalanche. It is like being in a very windy blizzard. You are hoping at this point that all of the rocks and big chunks of ice have stopped above you. Those are not rocks in the picture, they are Sherpa's laid out across the glacier...
I lightened the photo. Kept the other one. This is what it is like inside of an avalanche. It is like being in a very windy blizzard. You are hoping at this point that all of the rocks and big chunks of ice have stopped above you. Those are not rocks in the picture, they are Sherpa's laid out across the glacier...
Here is Everest in the morning before the day's weather turns bad around noon. This is from around 21,000 feet.
Here is Everest in the morning before the days weather turns bad around noon. This is from around 21,000 feet. Mt Everest from 21,000 feet around noon as her mood changes.
My tent at camp II at 21,200 feet with the Lhotse Face behind camp.
Our mess tent at camp II at 21,200 feet. Bjorn and Eirik are on the right with Bjorn behind Eirik. They are our Norwegians.
Looking up the Lhotse Face to around 23,000-24,000 feet where the tents of camp III are etched into the 45-60 degree ice face.
It is 8am at camp II. We are ready to head out to climb to camp III. It is around -10F to -15F in camp right now so I am dressed warmly. In 1-2 hours it will feel like it is 140F as the sun bakes the Western Cwm at extreme altitude. A little after noon the temperature will plunge again to below zero as the days clouds move in and it begins to snow. This is a daily weather cycle on Mt Everest
Now we are looking straight up Mt. Everest as we access the Lhotse Face at 22,000 feet.
We are getting higher up the Lhotse Face now nearly 1000 vertical feet above the Western Cwm. It is steep enough that we repelled back down. Any mistakes made here while clipping around the anchors are fatal. A fair amount of climbers have lost their lives on the Lhotse Face. To slip while not tied in will result in being found somewhere on the glacier below. A climber above me dropped his radio. The first time his radio hit me and I caught it and gave it back to him. The second time his radio went past me at 100 mph in 100 pieces... We were one of the few teams who wore helmets. On the decent I was hit in the head by a chunk of ice. At the least my helmet saved me from a head injury.
The tents of camp III finally come into view just above us. We are at 23,200 feet, over 7000 meters. This is my new extreme altitude PR. I am tired but still feeling fairly strong at this point off oxygen. I am breathing about 45% of the oxygen that people at sea level are breathing.
Tindy Sherpa and I resting after repelling 1000 feet back off the Lhotse Face. I am tired now. Several times while rapping I slipped on the ice and fell down, sliding down the rope until I squeezed hard enough to stop the slide. The stress of slipping and falling definately elevated my breathing for a while and tired me out. Tindy Sherpa is 24 years old and has been to the summit of Everest 3 times already!
Tindy and Undi Sherpa resting. They are both with us and incredibly strong. Undi has also been to the summit of Everest 3 times also and is in his early 20's. The 3 of us rappelled off the Lhotse Face together to return to camp II. Undi was to return back to camp III with me 2 days later. I am not sure how to spell their names so I just spelled it as it sounds.
And now things have changed as I take this self portrait. It is 5am, bitter cold, well below zero and I have been fighting for my life all night with HAPE and I am on an old O2 mask that Tindi Sherpa tracked down for me in camp II during the middle of the night as we had no masks in camp II.
The next day after pulling all the energy I had together for the long 4000 vertical foot descent back to base camp. I am part way through the Khumbu Icefall on 3 liters per minute of oxygen which made a huge difference during my descent. Even if I don't end up making the summit, I still got to use oxygen on Mt Everest! :-)
This picture was taken of me inside the Western Cwm at around 20,300 feet. Everest is towering over me. You can see the summit! Brian is at about 20,300 with Everest towering over him.
Brian crossing a crevasse at about 18,300 in the lower Khumbu Icefall.
Base camp is behind me. I am at the 18,000 foot level in the lower icefall.
This is me inside the Khumbu Icefall at around 18,800 feet.
May 24, 2007. On top of the world at 29,035 feet. Brian and Tendi Sherpa at about 3am on top of Mount Everest during their summit. Brian's caption: Here are a couple pictures from Willie's camera that I will send out from the summit. Tendi and I at about 3am on top of the world, Mt Everest 29,035 feet.
Brian's caption: This picture Willie took of me on the Balcony at 27,800 feet or so during our descent. This was around 4am. Makalu one of the world's fourteen 8000 meter peaks is behind me.
The first picture is of the two dead Korean bodies that were being lowered down the mountain while I ascended the Khumbu Icefall for the 7th and last time. That was a bad day on Everest. 5 climbers were killed in one day. It was a sad sight to have to step over the Koreans bodies and look into the eyes of their surviving teammates who were on the edge of tears as they lowered their comrades down the ice fall. In all I stepped over or passed by 6 dead climbers while on my summit bid. Of course one was Scott Fisher and another a Sherpa that died in 1991 on the upper mountain. I also sat down and took a break in the exact spot that Rob Hall died on the South Summit. It reminded me of how dangerous climbing Everest is and how I needed to try to focus my hypoxic brain at all times or I would be going home in a box myself.
The second picture is my lonely tent at camp I on the first night of my summit bid. I spent the first 4 days alone before Willie and Jaime joined me at camp II. Two days later Pemba Sherpani fell 1800 vertical feet to her death down the Lhotse Face. Although I did not see her fall, I did see her broken body lying up on the Lhotse Face which claimed two climbers lives this season. When Willie, Jaime and I arrived in camp III, the Sherpa's recovering Pemba's body lowered her down into our campsite for the night. I ended up seeing her shattered body up close which once again shocked reality into me of how a simple mistake on the Lhotse Face leads to a long fall... Pemba was Willies friend. He had visited with her only a few days earlier. It was sad for him when he and Jaime had to package her body in our campsite so that it was not so messy during the rest of the lower. Also sad was loaning some of my gear to her husband to help lower her body. He was in camp II when she fell to her death.
The 3rd picture is when I crossed paths with my team as they descended from their amazing successful summit bid. Bjorn and I are in this picture between camp I and camp II inside the Western Cwm.
The 4th picture is Eirik and myself. Bjorn and Eirik are our Norwegians. I saw Bjorn today here at the hotel just before he left for his flight. It was a fantastic and happy reunion to be together once again at least for breakfast. Climbing builds strong friendships which is part of what I love from our sport.
The 5th picture is my tent at camp II.
The 6th picture is looking up the rope on the Lhotse Face at the spot where Dawa Sherpa was killed last month.
The 7th picture is looking down from the same spot. You can see the steepness of the Lhotse Face and why a simple miss clip on the fixed rope is always fatal. The views are fantastic though from the Lhotse Face! In all I climbed the Lhotse Face as high as upper camp III three times round trip.
The 8th picture is me at the 23,000 foot level just below camp III with the Western Cwm behind me.
The 9th picture is from the same spot but with the summit of Everest above me.
The 10th picture is looking back at lower camp III as I climb on up past middle camp III. Carrying large loads is exhausting at extreme altitude. The Sherpa's help a ton but can't do it all. Myself and Willie found it extremely irritating to see Westerners asking Sherpa's to carry their personal gear up and down the mountain while they they carried a little tiny pack. If a climber cannot carry at least 70 lbs they should not be on Everest in the first place
The 11th picture is of a Sherpa that I revived at the 23,800 foot level with some water and candy bars. He had collapsed in exhaustion after making the summit and then carrying a huge load down the mountain from camp IV. I gave him most of the last of my water and was quite parched myself but he was in a worse condition. He asked me to take his picture to remember him as he rapped off on down the face after we rested together for a little while. Carrying huge loads on Everest is a requirement of everyone. I carried about 50 lbs up the mountain as high as camp IV and then carried 80 or so lbs back down the mountain from camp IV back to base camp
Picture #1 is our tent dug out and perched on 45 degree slopes about 1/3 of the way up the Lhotse Face. You have to watch your step when walking around camp. Many of the tents have fixed lines around them to clip into when walking around but we didn't bother with that as we had to re-pitch the tent anyway upon arrival and spent the rest of the afternoon melting water and eating. I was the camp III cook.
Picture #2 is Willie, Jaime and myself killing time during the heat of the afternoon with the sun on the tent just after beginning oxygen. We were on oxygen for the next 2 days. At this point before going on oxygen we were only breathing 41% of the oxygen available at sea level.
Picture #3 is my altimeter. Each step above camp III was a new personal altitude record for me. Now that I have been to the top of the world, I can never break a personal altitude record again...
Picture #4- It is 6am and really cold as we set off for camp IV. Willie and Jaime were to share a sleeping bag while sleeping in down suits the night before. Willies down suit was missing when we arrived at camp III and his second O2 bottle was empty. The day before there was a rescue where they were bringing a woman down who was near death after she collapsed at the Balcony at the 27,800 foot level. The day before I had clipped around her just below camp III as they tried to lower her down the Lhotse Face. I thought that she was going to die for sure as I looked into her eyes and saw no life there, but thankfully she did end up surviving and recovering. Anyway the rescuers had taken Willies down suit to use for her rescue so Willie borrowed my down gear for the night and stayed in the tent until a Sherpa brought his suit back up to him the next morning after Jaime and I left and began climbing early knowing that Willie would catch up.
Picture #5- I am looking down on my buddy Jaime with his skis on his back. Jaime made the first ski descent from really close to the summit of Lhotse down to camp II. He skied the face that I am looking down in the picture. He is an amazing extreme skier. I enjoyed watching him make his ski on my way down from the summit. Pretty scary for sure, skiing down really steep glacial ice. He skied the same line that Pemba had fallen to her death on the day before which is really amazing. To top it off, he skied it without O2 after his regulator exploded the day before leaving him without oxygen. It was fun to look across the Col and see his headlamp high on Lhotse while he looked back at ours high on Everest and we talked on the radio. After his O2 exploded he sounded really out of it on the radio so we encouraged him to begin his descent. He then skied the extremely steep and narrow Lhotse Coulior by headlamp!!!
Picture #6- Jaime and his skis.
Picture #7- We now enter the Yellow Band with the Geneva Spur above us. Camp IV is behind the Geneva Spur.
Picture #8- The summit is getting closer to me!
Picture #9- Jaime and me part ways as he continues up Lhotse, while I continue up Everest. I was really worried about his safety at this point, but had full confidence in his skills and abilities.
Picture #10- Willie catches up to me at the top of the Geneva Spur at 25,500 feet as I look back down on him. I was really pleased with my 3 1/2 hour time between camp III and IV but Willies time was an amazing 2 1/2 hours!!!
Picture #11. Just before camp IV we crossed paths with Alpine Ascents who were descending after successfully making the summit the day before. Willie is with his longtime friend and North Face teammate John Griber who is a film maker and climbing with Alpine Ascents. John was one of 6 filmmakers on Everest this year. He is a great guy. We became good friends in base camp.
Picture #12- We finally roll into camp IV at the South Col. The wind was howling as we searched for our tent which had been intentionally collapsed after our team left the South Col on the 17th. When we found it, it was covered with snow and had been walked on by everyone at the South Col with crampons on and was totally destroyed making for a bad situation as we had no tent to rest in and the wind was screaming through the Col at around 50 mph making it quite cold at almost 26,000 feet. We borrowed a tent from another expedition and all crammed in there to rest, melt water and eat snacks until our summit departure time at 9pm. By this time it was approaching noon or so. I was getting more amped up by the moment as the biggest day/night of my life was drawing closer. At 9pm we left for the summit and immediately headed into "the death zone." There are only 14 mountains in the world that puncture the "death zone" which is a zone above 26,000 feet where human life and long term survival are impossible.
Continuted story...I forget how many days they figure that a human can survive in the death zone but it is not many, like 16 or so even with food, warmth and water available. The body deteriorates really fast up there. I can't believe how much muscle mass I lost. I probably have 20% less muscle mass than I had before I left for Nepal.
I've attached a photo of you just as you came off the icefall after summitting. You look so energetic, I don't think anyone would believe you had just climbed Everest a couple of days before. Congratulations again. Cheers Ola
