Everest Summit – summary written on May 27, 2010

Since the summit day (May 24th), we have been on the move every day – descending from Camp 4 (C4) to Camp 2 (C2), then C2 to Everest Base Camp (EBC). Then packing and moving out of EBC, and now I’m on my way hiking out of Khumbu Valley.  While busy walking or climbing every day, I have kept on thinking again and again what happened during the past few days, but didn’t have much time to sit down writing. This is by no means a detailed report; rather I just want to give everyone a general idea of what our summit day on Everest was like. 

Thunder in the heavens

First of all, it’s very important to clarify the actual condition of the summit day, or more accurately, the summit night.  The weather forecast was “less wind, but higher probability of precipitation”. There’s no way to know how much “higher” probability and how much precipitation. So we had to go with our gut and hope for the best.  The snow and wind started in the afternoon and soon became blowing snow, heavy storm conditions by the time we were ready to ascend. 

Camp 2 radioed down, “Hey, we are snowing at Camp 2 here. How is the condition sown there?”

 Justin humorously responded “Yah, we see snow coming up from the ground here”. 

We started the summit push around 8pm on May 23rd despite the blowing snow and limited visibility. Alpine Ascents also stuck to original summit plan, as we did, in the hopes of conditions improving later. But Rainier Mountaineering (RMI) postponed their summit push to the next day. I started out by fully covering my face with the combination of goggle, balaclava, buff and oxygen mask. 

Slowly, my goggle started to fog up, but I dared not to take it off because I have heard of several stories of frozen cornea on summit day and that would be the end of it all! The few times I briefly removed my goggle to clean it, the wind and snow would blind me instantly. I could feel it was very cold out there, but I was keeping myself very warm with a good climbing rhythm until we hit Balcony.

For a short period, there was even thunder and lightning around us. I was a little concerned, but obviously, there was nowhere to escape to and there were not many objects higher than us. Since lightning strike on Everest is rare and the thunder storm did not look like a severe one, our guide decided we would continue.

Balcony - a brief panic

My first scary moment came at Balcony (8,400 m, 27,600 ft), where we would change to a new oxygen bottle. I had been climbing at a good pace and did a good a job keeping myself warm. After taking me off from my current bottle, my Sherpa Da Tenji found my new bottle leaking.  This is considered to be the text-book reason for accidents on Everest! Any problems with an oxygen bottle not only would cost the summit, but more importantly, could easily cost a life. 

While he was busy fixing it, I started to get cold fast. There was blowing snow all around us, blinding from all directions. No matter how I turned, it was impossible to find a safe place to drink or eat. As this dragged on for several minutes, too long in my mind, I started to find myself struggle for air, maybe out of panic.  It felt like a long time, though I think it might just be psychological, but it was scary! During those long minutes, my mind kept imagining the worst. 

Things that could go wrong...

While we were fumbling around with the bottle, many climbers have passed us and moved on. When I finally got going again, I soon found myself joined at end of a line of climbers that were going nowhere. A veritable traffic jam on Everest! Another classic situation for accidents! I couldn't see what’s going on ahead. It was dark and visibility was low, I could not make out was around us, left or right. It looked like a narrow ridge, which would be very dangerous trying to get around other people. I was wondering if to the right side of us is China. 

My guide, Justin, came up from behind and jumped on the snow bank in order to bypass the line to see what’s going on ahead. After quite a while, Justin returned with one of our team members and told the team to.."move slowly, wait for the sun! Hopefully the weather will improve!” (Later I learned the implication of that instruction was that Justin was planning to turn the whole team back at South Summit if the weather did not improve by the time we reach there. Looking back, we were lucky that the line moved so slow! Otherwise, my summit would have been called off!)
The line started to move but still at a snail pace. I don’t know how long I spent standing still, it felt like hours. My body didn't heat up much yet, and now my feet and hands were starting to feel frozen.  The traffic jam could also waste oxygen, which was limited amount on each bottle. We would have to give up on the summit if we wasted too much time going nowhere. I have felt pretty confident about my physical condition before the summit push, but I have no control of all these kinds of unknown situations. I told myself, I love rock climbing and I want to continue to climb after this, so I can’t lose one toe or one finger! I kept on dancing on my feet and wiggling all toes and fingers. 

When I finally came close to the spot, it was a rock spur on the South Summit that had slowed down progress (there was also some slow or tired climber causing the slow down earlier, but that have been solved by Justin). It was a long series of imposing rock steps that was very challenging for big boots and crampons. Also, if you stepped to the east into waist deep snow, you could run into serious avalanche hazard. As a rock climber, I’m really embarrassed at my clumsy move to struggle through the difficult spots. At that moment, I didn’t know the name of the section. I was wondering if this was Hillary Step and how many steps did he take? If it was not, how was I going to handle any steps even more difficult than this? 

Floating in the clouds

By the time I was near the top of the rock spur, I could see sun rising through the clouds. Yes, “some clouds”, but they were everywhere. We were completely wrapped in thick clouds!  It was a relief to see the sun!  I know I don’t need to worry about frostbite anymore. Wind had also calmed down and the South Summit was just ahead of me!
When I stepped onto the South summit, my sherpa, Da Tenji checked my bottle. I was little bit nervous. Was my bottle leaking? Did I waste too much air while standing in line? “ok, you have enough left to go to summit” What a relief! Then he pointed forward at the col below the south summit, “that’s the Hillary step”. Oh, those rock spurs I just struggled over was nothing? 

Hillary step was a little bit awkward, but at least it was only a few steps! After that, just some snow slopes. Life is much easier from there on! Not too long, through the heavy fog/cloud, I saw piles of people hugging around at the end of the summit ridge. 

The feeling of standing on top of the world was a little bit strange because we can’t see anything other than the little pole wrapped by numerous prayer flags. Nevertheless, everyone was very happy to finally stand at this spot even though we couldn't take a panorama photograph of the world. Anyway, half of my seven summits had the same view (clouds), so I was almost getting used to it (So, this explains the lack of photos I could share with you all. I guess I need to come back again one day to make up for those photos!) 

After taking enough pictures (how many can you take in heavy clouds?), I know the more serious job is to descend safely. More accidents happened on descent in mountaineering, especially we have those ice/snow covered rock steps all over the mountain here. More challenging for Everest, descending to C4 does not mean that we had finished. 


With each day working at full capacity to climb or descend, each day gets more challenging. From C4 to C2 was a relentless steep downhill. Then, after you felt like that your leg muscle have been depleted, you needed to stay alert to navigate through ice fall. Only when you returned to EBC could  you relax. The last descent through the ice fall was what concerned me even more than the summit. It was like a stream of mini-summits that you had to focus your energy and work so hard when you are already at end of your rope. 


...........................................
It has been a few days since the summit, but I’m still trying to digest the fact that I just climbed Everest. 

Was it hard? 

It depends. If you have read the previous blog of “Why Everest is hard” and after two month of suffering through pain, you are still healthy/strong, determined and positive, then maybe Everest is not that hard for you. 

When I set the goal to climb Everest a few years ago, I saw it as a goal reachable by anyone. After training hard, and had finally achieved my goal! Now it feels surreal that I had just climbed Everest! 

So,  what does it takes to climb Everest? My thoughts...

• Positive Attitude
• High Pain Tolerance
• Strong will/desire 
• Fit/strong

You should be well above average in all four, and be in the top 10% in at least two categories. When my life slows down, I shall start writing more about Everest and will also post more pictures! so keep tuned.... 

May 4 – 8, 2010

My second rotation
May 4: EBC – C1 (6000m)
May 5: C1 – C2 (6500m)
May 6: C2 – C3 (7200m), personal altitude record!
May 7: C3 – C2 (6500m)
May 8: C2 – EBC (5300m)

This rotation is much more challenging than the first one but I’m feeling stronger and enjoyed it much better. Good health makes a big difference! Not does only it make me stronger and more energetic, but more importantly, it makes me focus on acclimatization instead of fighting the painful cough. 

Though I was still very tired when I arrived at camp 1 and camp 2, I was not as exhausted as I had felt in last rotation. My appetite was good during the whole rotation, often eat no less than the biggest guy on the team. Kitchen stuff often took me being full as the indicator that everyone else had enough food. I realized how fast I could lose weight at high altitude and I know I can’t afford to keep losing muscle mass at such a rapid rate. Otherwise, I would have no strength left climbing the summit?  So I kept on feeding myself protein-based food as much as I could throughout the day. 

I slept well and I was surprised that at my personal best elevation – camp 3 (7200m, 24000ft), I was still able to eat and sleep relatively normal (compared to the lower camps). Until people started mentioning it, I totally forgot about panic breathing during sleep – feeling suffocated while sleeping and panicking while trying to catch  your breath. Although, I had the bad habit of burying myself completely inside my sleeping bag at night... no wonder there didn't seem to be enough air inside my sleeping bag!  

Five days in a row, we got up in the middle of the night to start climbing before the sun heats up the glacier to an unbearable 100F by mid-morning. Though we finish our climb early in the day, that doesn’t mean you can go back to sleep for the rest of the day. Inside the tent, it’s boiling to sleep during the day. You have to wait until the late afternoon, when sun goes behind the mountain, which makes you instantly need to crawl back into your warm sleeping bag! Every day is a hard day, and the hardest day was the day when we climbed on Lhotse face, moving from camp 2 to camp 3.

Lhotse Face

Ideally, I would have liked to rest a day in camp 2 before tackling the demanding climb at Lhotse Face. But the weather forecast was predicting high winds moving in after tomorrow (May 6). We had to climb it tomorrow or we might have to give up. Another question was - what to wear in the climb on Lhotse Face? It will be very cold in the night that requires us to be fully equipped in our summit suit. But once the sun comes up, you had to strip down to your T-shirt. 

It’s a steep slope, which means there isn't a safe spot to take off or put on a summit suit. It’s a long climb, and entirely under the hot sun. Every one of us decided to climb in our summit suit, and planned to strip it off at the top and tie it around our waist once the sun came up.

The night was warmer than I expected. Once I started walking, I immediately had to unzip my suit, just to cool down! The slope is steep all the way, and there are several long sections of hard ice bulges that make it a very demanding climb. To be safe, we kept the jumar on the fixed rope all the way. 

Once we started climbing on the steep slope, I faced another dilemma. If I covered my face with buff or balaclava, I protected myself from Khumbu cough or sun burn; but I couldn't get enough air to breathe when the climb demanded it. Air or comfort? A hard choice! 

Luckily, the sun was not too cruel today. There was some cloud cover, which significantly reduced the sun’s heat. There’s actually two camp sites. A lower camp 3 and a higher camp 3. Unfortunately, the IMG site is the furthest spot on the highest spot at the higher camp! While you're on a steep slope, you can see very far. But looks can be deceiving! Anything that looks close is actually hours away! From lower camp 3, it's an hours climb to get to the higher camp using a fixed line branching out to the right from the main climbing route. 

And yes, you need a fixed line to go to the campsite! The whole campsite rests on a steep slope. There’s not much “flat” ground. Each tent platform has been dug with hard work! There’s not much room between tents even to the edge of the platform. So I had to be very careful in moving between tents! We don’t want to risk damaging our tents with crampons, so the advice is to take ice axe if you want to walk to the “toilet” just in case you miss a step.
 
On the way down, I was really looking forward to be back at home – my sweet tent home in EBC, and the feeling I look forward to most was touching my face with the warm wet towel that would be served at dinner or breakfast time. That’s the only time I clean my face with something other than the freezing cold baby wipe! Our Sherpa guides are also looking forward to be back at home too, but their real home. The moment we touched down at EBC, most of them took off immediately to spend a few days with their family in Portse (most of our climbing Sherpas came from Portse, a village between Namche and Pheriche). Only then I realized that I have been on the road for more than 50 days already. 

Time flies by so fast! Yet, the game is still far from over!

Climbing mountains is one thing, but racing up them is something completely different. The Elbrus Race is for some seriously hardcore climbers. If you’ve never heard of it before, you should google it, but here are some of the highlights. 

The race to climb Elbrus goes back to soviet training program. It was used in preparation for expeditions in the Himalayas as far back as 1982. Winning the race was a prestigious thing. 

Then in 2005, the old soviet race was brought back as an international race. Mountaineers from around the world now gather yearly to see who is the fastest mountaineer in the world. Last year 35 climbers competed. 

This year’s International Elbrus Race is going to be held September 20-23. There will be  three categories of climbers: tourism, classic, and extreme. Climbers have to be 18 years old and either have lots of climbing experience, or be admitted by the judges. 

Wow! What a bigger-than-life goal this race must be for the competitors. I’ve been up Elbrus and I can tell you it’s not walk in the park. You can get frost bite, you have to face howling winds, and we even had to deal with white out conditions. I was completely exhausted when we finally reached the summit, and that was at a normal pace. 

Take a look at the video below to see the race route. It’s amazing.

Racing up Elbrus certainly isn’t a goal of mine, but maybe it strikes your fancy. I’d just like to watch. Too bad it’s not going to be on television.

Today I read an article about Sean Swarner. Sean is preparing to climb Carstensz Pyramid in West Papua New Guinea. The climb up Carstensz will be a challenge, but nothing like the climbs Sean has already completed, and I’m not talking about his first attempt to climb Carstensz or the other seven peaks he’s climbed.

When Sean was 13 he was diagnosed with Advanced Stage IV Hodgkins Disease and given three months to live. After a gutsy two year climb, Sean conquered his cancerous mountain and his disease went into remission.

At age 16, cancer struck again. This time it was Askin’s sarcoma. Sean had a tumor on his right lung and a dismal prediction that he would be dead within two weeks. However, through Sean’s unrelenting toughness, he was able to scale the Askin’s peak as well and go on to lead a normal life.

Swarmer is now climbing each of the tallest nine peaks in the world. Like most of us scaling the worlds tallest mountains, he carries sleeping and cooking gear, a change of clothes, and his passport. However, unlike most of us climbing the highest peaks in the world, Sean carries one more thing...

A flag that says, “Dedicated to all those affected by cancer in this small world!! Keep Climbing!!”

Swarmer’s goal is to plant that flag at the top of each of the highest peaks encouraging those fighting cancer to keep fighting, and giving them the hope that they will overcome their disease as he did his.

Climbing Carstensz Pyramid won’t be nearly as difficult as beating cancer, but it won’t be any picnic either.

I don’t want to elaborate on my personal experience in West Papua New Guinea too much. You can read about my climb of Carstensz Pyramid here to get all the details of the hoops you have to jump through to reach the top of Carstensz.

Suffice it to say this won’t be a simple climb for Sean. However, Sean, if you’re reading this, best of luck and don’t give up. And, to all those cancer patients Sean is climbing for, I too want to say...

“Keep Climbing!!”

I just came across an article about an amazing young man who has just reached the summit of Mt. Vinson and become the youngest person to have climbed the seven summits. I was so amazed, I just had to share it with you. 

Mt Vinson final step on Johnny Collinson’s amazing journey

Standing atop Vinson, 17 year old Johnny Collinson became the youngest person ever to climb all seven summits. The truly amazing thing is that he did it in a single year. 

Usually, topping all seven highest mountains takes years to accomplish. My own journey to the top of the world’s highest mountains started in 2003 when I climbed Cotopaxi, and I’m finally closing in on the finish of my journey, which I hope to complete this March. 

One of the most exciting things about Johnny’s accomplishment is that he’s well on his way to accomplishing many more life goals. It’ll be interesting to see what his next goal is. He’s apparently the type of person who keeps his eye on his goals until their complete, so I have no doubt he’ll accomplish anything he puts his mind to. 

On the other hand, it appears that Johnny’s record might not stand long. Thirteen year old Jordan Romero has hopes of topping Johnny’s record. He’ll be climbing Everest about the same time I will. Following Jordan’s quest should be a lot of fun. Maybe I’ll get a chance to chat with him before he starts his climb up Everest.

There are a lot of good reasons to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. For me it was the beginning of a quest to be the first chinese woman to climb the seven highest peaks and ski to the poles. I’m using my experience to help people around the world conquer their own mountains in life. However, there are many people who climb mountains like Kilimanjaro to contribute to society in other ways. Here are two recent groups who set out to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. Read on and, if you feel moved by their stories, consider making a donation to their cause.

Over a billion people in this world are without clean drinking water. Every 15 seconds a child dies of a preventable water-related disease. 

So, actress Jessica Biel joined Emile Hirsch, United Nations Foundation executive Elizabeth Gore and a group of other climbers in a climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The group posted pictures, clips, and tweets during the entire climb. You can view and read those at www.summitonthesummit.com . Let the website run for a bit and it will automatically take you to basecamp. Click “The Cause” to make a donation and help kids have clean water.

This is a story that hits pretty close to my heart. After all, I was still a student myself when climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro .. So, the story of these Cornell students and their climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro caught my attention. 

The students dubbed the climb “Fistula Free Climb.” It’s named after Obstetric Fistula, a condition that causes considerable problems for a young mother both during and after childbirth and generally leads to the mother being ostracized and cast out into the African wasteland. A simple $250 surgical procedure will repair the problem, but most women simply don’t have the money.

The leader of the climb, Ilya Brotzky, explained the problem in very simple terms.

“This affliction affects women in rural areas because they don’t have the education to know not to get pregnant when they’re 13 years old.”

Go to the Fistula Free Climb website to make a donation and change a young woman’s life. 

Helping people make a better life for themselves is such a drive of mine that stories like these are really meaningful. I enjoy helping people achieve their potential with the hope that they, in turn, will help others reach their potential. While we’re making a better life for ourselves, let’s make a better life for others in our world who maybe don’t have the same advantages we have.

Like most who love the outdoors, I’ve been looking forward to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics for some time now. I’m excited to see the world’s greatest athletes compete, but I also love hearing the stories behind the athletes and how the drive to achieve their goals has helped them overcome many of the same road blocks of life that I’ve had to overcome. 

Lindsey Vonn is an amazing woman. I’ve conquered nearly all the highest peaks in the world only Mt. Everest to go, but nobody conquers a mountain faster than Lindsey. 

Imagine yourself driving down the interstate and a skier passes you. That’s how fast Lindsey flies down a mountain. Most people think climbing the mountain is scary. The danger involved, coupled with a fear of heights really strains people’s nerves. 

But, I think what Linsey does is far more frightening. She’s rocketing down a hill at 80+ miles per hour. No air bags. No seat belt. No roll cage. Just a helmet and a lot of hard packed snow. 

Yikes! 

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised though. She’s been skiing since she was two years old. She was the first American to win the Trofeo Tropolino competition for 11-14 year olds and she made her World Cup debut at 16 years old. 

Over the years, Lindsey has been a great overcomer. It’s a characteristic every great athlete has to have, and one that every individual needs if they want to succeed in life. It’s never about whether challenges will come, but a matter of what you’ll do when those challenges arrive. 

In 2006 Linsey injured her hip during an Olympic training run at San Sicario, Italy. She was airlifted out by helicopter and had to stay in the hospital overnight. She returned to finish eighth despite her injured hip. 

Now, Lindsey’s competition at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics is also being threatened with injury. She’s fighting a tender shin injury that really affects her ability to ski. Still, knowing what I know about Lindsey, she’ll be back on that mountain if there’s any possible way she thinks she can compete.

As I approach my Everest climb and the completion of my goal to climb the seven summits and ski to the poles, Lindsey’s tenacious way of pushing through the obstacles she comes in contact with inspires me to stay the course in my life. And, I hope it does the same for you.

Life goals are more easily achieved when they’re broken up into manageable chunks. That’s what short term goal setting is all about.

The power of goal setting
A world-class sprinter without a finish line is just out for a run. A basketball team without a basket is just dribbling around. A mountain climber without a summit is just out for a walk.

There’s something about goals that is more than just the end that you ultimately want to achieve.  It’s that thing that stares you in the face, compelling you to move forward.

Not only do goals compel you to move forward but they tell you what direction to face. A goal is that burning desire that’s just beyond your reach, urging you to a more fulfilled life.

Your goal might be climbing the seven highest summits and skiing to the two poles or it might be starting a new career. Either way, your life will change when you get short term goals working for you.

A goal like reaching one of the highest summits in the world doesn’t happen in a single shot. The biggest mountains in our lives must be climbed in stages.

In a typical climb of Everest, a team will take four or more days to reach the summit . That’s 4+ short term goals that every expedition to the summit of Everest must reach before standing at the top.

If you want to reach the top of your mountain, you must break your big goal up into smaller, more rapidly achieved goals. That way you’ll be able to measure your progress and measuring your progress will excite you about getting one step closer to your ultimate goal.

If you’ve never set short term goals before, you will find it helpful to follow the SMART goal setting plan at www.stress-management-for-peak-performance.com. They also have a worksheet that can walk you through the goal setting process.

Remember, goals without a date applied to them are just dreams. There is a world of difference between I will ski to the poles and I will ski to the poles before my 35th birthday.

The first of these is more accurately stated, “I will ski to the poles...someday.” Since no date has been applied to the goal, someday becomes the date of achievement. Unfortunately, “someday” is ambiguous and can always be put off.

Set a date for your short term goals. Make them realistic and make them fit nicely with your long term goal. 

Whatever it takes
Do whatever it takes to get your short term goals accomplished before their due dates. Get up an hour earlier, turn off the television one night a week, but keep your eyes on your short term goals. Do that, and one day you’ll be standing on top of your personal mountain summit.

Dreaming is one thing. Having a dream is another thing altogether. It’s that burning desire that will only be quenched when you have achieved your dream. Unfortunately, most people never realize their dreams. Excuses often get in the way and slam the door on your dreams before you even get started.

Throwing Off Excuses

In the world of adventuring, no one can claim more excuses for giving up on their dreams than Warren MacDonald. An avid adventurer, MacDonald loved climbing, hiking, and anything else that involved getting into the outdoors. But, one particular climbing adventure would change his life forever.

MacDonald was scaling a rock wall in Queensland, Australia one day when an entire slab of the rock gave way and fell on him trapping him, literally for days. The rock crushed his pelvis and both his legs.

Eventually, MacDonald was rescued, but both his legs had to be amputated. Worse yet, his dreams of enjoying the outdoors seemed to have been severed as well.

At one point, MacDonald stood at a crossroads that would define his character. In his own words, “I could either going down into a pretty deep, dark , black hole... or could rise to the occasion.”

MacDonald did rise to the occasion, using a variety of prosthetics he continues to pursue his adventuring dream despite some of the biggest obstacles a climber might need to overcome.

Your dream may not be scaling a sheet of ice or standing on top of the highest peaks in the world, but I guarantee there are excuses standing between you and your dream life. As long as the excuses are there, your dream will not become a reality. Take a lesson from MacDonald, refuse to wallow in your excuses and rise to the occasion.

I once heard someone say that an excuse is the skin of the truth, stuffed with a lie. That’s not a bad definition, and it brings up an interesting point about throwing off excuses. The fact is, excuses do have the skin of the truth.

MacDonald couldn’t just simply throw off his excuses and move on. He had some obvious obstacles to overcome. If you want to make you dreams a reality, you have to get creative about dealing with the facts about your situation.

On my climb of Carstensz, we had to cross the U.S. owned Freeport Mine. I realized quickly that there is apparently no truly legal way of crossing the mine. Fortunately for me and my dream of climbing the highest peaks in the world, local officials have gotten very creative about getting climbers across the mine. You can read more about it here, but I can tell you the adventure of crossing the mine was almost as exciting as reaching the peak of Carstensz.

One of the differences between the dreamers and those who are achieving their dreams is the questions they ask. When facing adversity dreamers ask, “Why is everything against me?” 

Dream achievers ask, “How can I overcome this?”

Ask the right question and then get creative about how you can make your dreams a reality.

The old Nike slogan of “Just Do It” was such a powerful slogan because of the truth behind the statement. Throwing off excuses and getting creative about overcoming adversity are only part of your task. Planning is great, but at some point you just have to do it.

My advice... make a solid plan, then don’t tiptoe around your dream. Jump in with both feet and just do it. In the end, you’ll wonder why you took so long. 

I was looking through my old videos from a few years ago, and came across one that really inspired me. Amongst all the amazing people who ran the Ice Marathon 2007, there was one person especially inspiring. Susan Holliday, from UK, became the first woman ever to run a 100K in Antarctica. 

What kind of perseverance is that to run in the snow and ice for 21 hours and 50 minutes! I also did a personal interview with her (video below) to learn about her motivation and inspiration.