Episode 061: The End Of The Expedition

One Door Closes, Another Opens. The last two days in Kathmandu were some of the most exciting of my life. It was a pleasure to get back to a bathroom with a flushing toilet! Oh, simple pleasures. Really, though, it was amazing...

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Episode 060: Packing Up And Shipping Out

Goodbye Everest. Goodbye Chomolungma. We all woke up early this morning to finish packing and strike the camp. It’s time to leave and I have to admit I’m totally ready. Everest has changed my life. No question about...

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Episode 059: Bartertown

Getting Ready For Goodbye. This was the last afternoon and Ben and I took advantage of it by visiting the Tibetan village at the North end of Base Camp. The little shanty village is totally temporary. It get’s set up by...

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Episode 058: Puppies and Lamas

Little Black Book. Later this morning after breakfast I headed back to my tent and found a couple of guests standing outside my door. Puppies! It’s funny, I spend most of my time at home around dogs, but never in a million...

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Episode 057: Unsung Heros

Let Them Have Cake! I spent the morning today doing what I should have done a while ago: filming Dawa and Pempa as the cooked for us. This morning’s footage was great. Dawa even baked a cake at 17,000 feet. I guess I just...

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Episode 056: The Last Hurrah

Off With Their Beards! This afternoon our camp was buzzing with activity. Quite literally, actually! See, I seem to have been the only person at BC to have brought an electric shaver with me…like everything else around...

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Episode 055: The Young Ones

“Well, We Got This Done.” This morning, Jess Roskelley visited our camp. He’s a friend of Ben’s and now the youngest American to summit Everest. Jess was climbing with his father, John Roskelley, and they...

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Episode 054: A Summit A Day Keeps The Doctor In Pay

Chronic Freezing. After we had caught up with Ben for a bit, Doktor Dima from the St Petersburg team came over for an examination of Ben’s feet. On summit day, Ben had tied one of his boots just ever so slightly too tight...

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Episode 053: …Safe and Sound

Theft In The Death Zone. The evening keeps getting more interesting. Now that Ben’s back, we have had the pleasure of listening to his summit day account. Man, it was epic. The weather on the 22nd of May was not the kind...

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Episode 052: Back Home…

I Didn’t Die At Base Camp. It has been an intense few days out here. Ben is safe at ABC and resting up for the long walk home to BC. Last night I was invited to a late dinner by my Indian friends from the Himalayan...

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Episode 051: A Different Atmosphere

These Guys Know How To Party. Immediately after finishing my radio conversation with Ben, I grabbed the camera and headed off to tell all of my friends the good news. Living here for almost two months now, I’ve got a lot...

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Episode 050: May 22nd, Summit Day

THE TOP. Everyone, it is with great pleasure and slightly misty eyes that I get to tell you that the team has made it to the top of Mount Everest and has safely descended to the comfort of their tent at Camp 4 (8300...

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Episode 049: May 21st, Camp 4

“Ya Gotta Love Climbing!” Today the team is heading up to Camp 4 from Camp 3. This means they are firmly planting themselves into the famous “death zone.” Cue scary music. At least I think they’re...

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Episode 048: May 20th, Camp 3

What’s The Frequency Kenneth? I spent the morning today trying to get in touch with my friend Julian. His parents had contacted me and were terribly worried about him. I knew Ben, Lhawang and Lhakpa were alright, climbing...

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Episode 047: Onward & Upward

The Summit Push Begins. I tried and tried to get in touch via radio with Ben today, with no luck. As far as I know, the guys are heading up to 7900 meters today. This is all very disconcerting for me. I know that I can’t...

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Episode 046: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

“We Got The Sh*t Kicked Out Of Us.” I finally spoke to Ben this evening at 5pm Nepali time. He was at ABC resting after getting pretty weather-beaten higher up on the mountain. However, he’s doing just fine and...

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Episode 045: The Russian Concert

Does Anyone Know ‘Free Bird’? Tonight a bunch of us gathered at the St Petersburg camp and enjoyed an evening of music. It was one of those things. At first someone said they wished we had a guitar, then someone...

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Episode 044: Predicting The Future

Is The Window Opening? One of the specific terms that gets thrown around in Everest conversations at BC is “Weather Window”. This is referring to the coveted series of nice days where people will be safest to push to...

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Episode 043: 20,000 Leagues Above The Sea

Bob’s Your Uncle. Today I spent most of my time filming over at the Royal Navy and Royal Marines (RNRM) camp. What an amazing operation they have out here! They are a really good group of people and I’m proud to know...

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Episode 042: A Day In The Life

Stone Throne. Many people have asked: When you’re in the wilderness for months at a time, what’s the toilet situation like at Everest? Well, as I’ve said before, it’s better than you’d expect and...

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