Life and Death over the Amphu Laptse La Pass...part 3
10 Nov, 08 - 09:28
Tap typing from Pheriche now, but reaching waaaay back into my distant memory(a week ago)...to the Amphu Laptse La Pass...
On the descending side of the Pass, I continued to hear shouts and screams...
Fortunately, nobody was dying. Our pile of gear was being 'zip lined' from a belay station to another staging position. Many shouts and yells accompanied the process.
Dawa had rigged some static lines for just such an endeavor. Easy peezy...chocolate cheezy. We'd seen a tent on the way up...the 'Tent of the Dead'...supposedly housing some porters who had not negotiated the Pass so well. I was going to look inside...but I've more than seen my share of corpses...and it really was a lovely day. Why spoil it!?
Tent of the Dead
My future involves many beautiful children and an even more beautiful woman. She knows who she is. Death doesn't even figure into the equation...since we are going to live forever...=^]
I had hoped to make my way down to the fixed line to find that everyone was past it...but no...major backlog...so on a ledge I sat. The view of our gateway to the Khumbu was expansive...Barunste was prominent...and I was warm. Joy! =^]
Looking northeast towards Baruntse(left...7200m/23600ft) and Sherpani Col(centre...6100m/20000ft)
I looked over at Lhotse and Everest. Very audible freight trains of frozen winds were steaming across their summits...and I gazed into my brief future up there. I'm only going to be up there once...on a traverse trip. Period. =^]
Looking down towards our descent route
A few hours past and we had all rappelled or been lowered to safety. The slope was littered with shoes, boots, ripped sleeping bags, porter baskets...all remnants of the 'not so lucky'. There was NOT one casualty in our Secret Spot Tilman Crew...and we settled into our basin campsite by nightfall of Tuesday, November 4th, 2008.
Soon we were to be re-united with the massive crowds of the Everest circuit. A bittersweet reunion...indeed.
I hope you are virtually enjoying climbing in the Himalayas with us via the dispatches at www.secretspoteverest.com and/or my blog!?
If you have not subscribed...you should...right now. I invite you. =^)
Until Soon
Phill =^)
PHILL MICHAEL | Expedition Leader and Summit Climber
Everest Freestyle Expedition/Secret Spot Seven Summits
SecretSpot.NET
SecretSpot7Summits.com
SecretSpotEverest.com
Blog.SecretSpotEverest.com
Tap typing from Pheriche now, but reaching waaaay back into my distant memory(a week ago)...to the Amphu Laptse La Pass...
On the descending side of the Pass, I continued to hear shouts and screams...
Fortunately, nobody was dying. Our pile of gear was being 'zip lined' from a belay station to another staging position. Many shouts and yells accompanied the process.
Dawa had rigged some static lines for just such an endeavor. Easy peezy...chocolate cheezy. We'd seen a tent on the way up...the 'Tent of the Dead'...supposedly housing some porters who had not negotiated the Pass so well. I was going to look inside...but I've more than seen my share of corpses...and it really was a lovely day. Why spoil it!?
Tent of the Dead
My future involves many beautiful children and an even more beautiful woman. She knows who she is. Death doesn't even figure into the equation...since we are going to live forever...=^]
I had hoped to make my way down to the fixed line to find that everyone was past it...but no...major backlog...so on a ledge I sat. The view of our gateway to the Khumbu was expansive...Barunste was prominent...and I was warm. Joy! =^]
Looking northeast towards Baruntse(left...7200m/23600ft) and Sherpani Col(centre...6100m/20000ft)
I looked over at Lhotse and Everest. Very audible freight trains of frozen winds were steaming across their summits...and I gazed into my brief future up there. I'm only going to be up there once...on a traverse trip. Period. =^]
Looking down towards our descent route
A few hours past and we had all rappelled or been lowered to safety. The slope was littered with shoes, boots, ripped sleeping bags, porter baskets...all remnants of the 'not so lucky'. There was NOT one casualty in our Secret Spot Tilman Crew...and we settled into our basin campsite by nightfall of Tuesday, November 4th, 2008.
Soon we were to be re-united with the massive crowds of the Everest circuit. A bittersweet reunion...indeed.
I hope you are virtually enjoying climbing in the Himalayas with us via the dispatches at www.secretspoteverest.com and/or my blog!?
If you have not subscribed...you should...right now. I invite you. =^)
Until Soon
Phill =^)
PHILL MICHAEL | Expedition Leader and Summit Climber
Everest Freestyle Expedition/Secret Spot Seven Summits
SecretSpot.NET
SecretSpot7Summits.com
SecretSpotEverest.com
Blog.SecretSpotEverest.com
Posted by Scott Stanko at 11/10/2008 10:06 AM 
Categories: Everest, SecretSpot.TV, Oakley, Frick, Kathmandu, secretspot7summits.com, Sherpa, Nepal, Medtronic, tibet, Surefire, Seven Summits, Tilman Trek, SecretSpot.NET, SecretSpotEverest.com
Categories: Everest, SecretSpot.TV, Oakley, Frick, Kathmandu, secretspot7summits.com, Sherpa, Nepal, Medtronic, tibet, Surefire, Seven Summits, Tilman Trek, SecretSpot.NET, SecretSpotEverest.com
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