Triple Crown 2014- Wrap Up

Peak Freaks "Everest Training- Triple Crown" Expedition wrap-up.  Successfully developing self-reliant climbers who do their work, carry the load and their success is not fully on the back of our Sherpa crew. The way it used to be- we are team!

We'll be adding comments here from our past participants to give anyone considering this trip an idea
on what members got out of it. Here's one that just came in.

"Tim (and Becky) - Thank you for the experience of a lifetime!  I will be thinking and talking about the Triple Crown for many years to come.  As I mentioned to Tim a few times out in our camps, I had no idea we would have the opportunity to learn so much about mountaineering on the trip. Tim was such a patient and thorough teacher - always willing to review and go over things one more time - no question of mine was too simple or too complicated for him - he always gave me all the time I needed and always was so courteous and thoughtful with his answers.  You really made it fun - thank you SO MUCH for all I learned - a complete bonus for me!

Beyond the teaching, the opportunity to climb three peaks in the Khumbu region and push myself a little farther up the “altitude curve” was a thrilling experience.  Our setting in a world renowned mountaineering area, the Sherpa culture, Tim’s inspirational spirit and good humor and the many friendships we made all added to make it an unbelievable experience.  I cannot thank you enough.

Please keep me on the list for future climbs!  Not sure Everest is in the cards, but there still are a lot of great mountains out there and I’d love to go back to EBC sometime during the climbing season again.  I hope we can remain in contact."

Best regards,
Craig (USA)

Tim & Becky,

I cannot express enough how happy I am to have signed up for the Triple Crown expedition with you guys. Not only did I get a great introduction to mountaineering, I had experiences that I will cherish my whole life. I met some incredible people on this adventure from whom I learnt so much and want to thank both of you for the opportunity. I hope to have another crazy adventure with Peak Freaks soon! 

Cheers and talk to you soon,

Sahil (MUMBAI/USA)

Hi Tim and Becky:

It's hard to believe that nearly 2 months have passed since our Peak Freaks adventure. I have finally melded back back into "everyday" life. For me, this was the adventure of a lifetime and I will always have incredible memories.  I joined the expedition expecting to make an attempt on three Himalayan peaks and left with so much more. The course itinerary states that the goal is to help develop self sufficient mountaineers. I finished with a level of skill and confidence that will serve me well in the mountains, but will also extend much further to everyday life.
Tim is an incredible leader and his passion for the mountains and desire to extend that passion to others was evident throughout the expedition. All I can say is that Peak Freaks does it right!. Thank you again for a world class experience. I hope that our paths will cross again soon,

Phil

BASE CAMP TREK TEAM- ON TOP KALA PATTAR 5545M

Cheyne Stokes at Altitude

Peak Freaks once again enjoyed a day of instruction at the base of Lobuche Peak. Rope rescue and

other survival techniques were rehearsed.

Romano from Australia has beens struggling with a condition related to altitude known as Cheyne Stokes, it's inhibiting his ability to sleep soundly. I've experience this myself at altitude and typically a very small percent of our participants will - especially on Everest at Camp 3 if they are not supplemented with oxygen. For that reason we supplement all our Everest climbers at Camp 3 to get the full rest they need pre-summit push.

Tim and Romano discussed his options as he's not been able to sleep for several days and as a result is losing much needed energy for the summit push. He decided to retreat to the village of Lobuche to enjoy two full nights sleep before the summit bid tomorrow.

Cheyne Stokes are related to low oxygen saturation and for some who suffer from this , their body is alerted to gasp for air and this reaction jolts the climber awake each time he or she starts to relax as the result of taking in less oxygen. Or for some, they don't wake but their tent mate is kept awake listening to irregular breathing patterns of the person next to them. They will sound as though they've quit breathing and then gasp but never wake themselves from their slumber.  If this goes on for more than 2 or 3 nights it can be the end of a climbers ascent higher as the only cure is to retreat, spend more time at the elevation they were last comfortable and gradually try to ascend again. For some they can hit the wall each time at the same elevation no matter how long they are there, and try.

Another thing we see on high altitude climbs is a condition that has nothing to do with altitude. It's claustrophobia. Anyone that has not experienced life on a major expedition that requires sleeping in tents for multiple days may learn something new about themselves. Something they wouldn't have known till they tried it. This condition is more common than most would think. We've already lost a few participants on this expedition at this stage of the climb. Once again this can be for some- the"boot" in boot camp.

These are two very good reasons to join this program and spend only $7K instead of $20K or $50K to find out your body chemistry just doesn't work for you up here or expedition style climbing is not for you before making the big investment in time away and money.

THE PLAN

High camp tomorrow, rest, hangout, summit push at some gaud awful hour in the middle of the night.

WEATHER

Wind will be the highest it is this week and Tim said that is exactly what he was hoping for. Just another reality test of what to expect on big mountains such as Everest and what it feels like to climb in harsh conditions. It won't be that bad, but they will get a bit of a simulation. 

Stay tuned!

Becky
"Triple Crown Mountaineering Course"

Lobuche East Route and Weather information

Tim called in a quick namaste as they were coming down Kala Pattar at 07:30 NPT yesterday. They

Lobuche East

got their morning sunrise shots and were on their way to Lobuche base camp where they'd be now all tucked in.

They are obviously getting spoiled living in the comforts of camp. He grumbled about having a bad sleep last night because a trekker next door in the teahouse where they lodged, was snoring. He said he couldn't wait to get back into his tent.

That's just some of the joys of this expedition: Small scale, off the beaten track, moderate altitudes for the Himalayas, learning some mountaineering skills and about staying safe,  good and clean cooking at base camp and your own space to sleep at night in your tent, quiet and with great views. All of the above is why we created these trips.

Not to forget that it's a great tool for climbing big mountains. Here's a testimony that just came in from a past participant that I thought I'd share.

"If you aspire to climb Everest there is no better training program that I am aware of that puts you right on the spot. Tim and his professional crew puts you to the test in the exact environment you will eventually meet on the big E.  A complete and good set-up of camps  is all important in high altitude climbing, Peak Freaks is second to none when it comes to quality camps.
Lars, Norway, Summited Everest 2012."
Ha en fin dag


Med vennlig hilsen
Lars Haugen

Tomorrow Lobouche East? either a rest day or begin their ascent. Not sure what their plan is, I'll update when I hear.

ROUTE INFORMATION

There are two distinct summits on Lobuche Peak- Lobuche East (6119m/20,75m) and Lobuche West (6145m/20,016ft.) Although a continuous ridge connects them there is a sharp gap and a considerable distance between them. Lobuche is an attractive summit, offering a variety of existing routes and a wide scope for new lines. Seen from Pheriche, the dark triangle of its rocky East Face rises above the moraines of the Khumbu Glacier to an icy skyline. The skyline forms the South Ridge, the junction of the East Face with the glaciated South-West Face and the line of the normal route of the ascent. This in turn leads to the summit ridge running northwest from the top of the East Face through several small summits to the East Peak.

WEATHER

All holding just fine, clear in the morning a few skiffs of snow in the afternoon. It looks like they'll get their climb in before the wind starts to impact the area if they push it. The seasonal high winds that increase the windchill factor is in the forecast. If they get going earlier rather than later, they'll get their summit in under the wire.

Looking good!

Becky
Triple Crown Expedition

Island Peak Summit- ETA

The team should be topping out in about 3 to 4 hours from now. That would be around 23:00hrs (PDT).

The weather is perfect for a summit push. Clear skies, wind around  8 to 10 km/hr. Temperatures hovering at -12c with a wind chill factor around -18c. 

I see a scant of snow in the forecast for tonight so camp will be all cozy when they return. 

Ang Karsung prepped tea and lunch for them and took  it up on the route for them yesterday so they're being well nourished. 

They're busy right now prepping the celebration dinner for when everyone is back at camp and lunch to take up again for their trip down. The climbers can easily carry for themselves but our staff are keeners to get out of camp and join in the fun. 

Stay tuned!

Becky
"Triple Crown Mountaineering Course"

Triple Crown 2014' Expedition Launch - Nepal

Blast off!

That's the feeling our Peak Freaks team felt today as they were lifted out of Kathmandu on the first twin otter this morning to Lukla. They were being pushed up the valley by killer cyclone Hudbud. An extremely severe cyclone moving up from the Bay of Bengal. Hudbud warranted 300,000 to be evacuated from eastern India and are reporting today that 24 people are now confirmed dead in that region.

All flights will be cancelled for several days as Hudbud passes over the Himalayas. Our team is hunkered down tonight in the village of Monjo at 2804m, just a 3 hour walk from Lukla. The rain is pounding hard tonight and communications are not possible. I received a very quick and broken signal around 12:45hrs NPT, they were moving fast to get to shelter and are all doing well.

This is not new to us. The same scenario came down on us last season as Peak Freaks got out on the last flight before cyclone Phailin hit on the exact same day- October 12th. What's the chances of Hudbud hitting the exact same day?

The aftermath of this storm will no doubt lay a significant amount of snow on the mountains and temperatures will dictate how it bonds to them.

Let the fun begin!

Becky Rippel
Triple Crown Expedition- Nepal

Everest North compared to South

We've been getting a lot of people asking if we'd consider going back to the North side of Everest? Tibet has its issues too, they are not exempt. You'd think that if you're going to climb and be among nature you'd be able to leave all the political differences behind. That's not the case, climbers are a liability or target in a country when things go wrong and too often they do. The Chinese government is well known to close the border to climbers and turn everyone around or be selective without notice and they certainly don't like the press. 

We've been working with restrictions the past year and a half that required our Tibet overland tours to consist of a minimum of five people, all the same nationality. This was an attempt to keep journalists out and keep applicants true as tourists. Their logic was that it would be logistically too difficult to organize five journalist all the same nationality traveling together to dispatch news out of there. 

As for being targets, late June last year after the Everest season 10 climbers were shot in the head on Pakistans Nanga Parbat, the 9th highest mountain in the world by Taliban militants who were taking revenge on foreigners for drone attacks. It was terrifying news. Climbers used for revenge!! 

The North side of Everest in Tibet is a climbers climb. There's no ice fall to contend with and no Hillary Step, but there is a ladder to negotiate on the North East ridge that climbers have to wait out bottle necking on a busy day. The crux on the north side is the long traverse at extreme altitudes before descending to safer altitudes after your summit bid. It's long and you're tired and at risk of running out of steam or even oxygen if you move too slow. Climbers who died here aren't typically victims of avalanche or falls. Most who passed had sat down and never stood up again. 

Its cheaper on the north than the south, less people but it's harsh due to more wind and exposure than the south. There's no real sense of journey here, it lacks the beautiful Sherpa culture, village life and the friendships made along the way. There's no visitors allowed. Only climbers are permitted to the base area past Rhongphu Monastery. 

Unlike the Nepal government the Chinese government are very involved. Both having its good and its bad. You can't roam freely with the locals like you can in Nepal.  

China doesn't care much for mountaineers. They see things and get to places they'd prefer they didn't and they don't rely on the revenues from tourism to feed their people like Nepal does. They have no problem saying pack up and get out. 

It's truly a climbers climb in regards to availability of rescues. There aren't any, your pretty much on your own if you mess up. There's no helicopter service or cooperative rescue coordination among the teams due lack of resources. It's each man for himself here. 

EVEREST WEATHER

We've been keeping an eye on the weather on Everest South this year even though no one is climbing it's still an important part of our annual observations to watch climate and the changes and effects it has on the route.

It's been very calm, little wind on the summit and lots of precipitation in the form of snow building up. There will be more avalanche activity as result on the Lhotse Face and the West Shoulder. Depending how long this systems lingers this could have been one of those seasons that no one got up due weather like the earlier years. We had a good go at the mountain for quite a spell. In the earlier years it was not uncommon for no one to get on top due weather. I think people were mistakingly starting to take the summit opportunity for granted on the south side. The north's snow issues are different due to more wind. 

Tim and team made it to Kathmandu. They opted for the helicopter to the village below Lukla named Phablu. From here they met their jeeps for bags and members that Tim organized for a 12 hour bumpy- washed out - mud road to Kathmandu. They were caravanning with a couple other jeeps doing the same. Epic to the end...

That's life in the Himalayas!

What's next for Peak Freaks?  This couldn't be even more important than now.

 Our "Triple Crown" Everest Training Climb. Helping people to become self-reliant climbers in moderate terrain at moderate elevations. Learning about yourself at altitude and leaving with the knowledge as to whether or not you can trust your own judgement climbing big mountains, or if you even like it before the big investment in time and money. Especially important for anyone considering climbing 8000m peaks.

Tim and Becky Rippel

www.peafreaks.com

Photo: Everest North Side - Tibet

Debriefing April 18th 2014' Everest Avalanche

Something was just brought to my attention in a phone call from Tim. At the moment, he is frantically following behind his team to make sure their expedition bags arrive in Kathmandu close to the same time as they do for their homeward journey—forever ticking off his responsibilities to his team to get them home safely.

After dealing with understandably disappointed clients and sharing their heartbreak for the past few days,Tim had a chance to look at the big picture while walking out of the valley quietly with Ang Karsung Sherpa's son, Sonam, the promising next generation for tourism in Nepal.

When Tim arrived in Namche Bazaar tonight (Nepal Time), he was caught off guard when lodge owner Tsedam Sherpa told him that the Sherpa community applaud him. We didn't even get into "for what?". Instead Tim told me something that what was upsetting him, the “what could have been”. 

I don't think this part of the story, the "what could have been", got the attention it should have. In an earlier post, we stated that there were more than 100 Sherpa guides who narrowly missed the avalanche. In one hit, the avalanche could have wiped out one third of the guiding Sherpas' population. Tim told me that had the avalanche been half an hour earlier, they would all be dead. When you consider it, this is a chilling fact. 

Thirty minutes earlier and more than 100 Sherpa guides would have died.

The scenario was that the route had just been completed by the icefall doctors with ladders and ropes through the difficult section, the ice fall. The teams were all gathered at base camp so the rush was on to do their work. All the equipment had arrived at base camp, this was the day for lots of movement on the route. Camp 2 is essentially another base camp, plus oxygen supplements and rope in addition to the normal provisions. This equipment is not moved by yaks, the manual labour at this stage of the climb is significant. The bulk of the loads had just been dropped off. Our Tashi and Palden Sherpa, who were turning to go back down, were very close to the avalanche path, so were more than100 others. 

In 2012, a similar scenario occured where a large avalanche came off Nuptse—the other side of the icefall from this one. As with this recent avalanche, more than 100 Sherpas and western climbers on the other side, at Camp 2, narrowly missed being struck by the avalanche. The impact of the 2012 avalanche blew a Sherpa into a crevasse. Thankfully he survived and was rescued. Tim recalls he was worried when the 2012 avalanche hit because one of our climbers, Travis McPhee from Canmore, was not feeling well and had turned around. Travis was just approaching his tent when the avalanche hit and managed to get inside to retreat from the big cloud that could have suffocated him. 

It is easy to get wrapped up in the hype and politics of a disaster but it is equally if not more important to reflect on what could have been and all that it means. It may not seem respectful to the victims of the avalanche, their families, or even the climbers whose dreams have been brought to such a sudden conclusion, that we were lucky, and yet, knowing what could have been, lucky is what we were. 

I told Tim this story needs told with a bit more bold. 

Becky & Tim Rippel

Everest Unofficial Closure and the Future

The SPCC (Sagamartha Pollution Control Commity) has thankfully given us permission to use helicopters to lift our 32 human loads of equipment from Camp 1 & 2 eliminating putting further life at risk on the glacier.

As a result of the base camp meet the government encouraged people to continue to climb if they want to. If they were to officially close Everest as so many Sherpas requested, they would have been up against demands to give permit fees back. Instead they've offered the current permits a validity of up to five years to be used for a future Everest climb.

There is one private team here that we are aware of that says they're going to make a go at climbing this spring. The ice fall doctors (team of Sherpas who fix the route on the glacier) say ladders they placed will have all been disassembled by force of nature, they'll be bent and broken if not maintained daily. The doctors haven't been back up since April 18 and they aren't planning on going up again this year.

Another chunk of ice broke off today causing another avalanche in the same area as April 18th. Avalanches are frequent and common all over the Himalayas this time of year, but problem areas we have to travel under we take seriously and especially with too many people moving slowly in an area will be conjested. If the Sherpas had to move slow in the area, the clients would be moving even slower once they started.  All western commercial operators are packing up to leave. We're not sure about one of the Nepalese operators. They've not made an announcement yet that we're aware of.

The future of Everest being safe is questionable. Yes there are too many people coming. Some teams have as many as 60 people on them. Everest has become a high altitude tour not a climb as we used to know it. Peak Freaks has often expressed this to the Ministry and aspiring applicants that team sizes and the number of permits they issue would be the death of their gem if not controlled. Seems that the more people are successful, the more the momentum builds compromising safety.  We feel this was irresponsible of the government to just look the other way. We never knew how many people were going to show up till we got here.

Everest is not a walk in the park, dangers are real, mountains kill people. Clients need to accept more responsibility, they should be self-reliant climbers and question what if something were to happen to my Sherpa guide?, would I be able to help him?

Everest does not only have wind issues, the shifting tectonic plates continue to push Everest upward, along with the whole Himalaya mountain range, at 1.6 to 3.9 inches (4 to 10 centimetres) per year. Compounded with the glacier being pulled downward due to global warming, there's a lot of friction between the two. We can't say that Everest will or will not be safe on a particular day. We can only predict with our years of experience working here combined with our tools and skills we've learned as guides who actively work in the mountains, and with our Sherpa guides wisdom and their spiritual insight.

As an operator, we also have work to do. Peak Freaks will continue to train people in safer areas on smaller peaks in the beautiful Himalayas. Sherpa culture is a beautiful thing. There is much we can learn from them.

Everest? The government of Nepal has work to do. 

Om mani padme hum

Tim & Becky Rippel

Safety first- we pull the pin.

"

Peak Freaks Everest 2014' is cancelled due to safety concerns, firstly the route in my professional opinion is NOT safe and providing guidance through our expertise in safety is what we are paid for.  We've cancelled expeditions before to save lives, this is not new to us. Nothing in mountaineering is absolute, we have to be flexible and move with the mountains, there are no guarantees.  As I give this dispatch I hear an avalanche. Earlier today I listened to another coming from the same direction off the western shoulder that killed 16 Sherpas on April 17th. 

What I am seeing here is exactly why we no longer climb on adjacent Ama Dablam 6856m and later Mount Pumori at 7145. We no longer climb those mountains due to global warming, the ice is melting, the glue that holds them together.

Secondly there is too much riff to consider safely moving forward as the political environment here is getting more complex and anger is developing. There is talk of retaliation on Sherpas who want to continue and I'm not about to be part of this or put any of my staff or clients in danger. There seems to be two tribes forming and this makes for a dangerous situation in an already unstable mountainous environment. If we care about our Sherpa families as so many say they do, then we must give peace a chance. 

Tomorrow the Nepalese army and police are expected at base camp to try to talk to the Sherpas who do not want to climb into doing it for a few select operators that are putting pressure on them. This is not how we climb mountains!!

The ice-fall doctors who put the ladders and routes in through the ice-fall have made their decision that the glacier is not safe. Why wouldn't we listen to them?  In addition 300+ Sherpas have put their names on an organized protest to not climb in respect of the recent deaths, why wouldn't we listen to them? 

It's gotten too messy, we hung in here to see if we could learn from all of this and be of assistance in anyway through this crisis, but now that we have an army, police and angry Sherpas staging at base camp, it's time to go home. 

What's next?

We have 32 loads of equipment up at Camp 2. We are organizing jointly with Alpine Ascents and Adventure Consultants a helicopter to take up 3 Sherpas, one from each team, to organize the loads to be flown down to base camp avoiding the glacier all together. 

Some of our clients have organized helicopter lifts to Kathmandu while others are walking out effective tomorrow morning. 

We've been in the Sherpa community for 24 years as partners in tourism and have seen so much good come from it to a country that was once the 5th poorest in the world. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been generated here from mountaineering. 

We will continue to climb on smaller mountains in Nepal and do what we can to keep the industry alive in Nepal,  but we will tread softly on future plans with Everest. 

Over and out

Tim

Everest 2009 taken from Mount Pumori

 

Everest this week 2014' 

Rippel & Brice story

It's a pretty quiet camp here in terms of climbing. It's cold and windy up high and many teams are just now starting to gather. Many were held back with bad weather in Kathmandu and others were out doing their valley acclimatization climbs in preparation for Camp 1. 

Tim had a visit from Russell Brice (Himex) today so I thought I'd post information on how and when they met and in the pioneering days of Everest operations. 

I've attached a photo of Tim and Russell catching up at the bakery in Namche Bazaar a couple weeks ago. It prompted Tim and I to reminisce about the old days, it's hardships,  and how we endured.

Tim first met Russell in 1994 on Everest on the north side in Tibet. Tim was part of a Canadian expedition. Russell, Henry Todd and Eric Simonson were also here in the early stages of pioneering at that time.  In 1995 Russell hired Tim to guide for him. He couldn't pay Tim as he was pioneering and we know well how that goes- barely scraping together enough to get it to happen- and barely finding enough clients to help contribute in the form of fees. Guides and operators busting out to new ranges rarely made money in the early years, they just come out of it with valuable experience that they paid for. Today I think we are all surprised how big the Everest guiding industry would become. 

Meanwhile back at home Tim had built a log house in the mountains here in Canada for us and our two kids.  We get a lot of snow and that's why today our home in Nelson B.C. is a skiers mecca with Heli and Cat ski operators surrounding us and 2 major downhill ski areas. We live right smack in the middle of it.  We were flat broke and Tim would go off Heli-Ski guiding in the winters for 3+ months while I was left at home to keep the home fires burning and get creative trying to market our own creation " Peak Freaks". That meant chopping wood for heat and melting lots snow on the wood stove for water 6 months of the year all while keeping cougar attacks at bay.  No real phone to speak of and good old dial-up that ran well below the minimum download speeds, and only after the chair-lift stopped at the end of the day because of the feedback on the line that we shared. I did this for three consecutive winters. Did I say it's for sale? Whitewater Chalet  

Tim's last Everest with Russell was in 1997, he told Russell he had to pay him enough to get our water line buried as he feared he'd be a single man when he got home.  Wait for it.....  a whopping $5k arrived in the bank early July, just in time to get a bob cat in to dig the 1800ft. trench on the side of the mountain before the next winter set in.  24 years we are still married .... thank-youuuuuu  Russell  :)

Today the team is laying low and finally the Ncell 3G tower is suppose to operational. We'll see....

Becky

Happy Nepali New Year

Nepali New Year – Thursday to Saturday, 10 to 19 April 2014

It's the year 2071 in Nepal right now. 

One of the most important dates on the Bikram Sambat is the Nepali New Year which roughly coincides with the arrival spring, usually in mid-April. The New Year is celebrated for 9 days, with the fifth day from the start of the festivities the actual public holiday. There are several rituals that are carried out in the course of the New Year, and they speak of the Nepali belief in the washing away of the old and in welcoming new beginnings. On the first day of Bikram Sambat, people take a bathing ritual in Hanumantay River to let all misfortunes and diseases of the coming year be carried away by the river. Be forewarned that Nepal is bathed in animal blood in the course of New Year festivities to appease the Hindu gods. A symbolic procession is also held around town, where the chariots of Bhairav and Bhadrakal (manifestations of Shiva and his consort) are purposely collided – in an event known as Bisket Jatra – to signify the union of male and female, and the birth of a new beginning symbolized by spring.

Photo of celebrations in Kathmandu

http://peakfreaks.com

Meet The Team

It's been busy at both ends of launching an Everest expedition, it's taken a bit of time to organize information for all of our followers combined with other logistics. Please allow me to finally introduce to you our Peak Freaks Everest  2014' climbing team. 

LEADERSHIP

Tim Rippel - Canada - Expedition Leader, Guide, Camera

Mingmar Salaka Sherpa - Nepal-  Guide, Camera

Kevin Farebrother - Australia -Apprentice Guide

OTHER

Mohan Bikram Shah - Nepal - Camera

MANAGEMENT

Becky Rippel- Communications & Logistics

Sonam Lama- Nepal Headguarters 

Kiran Manandhar - Nepal Outside operations

Roshan Bhattarai - Nepal Outside operations

EBC

Ang Karsung Sherpa - Khunde -Base Camp Manager

Desh Kumar Rai -  Sotang- chief cook

Kami Sharki Sherpa- Solu Khumbu- cook

Lhakpa Gyaltsen Sherpa- Khumjung- cook

Sonam Dorje Sherpa - Khunde -cook

CAMP 2

Tsultim Dorje Sherpa - Khunde- Head cook

Ang Kami Sherpa-  Okhaldunga -cook

CLIMBING SHERPA GUIDES

Tashi Tunde Sherpa- Sirdar

Sangye Furi Sherpa - Guide and Camera

Palden Namgyal Sherpa- Phortse- Guide

Pemba Sherpa - Tingla- Guide

Ritar Lome Bote - Sankhuwa Saba - Guide

Zangbu Sherpa - Harashi- Guide

Tsering Namgyal Sherpa- Pangboche- Guide

Da Tsering Sherpa - Khumjung - Guide

Chhowang karma Sherpa - Tingla - Guide

Shere Sherpa - Tingla- Guide

Phurtemba Sherpa- Phortcha - Guide

Temba Sherpa- Khumjung - Guide

Kazi Sherpa - Khotang- Guide

Chomba Sherpa- Okhaldunga - Guide

Nima Norua Sherpa- Khumjung- Guide

Dawa Wangu Sherpa- Pangbucha- Guide

Nawang Nori Sherpa- Tingla- Guide

Phu Tashi Sherpa- Phorcha- Guide

Minma Nuri Sherpa- Khumbjung - Guide

Ang Nima Sherpa- Guide

Nuru Sherpa- Khunde- Guide

Ngima Sherpa- Khunde- Guide

and....not to forget all the herders and porters and pack animals that make this all possible. Also our base camp trekkers and Island Peak climbers who come along to participate on a major expedition with us at the highest hangout in the world. 

MEMBERS

Kuntal Joisher - Mumbai, India

Torkel Ristebraten- Norway

Jeroen Roodenburg- Netherlands

Henning Faye Schjoll- Norway -(Camp 2)

Christof Deblauwe- Belgium

Jacques Nel- South Africa -(Camp 2)

Ye Min Thu- Myanmar

Sai Kyaw Wunna Soe- Myanmar

Namar Johnsin- Myanmar

Sai Kyaw Thu Hwe- Myanmar

Kee Yo Dwe- Myanmar-

Sadly Kee Yo, nicknamed Koke, was evacuated to Kathmandu with a serious case of HAPE. High Altitude Pulomnary edema. It was a head shaker as all members of the Myanmar team were on our "Triple Crown" Everest Training last autumn. Physically Koke appeared to be the strongest looking member of the team and summitted all peaks in training over 6000m, higher than at base camp without issue. You never know when something can be off and when. One time you're great, the next you're not. He will be sadly missed by the rest of his team mates. 

Because of this development the other 4 Myanmar members have retreated to Pheriche for a rest at a lower elevation and will take their time coming up and down making sure they are completely adjusted, one step at a time.  This team we would consider to be in excellent shape. They live and climb in the high Himalayas in Myanmar - "yes - there are Himalayan giants in Myanmar" and Peak Freaks has something on the burner coming soon that should be very pleasing to our followers.  One member Namar Johnsin climbs the high Himalayas from Myanmar through to China and Tibet frequently, they are guides in their country, rafting and mountain. If successfull, they will be the first team of climbers from Myanmar to summit Mount Everest. 

PHOTO: Myanmar members and their sponsors/support and Tim - arrival Kathmandu airport. 

More information coming on our dynamic team as the days go by. Stay tuned!

Becky Rippel

http://peakfreaks.com

Busy doing what we do

April 13, 2014

Since we arrived at EBC a few days back everyone has been busy doing what we do here this time of year.  Entertaining our trekkers, getting them close up to the ice-fall and taking time to instruct and practice skills with our Island Peak members.

Island Peak members Leslie Paulet and Tom Ireland both from Canada are now on their way. They will shoot for the summit on the 16th, it is very cold this week but then again they are Canadian. Ngima sent a text out to our home base saying they are in Dingboche and everyone is doing well.  They will move up to Island Peak camp tomorrow.

Myself and the Everest climbers headed off to Pumori C1- standard route- not the South Ridge route we used to access in our past Pumori expeditions. We had a good day and are back at base camp tonight.

We managed to dispatch a rash of photos today so you'll see those on my Facebook. If you're not yet a follower and want to see what we've been up to and the great food we are being served and more, have a look. Including a look at Kuntal Joshier's vegan plate. Desh Kumar,  our head cook surprises me every season with new ideas. 

Soon we'll be in position to start working in the ice-fall. Until then we are in no real hurry, just getting camp duties and filming underway while everyone gets adjusted to the altitude and life here. We have two filming projects we are working on this year along with a whole bunch of other shoots going on with other expeditions. Myself, Mingmar Salaka Sherpa, Sangye Sherpa and professional Mohan Bikram Shah, will all be packing small GoPros and point and shoot, nothing big like other large filmmakers here this season. 

Base Camp is generally pretty quiet right now. Many climbers are either delayed in the valley with late flights due weather or working on altitude gains on Lobuche and area.

Photos: Pumori C1 today and Kuntal's vegan plate

We're here! Everest Base camp

It's official! We've all checked into our Everest Base Camp today. Everyone is here and in good shape. Tomorrow I'll be taking our trekkers and Island Peak climbers out to the ice-fall for some photos and training. The Everest climbers will have a day of rest and begin organizing their tents, their home for the next two months. 

I'm in my tent and it's late. Communications are a bit difficult as Ncell, the 3G cell service near Gorak Shep is doing some maintenance so the service is temporarily down. 

Busy day tomorrow. 

Over and out - Tim 

Bone Chilling Cold

April 7, 2012   

Team Peak Freaks is in Pheriche tonight. A few complaints of rain and bone chilling temperatures. Tim called while having tea at Lama Geshi's house to say everyone was doing good and everything is moving along as planned but it's cold. 

This news prompted me to have a look at weather and get setup for dispatching the seasonal reports to the team. I must say I can appreciate their complaints. 

The freezing level is hovering around 3600m to 4400m. They've been getting rain mixed snow the higher they go with temperatures of -4c at night warming to around +1 in the day. 

It's only going to get colder. By the time they reach base camp it will be -20c so they'll be putting those lofty down bags to good use in the days to come. 

I also looked at what is going on on the summit. Try and imagine -60c and 95 kilometres an hour winds this time next week. Yow! 

This is all pretty normal for this time of year. Things will start to warmup in the days and weeks to come but it's certainly a rude awakening for anyone coming here for the first time. 

Becky Rippel

Photo: stupa on the trek to Pangboche

Ready To Roll

Namaste everyone from Kathmandu!   

    We are all one big happy family here in Kathmandu. Everyone has arrived, gear sorted and it's time to roll upon completion of a few more chores. One of them being the formalities at the Ministry of Tourism tomorrow, this always proves to be interesting.

 The team is all bonding really well, mostly because we all know each other and have climbed together in Nepal before, this always makes for a great start to an expedition. We welcome to the group our team of base camp trekkers and Island Peak climbers in joining us on this journey. 

My dear friend Elizabeth Hawley called today to summon me for a visit at her home. I feel honoured to be her friend for so many years, she can't get around very well these days. The past few expeditions we've been meeting this way catching up on family and life. Contrary to what people may think we don't even talk about climbing. Our friendship is more than that, and she's dear to me. She celebrated her 90th birthday in November, she's super spry and quicker than a whip. Reminds me of my grandmother who is just a few years older. 

 Power outages are common here and right now we are experiencing 11 hour outages. Kathmandu operates on hydro so this tells us just how dry it is in the mountains this year.  Unfortunately it's generators that keep communications and kitchen gadgets in the restaurants going. 

 Everyone is looking forward to getting out of the city and up in the mountains. Barking dogs are out of control again making it difficult to get a good nights sleep.  We'll be checking back here tomorrow with more information on what we're up to. 

 Over and out! Tim

Peak Freaks Everest 2014 launch

Everest 2014' kick off is getting underway.  After 14 Everest and 24 years in the Himalayas, we've once again formed a dynamic team of Everest climbers, all of who have been with us before on previous climbs. Eight of ten are successful participants on our "Triple Crown" Everest Boot Camp also known as the "Everest Training Climb". The other two have been with us before on other climbs.

Everest, and in particular the ice-fall, is NOT the place to learn how to climb. We encourage all Peak Freaks Everest members to participate in a training climb before coming here. There is time, money and life at risk and we insist our climbers are as best prepared as possible to do it right the first time. 

Our 10 climbers are from around the world. Leading the expedition will be 2 western guides and 30+ Sherpa staff.  Peak Freaks is well known for our small ratio of climbers and high ratio of Sherpa climbing guides and western guides. SAFETY IN NUMBERS

We invite you to follow along to the top of the world. Blog starts April 1, 2014'

Enjoy!

Tim & Becky Rippel and Team
http://peakfreaks.com