21 April SummitClimb Dispatch

Last night we heard a snowy weather forecast. So we started early today at 5:30 am. Skies held high clouds, and breezes were mild, so we decided to continue on with today's game plan, which is advanced acclimatization. After a nutritious breakfast we were handed our packed lunches and 11 members and 4 sherpas headed out for Pumori Advanced Base Camp. After a good few hours of hiking over rocks, up grassy slopes, and across granite slabs, we made it to the small raised stone tuft known as Pumori ABC at 5750 meters (18,864 ft). From this spot, hands down some of the best photos are taken of the Nepal Everest massif. By which we mean Everest Summit, Everest W Ridge, Western Cwm, Lhotse Face and Summit, Mt Nuptse, Khumbu Ice Fall. After shooting 100s of dumbstruck photos, we hurried back to camp under lowering clouds, reaching EBC in time to eat a hot lunch while a snowstorm engulfed us.

Photo: SummitClimb, Dan Mazur

(Note from Amy: If you're reading to understand where they are right now, like I am, you'll understand that this text is again a little out of order. I'm starting to see that the official expedition dispatches are a day or two behind. When I spoke to Peter yesterday, I asked about Pumori, since I knew that was on the schedule soon. He said they'd already been there...so this is the report from their activity that day.)