Plot Twist: Peter Evacuated

The good news: Eric successfully made it to Camp 3 as planned today. He's in good position for what is looking like promising summit days on May 23 and May 24. I'll continue to keep you updated.

The plot twist is with Peter. Having gone to bed with my phone as-per-usual during these Everest days, I was awakened shortly before midnight by a call from Peter. He sounded great. Calm and relaxed. And in my groggy state, since I was already planning on "hearing from them" during the night, it didn't immediately occur to me that a phone call wasn't the way I should be hearing from him. He was his usual positive self and told me that he'd be coming home soon.

On their aborted hike to Camp 3 the day before, Peter had been experiencing some chest pain and an abnormally low heart rate. With the altitude and exertion, it should have been quite high. He alerted the guide and they did some more detailed checking to confirm that it was indeed really low. Peter needed to go back to Camp 2. I'm still not clear on all the details, but I think that it coincided with the decision that everyone also had to turn back because of weather. 

Back at camp, Peter was put on oxygen and rested. He felt a lot better, but it was clear that it would be unsafe to continue higher. As Eric and the rest of the team were preparing for their new departure from Camp 2 this morning, Peter was evacuated by helicopter. Since Camp 2 is the highest point for a chopper evacuation he was so fortunate to have this happen here. And also incredibly lucky was that the weather cleared for the helicopter land to retrieve him.

He's now in a hospital in Kathmandu and is in good spirits. They've ruled out the scary stuff like heart attack and embolism. The doctors in the hospital have a lot of experience with patients suffering the effects of high altitude, so he's in a good place. One doctor told him that that hypoxia can cause all sorts of symptoms, but that he suspects it could have been the beginning of pulmonary edema. He's hoping to be released from the hospital tomorrow.

Worth mentioning is that as a matter of course, they also tested him for COVID, and that came back negative.

Certainly not the ending we were hoping for, but I can already see that Peter is taking it all in stride and has reveled in this big adventure. For now, he's happy to be warm and eating good food. He really enjoyed a long shower and was grateful for temperature control on the water! He said that he's lost 20 lbs in his time up there. 

Lots of stuff to figure out now, I'll continue to update on Peter's progress as well as Eric's continued journey. Thanks for all the support! 

Photos and video: Eric Gran