Mexican-Canadian Mt Everest Expedition 2004: Update One

	Mexican-Canadian Mt Everest Expedition 2004 lead by Andres Delgado	Andres Delgado is sponsored in part by:

3/12/2004:

Hola a todos, hace menos de una semana que dejamos Montreal y ya nos encontramos en el corazón del Valle de Khumbu. Hoy hemos tomado un día de descanso en Namche Bazar, una pequeña población en el costado de la montaña ubicada a 4,300 msnm. Este es el último punto en el que tendremos acceso a Internet antes de adentrarnos rumbo al Island Peak.

Hoy podríamos haber ascendido un par de horas sobre las montañas cercanas para ver el Everest a lo lejos, pero decidimos mejor no hacerlo con la idea de no forzar demasiado nuestro proceso de aclimatación.

Además realizar ese ascenso seria como abrir un regalo antes de tiempo. En cambio la vista del Ama Dablam deleitó.

Nuestro siguiente reporte seguramente será enviado vía satelital desde nuestro teléfono Thuraya desde la montaña.

No esperamos poder enviar fotos hasta que lleguen los mexicanos con el equipo RBGAN que puede enviar imágenes y video conectado a través de las computadoras equipadas con Intel Centrino.




Saludos a todos!

Martin y Richard

 

March 12, 2004 - Dispatch sent by Martin and Richard: Namche Bazar, March 12, 2004. Hello to all! We left Montreal less than a week ago and already we are at the heart of the Khumbu Valley. Today is a day of rest at Namche Bazar, a small hamlet set at 3400 m. on a mountain flank, and also our last internet access point before Base Camp. Hurray for the satellite!

We are surrounded by magnificent mountains. We could have climbed within a few hours, up to a point where the Everest can be seen, but we decided not to because this would have felt like unwrapping a gift ahead of time. We therefore satisfied ourselves with a view of the Ama Dablam (6856 m).

Our next dispatch will probably be sent by satellite phone within the next 15 days but no photos should be expected before we reach Base Camp. Greetings to all, Martin and Richard.

March 9,  2004 - Extracts from  messages sent from Martin and Richard in Kathmandu: We visited Kathmandu yesterday but unfortunately all of Nepal had been put on strike by the Maoists. Therefore everything was closed, including all stores and internet cafes. The city is everything that you would dislike. It stinks, it is noisy and ugly, etc. On the other hand, people are very nice and never have we felt  threatened or intimidated by anyone.

We have met the Sherpa who will accompany us to Island Peak and Everest, he seems to be a very sympathetic character. He made the summit last year after having been to South Col 20 times, up and down. We went to eat to a restaurant called Rum Duddle which is the place for alpinists. There we found a log book and a signature wall destined to those who have made the Everest summit. On the wall you can see names like Hillary, Messner, Lowe, Athens, etc... Wow!! In the log book, I have found comments made by Bernard Voyer of Canada and Andres Delgado of Mexico after they had made the summit.

Tomorrow we will fly out to Lukla and we will spend the night in Phakdingma and we will go to Namche Bazar the next day. Bye, Martin

Martin Boileau, age 38, is the second Canadian on the expedition. An Ophthalmologist by trade he is a former member of the Quebec-Canada Team of Athletics. He has run a mile in under 4-minutes and stills holds many Quebec records in middle-distance running. His climbing history is equally impressive including an ascent of Aconcagua by the direct Polish Glacier Route in one push as well as climbs in the Rockies, Mexico, Ecuador, and on Elbrus, Mount Kilimanjaro, and McKinley.

Dispatches

 

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