The Brief Summit report: Americans Dan Lochner and Dan Meggitt Summit Everest 

Update: The Brief Summit report...

Dispatch Everest 2004 Team Endeavor

I am back in ABC now waiting for the Yaks to show up to shuttle my gear down from ABC to BC. I should be home by the end of the month of June. At the moment, both generators are broken so I cannot write much, I apologize. As a result, I haven’t been able to write a summit dispatch, but I have a lot to write, I’ll try to summarize it. Please excuse my grammar mistakes, writing is difficult at this altitude.

On summit day, we woke at 10:30pm on May 18 local time and began preparing to climb to the summit, after having two hours of rest. Before this two hours of rest, we climbed from 25,600 to 27,200 which took approximately five hours. By 12am, Dan and I, including our two Sherpa, began the climb through the night. It was cold and windy with a bit of snow fall but quite bearable. Once we reached the ridge, it was very exposed and narrow, especially the left side of the ridge, being the Kanshung Face which was corniced. As we approached the summit, we were required to tackle three steps, being varying rock formations that we had to surmount to continue onward. Between the First and Second Step, the climb is extremely exposed with the use of old frayed rock that could have snapped at any moment. I was very scared at this section because if my crampons did not bite into the rotten rock below, I would have slipped to my death. Or if I had merely broken a limp, I would have still been left for dead as it is next to impossible to save one at this altitude. Concentration and confidence is key. The Second Step was a rock climb that involved a metal ladder installed by the Chinese in 1975. This climb is easy at sea level, but at 28,700 feet, it is quite the opposite. As I approached the Third Step, to my right I saw four bodies lying on the ground from previously expeditions. This was quite a shock but it made me concentrate and continue climbing. The Third Step is straightforward and the only remaining obstacle is the summit pyramid. We reached the summit at 10:45am and although the clouds blocked the surrounding mountain range, the sky above was clear.

To put Everest in perspective, a day after I made the summit, six climbers died on their summit bid, either for reasons of exhaustion or a fall. Even a member of my team and a friend of mine almost died the day after I made the summit. In order to save his life, a member on my permit and I mounted a rescue attempt to save this man who remained at 27,200 dazed in his tent after making an oxygenless ascent. To save his life, we pleaded with two Sherpa to search for him and he was found in his tent at Camp Three almost dead. We met the two Sherpa and him at the North Col and assisted in bringing him down. Luckily our rescue was a success and he is still alive. Dan

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