ANDRONICOS 50TH BIRTHDAY!!!! BREAKFAST WAS AT 9.00AM AS WE HAD THE MESS TENT DECORATED WITH STREAMERS, BALLOONS AND CHAGMA HAD BAKED A HUGE CAKE. WHEN ANDRONICO WALKED IN HE WAS SO SURPRISED TO SEE THE MESS TENT RE DECORATED! I WAS A LITTLE EMOTIONAL AS USUAL, ITS REALLY GETTING EMBARRASSING. WE HAD A GREAT BREAKFAST AND ANDRONICO OPENED ALL HIS PRESENTS FROM US... MINE HAD BEEN SHIPPED FROM HONGKONG, MISSED ME IN KATMANDU, BEEN FLOWN BY HELICOPTER TO LOBUCHE, THE HELICOPTER HAD STOPPED IN TENGBOCHE AND MY PRESENT HAD BEEN OFFLOADED ALONG WITH SOME LIGHTBULBS AND FINALLY PASANG OUR CLIMBING SIRDHAR HAD RUN DOWN TO TENGBOCHE TO FETCH IT!!!! FOR A WHILE THE VERY MENTION OF THE WORD "PACKAGE FROM HONG KONG" HAD DRIVEN ME CRAZY!!! ANYWAY THANK GOD IT ARRIVED AND I THINK ANDRONICO LIKES IT!!!

AT 1.00PM SWEE FROM SINGAPORE CAME OVER TO OUR CAMP, HE HAS DONE THE SEVEN SUMMITS, BEEN TO THE SOUTH POLE, CLIMBED A TON OF MOUNTAINS AND IS HERE TO CLIMB EVEREST WITHOUT OXYGEN. THEN CAME ALL THE DISCOVERY TEAM, DAVE, ANDREW, HECTOR, SHAUNA AND BEN AND THEY BROUGHT A REALLY DELICIOUS CAKE FOR ANDRONCIO, FOLLOWED BY GUY COTTER AND HENRY TODD... WE HAD A GREAT LUNCH CRAMMED INTO OUR MESS TENT - WE MADE HUGE INROADS TO OUR DELICATESSEN ( SALAMIS, PARMA HAM, CHEESES ETC) AND WE ALL HAD CHAMPAGNE, BEER AND MOUNT EVEREST WHISKY - ALL RATHER CONTROLLED RATIONS YOU WILL BE PLEASED TO HEAR!

I LOVED HEARING HENRY TODD'S AND GUY COTTERS STORIES OF PREVIOUS EXPEDITIONS, THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS AS THE BOOKS TELL THEM!! HECTOR FROM THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL ( HIS GIRLFRIEND IS ARACELI SEGGURA THE FEMALE STAR OF THE IMAX EVEREST MOVIE) MADE ME CRY WITH LAUGHTER TELLING ME ABOUT HIS LIAISON OFFICER DURING A CLIMB IN K2. HE HAD TO THREATEN HIM WITH AN ICE AXE AT ONE POINT AS HE HAD ALL THE CAMELS CROSS THE RIVER WITH ALL THEIR CLIMBING GEAR BUT THEN TOLD HIM THAT THE CAMELS WOULD NOT TAKE THE CLIMBERS ACROSS THE RAGING RIVER... WHICH IS WHEN THE ICE AXE INCIDENT HAPPENED!!

OUR LUNCH ENDED AROUND 4.30PM AND EVERYONE RETURNED TO THEIR CAMPS LOOKING LIKE HAMSTERS CHEWING ON ANDRONICOS COCOA LEAVES! I THEN SPOKE TO MY SISTER IN HONG KONG AND MY TWO BEST GIRLFRIENDS KAT AND TANIA ( I LIKE TO BE KEPT UP TO DATE ON ALL GOSSIP EVEN AT EVEREST BASE CAMP) I THEN MEANDERED OVER TO DAVID BREASHEARS CAMP ( THEY WERE ALL AT CAMP 2) BUT I CHATTED WITH ELAINE AND DOUG FROM TELLURIDE FOR AN HOUR OR SO. IT WAS ONE OF THEIR CREW THAT GOT HELICOPTERED OUT WITH A HEAD AND LUNG INJURY.. LUCKILY SHE IS RECOVERING IN KATMANDU.

THE TWO GREEKS SHOWED UP FOR DINNER (ANDRONICOS FRIEND FROM ANTARCTICA) AND WE HEARD THAT THE INDIAN GIRL CLIMBER IN THEIR TEAM WHOM WE HAD SEEN AT CAMP 1, WAS A LITTLE SCARED TO COME BACK DOWN THROUGH THE ICEFALL ( WHO CAN BLAME HER) AND HAD BEEN UP AT CAMP 2 NOW FOR 4 NIGHTS... IT TOOK HER 11 HOURS TO GET THROUGH THE ICEFALL WHICH GIVES U AN INDICATOR OF HER ENDURANCE AN HOW HARD THIS ICEFALL CAN BE!!

IT WAS A GREAT DAY AND A LATE NIGHT FOR ALL OF US 11.00PM!!! RODRIGO AND I ARE OFF TO SEE GUY COTTER TOMORROW AT HIS CAMP..AND OTHER THAN SWITCHING BACK TO ANOTHER HARNESS (ITS THE 3RD SWITCH IVE MADE AND IM DRIVING EVERYONE MAD!!) NOT MUCH ELSE TO DO TOMORROW!!

APRIL 17TH BASECAMP:

THE LATEST GOSSIP IS THAT DUE TO AN AVALANCHE DURING THE NIGHT, THE ICEFALL HAS BEEN BLOCKED. OUR SHERPAS HAD TO TURN BACK THIS MORNING AND EVERYONE WHO IS AT CAMP 1 AND ABOVE HAS TO STAY THERE!!! THERE ARE 3 ICEFALL DOCTORS WHO WERE IMMEDIATELY DISPATCHED TO SORT OUT THE ROUTE... IT SHOULD BE FIXED BY THIS AFTERNOON.

AFTER BREAKFAST RODRIGO AND I WENT OVER TO ADVENTURE CONSULTANTS TO SPEAK WITH GUY COTTER ABOUT AN UPCOMING PROJECT THAT WE WANT TO DO.. HIS MESS TENT I THINK TAKES THE PRIZE FOR BEING THE NICEST IN BASECAMP. ITS GOT LOVELY CUSHIONED CHAIRS, FLOWERS AND IS A LIGHT AIRY COTTON TENT.. RATHER LIKE AN ENGLISH COUNTRY HOUSE IN THE SUMMER...I WAS VERY IMPRESSED! HAD 2 GREAT CUPS OF COFFEE AND WOLFED DOWN 2 CHEESE SCONES FRESHLY BAKED...HIS CLIENTS WERE SHOWING UP FROM GORAK SHEP, HE HAS SEVEN PEOPLE ARRIVING. I AM THE ONLY PERSON WHO HAS GAINED WEIGHT HERE, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON BUT I HAVE SOME APPETITITE ON ME!! A VERY LAZY DAY TODAY..

TOMORROW WE ARE GOING INTO THE ICEFALL TO THE FIRST LADDERS SO PHILLIPE CAN DO SOME FILMING AND THEN WE ARE PLANNING TO HEAD UP TO CAMP 2 ON AROUND 21ST SO A FEW MORE DAYS OF REST.. THE KEY TO BEING HERE IS PATIENCE, WE ARE NOT ANTICIPATING OUR SUMMIT WEATHER WINDOW UNTIL SOMETIME AROUND 10TH MAY ONWARDS AND THEN ALL THE POLITICS OF FIXING LINES AND WHICH EXPEDITIONS WILL ATTEMPT TO SUMMIT WHEN WILL OCCUR.. APPARENTLY OUR SHERPAS ARE GOING TO BE FIXING THE MOST TECHNICAL PART OF THE ROUTE FROM CAMP 3 TO THE YELLOW BAND.. IT WILL BE PROPER CLIMBING ROPE AND NOT KOREAN PLASTIC ROPE THAT WE ARE CLIPPED INTO IN THE ICEFALL!!! NOT MUCH ELSE FROM HERE - OUR FIRST DELIVERY FROM THE KHUMJUNG BAKERY HAS ARRIVED!! A HUGE APPLE PIE!

Dispatches