May 9, 2011: 21:00hrs (Nepal Time) Bucket list complete!.
Sadly Mark (Mango) Mangles came down from C2 today calling it the end of his climb. Mango has been suffering. He had dengue fever several years back and the last time he had an attack from it was 5 years ago and he is well aware of the symptoms. He thinks the heat he has endured and dehydration has brought on another attack. He was experiencing extreme loss of energy, fever, chills and body aches. He’s been there before and knows fine well that with the stress his body is undergoing right now, it would be foolish to try to attempt the summit. So sad… he so much deserved his moment to stand on top. Mango has been an amazing asset to the team. So whether he has summit credit to his name or not he has succeeded with flying colours and has been outstanding team mate. His contribution in keeping everything running in the communication department and keeping the humour level high was very much appreciated throughout this expedition. He will rejoice when they stand on top and they will be grateful to him for his wisdom.
Bucket List Complete:
When Mango was on his way down today between C1 and base camp he was telling Tim he came across a very old Nepalese climber being pulled by ropes through the icefall towards C1. First thought – how bazaar (%&$?). Just as he was back at camp telling Tim when a call came in from a buzz of Sherpa relays saying that the man had just died before C1. Tim said that both he and Mango stopped in the middle of their conversation in shock looking at each other. What the heck?
The oldest climber entered in the Guiness Records was Min Bahadur, Nepalese climber at the age of 76 in 2009. This man, Shailendra Kumar Upadhyaya was age 82. I understand his family have been informed at the time I got the news. We offer our congratulations on his willingness to go for the summit of his country/world- trying to break the record and at the same time offer our condolences. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this time of mourning.
Member update:
Our team is doing awesome. They are gearing up for tomorrow. They will be pulling out of camp at 06:30 not the time I previously mentioned. Tim said it will be too difficult to keep their extremities warm before the sun comes up and they don’t want to burn batteries reserved for their electric foot warmers. Instead save those for the summit night. Makes sense.
Martijn is on his way down. Something going on with him. He was having some gastro issues so he needs to retreat. More on him later. Everyone else is 100% and excited for the push. They are making bets they will be on a plane home out of Kathmandu on the 20th. Lets see how close they are. There are many variables to consider.
I asked Tim for an individual update and he said he couldn’t really give one as they are all quite simply just doing awesome. So there you have it.
Our official summit push starts tomorrow. First step being their night at Camp 3, move up to Camp 4 the next day, rest all day and leave for the summit in the night of the 11th topping out on the morning of the 12th. Stay tune! Becky
