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Camp II: Listening to the Glacier
Camp II - Tuesday, May 2, 2000

DISPATCHES

Prittie

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Here at Camp II, but everybody is doing okay. A few minor headaches, but that's about the extent of it, as of last night. It's been very interesting on this trip up both yesterday — both the last two days — first going through the Khumbu Icefall itself and secondly going through the Western Cwm, that there have been many changes, and they are visible. Not large changes, like big collapses, or anything of that nature. However, there are probably at least a dozen crevasses are anywhere from a few inches to a foot or more wider than the last trip that we made up here, about six days ago. It definitely reminds one that we are on a living, breathing, [Unintelligible] entity: the Khumbu Glacier.

And all of our camps so far, Base Camp, Camp I and Camp II, are in fact on actively moving, live glaciers right now. That's also brought home during the night, while you're sleeping, there's a lot of groans and pops and cracks of the natural, audible evidence of the ice as it flows, moving down valley.

So this morning, about 7am or so, local time here on Mount Everest, we have near total whiteout conditions still at Camp II, with snow softly coming down. Yesterday's group was pushed for the first time all the way to the South Col but they were [Unintelligible]. But it appears that's going to be reproduced today because of all the fresh snow and potential avalanche hazard. Everyone appears to be going to be just sitting back and letting the snow consolidate and melt off a little bit.

So we're in a holding pattern, which works out very nicely with our schedule anyway, which calls for a rest and acclimation day here at Camp II before we go to Camp III. So we'll just be sitting tight and watching conditions and seeing what transpires.

So for the moment, that's all, for high on Mother Earth, and we'll get back to you as things change and our acclimation plan advances.

— Willi Prittie, Alpine Ascents Guide and MountainZone.com Correspondent

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