FW: spoke too soon

-----Original Message-----
From: Alonso, Tom
Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2001 1:50 PM
To: Fischer, Mark; Salisbury, Holden
Subject: FW: spoke too soon

-----Original Message-----
From: Lex Crane <LCrane@prebon.com<@ENRON [mailto:IMCEANOTES-Lex+20Crane+20+3CLCrane+40prebon+2Ecom+3E+40ENRON@ENRON.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2001 10:34 AM
To: Alonso, Tom
Subject: FW: spoke too soon

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From: James Smith
Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2001 10:14 AM
To: Anthony Farinacci; Lex Crane; Mike Loria
Subject: FW: spoke too soon

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From: Donald Tencellent Jr.
Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2001 5:51 AM
To: James Smith
Subject: FW: spoke too soon

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From: Nagle, Rita[SMTP:rita.nagle@gs.com]
<mailto:[SMTP:rita.nagle@gs.com]<
Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2001 8:47 AM
To: Donald Tencellent Jr.
Subject: FW: spoke too soon

-----Original Message-----
From: himex [mailto:expedition@everestbasecamp.com]
<mailto:[mailto:expedition@everestbasecamp.com]<
Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2001 5:03 AM
To: patrickw@Youthstream.com; <mailto:patrickw@Youthstream.com;<
gamacorp@aol.com; <mailto:gamacorp@aol.com;< owenandsuz@yahoo.com;
<mailto:owenandsuz@yahoo.com;<
richard.ruzika@gs.com; <mailto:richard.ruzika@gs.com;< rita.nagle@gs.com;
<mailto:rita.nagle@gs.com;< njones@thecarlylegroup.com;
<mailto:njones@thecarlylegroup.com;<
jeff.reznick@gs.com; <mailto:jeff.reznick@gs.com;< dmandel@sjga.com
<mailto:dmandel@sjga.com<
Subject: spoke too soon

Unfortunately i am too late to halt my last email. Perspective comes quickly
at 8000 meters and today, thinking back on the ascent and all the rock
climbing moves on that ridge that might have left me dead given my
perpetually clumsy condition (wrsened by AMS), I am happy to be alive. The
weather is beautiful but the mountain has bitten back and many are dead and
dying, including friends of mine from my own team who summitted too late for
the north side. By the time i am allowed to send this, the media will have
already begun reporting on this tragedy. I was slowed by my vomiting and had
i continued, i likely would have been trudging up with this group.

In my last email there is black humor concerning one of my friends: ensuring
his safety so suz and i could take a vacation. He is stuck on the ridge now,
dying, and will likely be dead by morning. One of our strongest guides is
with him and he, too, will probably die. This guy is super strong but the
altitude has snatched him. We're in shock here and can do nothing but stare
into telescopes and pray that they continue the bleak fight. I have been
assigned NOK duty and have made two very tough phone calls to young wives. A
member of the Aussie expedition died suddenly at Camp 2 this morning, 3
Russians are stuck with our men on the ridge, and a spaniard is flirting
with death right now after a bout with cerebral edema, despite Chris
Warner's valiant effort to get him down from the ridge last night. When i
think of this mountain now, i think only of death.

Russ is quite experienced in hig-altitude rescues but this is the first time
he has unleashed the team for our own. It is a totaly professional
logistical operation (locating and moving oxygen and regulataors back up
into the jet stream), relying heavily on the sherps who are just incredibly
strong. Many stories of heroism over last 24 hours and many to come. The
guide and the client spent the night on the ridge (8650 meters), incoherent
and immobile, freezing, but they were saved when Asmus turned around from a
desperate stumble home, climbed the second step (brutal) for the second time
in 10 hours, and delivered oxygen to the desperate pair just before dark.
Asmus tried to roust them and then had to dash for lower altitudes, reaching
top camp (8300 meters...still incredibly dangerous) at 11:30 pm. It was a
relatively warm night (just below)and both client and guide were seen moving
space blankets this morning through the telescope. Alive. But they could not
stand. One could not see. No comms. Bivouacs above 8000 meters are epics and
you are sure to read about this.

Coordinating therescue from the Col, Russ then rousted all available bodies
and they started up the ridge for the second time in as many days, Purba and
Lopsang leading the way back into the death zone, humping oxygen. The
American expedition came upont the bodies this morning and have given up
their summit attempt (remember, they failed last week and also failed in '99
so this is a huge sacrifice) to make the rescue. It looked bleak this
morning but after some injections our teammates began to move, carried by
the strong Americans. As i type, they have been moving at a snail's pace and
the Americans will soon have to leave them to save themselves.We hope our
sherps are there by then and can take over for what is turning out to be an
absolutely epic and incredibly dangerous rescue. Remember, that ridge is 14
inches across for stretches, dropping 10,000 feet on either side. When i
gazed down 2 nights ago, it was truly like staring out of the window of a
plane, so steep was the drop. The sherps are going to have to be supermen.

From the ridge and high camp, chris and asmus (they've been wasting there
for over 36 hours now) have been gathering oxygen for the 2000 meter descent
to ABC. They are sucking some themselves to ensure we don't have a
double-rescue. I'm feeling better and i may be going up to the col to help
with the rescue, assuming we get these guys off the ridge alive. Too high
for a helo on this side so we'll have to platoon them down asap. Other
members who summitted earlier are still up too high, too slow descending
from 'safe' camps, and i may help them down as well. So i will not be back
by mem day--we have to get these people down.

The drama unfolded yesterday as i stared through a spotting scope, sulking
and making occasional trips to the waste moraine. The client was slower and
slower and then he just stopped on the summit snow field. I thought: uh oh.
Russ had warned them hours before to turn but summit fever had taken hold
and the guide was pursuaded by the client. Soon russ was on the radio
screaming at the guide to drag the client down, but the hour grew late and
suddenly a successful summit evolved into a death trap, both men immobile
and nearly incoherent, the guide kicking and draggin the client, to no
avail. Asmus was with them and performed valiantly, as i mentioned, but no
one was in a position to help. At that height, every second counts and the
other teams rushed past on their way to safety. When you rush into a burning
building you can't linger, especially if your physical performance is
literally cut in half.

I am praying for these two--and the russians--and it's hard to think f
anything else as they progress home, mumbling, step by step. I have messages
from their wives but they are unable to [process spoken language at this
point. Even if they get down, i wonder what the results will be. It's really
sad. I am sure they are also severely dehydrated--i'll explain the process
when i get home but siffice to say you literally can't boil water fast
enough to keepup with needs of body at altitude. My heartbeat at top camp
was 180 when i was 'resting' in my sleeping bag before the attempt. My
tongue split down the middle even though i was trying to keep the fluids
coming at a rate of a liter an hour, doing nothing.

I feel lucky today. Very lucky. When i think of my own descent, alone,
throwing up along the way yesterday, i realize just how razor-thin this
whole thing is. There were times on the ridge where i was hanging by my
jumar on a supposedly new rope, ony to reach the anchor point to find a
ten-year-old knot, totally fried by the uv rays. Other times i stepped in
snow footprints and slipped, sliding down on my stomach until the rope
jerked taut. Too many ways to die here.The aussie who gave me his water in
the bowl may have prevented another casualty. Who's to say? Problem here is
that, unlike the events we're used to when we sprint to the finish line (we
used to say in crew that the perfect race was when you passsed out at the
finish), you have to reserve a certain amount to get the hell down the
mountain. And it's so hard to do that. Is a quarter tank enough? Half? Or do
you need even more because, in truth, you are dying from the moment you
leave camp 3 (not even top camp).

I will pass this info only when the word is out--sorry--but will keep you
updated from there once i talk ro russ. It's hard watching friends die but
we're helpless down here.