Berg Adventures International 2003 Everest Expedition

Final member joins team at Base Camp

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Today, September 15, was a big day for the Berg Adventures Everest 2003 Expedition. At about 2 pm Brad Johnson walked into Base Camp, having come up the glacier on a rather sloppy, wet, grey, rain mixed with snow afternoon. It was a great feeling to have the team entirely together and good for me personally to see Brad again – he’s an old, dear friend of mine.

Brad Johnson arrives at Everest base camp on September 15, 2003Brad brought in a copy of his new guidebook, “Classic Climbs of the Cordillera Blanca Peru.” Brad’s been working on this for years and it’s a beautiful guidebook. Soon after we greeted him, we sat together in the dining tent. Grant and Maegan, in particular, commented that it is the finest guidebook they’ve ever seen. It’s full of Brad’s photographs, excellent route descriptions. It’s going to be the authoritative and much-appreciated guidebook to Northern Peru.

We’re all together – great feeling! We just sat and told stories and caught up during the afternoon. It is a grey and very dismal, rainy atmosphere up here.

You may have noticed in the dispatches at this point, through the trek and into the climb, that it does precipitate every day. Not a surprise – September is still a monsoon month in Nepal. Temperatures are warm, as I often say. And here at the elevation of Base Camp, we still always have clear mornings. In fact, this morning more good work went on in the Icefall and the route was advanced. Some ladders were placed. That work continues. But we’re in a weather pattern that is still daily producing precipitation.

We’re happy, cozy this evening and getting ready to have dinner all together which feels great. I’m sending a couple of photographs, one of Brad and one of the entire Everest climbing team together near our chorten in the middle of base camp. You’ll see the grey weather and you’ll see a happy team.

We’re just getting started and we’re a great group of friends. There are a lot of great adventures coming in weeks ahead.

BAI Everest 2003 Climbers together for the first time


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