Climber reports good progress on Everest

Leaving his Costa Mesa home for the world’s tallest mountain three weeks ago, Bill Burke found himself more than 17,000 feet above sea level Saturday, having reached Everest Base Camp on the south side of Mt. Everest.

An outdoor devotee, Burke, 65, took his first alpine training course in 2001 and has since summitted the highest peaks on six of the world’s continents, saving the most difficult climb for last.

“For many people, this is the highest achievement,” he said two weeks before his March 25 departure. “When I started climbing bigger mountains, I didn’t talk much about Everest, but I knew in the back of my mind that it was in my plans.”

Arriving to Lukla, Nepal — a common launch point for treks into the Himalayas situated at 9,040 feet — on March 31, Burke and the other members of his expedition team steadily trekked the 35 miles to base camp, acclimatizing to the altitude along the way with the assistance of a 10-person Sherpa team.

Burke has since practiced climbing the “dreaded Khumbu Icefall” — considered to be one of the most dangerous stages on the climb — and was set to cross it, advancing to Camp One (19,900 feet) Sunday, though the team plans to return to base camp to further acclimatize.

Communicating with his family via satellite phone and occasionally through e-mail, Burke reports good health and a pleasant journey thus far, with only a brief spell of altitude sickness disturbing his experience.

The following are selected excerpts from Burke’s most recent trip reports, as transcribed by his wife, Sharon.

April 12, Everest Base Camp

“The weather has been cold and windy and it has snowed almost every day.

Our trip leader, Dan, described Everest Base Camp as the worst base camp in the world. He is probably right. It is a large tent city that sits on rolling piles of boulders and rocks with no flat areas …

I sleep downhill and am constantly sliding down to the bottom of the tent during the night and have to push myself back up to the top and repeat this process throughout the night …

At night when the heat from the tent interacts with the ice under the tent, it causes loud noises like pop, bam, crack, pow. At night you can also hear avalanches and rock and ice falls thunder down the mountain, which surround the Base Camp. We still have no power, so we eat dinner by candlelight in the mess tent that is pitched on the rocks.

I took a shower today in the shower tent while it was snowing …

Tomorrow we will hike back to Pumar [Pumori] and sleep overnight, all for acclimatization purposes. Then we will take two days rest at Everest Base Camp.

The Khumbu Icefall is awesome and fearsome. It consists of large jumbled blocks of ice called seracs, some that are several stories tall. These seracs are constantly moving. This is the most dangerous part of the mountain.

The Khumbu Icefall is much larger than I thought. The route has been fixed by lines and ladders that are set up by “icefall doctors” who are government employees hired for this purpose. Camp 1 on Everest is just above the icefall.

I feel great and am eating and sleeping well. I find it hard moving uphill at this altitude, but I move slowly and steadily.

My young and super strong Sherpa — who I sometimes affectionately refer to as Arnold Schwarzenegger — has been a great friend and help to me.”

April 15

“Feeling really good right now since I just took an outdoor shower and shaved. Fresh again as a Himalayan daisy …

Yesterday, we donned our snow gear and ventured into the dreaded Khumbu Icefall for some icefall training…. The practice was great since, once we crossed and climbed several of these ladders in the Icefall, we all felt more comfortable. I found the snow climbing much easier than the trail and rock climbing …

At 4 a.m. tomorrow morning, we will go back into the Icefall and make our first trip to Camp 1. This means crossing and climbing those ladders in the dark….

I feel really good. I have been eating and drinking as much as possible to keep my strength up and to continue the process of acclimatization. Once we get higher on the mountain, the food will become more basic and the higher altitude will take its toll on our appetites….

I am thoroughly enjoying this trip. The Himalayan mountains are just breathtaking. And, as I reported earlier, I really like the group I am traveling with on this trip.”