Five summiteers for "2001, Everest Odyssey" ! After weeks of patience for proper weather conditions , the summit of Everest has been reached on May 22 & 23, 01 by the joint expedition Stages & Expeditions/Club Aventure.
Bernard Muller, leader of the expedition, with Guy Chardini and Anna Collet, reached the summit in perfect weather conditions the day before yesterday, with 4 altitude sherpas.
Yesterday, Jean Marc Porte and Yves Anciaux started from Camp III at 8200 m where they had spent the night and they reached the summit with 3 other Sherpas.
Going down went smoothly for both teams. It is actually the most perilous exercise of these expeditions especially with the accumulated fatigue and stress. It 's too early to voice our feelings and sensations from the summit. This environment of rare oxygen, where human beings seldom survive is of titanesque beauty, strength and space, an experience that rewards months of suffering, sacrifices, risks and hopes. With great weather conditions, we all managed to spend some times on the top. From the summit, the giant "neighbors" Makalu , Lhotse , Cho Oyu look like cathedrals under the sky.
We've been lucky due without any doubts to the quality of our team - Westerners and Sherpas - very motivated but also very careful about the climbing conditions, very respectful of the mountain. Saying that Bernard Muller is happy is not an understatement. Despite the fatigue, the altitude and the difficult conditions of this spring, this expedition 2001 Everest Odyssey ends up as a group success on the Roof of the World.
9:00 PM. all
members are exhausted but happy: no mishaps, no incidents. some
sort of relief after weeks of expectations and those final days
on edge. After the huge physical effort to summit and back down,
after 5 days spent above 7000 m, we are slowly getting a real sense,
beyond words, of the privilege we have had to actually step on the
physical summit of the world. 8500 m in the stomach. In the heart
and ... |
