Still waiting for the peak experience

By DR. JASON FOUGHT
SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR
I'd hoped to write about Paul's successful summit by now, but unfortunately, I can't. The summit push is still on, and it appears to be a nightmare.
After meeting earlier in the expedition, teams divided the responsibilities of supplying oxygen and rope to the summit, as well as giving up climbing Sherpas to help fix ropes to the summit.
The last task for summiting involves fixing ropes from Hillary Step -- a 43-foot climb just before the summit -- all the way to the top.
The Sherpas who fix that portion of the route leave Camp IV approximately two hours before the climbers, who typically leave around 9 p.m. the night before the summit.
The climb takes up to 10 hours to the summit, after which people quickly return to Camp IV to avoid exposure, frostbite and death.
Possibly due to high winds or altitude-related fatigue, the last ropes to the summit were not fixed.
Because of this, Paul is sitting at Camp IV on the South Col, intermittently sucking down the oxygen that is vital to his summit attempt.
Vital
Without oxygen, climbers lose their strength and tend to have poor judgment, thinking "the weather's not bad," "I can stay on the summit a little while longer," and "Keanu Reeves is getting better as an actor."
As you can see, the effects can be quite perilous. Because of this, Paul and the Sherpas will have some tough decisions to make soon.
Paul's in a fortunate situation in some respects, however. Because our expedition proved so fragile, two climbers who planned to summit have left, leaving their oxygen supplies behind.
So Paul has some extra oxygen to work with, unlike some other expeditions. Oxygen costs $350 a cylinder.
Most commercial climbers already shelled out more than $40,000 to climb Everest, anyway, and this isn't that big of an issue.
Dilemma
The problem now is that all of the climbing Sherpas are at Camp IV with Paul and to send them back for oxygen could drain their reserves.
Paul could lose his support crew for the summit and the excavation of Sir Edmund Hillary's last camp. Again, tough decisions have to be made for Paul and all of the summiteers.
And there's no guarantee that the good weather will hold. Otherwise, there is an unconfirmed rumor of a climbing accident in Tibet that has claimed the lives of 10 German climbers.
While we hope that this is just a bad rumor, if true it reminds us of climbing danger and how this could happen to any of the climbers here on Everest.
Getting antsy
Finally, I'm anxiously awaiting the summit to get the heck out of here. While this is a beautiful place and I've met fantastic people, I don't want to see it or them any longer.
I dream of Kathmandu, its overcrowded streets and the sweet smell of diesel fuel. I long to see cows eating garbage and wandering the city streets. Cows are viewed as sacred by the Hindu population and are seen as a symbol of wealth. I see them as a symbol of a value meal with fries and a Coke. Still valuable, I assure you, but in a slightly different way.
Hopefully I'll have more news about actual summits soon.
For updates on the expedition, see www.trekeverest.com.
jasonrfought@yahoo.com