For further information and different perspectives on our expedition see coverage also at:
- capgemini.co.uk/everest2000
- mountainzone.com
- earthtreksclimbing.com (a perspective from Chris Warner, mountain guide)

Live Dictated over Radio at Camp2 25,000ft to ABC Manager for onward transmission -NOTE FROM ABC MANAGER: DUE TO COMMS. PROBLEMS, EXACERBATED BY THE WORST WEATHER FOR SEVERAL YEARS THIS MESSAGE IS UNLIKELY TO BE FORWARDED FOR SEVERAL DAYS, APOLOGIES.


30th May - Day 64
The route up the north ridge is difficult and very hard work. Andy's plan for the ridge is for all to move together like a snow train plugging steps. Tony uses oxygen to keep his pace up and conserve strength. This works pretty well for half the slope. We set off on a crisp blue sky morning, but then the wind increases and it starts to snow heavily. Fairly quickly Tony drops back and finds himself alone in near zero vis. plugging away up the ridge making his own steps since the ones from the team are filled in completely in less than the fifteen minute gap that has opened. For the snow train it is a 3.5hr plough, for Tony it is a mildly brutal 6hr grind. But he arrives pleased to have done it in 2hrs less than the last attempt in similar bad conditions. He was feeling reasonably sharp and not worn out.

31st May - Day 65
The Summit Attempt is aborted but we have a very serious predicament to extract ourselves from, what next?

We are being buffetted in our reasonably sheltered spot by 45kt winds and blizzard conditions. The wind speed is twice what was forecast. Around the corner and upwards on our ascent route Chris did a recce and estimates the wind speeds at twice that again (65-85kts). We can't stand properly let alone make progress and the risk of frostbite is in the "close to certainty" range.

We are Chris and Tony in one tent, the sherpas Lhopsang, Phulbar, Kharsang, Geltzen and Dawa in 2 other tents and Andy in a small tent some 30ft down the hill in a slightly more exposed position where his tent is near collapse.

Two sherpas have already tried to leave this morning and got only 100m or so down the north ridge before being avalanched and needing assistance to get back to Camp 2 and relative safety. To descend further at this stage is out of the question. To go up is impossible.

Well, back to today. A long radio debate ensues between Russ, Chris, Andy, Lhopsang (our climbing sirdar) and Tony. The problem is, even if we wait a night and the wind drops in the morning, there is a dangerous amount of snow loading in some critical places above us. We still have to fix some rope as we go and there is no suggestion the conditions are going to get better.

Russ makes the expedition leader's decision and calls a halt. Our primary objective is now to find a way of getting down safely by looking for a narrow (few hours) reduction in wind strength to allow us to get out of C2 and down to the C1 and from there we can mount our retreat to ABC. In order to achieve this safely, with the snow loading as it is, Andy will belay Chris down the slope where he will attempt to deliberately trigger any avalanche risk.

Tony is in the company of the finest high altitude sherpas in the world and two of the greatest mountain guides anyone could hope to meet, together with Russ (the "creme de la creme of expedition leaders (as quoted: Eric Simonson) on the end of the Radio. If a "bit of an epic" is likely, this is the team to be with.

They all all shed tears when the decision is made to retreat - there has been too much build up, energy and emotion pumped into getting to this point with our sights set upward, for there not to be tears.

Now they must concentrate on getting off this hill. In a dash for safety they will probably have to leave $20,000 to $30,000 worth of gear behind. Its just too dangerous to retrieve and in some cases impossible. Russ will dig it out next year since he's very careful about rubbish on the mountain but, almost certainly, a good portion of it will be unusable.


Tony Kelly
Pinned down at Camp 2, 7500m, 25,000ft
Mount Everest