Chris Jentz called in from Everest Base Camp, as our 2017 Mount Everest Expedition continues the long process of acclimatizing and preparing to head up the tallest mountain in the world!

The audio quality is not too great – one of the challenges of calling in mountainous areas…  But it’s great to hear his voice and to hear that the entire Mountain Trip/Mountain Madness team is in good health and spirits!

They took time to practice ascending and descending fixed lines and ladders, both of which will be used a lot when they launch up the Khumbu Icefall in the next day or so.  The plan is to head into that jumbled, tumbled flowing ice tomorrow, but weather will ultimately decide when they head up.

UPDATE!

The following arrived via email, but the transmission was delayed:

Greetings from Everest Base Camp!
Today is Saturday April 15.
We have been at EBC now for four days and everyone one is settled in and enjoying our new home for the next six weeks.
The Mountain Trip Everest Base Camp is quite comfortable and compared to some of the other camps, it’s pretty deluxe!
The center of camp is our huge Slingfin dome dining tent. In the tent, we have everything to make our stay at 17,500′ as comfortable as possible, as it is complete with carpeting, the very popular heater, a dining table table and chairs. Snacks, coffee and tea are always available and, of course, WiFi and speakers so we can jam our favorite tunes while relaxing.
A few yards from our dining tent is our kitchen tent from where our amazing cook Sarki keeps us well fed with delicious meals and snacks. We cannot control the weather, so good food makes a huge difference on a long expedition! For breakfast we can have anything from fried eggs and pancakes to French toast and fruit or oatmeal and, of course, freshly brewed strong coffee!
We always have a variety of meals for lunch, consisting of a wide selection of different sandwiches with salads and or fruit. The grilled cheese is my favorite!
We are always surprised by what is served for dinner. Last night we had sizzling chicken in a coconut sauce with pasta and veggies.
Next to the kitchen tent we have our Sherpa tent. We can always find our smiling friends there playing cards and socializing, when they’re not hard at work setting up camps on the upper mountain.
Behind the dining tent is toilet tent. I won’t go into to much detail, but everything gets packed out… Next to that we have the often-used shower tent and then we have the tents for each of our team members. Each member has their own spacious Mountain Hardware Trango 3 tent to spread their gear and relax.
The team is doing great. We have spent the last few days going over skills that we will put into use on the upper mountain. We are all looking forward to climbing through the Icefall in a few days to Camp 1 and then higher to Camp 2.
We will miss base camp, but we’re here to climb a big mountain and everyone is looking forward to spending 5-6 days higher on the mountain to further our acclimatization.
Until next time,
Jacob Schmitz