On way to Camp III

May 5, 2001
I will bring you up-to-date with the little bit of information that we have. Sue left us a message on our phone last night when we were not here. They are back in Base Camp after their climb and stay at Camp III. Camp III is somewhere between 23,800' and 24,000' and they were aclimating to the higher elevation pretty well. They will be in Base Camp for four or five days and then plan to make their summit bid. According to their planned schedule, this would mean going to Camp I, overnight, Camp II, overnight 2 nights, Camp III, overnight, Camp IV, overnight, summit, return to Camp II and then Base Camp. As you can see, this means no less than 8 days.
—Mary

May 8, 2001
On May 2nd, the IMG Team successfully climbing the steep Lhotse Face and reach Camp III at 24,000 ft. After spending the night they descended on a very cold and windy day and returned to Base Camp on May 4th. The team is now busy making final preparations for their summit bid. Weather and health permitting the team plans to leave Base Camp on May 10th for the summit. If all goes according to plan they will reach the summit of Mount Everest on May 15th. In addition to summit climb preparation, the team helped Phil Ershler celebrate his 50th birthday on May 6th.
—Greg Wilson Expedition Leader
This e-mail dispatch has been made possible through the assistance of Iridium Satellite LLC and their remote hand held satellite telephone on loan to the team at Everest Base Camp.

May 10, 2001
We had a call from Sue this morning. Their attempt for the summit has been delayed by a couple of days because of the weather. [They had 9" of snow in Base Camp on the 9th, several ladders in the icefall had to be replaced.] Everyone is still in good health, but because other climbs have been delayed this puts them back a few days. Eric, the blind climber, and his large group were scheduled a day ahead of Sue's & Phil's group and they were also delayed. Phil's group will wait for Eric's group to be on their way first. It now looks like Sue & Phil & group will not start before the 12th, not having a chance to make the summit before May 18 or 19. We will keep you informed of any additional information.
—Mary

May 11, 2001
The Team is healthy and ready to go but poor weather over the last 4 days has caused them to wait for a better opportunity. They will be at Base Camp at least one more day, subject to weather. An update will be given when the weather clears and they are confident that the climb can proceed.
—Greg Wilson Expedition Leader
This e-mail dispatch has been made possible through the assistance of Iridium Satellite LLC and their remote hand held satellite telephone on loan to the team at Everest Base Camp.

May 12, 2001
We had a phone call from Sue last evening. They are hopeful about getting on their way to the summit soon. The large expeditions have gotten on their way now and the weather is looking better. Sue was calling from outside sitting on a rock -- in hopes of getting better reception with the phone. However, she had to make one quick retreat when a Yak decided he/or she, as the case may be, to charge her! John had a new experience by helping the Sherpa's carry water from the lake by means of a strap they wear on their head which holds the containers! So much for the entertainment at Base Camp.
—Mary

May 12, 2001
We had a call from Sue tonight. They are hopeful that they will be able to start their climb for the summit tomorrow -- their time -- May 14. The weather has been keeping them from starting but it appears that the best window of opportunity might be about there. Other groups have started. For one, Erik, the blind climber is on his way. Sherpas from his group, Mountain Experience, and IMG (Phil's group) had put in fixed line to almost 28,000 feet. It will be a minimum of five days to summit once they leave Base Camp. Wish them lots of good luck.
—Mary

Camp I

May 13, 2001
With improved weather yesterday and today, the IMG Everest 2001 Team will climb to Camp I tomorrow, Monday, May 14th. If the weather remains favorable, the team should be in position to attempt the summit climb from Camp IV at the South Col on May 19th.
—Greg Wilson Expedition Leader
This e-mail dispatch has been made possible through the assistance of Iridium Satellite LLC and their remote hand held satellite telephone on loan to the team at Everest Base Camp.

May 14, 2001
The IMG 2001 Everest Team will continue to delay their departure from Base Camp, waiting for the right conditions. We will provide an update when they begin their climb.
—Greg Wilson Expedition Leader
This e-mail dispatch has been made possible through the assistance of Iridium Satellite LLC and their remote hand held satellite telephone on loan to the team at Everest Base Camp.

May 17, 2001
The IMG 2001 Everest Team left Base Camp on the morning of May 17th for a summit attempt. If all goes according to play, they will summit on May 22nd. If they do summit, we not hear another update until May 24th as the Iridium Satellite phone will remain at Camp II.
—Greg Wilson Expedition Leader
This e-mail dispatch has been made possible through the assistance of Iridium Satellite LLC and their remote hand held satellite telephone on loan to the team at Everest Base Camp.

May 21, 2001
The IMG team has rested several days at Camp II and will depart early on May 22nd for Camp III with the hope and expectation that we will have the opportunity to go to the summit on May 24th, with May 25th as back up.
—Greg Wilson Expedition Leader
This e-mail dispatch has been made possible through the assistance of Iridium Satellite LLC and their remote hand held satellite telephone on loan to the team at Everest Base Camp.

May 21, 2001
The team have spent a couple of nights at Camp II waiting for things to fall into place. Everything seems to be in order. They are on a tight schedule and hope to reach the summit in the next three to four days. They are shooting to be on top by the 24th, but will be able to delay until the 25th. After that date they will be running too low on food, oxygen, and energy to try again, not to mention that their permit expires on May 30. A couple of teams are ahead of them. Any successes by these teams increases the odds that IMG south will reach the summit. Charlie sends his love out to friends and family.
—Charlie Peck care of EverestNews.com

May 25, 2001, 2001
IMG guide Greg Wilson and team member John Waechter summited today. The Ershlers and Charlie Peck turned around.
—Erin Simonson

May 28, 2001
The entire team is back in Base Camp after 3 days of descent from the south col. The team put two of its members, Greg & John, on top of the summit. The rest of the team made it to various points along the south col at over 26,000ft.

Summit day began the night of May 24th. Despite inclement weather, Greg and John were able to sustain activity in a summit push that total 19 hours of continuous climbing! (12 hours ascent + 7 hours descent) The remaining members of the team made a tremendous effort, but ultimately, in the interest of assuring a safe descent, turned around at various points on the south col, a few thousand feet below the summit.

After the summit day, the team spent 2 days descending to the Western Cwm, and one day working their way though the Khumbu Icefall. The routes on the Icefall had shifted due to warming weather, so the Khumbu descent was non-trivial. The team is grateful to be safely back in Base Camp, and with 2 out of 5 having reached the summit, and 5 out of 5 having reached base, view the expedition as a success. As of 5/28/01 the team will have spent 70 days on the mountain engaged in intensely focused mountain climbing in a hostile environment. Everyone is looking forward to being back with friends and family and sharing stories of the slopes of Mount Everest.

—http://sj.znet.com/~pozo/everest/ (Chris Peck's Site)

May 29, 2001
The IMG team is leaving Base Camp today after a successful expedition. We expect to reach Katmandu on June 1st. As reported previously, Greg Wilson and John Waechter reached the summit of Mount Everest at approximately 10 AM on May 25th in very difficult weather. The three other team members had previously turned back and returned to the South Col. By all measures the expedition has been a tremendous success with two team members and two Sherpas reaching the summit and all team members leaving the mountain healthy. After over 70 days climbing Mount Everest, we are all looking forward to getting home as soon as possible. Our thanks and love to all friends and family members who have supported us during this challenging time.
—Greg Wilson Expedition Leader
This e-mail dispatch has been made possible through the assistance of Iridium Satellite LLC and their remote hand held satellite telephone on loan to the team at Everest Base Camp.

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