Expedition Diary #12
May 17, 2002

The Latest Dispatches

Friday 0940 hours Nepal time

Team members are coming down to base camp today and are expected to arrive tonight. Today 50-60 knot winds were reported on the col, although it's calm and warm in base camp. No-one is going up to the summit from this side. The weather forecast looks not-so-good so maybe yesterday was THE day! The Ministry of Tourism reported 54 people on top from 8 teams yesterday, a record day. Russell Brice reported about 12-14 from the North side and 30 were expected to go today from that side.

An article in the Southland Daily Times erroneously stated that Passang Tenzing was the grandson of Tenzing Norgay Sherpa!  They have been corrected on this so as not to confuse with Tashi Tenzing's successful ascent of Everest yesterday. Only one incident marred the summit climb and this is explained by Guy Cotter in an email from base camp as follows; Wednesday 15 May, 1900 There was an unfortunate incident on South Col this evening. The leader of the Swiss Rolex expedition threatened lead Sherpa, Ang Dorjee, with at first verbal abuse and then went off to get an ice axe to attack him. Luckily other climbers managed to intervene and avoid the confrontation going further.