 Daily
Logs/Photos
Use the timeline to view daily logs and photos.
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| May 30 |
 Greetings,
Namaste and Tashi Delek!
Having realized my dream to stand on top of the world, I
could not have wished for a better summit day. The Sherpa
and I had a plan and we stuck with it when everyone else was
telling us that we should move. We waited for the right time
to make our push for the top. Our reward - and I do mean OUR
reward - all the supporters of Team Everest - was to have
the summit of Mount Everest all to ourselves.
I cannot stress enough how deep I had to dig within myself
to reach this goal. We left Camp Four at approximately 8pm
on May 22nd, starting out in very windy conditions, but luck
changed in our favor. From the South Col to the balcony to
our arrival at the South Summit, we had good weather, and
continued as a team, step by step, up this great mountain.
From the South Summit, traversing the Hillary Step and other
extremely difficult areas, we kept our confidence while feeling
the balance we were walking between life and death. We all
pushed through and arrived at the summit within 5 minutes
of each other. Immediately, Nima Dawa, Da Nima, Pem Tenji,
Namgya and I all fell to our knees, put our heads together
and cried.
In all my life
as a mountaineer, I have looked up at the mountains. This
was the time that I could look up no further. We were at the
highest place on earth and could see everything - even the
curvature of our great planet. None of us could truly believe
what was really happening, that we were actually there, but
is was the most beautiful site I've ever seen.
We stayed approximately 20 minutes at the summit, but knew
that the most difficult and dangerous time was ahead - we
still had to make the difficult descent back to Camp Four.
As a left arm amputee, the descent from the Summit to the
South Summit is more dangerous and requires careful balance
- the route is extremely tight with steep drop offs into both
Nepal and Tibet. We had stayed at over 26,000ft for two nights
before our attempt, and as a result of being so long at such
a high altitude, our bodies were exhausted. At approximately
7pm - almost 24 hours after our departure - we arrived back
to Camp Four in the dark, absolutely shattered, but we knew
we had succeeded in taking the message of Team Everest '03
to the top of the world.
We immediately made drinks to rehydrate and prepared for
a night of rest before our descent to Camp Two the following
morning. A couple of hours after going to sleep, I awoke to
severe pain - like someone putting knives into my eyes - and
I had no vision. Snow blindness. Fortunately we were safe
in the tents at Camp Four, but the pain was so great, it felt
like I would never ever see again.
Although I had
never had snow blindness before, I knew it should pass within
24 hours provided I kept my eyes closed as much as possible.
Nima Dawa and I made the decision to stay an additional night
at camp Four so I could recover, increasing our stay at 26,000+
feet to 5 days. By 25 May, although still in pain, I could
see again and we made the descent down the steep Lhotse Face
to Camp Two.
By the time we had arrived to Camp Two, I had learned through
communications with Base Camp that I had lost my friend Karma
Sherpa. Team Everest '03 has always been about celebrating
the human spirit and Karma believed in everything the expedition
stood for. He was like my little brother - I have known his
family for years and I can't express how saddened I am about
losing him. My gratitude to all those who tried to save Karma's
life while he was trying to descend. A very special personal
thanks goes out to Gary Scott, Willie and Dameon Banegas,
Christine Kane, Luis Benitez and all the Sherpa who assisted
in the rescue attempt.
 On
May 26th, Nima Dawa and I made our final descent to Base Camp
with very heavy loads and hearts to our awaiting team. I cannot
thank you all enough for your inspiration through your prayers
and emails while we were on the mountain: CTD, our sponsors
and the entire TEAM of supporters. There is no way we could
have succeeded without you all.
As Tenzing Norgay said, "Be great, but make others greater."
We have a long way to go to change the stereotypes that are
still associated with those with disabilities. Please support
our message in the future. It is simply the right path.
I'll be on my way to the US soon [still awaiting flight confirmations]
and I look forward to speaking to everyone who has supported
our message. See you soon!
Best Wishes,
Gary Guller
info@teameverest03.org
|
| May 28 |
Gary Guller and the team arrived back in Kathmandu
early this morning US time and joined Gary Scott, who had
arrived a few days earlier. They were very tired but doing
well, and looking forward to feasting at the Rum Doodle tonight,
Gary particularly since by tradition he gets to eat and drink
for free.
The 50th anniversary of Hillary and Norgay's first summit
of Everest is tomorrow. Festivities culminate with a ceremonial
gathering of Everest climbers hosted by Prime Minister Lokendra
Bahadur Chand, who is the king's appointee; a tea attended
by King Gyanendra and Queen Komal; and a banquet with the
crown prince and princess. All those who have climbed the
summit of Everest are guests of the government.
The entire team says hello and appreciates
the calls and emails of congratulations and condolences. While
we all are gratified by the historic achievements of the Team
Everest expedition, our feelings are tempered by the tragic
loss of our friend Karma Sherpa.
We'll keep you posted over the next few days
with news. Many thanks again for your support.
|
| May 24 |
 Austin
man reaches Mount Everest summit
Gary Guller becomes first person with one arm to climb to
the top world's highest mountain.
By Pam LeBlanc, Austin American Statesman
Hours after completing his quest to become the first person
with one arm to scale the world's tallest mountain, Austin
climber Gary Guller sipped tomato soup and drank tea at a
camp high on Mount Everest.
Guller, 36, and four Sherpas reached the 29,035-foot peak
just after noon Nepali time Friday, or about 1 a.m. Friday
Texas time. It took them 17 hours to climb to the summit from
Camp Four, at 26,000 feet, through what is known as the "death
zone" because of its thin air and treacherous conditions.
All were healthy, happy and well afterward, according to a
dispatch from base camp at the foot of Everest.
Guller's accomplishment comes just days before the 50th anniversary
of the first time the summit was reached, on May 29, 1953,
by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. Guller will stay in
Nepal to attend a convention of Everest summitteers on that
day — which is also his wedding anniversary.
His exhausted but ecstatic wife, Joni Rogers, got the good
news at about 2:30 a.m. Friday at the couple's Austin home.
She said she was relieved her husband made it safely to the
summit and hoped she could soon talk to him by phone."We've
been living and breathing this for years," she said.
"I look forward to him getting back home."
Another climber in the expedition, Gary Scott of Colorado,
turned back about halfway through the climb. Expedition members
say he became weak because he was trying to reach the summit
without supplemental oxygen. He was safely at Camp Two, lower
on the mountain, by Friday morning.
Guller, who lost his left arm after a mountaineering accident
17 years ago in Mexico, tried to climb Everest two years ago
but had to turn back because of bad weather and avalanches.
He is the third climber with a serious disability to scale
the peak. Tom Whittaker, a below-the-leg amputee, made it
in 1998; Eric Weihenmayer, who is blind, reached the summit
in 2001.
The Sherpas on Guller's summit team were Nima Dawa, Namgya,
Pemba Tenzing and Da Nima.
Christine Kane, base camp manager for the expedition and
a teacher at the Texas State School for the Deaf in Austin,
said pandemonium broke out when she and others at the foot
of Everest received word by walkie-talkie that the team had
reached the highest point in the world.
"As our cheers resonated through base camp, the other
expeditions from all the surrounding camps cheered right along
with us, showing their admiration for our accomplishment,"
she wrote in an e-mail dispatch. "As I looked out over
camp, hundreds of thumbs up and hands were waving to me."
Guller's summit effort was part of Team Everest '03, organized
by the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities to shatter the
misconception that people with disabilities are not strong
and capable. In March, a group made up mostly of Texans, many
of them with disabilities — including five who use wheelchairs
and others who were deaf or missing limbs — trekked 30
miles to base camp of Everest at 17,600 feet.Most of them
returned home, and Guller then began his altitude conditioning
and other preparations for the summit assault.
Guller and his wife run an adventure travel company, Arun
Treks & Expeditions. His climb was supported in part by
Presco Products of Dallas, Pfizer Pharmaceutical, ESI Mortgage
of Austin and the Texas Society of Architects.
Dennis Borel of the Austin-based Coalition of Texans with
Disabilities called the trek a historic first. "I think
it gives inspiration to anybody who wants to take on challenges
that may seem impossible," he said. "People are
going to look at this and say, 'I'm going to have to change
my opinion on what people with disabilities can do.' "
Gov. Rick Perry commended Guller's determination. "He
serves as a reminder to all that society should never place
limits on the ability of the human mind or the potential of
the human spirit," Perry said.
More than 1,200 climbers have reached the summit since Hillary
and Norgay's expedition. At least 175 have died trying. Climbers
battle avalanches, falls, altitude sickness, hypothermia and
disorientation on their way to the top.
A record number of climbers — about 100 — tried
to reach the summit this year, but winds of up to 100 mph
stymied anyone from reaching the peak until this week. The
teams must be off the mountain by the end of May, before monsoon
season begins. Bad weather repeatedly delayed Team Everest
'03's summit bid.
An informal homecoming and fund raiser for the Team Everest
'03's $272,000 expedition is planned for 7 p.m. June 5 at
Mother Egan's Irish Pub, 715 W. Sixth St. in Austin.
Contact Dennis Borel at 512/478-3366 M-F (other times at
512/431-1656) or dborel@cotwd.org
for further info about the homecoming event, TE '03 or the
advocacy work of the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities.
|
| May 23 |
Hello from Base Camp!
Almost 24 hours later, I am ecstatic to write to report
our TEAM EVEREST '03 SUMMIT SUCCESS! At 12:15pm Nepal time,
Gary Guller, Nima Dawa, Namgya, Da Nima and Pem Tenji stood
at the top of Mount Everest and the world to proclaim the
amazing message of Team Everest '03! It was a long and difficult
road, both mentally and physically, but they did it!
We had a long, sleepless night getting progress reports
every 2 hours via our Camp Two Cook, Pemba Tenzing, but it
was worth every second when we heard the voice of our one-armed
leader from the summit! Needless to say, pandemonium broke
out here at base camp! Three people were on the radios - Loben
Sherpa, Dawa Sherpa and Puru Dorjee Sherpa - all screaming
at the same time, effectively blocking each other out. Myself,
Buddhi and Nima (our amazing base camp cooks) were cheering
and hugging, and all the while, Gary Guller was trying to
tell us about his summit success.
As our cheers resonated through base camp, the other expeditions
from all the surrounding camps cheered right along with us
showing their admiration for our accomplishment. As I looked
out over camp, hundreds of thumbs up and hands were waving
to me. The support, understanding and solidarity of the message
of Team Everest '03 and respect for the team was truly a sight
to behold!
Gary reported that all the summiteers are healthy, happy
and well in Camp Four enjoying a hot bowl of tomato soup and
some Sherpa tea. Their bodies are tired, but exhilarated by
their amazing accomplishment. They felt every ounce of your
positive energy and encouragement.
Team members Gary Scott and Karma Sherpa are safe in Camp
Two. Gary Scott did not reach the summit, but he reports having
no disappointment. He and Karma will be back at base camp
tomorrow.
A door has been opened: the message of the unlimited ability
of people with disabilities has been demonstrated. Now it
is up to each of us to make sure that this message is not
forgotten. "To infinity and beyond!" - Buzz Lightyear
Christine Kane
The Proudest Base Camp Manager on the Mountain
|
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Austin climber first with one arm to scale Everest
By LEE HANCOCK / The Dallas Morning News
Austin climber Gary Guller became the only person with one
arm ever to scale Mount Everest Friday, standing atop its
29,035-foot summit nearly 50 years to the day after it was
first reached.
Mr. Guller arrived at the peak of the world’s highest
mountain at about 12:15 p.m. Nepal time (2 a.m. Dallas time),
just over 17 hours after starting his final push from a camp
at 26,000 feet, his expedition’s base camp manager said
in a brief interview by satellite telephone Friday morning.
"Communications have been really difficult,’’
said base camp manager Christine Kane, a teacher at the Texas
State School for the Deaf in Austin. ``But we heard him say,
`it’s beautiful up here!’ ’’
The feat caps an odyssey Mr. Guller began in mid-March by
leading a team of 10 Americans and two Nepalese Sherpa with
conditions ranging from lost limbs to quadriplegia on a grueling
trek to Everest to shatter popular misconceptions about people
with disabilities. Reaching the summit alongside the 36-year-old
Austin man were four Nepalese Sherpa climbers [Nima Dawa,
Namgya, Pemba Tenzing and Da Nima].
"We are all cheering and celebrating. You can hear people
all over base camp yelling "woohoo!’ for us and
for Gary,’’ Ms. Kane said.
Ms. Kane said sixth team member, professional mountain guide
Gary Scott of Colorado Springs, Co., was forced to turn back
before reaching the peak because he was climbing without using
supplemental oxygen and felt too weak to continue safely without
it.
Only a small fraction of the 1,200 people who have reached
Everest’s peak have done so without supplemental oxygen.
Mr. Guller, who lost his left arm in a mountaineering accident
in the 1980s, first tried to climb Mount Everest in 2001 but
was turned back when fixed ropes in the first and deadliest
section of the mountain, the Khumbu icefall, were torn away
by an avalanche.
He decided to make a second bid this year, organizing his
Team Everest 03 expedition with the Coalition for Texans With
Disabilities to draw international attention to the potential
of people who live with physical challenges.
Team Everest 03’s expedition began in mid-March with
a 23-day challenge trek, in which five Americans in wheelchairs,
five others with disabilities ranging from lost limbs to chronic
pain conditions, and two Sherpas with lost limbs climbed with
a group of U.S. an Nepalese supporters and helpers to the
foot of Mount Everest.
Several Challenge Trek members were forced to turn back because
of altitude-related ailments and other problems, but seven
people with disabilities made it with Mr. Guller to Everest’s
base camp at 17,600 feet.
Dennis Borel, executive director of the Coalition for Texans
with Disabilities, said early Friday that Mr. Guller’s
accomplishment crowned an effort that drew wide attention
and praise in across the U.S. and Nepal.
"I am so delighted for him, for all of them, for all
us. This is the best thing any Texas group in any field has
done this year,’’ he said. ``His making this last
step, making that summit, will attract a whole new wave of
attention to the message that people with disabilities can
be involved in every human endeavor.’’
With his climb, Mr. Guller became the third person with a
significant physical disability to reach the summit. In 1998,
Tom Whittaker of Arizona, a leg amputee, reached the top,
and in 2001, Eric Weihenmayer of Colorado became the first
blind Everest summitteer.
George Martin, general manager for everestnews.com, an Internet
website that has become a leading source of information on
Everest expeditions, said Mr. Guller’s achievement is
"pretty incredible’’ – particularly given
the difficulty of conditions on the mountain this year.
The 50th anniversary of Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing
Norgay’s first successful climb to Everest’s summit
has drawn a record number of climbers. Some estimates have
suggested that more than 400 people could try to summit before
the brief window of good spring climbing weather closes in
early June with the arrival of the annual monsoon.
But severe weather – including days of hurricane-force
winds – prevented anyone from reaching the top until
this week, when the first climbers reached the top from the
northern or Tibetan side. The Nepal Ministry of Tourism reported
on Thursday that 35 people reached the summit on Thursday
from the southern route first traveled by Mr. Hillary and
Mr. Norgay.
"Given the number of people on the mountain and the
weather, it’s been a hard year to summit. The window
is not wide open. These summits have been in very difficult
conditions. Because of the high winds, you have to expend
so much physical energy,’’ Mr. Martin said.
"It’s an incredible achievement for a person with
this sort of severe disability to do what Gary has done,’’
he said.
Mr. Martin said Mr. Guller’s efforts in getting the
Texas-based group of disabled people to Everest’s base
camp had "impressed and touched’’ many in the
mountaineering community. He added Mr. Guller’s Friday
summit accomplishment will "probably encourage more people
with disabilities to reach out and attempt to do more.’’
Mr. Guller and his team had hoped to reach the summit early
in this year’s climbing season, well before the May 29
anniversary of the first climb. But poor weather conditions
repeatedly delayed Team Everest 03's summit try.
At one point, Mr. Guller and a climbing Sherpa went from
base camp to Camp 1 and found that at least 70 percent of
the tents set up there by his and other expeditions had been
flattened or blown away by winds that some reports said exceeded
100 mph.
In email dispatches and a phone interview from base camp
several weeks ago, Mr. Guller said he and his Sherpa partner
then spent a night being battered by another bout of extreme
winds, each using their bodies to keep their reconstructed
tent standing.
Mr. Guller left base camp for his final climb up the mountain
on May 17, and had originally hoped to summit by midweek.
But he and his team decided to wait for several days at a
camp at 26,000 feet, an altitude so extreme that it is known
as the death zone, because of poor weather conditions and
concerns that too many other climbers were trying to go for
the summit.
But on Friday, Ms. Kane said, the weather at base camp was
clear and calm, and conditions higher up on the mountain appeared
to be far better than in previous days.
"We talked to them last night and they said it was beautiful,’’
she said. ``They were feeling good and raring to go.’’
Contact the Team
info@teameverest03.org
Media Hotline / Interviews / Sponsorships
Contact Dennis Borel at 512/478-3366 M-F (other times at 512/431-1656)
or dborel@cotwd.org
for further info about TE '03 or the advocacy work of the
Coalition of Texans with Disabilities.
|
| May 22 |
Namaste! It is 9:48pm here at Everest Base Camp, and our
Camp Two Cook just received word from our climbers, which
he relayed to me. Gary Guller and Gary Scott along with our
climbing Sherpa departed Camp Four at 7pm (approximately 8am
this morning CST) and began their climb to the summit!
From Base Camp, the skies are clear and full of stars. They
reported a little bit of wind higher up, but so far the weather
seems to be cooperating. You all know what to do - think positive
thoughts, cross your fingers for great weather and visualize
success for our amazing team!
This team is like nothing I have ever witnessed, let alone
been a part of before. The Sherpa here at Base Camp and I
speak often about the amazing experience of the Challenge
Trek and how it changed us all for the better. We are now
reaching the climax of the second phase of this amazing journey,
which will hopefully change many more lives and policies.
The message of the unlimited potential of individuals with
disabilities will be shouted from the top of the world for
all to hear - I know you will be listening.
Gary G., Gary S., Nima Dawa, Namgya, Karma, Tenji, and Da
Nima have touched me in a way that I never expected. I am
a better person for knowing them and being a part of this
expedition. I am confident that the rest of the world will
say the same as these amazing and dedicated people push their
bodies and minds to the absolute limits in order to spread
the message that no one, regardless of ability or disability,
should be denied their dreams or freedoms!
Now is the time. We here on the mountain and at CTD need
you more than ever. Reach down deep to support us financially
and in spirit as we make history!
More dispatches to come as I get news from the mountain.
It is going to be a long, but wonderful night!
Christine Kane
info@teameverest03.org
PS The Sherpa language lesson as promised for all the students
keeping your language notebooks! The theme is clothing: mojyha.
pants:kanum, gloves:laksuk, socks:mocha,
shoes: juta, hat: shamu (like the whale!), down
jacket:chabu jacket (yes, they use some English words
because there isn't an exact Sherpa word), glasses: mixel,
boots: juta, sunglasses: nima mixel. As you
get dressed, see if you can remember these words!
Media Hotline / Interviews / Sponsorships
Contact Dennis Borel at 512/478-3366 M-F (other times at 512/431-1656)
or dborel@cotwd.org
for more info about Team Everest '03 and the advocacy work
of the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities
|
| May 21 |
 Greetings
and Namaste!
First of all, a huge thanks to all of you who continue to
support us through these terribly difficult days. Just got
off the walkie-talkie with Gary Guller. The team is still
at Camp Four - they have decided to spend two nights at 26,000ft
in order to increase their chances of a successful summit.
Many teams tried last night, but had to retreat below the
south summit due to bad weather. Some teams abandoned their
expeditions today, but we are in it to win it! In the words
of Gary Guller, "It is bloody difficult to live this
high". But they are doing it as a team, doing it well
and for all the right reasons - to bring our message to the
TOP! Both Gary Guller and Gary Scott are healthy and in good
spirits (thanks to all of you out there!) They feel strong
and are sure that the Mountain goddess is going to allow them
a safe and successful summit.
Here at Base Camp, we are hanging tough and supporting our
climbers. ABC Nightline News paid us a visit today and interviewed
Gary via walkie-talkie. They were impressed with our hospitality
and had wonderful things to say about our campaign and our
message. Be sure to tune in on May 29th for their coverage
of the 50th anniversary of the first successful summit!
 We've
come up with the top five reasons we want to stay here at
Base Camp just a little bit longer:
5. We love sleeping on a bed of rocks!
4. -10 degrees is now our comfort zone!
3. We need just a few more days to perfect our "hat head"!
2. It really is such a LONG walk down!
1. We really are holding out for a yeti sighting!
Anyway, we are staying strong and positive and we feel all
the good wishes coming from all of you across the miles. If
we all just think GOOD WEATHER - I'm sure it will come and
mighty Everest will open herself to us and our amazing message
to promote the abilities of all people regardless of disability
or ability!
A message to:
Challenge Trek members Put your heads together and
send us that vibe that we all felt on the trail and when we
reached Base Camp that amazing April day.
CTD All you amazing people must have some pull with
the mountain gods and goddess - get to work on that!
Team Everest '03 sponsors and supporters You have
been good luck for us in the past and I know you can do it
again for us now!
All the students at Texas School for the Deaf, Easthampton
Middle School, Dripping Springs, Manchaca Elementary, Jefferson
Elementary School and in Latvia, Japan and around the world
- Cross your fingers for us!
 It
is 8:04pm in Nepal. I am in my tent and will be in touch with
Gary Guller again tomorrow at 8am. You can be sure I will
be sending all the details and news when I get it.
Talk to you tomorrow!
Christine Kane
info@teameverest03.org
PS I promise to also include a Sherpa language lesson in
the next dispatch - I actually already got the words from
our Sherpa, but I left them down in the dining tent but it
is snowing and I am too LAZY and cold to go get them now -
SORRY!
Media Hotline / Sponsorship Info
Contact Dennis Borel at 512/478-3366 M-F (other times at 512/431-1656)
or dborel@cotwd.org
for further info about TE '03 or the advocacy work of the
Coalition of Texans with Disabilities.
|
| May 20 |
Tashi Delek from Camp Four!
Our fearless climbers Gary Guller, Gary Scott and the high
altitude climbing Sherpa have made it to Camp Four at around
26,000ft (7,900m)! Though they are exhausted, they're enjoying
lots of hot Tang and soup.
Due to the overwhelmingly large number of climbers attempting
the summit tonight, Gary Guller has made the wise decision
to hold off their summit attempt until tomorrow night. Going
tonight would likely mean a huge traffic jam right below the
summit, which would add unnecessary hours to their already
exhausting summit schedule. Safety first! That means we can
all make a collective exhale and begin holding our breath
again tomorrow. The good news is that weather reports are
forecasting clear skies and little wind for tomorrow night,
as well!
 Although
this change in plans is a smart decision, any last minute
schedule changes are always a little bit disheartening and
unsettling. However, the team remains strong in its conviction
to bring the amazing and important message of Team Everest
'03 to the top of the world - nothing will stop him! The ascent
from the South Col (Camp Four) takes a grueling 12 hours -
minimum! Our team has a lot to think about and rest up for.
Your support, encouragement and positive summit thoughts are
more important now than ever. info@teameverest03.org
Please keep us in your thoughts and stay tuned for the excitement
tomorrow night. As always, a huge thanks to all the people
supporting us, and helping keep us strong and focused!
Goodnight and talk to you tomorrow!
Christine Kane
info@teameverest03.org
|
| May 19 |
 Namaste
and RaRa noodles to everyone!
We are one HUGE step closer to the top of the world! Gary
Guller, Gary Scott, Nima Dawa, Namgya, Da Nima, Pem Tenji
and Karma Sherpa are safe and sound in Camp Three at 24,000ft
(~7,400m)! The team tackled the steep, icy Lhotse Face, and
is now enjoying some hot bowls of RaRa noodles for dinner.
They will spend the night re-energizing, rehydrating and contemplating
the next big step of their journey - the climb to Camp Four
at 26,000ft (~8,000m) tomorrow morning.
Despite previous acclimatization, existing at these heights
is quite difficult and stressful on their bodies. The team
(and all of us here at BC) continue to need your positive
thoughts as we prepare ourselves for the most difficult days
ahead. And of course, CTD continues to need your financial
support as we embark on bringing the important message of
the abilities of people with disabilities the top of the world!
As always, we would never be where we are today without the
unwavering dedication of our corporate and private sponsors,
not to mention the individuals who have contributed in so
many ways to make this campaign a success.
Here at BC, we are crossing every extremity possible
and sending a wave of positive karma up the Mountain. With
each contact on the radio, we cheer on our friends and offer
them as much support as we can muster. We also read them the
amazing emails that are coming in daily. As the mountain saps
their strength, we try to replenish it with your words of
encouragement. We also tend the juniper fire next to our stupa
as a continuous offering to the Mountain to allow us safe
passage through her door.
A true friend of mine, Anne Duke-Shaw at the Texas School
for the Deaf sent some inspiring quotes that I think fit perfectly
with where we are right now. Gary1, Gary2 and the climbing
Sherpa drew lots of inspiration from these words. Thank you
so much, Anne.
 If
you can DREAM it, you can DO it. - Walt Disney
Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among
the stars. - Les Brown
The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming
it. - Moliere
It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is
the journey that matters, in the end. - Ursula K. Le Guin
On that note, goodnight and I'll be in touch tomorrow!
Christine Kane
Base Camp Manager
info@teameverest03.org
|
| May 18 |
Hello from Camp Two!
Myself and Gary Scott, along with our amazing climbing Sherpa
are on the move! After climbing from Base Camp to Camp Two
yesterday, we took a rest day today and will ascend up the
Lhotse Face to Camp Three tomorrow (5/19).
As we have been on the mountain for close to 60 days, the
serious mental aspect of this expedition is coming into clear
focus. We have spent countless hours climbing through the
Icefall, acclimatizing in tents at high camps, hydrating and
getting our bodies and minds prepared for the days ahead.
Now more than ever, we appreciate the encouraging words and
thoughts from all our supporters. We look forward to hearing
your positive emails via walkie talkie from Christine at Base
Camp over the next few days while we are at the high camps.
Please write us at info@teameverest03.org
For all our financial supporters out there: As we push our
minds and bodies to a place they have never been before, now
is a good time to continue your support
of Team Everest and CTD, to reach into your pockets to support
this worthy cause and organization. It takes a dedicated team
- both on the mountain and back home - to do what we are doing
to promote the potential of all people, regardless of ability
or disability, and to make positive changes throughout he
world. Unless we all work together as a team, these positive
changes will never take place.
Please keep fingers crossed and send lots of positive karma
our way as we face the difficult days ahead taking our message
to the top of the world. More after our challenging ascent
up the Lhotse Face to Camp Three!
Gary Guller
Dictated via walkie-talkie from Camp Two
Media Hotline / Sponsorship
Info
Contact Dennis Borel
at 512/478-3366 M-F (other times at 512/431-1656) or dborel@cotwd.org
for further info about TE '03 or the advocacy work of the
Coalition of Texans with Disabilities.
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