APRIL 20---
Fax received 9:00PM MST
To: Gary Grimm/Katy Flanagan. April 20th, 1995

The Telstra Satellite Fax/Phone link has proven invaluable. we have logged more than 200 calls in eight days. This includes a search for lost equipment and two medical evacuations owing to a dental problem and acute mountain sickness.

(National Geographic has an excellent map of Everest showing Rhombok Glacier!)

More detail on camp life:
Routine: Rise 7:00AM - Breakfast 8:00AM - Lunch Noon - Supper 7:00PM.
Work on expedition chores, organizing loads, tuning equipment, filming projects for "One Foot on the Road to Everest," manning communications center etc.,

Tent 1: Radio, computer, printer, phone/fax system supplied by Sat Com - M Telstra Satellite Two 12 volt car batteries, generator, medical supplies, and photographic equipment. Tent 2:Mess tent Tent 3:Food stores Tent 4:Cook tent Each member has their own personal tent. Note!The North Face, a major sponsor of this expedition, has supplied tents to Tom and Greg and for general use on the mountain. Main tents are family frame tents arranged in a line and sheltered by a morrain. Tents are held down by additional guy ropes and rocks around the base.

Environmental: Permanent toilets have been erected: The "Whitehouse" is our nearest stop. All garbage is sorted and stored in concrete incinerators until the end of the expedition. Burnable garbage is burned. Recyclable garbage will be taken in three ton truck to Lhasa for proper disposal. Loads of garbage are brought off the mountain by yak. (counted and weighed at top and bottom) Culture: On April 14, Lama and monks came up from Rhombok Monastery to perform Puja. A stone altar is constructed with food and drink on display. Monks chant, ring bells and symbolically throw rice. A flag pole is erected with juniper on top and prayer flags radiating out on strings like multicolored spokes. Food and drink is blessed and eaten by all. The Lama took my amulate from my 1989 expedition and re-blessed it. The expedition members donated about $150. to the rebuilding of their monastery.

As with everything Russell Brice does, this ceremony is first class. Choughs, black cheeky birds, wheel and circle, hoping to get in on the act and a very good omen for all. I take a drink of this brown liquid that has been poured into my cupped palm, expecting it to be punch. The 80 proof KuKri rum did have a punch! Even the monks took time out to laugh as I coughed and spluttered. Weather turns bitter. Snow flurries, no sun and constant wind. A reality check for what the mountain has in store.

Thumb Nail Sketches Leo Dickinson, age 49: Small, rotund, bustling, salt and pepper beard and glasses in a down jacket and hood. Looks just like one of those shaggy little bear creatures in the "Empire Strikes Back". Quick witted, intelligent and driven. Excited to make the best film possible. Greg Child, age 37: 5' 6", 150 lbs. wringing wet, tough. Dark hair, Australian accent, piercing brown eyes, strong jaw. Pragmatist, blunt, extremely able mountaineer and writer. (look for his books under the expedition personell section)

Tom Whittaker, age 46: 6' 3", 190 lbs., brown har, blue eyes. Right foot amputated, uses Flex-Foot prosthesis. Easy going with a risque' sense of humor. Professor, Outdoor Pursuits, Prescott College, Arizona. Russell Brice, age 42: 6 ft., rangy, driven New Zealander. Owner-Director of Himalayan Experience 8000. Guides in Chamonix, France and on the North Ridge of Mt. Everest. Very talented, able and hard working, leads by example. With his resources and team of sherpa, holds the key to success of this venture more than anyone else.