Words can’t express my sadness and disappointment for having to abandon my attempt to summit Mt Everest. We left base camp at 2:00 am climbing through the Khumbu Ice Fall arriving at camp one at 10:30 am, about 90 minutes slower than the first time. I had less power and was more tired which is an anomaly since all the acclimatizing prep I completed should have made me faster, not slower.

I took a 90 min break at Camp 1 then we set off for camp 2. As we moved up the western CWM glacier the temperatures were very hot as the solar radiation reflected off the glacier snow. My pace kept falling as we ascended and when I finally reached the Camp 2 could hardly speak. Chhiring helped me find my tent and after a bowl of soup I crawled into my sleeping bag at 6:30 pm. I slept in one hours shifts alternatively coughing and slowly filling my 2 liter pee bottle. When I woke up to get dressed, just putting on my pants and jacket - I felt like I had run intervals at the track. The food tent is 30 ft from my tent. It took me five minutes to get there. Every five steps I had to stop to catch my breath. When I arrived at the tent Chhiring took my pulse oxygen and it was 64. After breakfast I went back to rest and by 1:00 pm I could not muster the strength to leave the tent. At 1:30 I was out on oxygen and Chhiring called the flight ops for an emergency rescue. It was snowing and the weather window for the day was slowly closing. At 22,000 feet high altitude mountain sickness can quickly evolve into other more serious illness such as pulmonary adema, bronchitis etc.

I was deteriorating. Two weeks ago an American doctor died at camp 2 because the weather didn’t allow the choppers to fly to evacuate him. That could possibly have been my fate until the chopper arrived at 5:15 pm. It took 4 liters of oxygen per minute to give me the strength to board that chopper to Everest Base Camp, and then to a hospital in Lukla.

I am on FULL Flow with oxygen 4 liters per minute - that’s what it took to allow me to walk with support about 100 ft to get to the Chopper Rescue

Descending from 22,000 to 8,000 ft quickly relieved many of my syptoms and I was discharged at 8:00 pm with a pulse ox of 80. Still not great but at least I could walk in my own power. I spoke with my good friend and Himalayan expert Chris Warner about next steps. There’s no indication that if I go back up the outcome will be different. My body is not acclimatizing normally. In fact I was lucky to get out before my symptoms got worse.

I finally made it back to Kathmandu today at 6:00 pm and checked in to the ER for one last checkup before flying home. Well I have HAPE - High Altitude Pulmonary Adema. The docs in Lukla missed that detail. Same as what happened in 2019 in Argentina climbing Aconcagua. HAPE has a memory. Ugh - Treatment is oxygen and rest.

So I’ll be coming home this week. I can’t say how THANKFUL I am for so many well wishes from so many friends and supporters and for the many sponsors that supported the Hopecam’s fundraising goal. We will be able to help a lot more kids.