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USAF 7 Summits post: Apr 18: Lobuche Peak Climb!

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  • By USAF 7 Summits
  • USAF 7 Summits Team
LOBUCHE PEAK, NEPAL --  What a great day to be alive! It's 7:45pm on the 18th and most the team is already asleep in their tents. We are at Lobuche Base Camp and recently finished up a meal of curried rice, cauliflower, roast chicken, soup and cake. Yes- somehow the Sherpas baked two cakes in their rugged camp kitchen- one for a climber's birthday and one to celebrate everyone's successful climb to the east summit of Lobuche.

We woke up at 2:50am this morning in Lobuche High Camp (maybe ~17,000ft) and ate breakfast (porridge, omelette, fry bread, and mugs of coffee) standing up outside under amazingly bright stars and the Milky Way. It was cold, but spirits were high. We hit the route at 4am by headlamp and slowly worked up the granite, ice and snow. The weather was perfect: no wind, mild temps (~18F at high camp) and a clear sky.

We used crampons, ice axe, and many fixed ropes to work towards the summit ridge. It was a pretty steep ice/snow face for the last 500ft, but it proved to be great training for what we'll have to face on our way up Everest. The sun hit us hard and many climbers were reminded of the critical need to stay covered from the intense UV rays and to also stay hydrated.

From the east summit, we had an amazing view of Mt. Everest, Nuptse, the Khumbu Glacier, Pumori, Everest Base Camp and dozens of breathtaking peaks in all directions. A panoramic photo is attached (hopefully!). The six USAF Everest climbers were real strong and all were real excited at the outcome of the climb. Maj Malcolm Schongalla and Dr Edie Marshall both made the summit as well, which was the primary goal of their participation in this USAF 7 Summits trip. They joined us and one of the IMG guides (LtCol Jenni Fogel of the AF Reserves) for a great team photo that should be posted now or very soon! We also did push-ups to celebrate this high-point and to honor our fallen AF friends. The team did additional push-ups to honor those killed or injured in Boston- an incident we've only heard very little about. Malcolm and Edie's journey with us has come to a great conclusion and they will begin their trek back to Lukla and Kathmandu tomorrow. It was great to have them with us and we wish them a safe and enjoyable return home.

Tomorrow, the morning of the 19th, we will hike the ~8
miles back to Everest Base Camp (going through the small village of Gorak Shep, where we will hopefully be able to send this update and some photos). Many folks are tired from today's climb, but we have a schedule to stick to! After a day of rest at EBC, we will then make our first foray into the infamous Khumbu Icefall. You can bet we will do our best to get you photos and details on that!

The team is looking real good and we are excited to begin our incremental push onto Everest now that our Lobuche training climb is complete. We have dialed in our climbing gear and refreshed our steep snow/ice climbing skills. Some are starting to pick up the dreaded Khumbu Cough, but we have the meds and knowledge to deal with it. Our preparations, in terms of physical fitness, technical knowledge, and proper gear are all paying off. Now we just need to stay healthy and focus on slowly adjusting our bodies, and minds, to the extreme altitude between us and the top of the world.

Word has spread about a team of US Air Force members climbing Everest. Our American and Air Force flags have been proudly flying where we climb and camp, and our blue team jackets with American flags on the shoulder and USAF 7 Summits Challenge patches on the chest are widely recognized around the area. We are proud to be here and excited for this next step on our way towards putting the USAF and America in the record books!