Dear Students and Teachers,

I wanted to let everyone know I am home now. I got home Friday evening and it’s been good for me to meet up with so many family and friends, to share stories from the mountain, and to get some great rest at home in my own bed. I feel a little better each day and I hope to be back fully to my vibrant self within a few weeks. I’ll be getting myself checked out here by my doctor to make sure the last few side effects from the trip are likely to mitigate over the next while. The picture above to is to reassure folks that I am on the mend and that my lips have almost healed.

This picture is from the night before I was evacuated. You can see that I don’t feel very well, that my face and lips are swollen, and that I’m generally wishing the giant vacuum of the universe would suck me out of the situation. It wasn’t a vacuum but a very skilled helicopter pilot who plucked me from the top of the icefall and flew me to Kathmandu for medical treatment. I’ll write a separate post over the next few days detailing that experience and how I might end up on Discovery Channel telling my story.

I wanted to let you all know that I’ve decided to keep serving out the Everest curriculum over the next few weeks even though I am home and not climbing anymore. It’s the height of summit season on Everest now with summits from the south almost every evening. There are many climbers still to watch and cheer for including two of my teammates: Ade and Bill. Even though I can’t escort you to the top this time, my fellow climbers can. The picture above was taken by my teammate, Nat, in 2007. It shows the corniced traverse from the south summit to the actual summit. I’ve heard this year there is lots of snow up on the ridge and that the Hilary Step may be easier than it’s been in the past. I wanted you to see what obstacles the climbers will be facing.

This is a picture that Nat took from the summit. This is the view into Nepal. It’s it awesome. I hope all of the climbers who are still on the mountain get a chance to see this view.

This is the view from the summit into Tibet. You can see the difference in the topography and the difference in the amount of snow on each of the sides. With this pictures, I hope to entice you to keep following the Everest season, find some climbers to learn from, and keep being curious. I’ve so appreciated having you follow along. You’ve been great at asking so many questions and learning so much along the way.

Climber Smurf is home as well and he’s ready to start preparing for our next expedition which will be by sea kayak in Labrador in August. Once my camera get home from Nepal with my friends, I’ll be able to post many more photos of Climber Smurf in Nepal. Climber Smurf is quite a versatile fellow who enjoys climbing, hiking, sea kayaking, canoeing, and even caving. He looks forward to sharing many more adventures with you as well. Thanks again for coming along-it’s been such a privilege to have you. Climber Smurf and I may be able to do a few school visits once I feel better so you can be in touch with me via my website if your school is interested. Have fun following the rest of the climbing season and feel free to continue to ask me questions!

Best wishes,

TA