SubscribeMelissa Arnot and David Morton Assist With Rescues on Descent to Base Camp
By Melissa Arnot:
Often the hardest part of a climbing expedition is never what you expect it to be. That was certainly true for David and me. After two months of climbing towards the summit of Mount Everest, on May 23 David and I were able to reach the top. That is only where the adventure began for us. While descending from 29,035 feet to the South Col at 26,000 feet, a fellow guide of ours alerted us to a rescue in progress at about 27,000 feet. We made our way down and attempted to assist by offering oxygen and equipment to a climber who was slowly making his way down Read More…
Melissa Arnot and David Morton Safe at Base Camp After Assisting with Rescue
Melissa Arnot and Dave Morton have safely descended to Everest Base Camp following a long day that included participating in a rescue in the Khumbu Icefall. We had previously heard from the two of them from the South Col after they summited on Sunday. Currently, their satellite phone batteries are low so we will expect to hear from them again tomorrow once they’ve recharged the batteries and themselves. Stay tuned to hear more about their exciting climb and what happened in the Icefall on the way down.
Arnot Claims Third Everest Summit
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First Ascent guide Melissa Arnot has successfully summited Mt. Everest for the third time. Melissa and photographer/ climber David Morton called the Eddie Bauer First Ascent headquarters from the South Col after “a very successful summit day.”
Arnot and Morton began their journey from Kathmandu nearly two months ago, and have been climbing as an independent team with the support of two climbing Sherpa, a cook and two Base Camp staff. Despite rough weather earlier this month, the two have been able to acclimatize at their own pace. We’d like to congratulate them both on their success and wish them safe travels on their descent. Stay tuned to hear more from Arnot as she returns to Base Camp to celebrate.
Keep checking the Born Out There blog for updates on Melissa and Dave’s progress as they descend to Base Camp.
Arnot and Morton Arrive at South Col
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Hey there it’s Dave and Melissa calling in from the South Col it’s about 8,000 meters and it’s 7:30 at night. We arrived a little bit late this afternoon, had a little bit of dinner and now we’re getting ready to rest for a few of hours before starting to climb. Today was a fairly long day, I really wasn’t feeling very good and have decided to climb with supplemental oxygen tonight. We’re going to plan on leaving here about 12:30 and aim for the summit sometime right after sunrise. We’ll check in again along the way. Thanks for all the support and we’ll check in hopefully from the summit.
Melissa Arnot at Camp III, Ready for Final Push
Hey there everybody, this is Dave and Melissa calling in from Camp III at 24,000 ft. We made our way today up the Lhotse Face all the way to Camp III with significantly less wind than yesterday, which was great. It’s always nice to be up here. We had to do a little work on the tents when we got up here to make them sleepable for tonight Read More…
Arnot and Morton Check-in from Camp II
Hi, this is Dave and Melissa calling in from Camp II at 21,000 ft. You’ll notice that we’re at Camp II again tonight instead of Camp III. We attempted to go to Camp III today and had quite a bit of wind, so we decided that if the winds were going to be active again tomorrow, then it was probably better for us to wait a day. We walked for a couple of hours up towards camp and then turned around and came back to camp. And tomorrow we’re again going to head up to Camp III, now aiming for a summit day of the twenty-third. So we’ll keep you posted. We’ll keep checking in as we work our way higher up the mountain and hopefully we’ll be calling in tomorrow night from a higher camp. But as we saw today, you never really know, so we’ll check in again soon.
Arnot and Morton Find Brotherhood of the Rope
By David Morton:
Melissa Arnot and David Morton are currently pushing to summit Mt. Everest on May 22. Today, May 19, they are climbing from Camp II to Camp III at 24,000 feet.
I couldn’t be happier. I have a partnership on the mountain. The most important component of a successful climbing expedition is a good partnership. It doesn’t have to do with whether we summit or not. It does have to do with success Read More…
Arnot and Morton Begin Everest Summit Bid
By Melissa Arnot:
This is it. It is time to start our summit bid. I crawl out of my Base Camp tent and eat some more Cheerios (are you seeing that I only eat cereal on climbing mornings?). It is 4:30 a.m., and still a little cold and windy Read More…
Arnot Reflects on Personal Goal to Climb Without Supplemental Oxygen
By Melissa Arnot:
I stretch out on the floor of the First Ascent dome tent, closing my eyes and watching the parade of my thoughts float by. Soon, my mind’s eye turns to summit day, the summit push. I can see Dave, Tshering, and most importantly I can see myself. I am climbing at a steady pace, breathing hard and covering my face from the cold. I can see that I do not have an oxygen mask protecting my face; I can see that I am doing well.
I try to visualize the summit, but it is just outside of my mind’s eye Read More…
