Climber nears Everest’s summit

Bill Burke of Costa Mesa was quite possibly on top of the world Monday, the day he expected to summit the 29,035-foot peak of Mt. Everest, according to his most recent trip reports. The last few weeks have not been easy for Burke, with unrelenting snowfall, an injured sherpa and a brief blackout.

At 65 years old, climbing colleagues believe Burke will be the oldest American to summit the world’s tallest mountain.

In an entry on his website dated at 6:52 a.m. Monday, Burke described preparations for the final ascent:

May 21, Everest Camp IV

“The four of us are crammed in a small tent before we make our move to the summit. The move from Camp III to Camp IV was huge. It was straight up the Lhotse face. The oxygen was a huge help. Now we are resting for our summit push, which will be in approximately 1 1/2 hrs at 9 p.m.”

Here are earlier online excerpts from Burke’s most recent trip reports:

May 7, Everest Camp III

(22,500 feet)

“Climbing from Camp 2 to Camp 3 is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. It made climbing in the Khumba Icefall seem like children’s play, even with building blocks…. Picture yourself looking at a 20-story building made out of ice which you have to climb.”

May 14, Pheriche

(14,600 feet)

“The mountain is fighting back. Gale force winds took out many of the camps at Camp 2, including all of our camp. Our sherpas were there and tried to hold the tents down, but they were unsuccessful. One of the tents was pulled straight up by the platform, snapped all the lines and disappeared down the mountain. Then an avalanche took out all of our tents at Camp 3, so we are back to square one to establishing camp two and camp three on the mountain. One of our strongest sherpas caught his crampon on the ice and fell sixty feet down the Lhotse face. After the fall he said he had a “flash vision” and he quit the expedition and headed down the mountain…. In tears he told Dan that he is never coming back to Everest. So we are left without one of our strongest sherpas.”

May 16, Everest Base Camp (17,600 feet)

“[Some] things I miss after spending six weeks in the shadow of Mount Everest:

“My wife; My four children and their spouses; My 14 Grandchildren; Sunsets over the Pacific Ocean; Reading the Los Angeles Times, the Daily Pilot and the Wall Street Journal while drinking my coffee; My Grandchildren making fun of what I say and what I do; Everyone making fun of how I dress; Homemade tacos; Silently admitting that my wife’s common sense almost always trumps my logic; Local, national and world news and sports; Warm showers every night; Clean clothes; My wife’s home cooking; Daydreaming about my next big adventure; Home Sweet Home.”

May 17, Everest Base Camp

“Today, Mark Luscher had to end his trip and go down the mountain. He just could not keep his food down at high altitudes. He has lost 32 pounds. Things got better when we went down to Pheriche for a rest, but as soon as we came back up to Base Camp his problems continued and he had to make the hard decision to end his Everest trip…. This is a huge disappointment to me because Mark and I have become very close friends. We planned this Everest trip together and we have climbed other mountains together including the Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia and Vinson Massif in Antarctica.”

May 18, Everest Camp I (19,900 feet)

“I’m on my way to the summit! Tenji and I made our way up the icefall to Camp 1…. We arrived at Camp 1 in the snow just as conditions turned to white-out. In fact, it is still snowing pretty hard. On the way up the icefall we passed two large groups bringing two bodies down on sleds…. The plan is for us to we leave with our sherpas from Camp 2 to Camp 3 on May 20 and then from Camp 3 to Camp 4 on May 21. We will make our summit push that evening or the following day. Things can change based on the weather and how we feel as we make our way up the mountain.”

May 20, Everest Camp III

“I wish you could see me now. I am in my tent at Camp III on the Lhotse face with an oxygen mask covering my nose and mouth. It will be interesting to see how well I can sleep with this oxygen mask strapped to my head. So, from here on, we will be on oxygen for the rest of the trip up the mountain and back to Camp III.”

For more on Burke’s climb, go to www.eightsummits.com.

— Compiled by

Jessie Brunner