Nathaniel Merriam Thursday, April 1 New Haven, CT, USA

Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty exciting around here, we had a grueling pre-expedition meeting where folks from all over, including the expedition team, came into town and we tried out all the equipment on everyone, getting baseline medical readings at the same time as we got used to the equipment (not a mean feat considering the variety of equipment we're using).

We had never met each other since the team is from all around the world -- even those of us at Yale didn't really know one another, so it was quite an experience to be thrown in a room with a group of strangers and be expected to leave with a team ready to do cutting-edge medical and technical experiments in an environment where you might have difficulty tying your own shoelaces.

One challenge we're all still dealing with is the difficulty of having two team members named Jennifer. Jennifer Grin goes by "Jenny", and Jennifer Kreshak goes by "Jen", so you'd think it would be easy, but invariably are called by the wrong name at least twice a day, and I'm particularly guilty of addressing Dr. Grin as "Jen.........ny."

Of course, aside from our team, we also invited the press, and they came, thanks to our intrepid PR friends at Ruder-Finn. That's kind of a mixed bag, as of course we want publicity (that's what sponsors put their logos on us for, after all) but it's difficult enough to coordinate the mass of people and equipment that we're dealing with without having to be quiet because someone is being interviewed, or not being able to go into your own work area because they're filming.

The fun part was when I tried to sneak in my physical exam during lunch while all the press was gone, but the instant we started a photographer showed up and I was coaxed into a hospital gown to make the shot better (I hope we have insulated changing rooms up on Everest, those gowns can be drafty). I got to keep my pants on underneath, which I think made everyone just that much happier.

And the second fun part was when Corey came in and said "It's Christmas in the conference room!" That could only mean one thing -- Dan had shown up from Olympus and was unpacking all the donated gear. Scott was keeping an eagle eye on everything, however. Clearly experienced with this part of the expedition experience, Scott was taking inventory and doling out the goods. This is the one place where being the technical guy pays off -- you get a lot more of the toys. Unfortunately, my 35mm camera disappeared within a few days. Fortunately, my digital camera did not.

A similar scene was taking place in our Classroom of Tomorrow (we know it's hokey, but it's a pretty high-tech classroom, okay?) where Ken and Nick sorted about 20 cases of medicines and Jim helped repack them in a manner that would not leave us helpless if a crate gets lost in transit. Of course, we didn't get to help ourselves to the meds, but I did get a digital ear thermometer that was left over. I sent it to my sister for her soon-to-be-baby (I may be a gadget hound, but playing with digital thermometers doesn't do much for me).

Ken and Scott took some time to describe the physical effects of the trip to us, and made sure to spare no details. I think it was when Ken started warning us about getting sunburned on the inside of our eyelids that I began to reconsider what I had volunteered for. I'm definitely getting better sunglasses before I go.

Thankfully we were later treated to a wonderful meal at Mory's, which is where old Yalies go to die from what I understand. It's interesting to see how the other half lives (with a lot dimmer lighting, surprisingly enough). Actually, I've been there before but I always love to tease our Yalies.

See some exciting photos from the Pre-expedition workshop!