Nathaniel Merriam Sunday, May 16 Everest Base Camp, Nepal

One thing I look forward to upon returning is weekends. Today is Sunday, but you wouldn't know it by the amount of work we've done. This is truly a 24-hour a day, 7-day a week job, if only because you don't have the option of going somewhere else or hanging out with other friends. Even getting time to yourself is difficult, as there's not that many places to hide. I'm personally fond of a secluded rock that looks out over a frozen pool of glacier water near our camp. A half-hour there with a Chris Isaak minidisc is enough to keep me from killing anyone (at least so far -- there's still 11 days left).

My legs are a bit numb from visiting the other secluded spot that folks have to visit periodically. The problem is that the Nepalese are a lot smaller than we giant Americans, so they build toilet tents that are guaranteed to cripple an otherwise healthy man within minutes of sitting down. I suppose it could be considered motivation to hurry up, but when the ambient temperature is in the teens I can pretty much guarantee that no one is dilly-dallying with their trousers down.

In other medical news, the new photo of me that should be up may lead viewers to believe that I have had collagen injections or recently engaged in a boxing match. Nothing could be further than the truth -- the sad fact is that I have horribly sunburned my lips. This is not a pleasant thing to do, trust me. Given the possibility of burning my underside of my eyelids or the inside of my mouth I suppose it's vastly preferable, but as it is I spend most of my time walking around with zinc oxide spread liberally on my lips. Aside from the constant "Mammy" jokes, I'm less than enthusiastic about looking like I kissed a rabid yak.

Actual directions on the Zinc Oxide tube: "Change wet and soiled diapers promptly, cleanse the diaper area, and allow to dry. Apply ointment liberally as often as necessary, with each diaper change, especially at bedtime or any time when exposure to wet diapers may be prolonged." Despite these crystal-clear directions, I cannot get any of the doctors to change my diapers or apply the ointment to any part of my body save my lips. I'm not sure, but this may be a malpractice case in the making.

I'm getting wonderfully nice email from folks around the world (well, okay, around the block) telling me that they start the day with my journals and find them entertaining. While I could be hypoxic, I'm pretty sure these are legitimate, so I appreciate the compliments, especially from the young ladies out there who happen to live in the New Haven, CT; Richmond, VA; Wash, DC; or NYC metropolitan areas (geez, how blatant do I have to be before I start getting the really good email?).

So we've been preparing for some educational videoconferences that will be early next week (Mon and Tues nights US time, I think). Our preparation involves taping some material that we don't want to risk screwing up live (hey, at least I'm honest!) and deciding what things the students participating will find interesting. These conferences will be available live to a lot of high school students around the country, as well as being available afterwards from this site in RealVideo format. We're pretty excited that we'll have some folks making decisions about college and careers after seeing how neat medicine and research and exploration can be. On that note, if any of the participating students are reading, we really do encourage you to ask whatever questions you want -- we know that your teachers will probably screen questions looking for those of serious scientific merit, but honestly you'll never understand what it's like to do this without asking the real questions on your minds. On our end of the deal, if you ask the question we'll do our best to answer it. And come up with some questions for me because I think I'm gonna be sitting in a corner the whole time -- lets face it, the technical guy isn't as fascinating as the climber. So ask me about comics or something.

With only four or so days let in base camp, we broke out the real rations today. Of course the sherpas do their best to cook good food for us, but they just don't understand our delicate palates. We spent the afternoon eating honey-roasted peanuts, Chex party mix, and beef jerky. How gloriously American! We have to eat all we can up here because the last thing we want to do is lug four cases of peanuts back down the mountain with us. The sherpas did us one good turn for lunch today -- they made about 20 boxes of macaroni and cheese that we brought up, and everyone inhaled it like it was the last mac and cheese on earth. It's the simple pleasures that make psychological survival possible up here.

In the Bad News department, my boot liners won't seem to dry out. Everyone tells me to pull the liners into my sleeping bag at night and my body heat will dry them, but it hasn't worked yet. Every morning my liners are just as cold and wet as they were when I went to bed. I think someone needs to explain to me how my boots are rated to -40 F but I'm dying in the teens. Am I supposed to be wearing another pair of boots over these? Is there a special way to tie my laces to keep heat in? I don't think so because a lot of other folks are having the same problems. This is making my trip a lot less enjoyable. I'd hate to have to wear my hiking boots every day, but at least they handle a little perspiration without risking frostbite.

Seeking advice for the lovelorn? Have tips on how to dry my boots? It's like a little soap opera up here, and I'm the Phantom. Watch out for that pipe organ and write me at NMerriam@ArtBoy.org.

Nathaniel