Rick Satava, Jr. Wednesday, May 5 Pheriche Village, Nepal

Greetings all,

From Pheriche at 13,800 ft. The team arrived here yesterday afternoon and we are taking a rest day to acclimatize and wait for the rest of our equipment to catch up. The past few days we have been trekking higher, finally getting our first views of some of the incredibly dramatic Himalaya views. In particular, Ama Dablam and of course Everest, Lohtse, and Nuptse. The weather has been relatively agreeable with warm days and cool nights. The past few nights have been much colder as we move higher. This year there seems to be more wind and dust, which is giving everyone including me an early hack (cough). The dust is particularly bad this year because it has been so dry in this region. I am personally doing well but staying much busier than last year. I wanted to make sure this year I had things to do and I have definitely done that. Between working with our Nepali support team and the folks on our side of the expedition, there been plenty to keep me busy. I've also been trying to act as culinary consultant for the cook staff as we figure out what they can cook and what the group wants to eat. I think I can safely say that the food this year has been better so far and the group has been giving good feedback. The medical testing has been going well. We had to reassess our strategy when it became apparent that there was no way to test 15 people in one day including setup and tear down time. The plan has been to test 6 people from the core group (those staying for the whole trip) and then when we get to base camp do studies on the rest of the group. So far this seems to be working. We have one more stop at Lobuje (about 1600 ft) where we will spend a day doing tests and then two more days until we reach base camp. Thanks to everyone that has written me. It is really great to be able to get messages while I'm out here. I'm doing well and look forward to keeping in touch with you all.

Take care,
-Rick,Jr.