원정 개요

Brian Barwatt Facebook page (May 8):

I guess humble pie is best served cold. I came close to the summit of Ama Dablam, but did not succeed. At about 21,500' my body went from feeling strong, to almost completely shutting down in a matter of minutes. I tried to push on for probably another hour only to realize that my situation had become life threatening (vomiting, extreme coughing, nausea).

The ensuing 5 hours was the most terrifying blur of my life as I had to descend over 2000 technical feet in complete exhaustion involving almost 20 rappels back to our high camp. It took every ounce of my energy to stay focused, the only other thought in my head being Dominique.

The weather was great, we were making excellent time, and I felt strong when we started our summit push. The only excuses I have is that maybe I could have used a few more days to acclimatize or I am just getting too old for this??. Either way, I am very satisfied with my effort.