Today, Scott's team rested at base camp. Everyone is feeling good, but the first time through the icefall was clearly quite exhausting. Tomorrow (Saturday, April 13) the team, accompanied by eight high-altitude Sherpas, will climb to Camp I and spend one night there.

On April 14, team members who are able will climb to Camp II. They will all return to base camp on April 14. This is all part of the acclimatization process. Today, the high-altitude Sherpas climbed to Camp I to set up equipment for the team. The Sherpas climbed through the Khumbu Icefall and back to base camp in four hours. Yesterday it took the team climbers eight to ten hours. The Sherpas climb with lightning speed; they are truly remarkable. There are no other climbers in the world who could keep the pace that the best climbing Sherpas keep.

Yesterday I talked with the South African team Three members of their climbing team quit--lots of politics involved. Andy De Clerk, of Seattle, was one of the members who decided to quit. I don't know the details. Something about the doctor of the expedition being fired, and more.

Today I hoped to talk with the Swede who rode his bicycle from Sweden to Kathmandu. He plans to (literally) solo Mount Everest. He was not at base camp yet. I have a bit of information on him that I will give you today. Now this is the story:

Goran Kropp is from Sweden. He is 29 years old and an accomplished climber--Peak Lenin in 1988, Muztag Tower in 1990, Cho Oyu in 1992, K2 in 1993, Broad Peak in 1994, and other tough climbs. He completely soloed Broad Peak and soloed K2 from Camp IV.

This year, he decided to ride his bicycle from Sweden to Kathmandu. On October 16, he began hauling all of his climbing equipment behind his bicycle across Europe and through the Middle East. The experiences he had while biking through the Middle East are something that novels are made of. He was stoned, run off the road, and had a few VERY close calls. A Swedish film company is making a documentary about Goran. They met up with him along the way to film. The two-man crew also ran into much trouble along the way.

Anyway, he made it to Kathmandu. I met him in Namche Baazar. He is very kind, gentle, and handsome. Apparently, he is a national hero in Sweden, loved by all. He is not using any Sherpa support of any kind to climb Mount Everest. These days that's unheard of. His camera man (who does not climb) plans to climb as far as he can, using the support of Sherpas to carry in his food, tent, carry his camera, etc. Goran is climbing the South Pillar of Mount Everest.

More about the mountain: On April 9, a Danish team spent the night in Camp I and said the winds were fierce. However, last night was very cold but not windy.

-- Jane Bromet