5/17/2007 Summit Bid

Phone call via satellite phone:

Omar has succcessfully become the first Egyptian to summit mount Everest at roughly 7.20p.m Egyptian time this morning.  We all await his return to base camp for a longer conversation and details.

5/17/2007 Summit Bid

Phone call via satellite phone:

Omar has succcessfully become the first Egyptian to summit mount Everest at roughly 7.20p.m Egyptian time this morning.  We all await his return to base camp for a longer conversation and details.

5/16/2007 Camp 4 to the summit

Text message via Satellite phone:

Omar arrived at camp four with the last leg of the climb ahead of him. They will continue climbing at 10p.m or 7p.m local time.

5/15/2007 News from Camp 3

Text received on 15.05.07

Omar and Greg made it to Camp 3 and will continue to Camp 4 tomorrow. Ben and Tori have had stomach troubles and returned to Base Camp.

5/14/2007 Progress of Team

Text Message

Via Satellite phone : Everyone safe at Camp two heading to Camp 3 tommorrow.

5/14/2007 Route to the summit
Text received 14-05-07
Hello,
We are now on our rest day at Camp 2. It was a big day yesterday from Base Camp to Camp 2 but we all got here fine. Still on track to leave tomorrow to Camp 3!

5/13/2007 How do you get to the summit of Mount Everest?
The team is now back at Base Camp after a much needed rest at the village of Pangboche in the Khumbu Valley. We stayed at Sonam lodge which is owned by a Sherpa family whom we climbed with on Cho Oyu, but have since retired from high altitude mountaineering. Between our team and Victor Saunder’s team, we managed to get the whole place to ourselves and enjoyed the food, comfort and hospitality that our Sherpa friends provided.At the altitude of 4000m, the air is more oxygen-rich and there are trees all round. This made a difference from the relatively inhospitable conditions of Base Camp which we had been accustomed too and made a difference to our mental strength as much as our health and physical strength. From the lodge we could see the summit of Ama Dablam, which is apparently proving challenging with the weather conditions not allowing Sherpas to fix ropes to the summit. We could also see a slither of Everest when the cloud cleared, showing us the south summit and the summit itself.Greg and I were the first to arrive to the village, followed by Ben and Tori the next day. Greg and I spent three nights there and Ben and Tori four. However, we all caught up with each other at Base Camp after Greg and I spent one extra night on the way back up at the village of Gorak Shep. The highlights of the trip for everyone was getting to actually choose the food we ate, have soft fizzy drinks and chocolates whenever we pleased and watch movies. We actually ended up playing a total of 15 movies which helped pass the time.The team also visited the famous Lama Geishi at the Pangboche Monastery and were blessed for their climb

5/12/2007 Back at Everest Base Camp
The team is now back at Base Camp after a much needed rest at the village of Pangboche in the Khumbu Valley. We stayed at Sonam lodge which is owned by a Sherpa family whom we climbed with on Cho Oyu, but have since retired from high altitude mountaineering. Between our team and Victor Saunder’s team, we managed to get the whole place to ourselves and enjoyed the food, comfort and hospitality that our Sherpa friends provided.At the altitude of 4000m, the air is more oxygen-rich and there are trees all round. This made a difference from the relatively inhospitable conditions of Base Camp which we had been accustomed too and made a difference to our mental strength as much as our health and physical strength. From the lodge we could see the summit of Ama Dablam, which is apparently proving challenging with the weather conditions not allowing Sherpas to fix ropes to the summit. We could also see a slither of Everest when the cloud cleared, showing us the south summit and the summit itself.Greg and I were the first to arrive to the village, followed by Ben and Tori the next day. Greg and I spent three nights there and Ben and Tori four. However, we all caught up with each other at Base Camp after Greg and I spent one extra night on the way back up at the village of Gorak Shep. The highlights of the trip for everyone was getting to actually choose the food we ate, have soft fizzy drinks and chocolates whenever we pleased and watch movies. We actually ended up playing a total of 15 movies which helped pass the time.The team also visited the famous Lama Geishi at the Pangboche Monastery and were blessed for their climb.

5/2/2007 phone call

VIA SATELLITE PHONE.

The team plus Omar are now resting in the town of Pangbouche awaiting the summit bid. There is a chance of an early summit, they will know in a day or two.

4/30/2007 Life in Camp 2

Nestled along side some ice cliffs part way along the Western Cwm, camp 2 is located at around 6,400m (21,000 ft) – which means that it is a site of extremes. At night it is extremely cold, with temperatures dropping down to -15 to -20 degrees C. Conversely, when the sun comes out the shape of the cwm acts as a giant reflector for solar radiation and you can strip down to nothing but long underwear and still be roasting.

Our setup at camp 2 is like a mini version of base camp, complete with a mess tent and kitchen. We were even promised the luxury of a gas heater for the mess tent, but it never really worked! The outside temperature gets cold enough that the bottled gas remains liquid and there’s not enough vapour pressure to run the heater. So instead most people ended up wearing our high altitude down suits for dinner and it looked like a get together for red Michelin men!

After almost a week in camp 2 exposed to the cold, dry air most of the team had picked up various degrees of the ‘Khumbu Cough’, which is nothing more than an irritation of the lungs/airways and should clear up within a few days of going down to base camp or lower altitudes.

4/30/2007 A Long Way Down

After a relatively peaceful night in the rarefied atmosphere of camp 3 the team had to make it’s way back down the Lhotse Face and back through the awe inspiring Western Cwm, which towers over all sides, and back to camp 2 for a night’s rest before descending to the relative comfort of base camp.

Descending the Lhotse Face involved arm wrapping (wrapping the fixed line round your arm behind you for friction and then leaning forward so that you were more perpendicular to the slope so that as many crampon points as possible were in contact with the slope) down the face. This can be fun, but it got rather hairy as you looked down the hundreds of metres into the Western Cwn and realised that one foot wrong could send you tumbling a long way down even though you were attached to the fixed lines. This was particularly sobering at one point which was approaching maybe 80 degrees and which had felt much less steep on the way up – definitely not the time to be going weak at the knees.

Once off the face it was an hour back to camp 2 and a brilliant Sherpa Stew followed by lemon cheese cake! I have no idea how they made it at 6,400m but the lemon flavoured drink crystals left the mess tent for a short while before dinner!

The 28th saw a sunny morning with good views and some great picture opportunities as we made our way down to base camp for some well deserved rest.

We will all now head down the valley in order to build our strength ready for our summit bid, so our next update will be when we return to base camp ready to attempt the summit.

4/29/2007 Team pass through Western Cwm on way to Camp 2

After two previous trips through the treacherous Khumbu Ice Fall, the team navigated it much quicker and safer the third time. Although some of the dangers of this section of the mountain cannot be avoided, the team is now far better aware as to where they should go quicker to minimise the objective dangers. The second night at Camp 1 was much more pleasant than the first as the team felt much more acclimatized to this frightful altitude.

The trip to Camp 2 began the next morning at 6:30am. It was not dark at that time but the sun had not began shinning and most were complaining of cold hands at the outset. We all know that it is sometimes far better to be cold in the Western Cwm than hot where temperatures have been known to rise to 50C. After crossing the many crevasses right after camp 1 and crossing multiple ladders perched over those bottomless pits, the team got into the Cwm proper. This section of the mountain is un-roped and is a gentle but very long rise into Camp 2. It is a very deceiving section at that as even when you begin to see Camp 2 in the distance, it is always one or two rises and descents too far. It is really a soul crushing undertaking.

That day the wind was blowing hard, turning whatever uncovered sections of our face stone cold. We did manage to take in the breathtaking view of the Cwm amidst all this, with Everest revealing itself fully for us for the first time. Wind was still blowing hard at the top signalling that it may be too early to summit. It is amazing to think how high the mountain looks from a staggering 6400m! Slowly we adjusted our view to whatever we could see of the Lhotse face (the way to camp 3) and realising just how steep it looks. We soon realised that it is preferable to eye the elusive Camp 2 instead and break down the task into smaller steps. somehow the time passed and we were finally at our new destination and home for almost a week.

4/27/2007 Latest text from team: Heading back to Base Camp
Text - received 27.04.07
We’re all back at Camp 2 having spent night at Camp 3 at over 7000m. Temp minus 20. Base Camp tomorrow.

4/25/2007 On Camp 2 and 3

Text - received 25.04.07
Greg, Kenton and Tori walk to bottom of Lhotse face and return to Camp 2. Team plan to sleep at Camp 3 tomorrow. All well.

4/24/2007 News from the mountain

With the team away from Base Camp for a few days they have sent two texts via their satellite phone to let everyone know how they are. Please see below:

TEXT - received 23.04.07: Team all at Camp 2 at 6400m. We have intense sunshine plus snow showers. Western Cwm is beautiful and have had magnificent views of summit.

TEXT - received 24.04.07 (From Tori): Today boys went half way to Camp 3 while I rested at Camp 2. I will do same tomorrow. Making good progress in extreme hot and cold.

4/20/2007 Plans for the next 8 days

We have spent today sorting out our kit ready for an extended acclimatisation trip up the mountain. At the end of this we will hopefully be ready, in an acclimatisation sense, for a summit bid some time in May.

We have now packed up our down suits ready for camp 2 and camp 3 which are at 6,400m and 7,300m respectively and which will be much colder than base camp, where at night it is a balmy -10C. However it is just warm enough to have an outside shower in the shower tent every once in a while when the sun comes out. I had my first in 12 days yesterday – some people have been 18 days without one….

Our plan tomorrow is to start early – leave around 5am – and move up to camp 1 and spend the night. The following day we will walk the 3 hours or so to camp 2 only gaining about 400m along the way but we will have spectacular views of Everest, Lhotse and the Western Cwm. Camp 2 has a mess tent and a cook, however the food will be pretty basic.

After a rest day at camp 2 we will move up to the foot of the steep Lhotse face for a day walk. After another rest (acclimatisation) day we will climb the 900m up the Lhotse face to camp 3 and spend what promises to be an uncomfortable night there before descending back to base camp with one more night at camp 2.

We will eventually make our summit bid from camp 3 travelling on oxygen to camp 4 at the South Col at 8,000m and then on at midnight or earlier to the summit. But that will hopefully happen the next time we are up the mountain at camp 3 and we may have a long wait for a weather window between now and then.

4/19/2007 Puja

Today we had our Puja, which is the traditional Buddhist ceremony before a major climb to protect all those involved and to wish them well on the mountain. It is quite a big deal for the Sherpas especially.

It started out with everyone bringing items of special significance which they wanted blessed by the Lama – everything from ice axes and crampons to photographs of family members and sponsors flags. These things were laid down around the stone chortern that was specifically built for our base camp, along with food and drinks.

The majority of the ceremony is made up of the Lama and his assistant chanting away while everyone sits around listening intently. Juniper branches are burned and every few minutes rice is thrown towards the mountain. After a while a colourful array of prayer flags was raised from a pole in the centre of the chortern and stretched out to cover most of base camp. The prayers printed on each flag are meant to be carried aloft on the wind.

The grand finale was that everyone got a handful of tsampa (barley flour) and at he right moment of chanting threw it into the air (although I think some people used this as a chance to try and flour their team mates!). Afterwards the food and drinks were served and after a while everyone wandered off.

Looking ahead, we plan to remain in base camp tomorrow and then move up the mountain for a longer acclimatisation trip (7 – 8 days) on the 21st April. Conditions in the icefall are not great so we are trying to cut back the number of trips that we have to make through it.

4/14/2007 Venturing through the infamous Khumbu Ice Fall

Yesterday was the long awaited day up the Khumbu ice fall, which truly marks the end of the trekking part of the trip and the beginning of the far longer climbing part. Breakfast was earlier than usual at 5:30am with the usual servings of porridge / rice pudding which Ben and Tori seem to be indifferent to and Greg and Omar despise. The team got going at 6.05am with leader Kenton Cool leading the march and were at the bottom of the ice fall 15 minutes later to put crampons on and get ready for the day’s climb.

The sun was not yet out when we began but there was plenty of light not to need to wear head lamps. For a moment you could forget the perilous nature of the ice fall with its many avalanches and crumbling seracs and get lost in a sea of deep blue pinnacles of ice and the silence of an early morning. This soon disappeared as we got into a steady rhythm and began negotiating the treacherous terrain. It all got very interesting when we began negotiating the many ladders perched across deep and wide crevasses. The first crossing was a bit of an adrenaline rush as we were constantly reminded that a fall can lead to an unfortunate tumble several hundred feet down before getting caught by the rope safety or at worst, certain death. However, the team did very well despite it being Friday the 13th and all and began negotiating the ladders with greater finesse while maintaining a slow and steady safe pace.

After several complaints about the cold and wind, the sun fully came out at around 9am. We all quickly changed our mind when the reflections of the icy maze we were in made the heat quite taxing. We were reminded not to complain as this is nothing compared to the extremely uncomfortable heat levels of the western cwm. The whole team moved very efficiently up the ice fall and did a great job of climbing the various steep sections. In fact, we did so well that we all went further than the half way point, which was the plan initially intended by Kenton with half the team reaching close to the top of the ice fall (only 25 minutes from Camp 1) and the rest only 10 minutes behind.

The team is now back safe at Base Camp and will get a couple of days rest before venturing again up the ice fall but this time with the goal of sleeping at Camp 1 at 6100m. Camp 1 marks one of four camps the team will cross on their way to the summit.

4/7/2007 Where in the world is Omar?!

This blog is a bit out of date due to Ahmed and I splitting up from the rest of the team. We did group up at the town of Lobuche as the new blogs mention but the communications have been slow to getting set up at base camp due mainly to weather constraints. So anyway this is a quick summary of what Ahmed and I got up to since parting with the rest of the group at the town of Namche Bazaar.

The morning the team set off to the town of Dole to take the Gokyo route to Everest base camp, I woke up with an upset stomach and temperature of 38.8C. A quick decision was made that I should stay behind to focus on getting well and therefore take the direct route up to Base Camp. Fortunately, my brother Ahmed opted to stay with me which proved to be a great help in terms of keeping me company but also helping with getting back to normality from the stomach illness. After a few pain killers etc I felt better that day but woke up the next morning with the temperature back up again and so the decision to start on Antibiotics was taken. That turned out to be the key to a quick recovery and after 2 extra nights at Namche, I was ready to walk higher to the next camp, the town of Thyangboche.

It was great to visit the Buddhist monastery there and sit in on the Lama readings. Ahmed and I also got the opportunity to get blessed by one of the monk’s and granted a safe passage up the mountain. The local sherpas consider the mountains as gods and they see the success of people summiting as the mountain granting the climbers a safe passage and therefore the whole venture should be regarded with respect. The next day on the way to the town of Dingboche, we stopped for an hour or so at the town of Deboche to try and find the town medic, An old lady that goes by the name of Ang Kanchi. Luckily we found here with little problem and were invited into the town ‘clinic’. Sadly it seemed that much like the economy of Nepal these days, this clinic was in a dire state with little supplies and means to tend to the sick people of the region. I was lead there on the request the of a good friend to get off them a list of medicines they needed which I could email from Base Camp and my friend can get sent over. So there was a higher purpose after all to detour from the rest of the group between this meeting and the monastery and we could leave with the fulfilment that these medicines would hopefully go a long way in improving the lives of people in the area.

We spent a night at Dingboche and the next morning set off to Lobuche where we eventually ended up staying 4 nights as we got better acclimatised and waited for the rest of the team to arrive via the Gokyo route. So all in all, despite missing the opportunity to spend time with the other trekkers and the climbing team, Ahmed and I got to spend some quality time together before he left to go home and as mentioned previously there were other interesting experiences along the way

3/29/2007 I have began my Everest expedition
I have began my Everest expedition. My dream to reach the top of the world and raise the Egyptian flag on the summit is in progress!! I could not have gotten so far without support. My girlfriend Luisa has been a tremendous supprt to me, keeping me strong when my morale went down. My mother has helped me so much on the PR front and thus helping me get the necessary sponsorship to make this dream a reality.

Also, my father has stood by me throughout all this and my brother is actually with me until base camp is a great boost for me. Obviously a great thanks to my sponsors who have put a lot of faith in me, and god willing i won't let them down, and all my friends and family.

I will do my best to post my progress from our satellite communication during this 70-day expedition. Please check this website and continue to follow my progress and post comments.

I arrived to Kathmandu on the 26th of March and after 2 busy days making last minute preparations, the team flew from Kathmandu to Lukla on the 28th. The flight was in a small 16-seater plane, lasted 35 minutes and went through some of the most breathtaking scenery on the way. Everyone enjoyed the flight but little didn't get their adrenaline pumping on landing. Lukla airstrip is about 100m long afterwhich there is a high concrete wall. The plane stops and turns with only seconds to spare!

The same day we walked to Monjo at around 2800m after a 6 hour walk that was quite undulating. The trail took us through dusty, shruby terrain and over lots of suspension bridges. We passed various tiny villages along the way. We took it slow, stopping several times on the way. Everyone seemed to be in great shape. Only some felt tired for not getting any sleep the night before… no one to blame there! Except a pigeon which miraculously got into someone's room and left feathers and insects flying around all night, stopping them from getting any sleep.

10/7/2006 The team intends to climb Mount Cho Oyu
The team intends to climb Mount Cho Oyu (8,201m) which is the 6th highest mountain in the world. Cho Oyu is just west of Everest and straddles the Tibetan / Nepalese border. The 6 week grueling climb will give Omar and the team increased high altitude experience, fixed line ascending technique and comfort in the use of supplementary oxygen, making it the perfect preparation for Everest and boosting summit chances. preparation for Everest, considerably boosting summit chances.

10/1/2006 The team engages the professional expertise
The team engages the professional expertise of two of the world's best mountaineering guides as well as a professional nutrition and fitness consultant and physician specializing in high altitude medicine who we are able to consult with for expert advice when needed.

3/25/2006 Omar and the London Business School Team spent 7 days training
Omar and the London Business School Team spent 7 days training in the harsh conditions of the winter alps. Storms and heavy snow fall made climbing anything above 4000m an impossibility. Despite this, the team managed to climb  3,429m La Tete Blance and 3,600m Col du Midi as well as perfect the techniques (rope work and camp craft) they will need in the Himalayas. This was also a great opportunity to meet and work with the two professional guides that will be guiding the team on both Cho Oyu and Everest prior to the expeditions, something which very teams get a chance to do. 

2/22/2006 Climbing Trip near Fort Williams
Climbing Trip near Fort Williams, Scotland. Successful Climbs of a technical route up Ben Nevis (1344m - highest mountain in the UK) and a climb of a nearby 1055m peak. Training in climbing on fixed ropes, traveling as part of rope team on rocky ridges, setting fixed and running belays as well as various self arrest techniques.

12/23/2005 The team lays out an intensive pre-Everest preparation schedule
The team lays out an intensive pre-Everest preparation schedule, including climbs in Scotland (February 2006), the Alps (March and June 2006), Cho Oyu - 6th highest mountain in the world (September/October 2006) and Aconcagua (December/January 2006/2007) - highest mountain in the Americas.

11/8/2005 Omar and the London Business School Eveest summit team
Omar and the London Business School Eveest summit team decide to begin preparation for an assault on Everest in March 2007, climbing the mountain by the Southeast Ridge (the same route that was climbed by Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953).