A day & time I will never forget . (EVEREST)
May 26th 8:10AM 2017.
I have to first thank my wife Deborah Jean Burke for her support and understanding through this whole expedition. It has been quite an ordeal. I believe I've been gone nearly 70 days with limited communication but her support never seemed to waiver. Anyway, it's done after literally years of thinking about doing this and having a successful conclusion; it's has been very rewarding. I've said that this was by far the most difficult thing I've ever done. Those of you who really know me know I'm always looking for ways of challenging myself. We'll I definitely did that and the outcome could not have turned out any better. So, we arrived at Kathmandu late yesterday and I was pleased to see the everyone was aware that we summited. I actually made it down to Base Camp the 27th. It is so late in the season that they pulled down the Wifi system so there was no way for me to post a communication. Our leader Russ Brice is an amazing leader on the mountain. From day one I've put all of my trust in him and his decisions. His record, on Everest, of getting his clients to the top and back down safely is second to none. Not sure if this years "Everest "stats made news in the States but it was a tough year on the mountain as far as people losing fingers , toes, hands, feet and ultimately the number of lives lost on the mountain werevway to many. Russ, the professional he is, was very patient and made the perfect call for what we now believe to be the best possible day of the season. From camp 4 we left for the Summit @ 1:00AM. That night the wind was howling till about10:00PM. When we left for summit there was just a small breeze. I've said this before but our team is very strong and our pace up the mountain was fast and efficient. We were on schedule all the way up and it was an amazing day. I have lots of pictures, unfortunately not on my camera, that I will forward along later today. I had some camera issues on the summit, which is very common. I would also like to thank everyone for their communication, support and prayers. With my faith in God and support of my family and friends this expedition was a success. Thank you for following along.
Too Photo: Russell and I yesterday getting ready to fly off the mountain.
That's me second in line for the summit in the orange and red down suit