Scott Parazynski Everest Update: 3 April 2008 - Dingboche, Nepal

Another wonderful but challenging day in the mountains! In an effort to get our bodies acclimatized to the thinner air of Everest Base Camp and above, we left our camp in Dingboche this morning and ascended a rather steep ridgeline above the valley, peaking at 16,400 feet above sea level.

Our 2,000 foot vertical climb took Adam, Bob, Jaroslav, Sherpa Pemba and myself just an hour and a half --- a great indicator of how we're fairing up here.

My resting pulse at the top of our climb was 88, and my oxygen saturation 84%, which is to be expected as our bodies build more red blood cells to carry the limited oxygen in the thinning air here.

Tomorrow we move camps to the village of Lobuche, with an approximate altitude of 16,000' --- so our bodies should be ready for this challenge. Just a few more days and we'll be at the base of our real quest: Mount Everest.

To stay healthy up here you need to consume many more calories and more water than you'd expect: our energy expenditure, even at rest, is a significant workout, and we go through up to 4 liters of water (and soups and tea) each day.

Our team's cook staff have really spoiled us, but making the food enticing is very important, especially as we head higher on the mountain and our appetites really wane. We've had deep dish pizza that would give any Chicago pizzaria a run for its money at 14,000', and once we even had California rolls (sushi) --- although that was on the first or second day of the trek in...

Looking forward to sharing more of the Everest Experience with you as it develops...

Namaste,

Scott

P.S. You may want to check out Bob Lowry's blog. He's become a good buddy.