January 26, 2008 by admin.

Lei has been in basecamp for 4 days, and will go up to camp 1 this afternoon. She arrived at basecamp on Jan 22, rested for one day, did a carry to camp 1 on Jan 24, then another rest day. There is a weather system in the area and the forecast is not good until Jan 29, so she’s spending more time in basecamp to wait out the weather instead of waiting higher on the mountain. She’ll move up later this afternoon (Jan 26).

Lei reports:

Weather wise, this season has been good so far, most teams can get a decent summit window with a reasonable schedule. My planned summit day is after this storm system pass on Jan 29. Hopefully, I will have my luck this time.

Health wise, I´m in perfect condition. Having spent more time to slowly acclimatize, my oxygen saturation level is consistent at high 80%, near 90% (oxygen saturation level in blood at sea level is 100%). I am feeling very comfortable here.

On another note, there´s a change to my guide. My guide Damian left the mountain yesterday morning due to a family emergency. I was very depressed and sat in a corner of base camp by myself for several hours yesterday morning to gather my thoughts, and steer myself towards positive thinking. My new guide Esteban is a very caring person, his warmer personality and very positive attitude helped me feel better and cheered me up. We are looking forward to a happy and fast ascent ahead (given that I have acclimatized perfectly and am feeling strong).

Next update will be after summit.

Posted in Aconcagua | No Comments »

December 28, 2007 by admin.

Got a call from Lei on the summit tonight. She’s bagged another one. This was her weakest summit though, because she was suffering from a stomach bug. (Probably too much good food the week before…) She wasn’t able to eat much before the summit and constantly wanted to stop to empty what little was in her system, but she made it. Tomorrow they’ll head back down to base camp and then back to the main camp. Congratulations Lei!

Posted in Antarctica | 1 Comment »

December 23, 2007 by admin.

Got a call from Lei. They are moving to base camp today! Tomorrow she expects to move to Camp 1 where they will spend 3days acclimatizing. Then they should carry and move. She expects to finish the entire climb in 5 to 7 days. We should get an update from her when she reaches camp 1.

Posted in Antarctica | No Comments »

December 20, 2007 by admin.

Heard from Lei today. She’s in Antarctica and having a blast. She and the others stayed up all night watching the Antarctica marathon. Nineteen people ran it, and one woman ran 100k… in 22 hours.

They’ve been stuck there as they need another flight to the mountain base and weather has been pretty warm and a little cloudy. She’s thinking that tomorrow they may be able to make it.

Lei reports that the Antarctica food is great and the life there is excellent. Unlimited food and drinks, a nice toilet, and many interesting people to share them with. She even has a mattress for a bed! She’s been walking around in only 1 layer with her down jacket, so she’s quite comfortable. It’s truly a five star experience.

Her next update should be in a few days from the base of Mt. Vinson.

Posted in Antarctica | No Comments »

June 30, 2007 by admin.

Lei got through on the phone for a minute today. One of the members of the team passed out during this morning’s summit bid. They brought him back down and were thinking about making another attempt today. If things go badly, she is going to stay with the next group (which is already there) and make an attempt with them. Hopefully her current group will be able to recover from today’s challenge and summit today or tomorrow.

Posted in Denali June 2007 Blog | No Comments »

June 29, 2007 by admin.

Lei’s group made their first summit bid today in apparent nice weather. As they were approaching the first high pass, the guide spotted a low cloud formation and turned them back. There’s now a gale blowing snow at the summit. Lei will get another chance tomorrow, hopefully the weather will be more cooperative.

Posted in Denali June 2007 Blog | No Comments »

June 28, 2007 by admin.

Well, according to the guiding company they made high camp yesterday.  This is great news as the summit should not be too difficult.  Only have to wait for a good weather day to make the final push, and according to the weather forcast, they’ll have it!  Clear skies and winds up to 25 mph sounds like perfect weather for a summit.  Looks like Lei will bag this one for sure. 

Posted in Denali June 2007 Blog | No Comments »

June 26, 2007 by admin.

Got word from Lei today.  They have been stuck at camp 3 for a couple of days now, waiting for the chance to move up to high camp.  She caught a cold from the guy on her team who has been sick the entire time (see the guiding company’s blog), but escaped with only a few days of symptoms:  runny nose for a day, scratchy throat for a day, and a slight cough.  Otherwise, healthy and strong!  In fact, she reports that she is nowhere near the weakest link in her team.  It is some of the bigger men who call for breaks or for the team to slow down.  Some do not show to much familiarity with crampons or walking in deep snow, and she is a little worried that they may cause problems on summit day.

Asside from avoiding germs, the team is waiting for good weather to move up.  With the time lost in getting to the glacier and the two days stuck at camp 3, Lei is a little worried about getting the chance to summit.  If it doesn’t come with this group, she plans to stay on with the next group so that she can bag this peak.

Posted in Denali June 2007 Blog | No Comments »

June 21, 2007 by admin.

Lei left a message last night.  She is at camp 3, 14000 feet.  They’re planning on staying for four days, which I guess means heading to high camp on Saturday or Sunday.  According to her, “Everything is perfect.”  She’s in good health and feeling strong!  As long as the weather cooperates, she should have another summit under her belt very soon.

Posted in Denali June 2007 Blog | No Comments »

June 20, 2007 by admin.

The guiding company reports that they’ve made the move to camp 3.  It looks like Lei’s group is zipping up the mountain after the delay in catching a plane out.  Still no word from Lei herself, but I’m sure she’s doing great!

Posted in Denali June 2007 Blog | No Comments »