April 7, 2008 by Lei.

Many friends have made me aware that I haven’t updated my blog since I came back. Sorry, too late for excuses now.

After coming back from Aconcagua, I actually recovered faster than I expected physical wise. Within one week, I felt energetic enough to hike and climb again. But the mental recovery only started after my body was healed. I spent the next week assessing my situation. During those two months of the long stretch of expeditions back to back, my energy level was wearing down obviously. I knew I could have performed better on Aconcagua had I not arrived at the mountain with half tank. I only survived the climb thank to my guides Estaban and Damian, and a lot of mental power. But it would be dangerous if I can’t guarantee a full tank to start off Everest.

After a painful and almost depressing debate, I finally decided to postpone Everest to next year. It was not a high moment to make such a decision, but safety is the utmost important priority. Given the fact that both North Pole and Everest are the hardest of the 7+2 project, I think it’s wise though not ideal to focus on just one of the hardest tasks during one trip.

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February 2, 2008 by Lei.

How I feel after summit? One word, depleted!

It will take a while for me to recover. I’m still feeling very tired several days later and will be so for a while. I wish I can just lie in bed and not get up, but I need to go catch the flight and endure the long journey back.

This is a very hard mountain. I learned a lot and have been thinking a lot during the past few days. Please be patient for the report.

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January 29, 2008 by admin.

I received a call from the guiding company today. Lei is on top of Aconcagua! She is doing great. Her message was, “Hi Mom!” She should be down in a couple of days with some pictures and a full report. Congratulations Lei on a successful set of expeditions!

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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.

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