April
1999
THIRD POLE EXPEDITION
April
- June 1999
Thursday 8th
April 1999
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It was on Monday 5th April at 5 o'clock in the morning that Alain Hubert set out from Katmandu in the direction of the border between Tibet and Nepal
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with
the aim of reaching the Everest base camp on the North Side of the
mountain. The previous day, in a link-up with HQ in Brussels, we carried
out all of the necessary communication tests. Alain's portable Compaq
and Magellan GSC 100 are both working beautifully. As a result, we
should be receiving regular dispatches from the North-East Ridge of
the Himalayan giant, as planned - and now doubt all the way to the
summit. In addition, it has to be said that despite the presence of
some 90 people in the Tibetan base camp - and we know that the cabinet-maker
from Harsin is not very keen on being surrounded by lots of people
when he is climbing - Hubert is in fine fettle. The few days he spent
with Manaram Tamang in the Ama Dablam region before leaving, when
they walked for 6 hours every day at an altitude of more than 5 000
metres, have done wonders for his confidence. This time, his acclimatisation
has gone according to plan.
