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Journal 23: ‘Unfinished Business’

Fish Lake Shack
Near Duluth, MN
November 19, 2001

Well, we have been home for three weeks now, and all of the team have gone their separate ways back to homes and families across the country.

Our departure from the mountain and our travel back through Tibet and into Nepal went very well. The yaks that we used for transporting our equipment to ABC returned on October 11 and were again loaded for the decent to basecamp on October 12.

I left ABC on the 11th descending to basecamp that same day about two hours ahead of Scotty and Brian. I enjoyed the solitude and peace of just walking in the mountains alone and often looked back toward Everest for what I knew were some of my last views of the mountain.

Although the expedition was over and the time had arrived when we must leave, the draw of the mountain was as strong upon me as it had been the first days of our arrival at the start of the expedition. Each look and pause for thought made me aware of how much I had changed over the past two months. It brought back recent memories of what we had all been through. The moments of sheer joy and laughter that made me chuckle to myself along with the moments of frustration that left me just shaking my head. It has to be that way, for the experience is whole, including the lessons learned from all the things that we had gone through as a team and on our own as individuals.

For me I knew that all my strengths and weaknesses had been brought to my full attention — not just concerning the challenge of the mountain but as a person living my life. Lessons learned that were part of the gift from Everest that I would now carry with me for the rest of my life.

Because I was moving slower, Scotty and Brian caught up with me a few hours later and we continued down together for some time but eventually split up time and again at certain points. I think we all needed and wanted the solitude to reflect as we descended.

We again met at the interim camp for a quick lunch and a water break before I headed down alone while Scotty and Brian broke down the camp and packed it up for the yaks to pick up on the way down the next day.

Two hours out of camp I met Sandor, the doctor on the Hungarian team, and we stopped to talk for awhile. We had come to know each other quite well over the course of our time on the mountain. Our nickname for him was “James Bond,” as he bore this incredible resemblance to the actor Pearce Brosnen. He has the most incredible blue eyes and the gentlest demeanor of any man I've met. There is no doubt that this man was meant to be a doctor and to care for others. After our break together, shaking hands with warm smiles and saying that we would continue to stay in touch, I continued down and Sandor went forward on his journey with shouts of ‘good luck’ and ‘good climbing.’

Alone again, my thoughts were turning more toward home and the irregular rhythmic click of my Leki trekking poles against the rocks. The sun was setting and I knew that it would be well past dark by the time I arrived back in basecamp. Scotty and Brian would catch up with me in awhile so I took my time at those places where the views and colors were at their best. As I got below an elevation of 18,000 ft. I really began to notice how much stronger I was feeling because of the increased oxygen in the air.

Even as a double amputee, the further I went down the mountain the more I felt as if I wanted to sprint at times. Though feeling stronger, the pain from my left residual limb was also beginning to increase and I could feel the blood inside of the liner. It was not unbearable by any means, but it was taking away from the moment at that point. Brian soon caught up and Scotty was not far behind, as we were then on the area we called the flats. It was almost completely dark for the final three miles or so into basecamp. Brian went on ahead. I waited for Scotty and we continued on into basecamp using the distant, glowing light of one of the Hungarian tents as our guide.

By the time I arrived in basecamp it had been almost 12 hours since I started down. I was beat and feeling the pain even more, but because the air was so thick, I still felt great. Jebee, our Nepali cook, brought me a bowl of thick soup and hot tea. Dan came by later and gave me a couple of mild painkillers. Then I slept.

The next day, late in the afternoon, the yaks arrived along with Kelly, Karl and the rest of our group. So there we were once again, all together at the place where we had started almost two months before. The next two days were spent preparing to leave — packing everything, breaking down the basecamp and waiting for the trucks and land cruisers to arrive for our departure on October 14 to the Nepali border. We took a different route than we had taken on our way in, which gave us a chance to look at some new terrain. We went out by the old Tingiri Road, which had been too muddy and flooded for travel when we had first arrived because of the monsoon. It was one long day all the way back to Xiammu, passing through Nyalam just before sunset.

That night we had our first hot showers in two months. Ahhhh, life is indeed good! Our border crossing the next day went smoothly, and Prem met us at the border with a bus for us to ride in and a truck to carry all of our gear. Each item had to be carried by porters about a mile across the border to the next truck. During this procession, anyone could tell by the looks of our bodies and the looks in the eyes of nearby trekkers that we had been someplace for awhile.

The night of October 15 we were back in Kathmandu, eating like wolves. The next few days were spent taking care of last minute details prior to our departure and just enjoying things — like real beds and all the showers we wanted. We also had access to television and the shocking, graphic details of the changed world that we were about to reenter within the next few days.

We departed Kathmandu on October 20 for the United States with a stop in Hong Kong. We spent a night in Los Angeles before we went our separate ways home. Kelly, Scotty and I traveled together back here to Minnesota. We were met in Minneapolis by Kandace Olsen, Sarah Notton and Carole Nelson from Touchstone Energy along with Scotty’s parents and John Cron from Granite Gear.

It was great to be among friends once again and back on Minnesota soil. We held a press conference for the local media, and then we were off to Duluth — the final leg of the journey for Scotty and me.

Kelly was still looking at an eight-hour drive home after spending a couple of days in Duluth. However, we had a surprise in store for him in Duluth. My girlfriend, Gretchen, and my daughter, Carmen, had driven to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, two days before and picked up Kelly’s wife, Heather, and his daughter, Jessica, so they could be there when he got off the airplane in Duluth.

It was great to see the look on Kelly’s face when we arrived. I was surprised as well when I came off the jet bridge and saw my two sons, Mitchell and Garrison, there. I knew that Carmen would be there as she attends the University of Minnesota in Duluth. But I hadn’t expected the boys to be there; they live in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and had school the next day. The thing I noticed right away was that Mitch was now as tall as I am and I think he may even weigh more than I do. There were perhaps 25 of our friends waiting for us. Bill Gange, Ben Finch and Mike Couzno, all from Granite Gear, had the company truck to haul our gear. Mike and Liz Shannon, my next-door neighbors and two of the closest people in the world to me, were there to greet me. Tom Halvorson was also there. We last saw Tom when he left basecamp to return home a month earlier.

Next stop was Fish Lake, then over to Mike and Liz’s house for a cookout. I don’t know where Mike found them but he had some of the biggest steaks in Minnesota that Kelly, Scotty and I had ever seen. I slipped away as everyone began to eat and stood in the quite evening alone by the lake in front of my cabin. The loons were still there, and they were calling across the lake. Carmen came for me, and we just looked at each other with tears in our eyes. It was so good to be home at the place that I call “The Fish Lake Shack.” I had been enjoying my final views of Everest a week ago, not really wanting to leave, but now there was no question that it was good to be home again.

I spoke at length with Jim Wickwire within the next few days. Although he had to leave the expedition early, he was still very much a part of the team, providing me with valuable advice via the satellite phone. Over the course of the expedition, he explained how we might proceed at certain points. One of the first things he asked me when I got home was what I had learned from the whole experience. I answered that we would have to get together for a couple of days in order for me to fully answer that question.

I had another two weeks to rest before returning to my job flying for American Airlines. For that I was certainly thankful, as I needed not only time to adjust to being back in western civilization, but there was much work to be done on my small cabin before the Minnesota winter arrived. The cabin faces south and east to the lake, and each morning of my first few days back I would be up before sunrise having coffee, thinking about where I had just been. I am now back at work and enjoying the flying, but much has changed in the airline industry — as well as the rest of the world.

People have asked me a great deal about what Everest holds for me in the future and if I will return. It still holds the dream and, yes, I do hope that I will have the opportunity to again experience the magic of this great mountain and perhaps be the first double amputee to gain the summit. For years, it has held a spell of sorts on me — before I even had my first real glimpses of its flanks and wind-scoured summit. It’s the roof of the world. As for Kelly, who I speak with weekly, it’s like he always says: “We’ve got unfinished business.”

Now that I am home and without the sometimes daunting task of organizing and executing an Everest expedition, my attention is being focused on the High Exposure Foundation that I started prior to departing for Everest. High Exposure is indeed another dream that has become reality for me, in very large part because of the help and support of others. Though in its infant stages at this point, it does exist, and we hope to make it grow a great deal over the next couple of years. We will help other amputees to not only live full lives again but to regain their ability to pursue their dreams as well.

While on Everest my book, entitled “The Hill,” was released by Rodale Press. Proceeds from the sale of this book will go to High Exposure. We hope to have a web site for High Exposure up and running within the next few months.

I again want to thank everyone who helped this expedition go from a dream to reality. Without your support it would just not have happened. Thanks as well to the tens of thousands who followed our progress and sent us well wishes the entire time. Again, a special thanks to Greg Howard at Polaris Pool Systems and all the people in the Touchstone Energy organization who put so much work into this web site and made it a huge success in the schools across America and around the world. We were all honored to be a part of the educational process. We hope that we helped those of you who used the site to not only learn but to inspire confidence to follow your dreams even when you think that they may be unattainable at times. All of you will inherit the future of the world, the course it will take and the ability to change it.

On behalf of the entire team, it has been a blast — and we wish you happy and peaceful upcoming holidays.

--Ed Hommer and
The American / Canadian 2001 Everest Expedition:
Jim Wickwire
Kelly Raymond
Scotty Anderson
Dan Bronstein
Karl Swanson
Brian McCullough
Jim Sturgis
Tom Halvorson

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