here's to you.
Laura and Chicco.

PS: Sorry for my bad English

BRAZIL
Hi Guys!!
I'm talking from Recife, Brasil, 35°C, but me and my friends are crazy with Everest. It's so hot man!! but when I stay with you, I Freeze!!! We saw now the movie: Everest, the summit of dreams, it was great. We are just knowing the Everest world. After read Into Thin Air, we are reading everything about Everets and other montains. We live in front of a beach, summer all year, but we are with you now!!!

hot good luck
from Luis Bourdon and friends!!!!
guys from Brasil!!

POLAND
U. R. gr8

Krzysiek Supera

SPAIN
Friends:
How are you? I'm Maria, 6 years old, nearly 7. I'd like to be climber when I be older. I've seen your photos. I've a 6 months brother.I hope your everest head without troubles! We'll see a light in our computer, and in our minds!

Maria

HERZLIA, ISRAEL
hear , celebrating Israel's 50 , wishin you good luck !! may god be with you. I wish I were there with you and one day I'll be....

love you
Zachi varsano
12 years old

FRANCE
Sorry, but I don't wright english very well, so I wright in french

Bonjour,
Pouriez vous me dire si le film Imax sur l'expedition Everest 96 passera ailleurs qu'e Paris ou Montpellier en France. Sinon, sera t il disponible en video ?

Merci beaucoup de votre reponse.
PS : Votre site Internet est superbe et tres bien renseigne.

Philippe FAURIE

DAARLERVEEN, THE NETHERLANDS
Hello guys,
We, from De Hesselinkhof School in Daarlerveen in the Netherlands wish you all the best on the Everes. We are a small school in a very small school in the East of Holland.

Greetings from Henk Groot Wassink, headmaster

BRAZIL
Prezados alpinistas,
estou acompanhando a expedicao via internet. Desejo a todos um grande sucesso.

Pilo

SCOTLAND
LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS. GOOD LUCK FROM THE HIGHLANDS OF SCOTLAND.

THE GRANT FAMILY
Dmg.006@btinternet.com

SWITZERLAND
one of the best web pages!
greetings from switzerland.

beatus reichert

WINNIPEG, CANADA
Hello,
Just thought I would let you know that the Everest Zone site is fantastic. I just finished reading the book "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer and I'll be following the 98' expedition daily on your website. Keep up the good work and relay (if you can) to the people up there that there are alot of us following them, and good luck!

Michael Hochman

SWEDEN
Hello!
I just want to say that it's incredible the things you're doing down there. I hope it turns out well.

Henrik Larsson

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
I am following your expedition with great interest. Safe journey and return to all.

Cheers from Sydney Australia
Bill Stokes

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA
i wish you all good luck !!! take care!!! trust your guides and trust in yourselves.

Carlos Jimenez

ITALY
Good luck to all of you. I will BE watching your progress over the internet and this page. I trekked to Base Camp in 96 and did the Annapurana Ciruit last year. I will be back this fall I am sure. Just be careful, I am excited for you and wish you well.

John MacInnes

GERMANY
I will escort you in a digitally way, and wish you all a fine weather and good luck.

Regards from Germany,
Uli Maier

PARIS, FRANCE
It's incredible to think that I can correspond with Everest. It would be extraordinary if you could answer me, but I suppose you receive thousand emails from the wole world. I have just finished a book about Everest and then I searched on internet and found you. I have a lot of questions and found part of the answers on your web site which is one of the more complete, interesting, documented and professional I ever seen. It looks like a C.D. rom. Could you describe the live on the base camp ? How many people ? Is there some french people ? If there is, they them hello from Paris please.

Take care of you all and good luck
Valrie

ITALY
in culo alla balena (in romanesco - italy) traducetelo da voi nei tempi morti tra un campo ed il successivo baci cri e ric (marta dorme)

Luca Sartoretto Verna

ITALY
Hallo to everyone!
I got your web-site on our national newspaper in Italy called "Corriere della Sera" where I found a small article on the front page describing your expedition. As I was interested in, I just looked.... Really congratulations! You give so many information that someone like me has got the feeling to be there with you...!

Good Luck!
Greetings,
Monica

FRANCE
I am a french and my english is not very good but I want tell you,you are a very great boys.I hope your ascension is good and the "meteo" beautifull.I would be at your place but I climb only in the Alpes in France.

Good luck with you
antoine

VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA
I stumbled across your site today, and have spent half the day exploring it. Your real life accounts and frankness is awe inspiring. I, too, dream of one day experiencing Everest in some shape or form, and I can hardly wait until I can read tomorrows dispatches.

Wishing you all the strength and support you require, please take the good wishes from people like myself, from all over the world, up this tremendous mountain with you.

All the best,
Cameron McCullough

TURKEY
Hi ALL:
I have been following Everest 98 expedition each and everyday eagerly. I wish you good weather and best of luck. Can I begin mountaineering after 29 years of age (something I don't have any experince about)? If yes, how should I begin?

loves
Mustafa Saka
Compaq Computer Turkey

PUERTO RICO
Hey dudes!
Keep going. You are doing a great job! Only few can do this and you all are the blessed...Hope a radical success with no accidents. Take care. You are the best. Puerto Rico has never been in such a summit, would you please remember us while in the summit?, at least in your thoughs. Adelante! Pray for all.

Efrain Mercado Vazquez

BELGIUM
Hallo Wally,
Nice to read your message and we wish you and your team better weather conditions than in Belgium (at the moment) for your next step to the everest

Christof & Corinne

DENMARK
Just a note to say that I like your homepage on Everest. It's real cool. Keep up the great work.

Peter Svenningsen

MAURITIUS
facinating. keep it up and enjoy the view. Good luck. Take a holiday in Mauritius after the big events.
Satinder

Mrs S. Ragobur

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
American friends,
I wish a good look for all. My name is Olegario Lefebvre, I am a guide of climbers in Rio de Janeiro. I saw your home page and i liked very much.

by byb by for all
Olegario

ITALY
Best wishes from the Dolomites for every success on your expedition. Greetings from the Fassa valley mountain guides.

Bob Watson

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
Hi everybody,
Greetings from Sydney!
Hope everything is going well and good luck with the ascent. I will be in the Everest region in October/November so your adventure will keep me in touch with wonderful Nepal till then.

Cheers
John Sutton

DEN HAAG, THE NETHERLANDS
Namaste,
nice website and good luck (especially) during the second week of may!

Peter Barthel

WEST WALES, GREAT BRITAIN
Hi Guys,
Greetings from West Wales.
I've Just been Visiting the Everest '98 pages, great stuff, also been looking at the other Mountain Zone gems terriffic ! Intend coming back often.

Many thanks,
Doug

ITALY
Hi guys!
I'm with you and wish you all the best!

Paolo Bravin

JAPAN
Thanks for the inspiration and motivation to develop a lesson for my english class. I have been following your acsent of Mt. Everest with my class here in Japan.

Your Web page is helpful and provides useful material for myself and my students. For example; we plannned a climbing schedule from each camp, for each climber until they reach the peak. The students are eager to hear the news of the successful summit.

We're cheering you on from Japan !!!!!

Regards
Frank and his class in Japan

BULGARIA
Congratulations guys, I really love you.

Dimitar Margaritov

VENEZUELA
I thunk that you are probably very concentrated in doing your stuff. I'm just writting you to wish very good luck on your project: I'm allway looking out for you from my Internet. I live in Venezuela, Caracas. I study law and one of my dreams is going to where you are. Pleas be very carefull because you are setting an example to lots of people in the world. I'll be writting you guys again in the near future.

Christian Monsch

AUSTRIA
ceep the mountains cleen, take away rubish and death people, save water relaxe, stay cool (but not too cool)

enjoy your trip
greetings from Bad Leonfelden - Austria
Urfahr Umgebung

SPAIN
Buena Suerte Amigos

Carola Marin Font

ONTARIO, CANADA
I am ensconced here in Ontario, Canada reading about your climb and I am amazed to be able to receive this information and extend to you my good wishes and hopes for a successful endeavour. Keep your tent clean and take a Sherpa to lunch.

Ray and Beth Harris

TOKYO, JAPAN
I've been following your site for a couple of years now, specifically for the Everest coverage. What can I say, gang? You're not getting older, you're getting better. This year's dispatches are super, and the look and feel of the pages are a pleasant change from last year's contrasty black and white.

Hell, I even laugh every time I get the Zone newsletter. Keep up the great work. Thanks for a super effort to produce a site for guys like me — an Everest wannabe who'd never get that decision past his wife even if he *could* afford the trip. :-)

Cheers,
trane

HONG KONG
I just happen to be reading Jon Krakauer's book "Into Thin Air" which I took out from the library here in Hot and humid Hong Kong. I guess you all know the book all too well! I see lots of references to posting progress of expeditions on the internet so I looked up Everset and found you. I recognise lots of your names from the book. I look forward to following your progress up the mountain.

Best of luck
Tom Ewart-James

NORWAY
I have spent lots of time at this site, I must say thanks, I enjoy every moment reading the stories, and looking at the pics. Wish I could spend more time reading, but sadly, work must be done.

Keep up the excellent work
Mark

JAPAN
Hi!! My name is Nikki Stuhlman and I'm 12 years old. My World Geography teacher told our class about this and I was just amazed that someone could do this!!!!!! You must be very proud of yourselves. I know I am. This is such a wonderful thing to do. I wish that everyone in the world could be just like you guys. I know I want to turn out JUST LIKE YOU!!!!

If you could respond to my message, I'm at::: hyperladee@hotmail.com :::or::: allmightynik_e@hotmail.com :::

thank you!!!!!!
later,
nikki:o)

P.S.~ GOOD LUCK!!!!!! HAVE FUN!!!!!

SOUTH AFRICA
Good luck, from a sunny western cape south africa...

Daan Brink

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
Hi Mountain Zone,
I have just read the "Thanks for the e-mails" message, and realized how selfish I am. I have been enjoying this site very much and dreaming of a succesful exepedition and never did make any effort to express my gratitude and best wishes. Well, that ends right here!!!!

THANKS FOR THE GREAT DISPATCHES FROM YOU GUYS, AND HAVE A NICE CLIMB FOR ALL OF US MERE MORTALS DOWN HERE.

Joao Ferrer

PERTH, AUSTRALIA
I have been an Everest freak since I was a boy; am now 52 and probably beyond it. I can remember the day when Hillary summited. To be able to communicate with actual climbers on site is nothing short of incredible, gobsmacked in fact.

Good luck, thanks for the thrill, and will be watching
Gary Gaunt

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
Hey guys...u lot seem to be having a smashing time out there...cool !

Well...best of luck for the summit bit.
Cheers
jiff
Dept. of Microbiology Biology
University of Cape Town

SARAJEVO, BOSNIA
Dear all of you in the Everest team,
I am sending you this mail in the name of a bunch of mountain-crazy Bosnian friends with whom I spent the nearly five years of war in Sarajevo, plus the last two "Dayton years", as a journalist covering the catastropy and then as a helping hand in building up independent local media.

We are all very excited to be able to follow your ways up and down Everest. My friends want me to tell you that, thanks to my satellite uplinked computer in times without any phones and electricity, and even under heaviest shellings, we were following through the web whatever dispatch we could get from Everest, alas also the catastrophies. You must know how people here mourned Scott Fisher even while having to mourne someone beloved day after day here in town. Now that at least nobody is dying here of snipers and granades anymore we all continue to follow - by ways of good old electricity and phone lines - with just as much excitement the events you report from between base camp and summit. And if you knew how much these people here think about you, send you all their good vibrations and best wishes, press all thumbs and wish you all luck heaven can give, you would stop worrying about anything!!!

All of us in the cosmopolit enclave of Sarajevo within this otherwise torn society, we say Muslim, Orthodox, Catholic and, in my case, Jewish prayers that you all make summit and return safe, healthy, well, and in best of all spirits. And whoever of you will have one spare breath left, please say Salam and Schalom for us to the skies when you are on top.

In the name of 13 Bosnians sends all the best
Yvonne Badal

BARBADOS
Best wishes to you guys in your Everest attempt. From here in sunny Barbados I'm following your progress daily. Good luck and a safe journey.

Tony

AUSTRALIA
Guys,
I've been watching your progress with huge interest... you are gutsy blokes and I can only say I admire you for your efforts... best of luck for the climb to the summit... I hope it works out well for you.

Alistair Freeman

SINGAPORE
Hi folks!
I am impressed with your web pages and the enormous amount of information on Everest... We got excited here because our own Singapore team is currently attempting their 1st ever attempt... Once again nice work and all the best to you, your team for putting the nice pages together...

rgds
Gary Tan

AUSTRALIA
Wally
A bloody long way to go and get your thermos!. Couldn't you of just bought a new one? Congratulations...

Jon

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL
Congratulations for your fantastic job! I've been reading your dispatches since the beginning, and it was really very exciting to know all your steps during the climbing. When I read the dispatches about the summit, it seemed that I was there with you. I could hardly believe that I was reading about the summit just a few moments after it had happened.

I hope you go home safely and can go back to Everest next year, sending us your dispatches again.

Once again, congratulations!

Nilton Hayashi da Cruz

MONCTON, CANADA
I just wanted to say I was very impressed with your web site, good design, great thumnails, and color. It was very well though out project. Those pictures were really worth while to display. I will visit again, and go through the site in more detail. After a long day of surfing through the net your site really did stand out.

Shelley Compton

MISC
I really DO love you guys! That's why I'm sending you my very first E-mail now that I've stepped onto the information baato...the Everest '98 stuff is really great. The pictures make me miss Nepal even more than I already did (picture a grown woman gazing at Thamserku on a computer screen and weeping and you'll get the picture—pathetic, isn't it?) I am filled with respect and admiration for Wally Berg for his lack of egotism and his obvious love of Nepal and the Sherpa people. His intelligence and modesty certainly are a contrast to some of the characters one encounters in recent mountaineering literature. It appears that he's there because he loves the place and the people, not because he has something to prove. What a concept! Thank you!

suzannji@gateway.net

I just want to wish the climbers the best of luck and there are people praying for their safe return. Go get her guys.

James Bartlett

Just wanted ya all to know that these midwestern housewives are checking on you daily, living vicariously through your adventures. Hang in there and don't eat yellow snow.

Meg and Shell

Wish I was there...

John Wolfeil

Greetings!
Fantastic! Thank you all for the everyday account of your historic climb of the majestic mountain, Everest. The combining of adventure and the quest for knowledge is a driving force. This expedition is in the spirit of Mallory and Irvine and from your efforts our knowledge of our planet will grow. Again, thanks and best wishes!

Mach's Gut, Karl Prinz

Hello,
I followed the entire expedition last year on the Mountain Zone site and am really looking forward to this years version. I wanted to say that I like the increased number of images and the details that Wally Berg is giving in his dispatches.

Keep up the great work!
Ron Gibson

Your www page is just great. Since reading "Into Thin Air" (and buying a cabin in the mountains) I have become interested in hearing about the real climbers and I look (and listen) forward to your daily updates.

Thanks for giving me (and probably millions of school children-I am a retired teacher) a wonderful experience.

Ann Read

I just finished reading "The Climb" this morning and I figured I'd get on the net to check out Everest sites. I cannot believe my good fortune to discover this site and just at the beginning of the climb!

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
Carlisle Family

I discovered your web-site via CNN's site regarding the clean-up expedition recently underway. This is quite possibly one of the finest sites I've ever seen. I've had a 15 year career in marketing , much of it in electronic advertising, and was impressed enough to send this e-mail (a first for me).

I've read the popular Everest non-fiction books released lately and have become increasingly fascinated with the various endeavors. This web-site has provided my wife and I with another quality glimpse at a first rate operation.

Thanks!
Ryan Knowles

We're following with great interest and envy. How exciting.

love from us all
Dad, Mom, Rachel, Craig, Jamie, Mitzi, Adam, Wendy

Hey, you guys...I am so stoked to find this website. I have been living Everest in my head for the past three weeks. Listened to Into Thin Air Audio version three times...now reading the book...The energy of Everest, you climbers, and the monkeys float around me in my daydreams.

Just hooked into this thing on an old black and white monitor...(Old computer) I'll be hooking up my color 9600 Mac this weekend so I can see the monkey move.

My prayers are with you all.
John Chatham

Hello Staff,
As last year I'm enjoying being "virtually present" with The Expedition and The Trek! But really splendid is your upgraded and more visually appealing Web Site this year! What a difference one year can make! Thanks for the improvements.

Good luck,
Scott

Thanks for the updates! The more detail the better. There are a lot of us watching this one closely and our prayers and best wishes are with the team.

Rick Holland

I think this is absolutely the best web site ever! The audio, photos, and ability to track the daily progress of the climb is great. My wife and I will follow your progress every day! We saw the IMAX of Everest and thirst for more.

Keep up the great work, good luck, and God be with you all on the hike.

L & V Tagai

Dear Mountainzone,
First, I gotta tell ya, WHAT A WEBSITE!! I have been hurrying home every day after work so I can check up on the progress of the teams. The audio of the dispatches and the awesome pictures and streaming video really make for a wonderfully involving experience. Keep up the good work.

I wish all the people attempting Everest this year all the best luck in the world. Stay safe.

John Jessee

To the Everest climbers:
I am a 53 year-old woman who loves to hike, but have a fear of heights. I have been facinated with your attempts to climb Everest ever since reading Into Thin Air. Wish you all the best of everything.

Diane

Just wanted to let ya'll know that your entire team will be in our prayers throughout your expedition. I found your site on YaHoo's "Cool Site of the Day." The pictures are incredible — keep up the good work. Looking forward to seeing the Puja.

Best of luck to ya'll.
Dorinda Bogran

To Eric Simonson
You mentioned in your dispatch that you missed the feedback you get from guiding. So I decided to give you some feedback. I'm fascinated by Mt Everest and am really enjoying following the expedition. If not for your dispatches on the internet I could never experience the mountain. So even though you think you're not guiding you really are. I read all the dispatches and watch all the video. Because of poor health this is the only way I will ever experience the mountain and the culture of the native people.

Thanks, good luck, and Godspeed
Judy Rousseau

Thanks Eric, for helping me better understand why anyone would want to put themselves in a situation like climbing Everest. I have read lots of books about mountain climbing and have been following this expedition on the web from day one. I keep looking for some explaination as to why any human would want to be that cold, work that physically hard and risk their lives just to climb a mountain. His report opened my eyes a bit and I guess we all have our own way of "doing something different." Mountain climbers just need a bigger dose than most of us.

Thanks
Gary I. Mills

Just wanted to tell you how great this website is. The information about everest is great. I look forward to the updates from the team everyday. I read Into Thin Air and it got me interested in Mount Everest. I feel an expedition like this is so much more justified than a commercial climb, the mountain seems way to dangerous for amatures to be climbing it! I wish the expedition the best of luck and will be keeping track!

D. Reckner

I am the mom of a third grader who has been studying Everest all year. She went to hear Jamling Norgay speak two weeks ago, went to the Imax last week, and was thrilled to discover your site.

We are writing to say: Go Team, and have a safe journey.

Peace,
Jo Lynn Siedor, mom of Kate

I am a kid and I am five years-old. I am in kindergarten. How is it in Camp II? How do you pass the time in Camp II? What will it look like at the top? My sister would like to know, too. What food do you eat? Good luck and we're going to keep checking to make sure you are OK.

love,
Scott

Dear Everest Group,
I found a quote that I thought you might enjoy. Here goes:

"Even if our efforts seem for years to be producing no result, one day a light that is in exact proportion to them will flood the soul."
— Simone Weil

I am in awe of you and your efforts and wish you all the best.
Lesley Minehan

I saw a news report about your web site and I couldn't resist. I've only been looking at your site for a few minutes now and I can already tell it's definitely one of the top I have ever seen. It is so informative and you do a great job using all the capabilities of the Internet. I've always been interested in hearing about the expeditions to Everest but I was never able to get timely information until now. I can't say I'm a mountain climber or even a rock climber but I do enjoy spending my vacations hiking in the Rockies. My Everest will always be the Grand Teton at Jackson Hole, Wyoming. These men and woman who risk their lives in the harshest of environments to complete their goal will always be an inspiration to us all.

Matthew J. Will

I do not have the words to thank you for taking such extraordinary efforts to bring this expedition to the world. Everyday I come home and check in on the day's progress. Everest is a place I will never be able to travel to in my life, yet you are still allowing me to go there, hear the wind and the crunch of boots on ice, and nearly participate in the puja. You bring tears to my eyes. Thank you!

Stacy and Sharon

Thank you for letting me in on a world I would not otherwise experience. Great job, keep up the great work.

Sean Sullivan

Hey Guys,
We wish you a lot of luck. You are awesome. Keep up the good job. We will be following your ascent on the web.

sincerely,
Brian and Anna Nimni

Congratulations on an EXCELLENT web site. One of the best I have seen anywhere ! Having read "Into Thin Air" and seen the IMAX movie Everest I will be following the progress of this trip with a great deal of interest. Thanks for sharing this with us non climbers

Steve Driesler

Joy for me is walking in your shoes in my imagination. I'm 59 and enthralled by your pursuit, knowing that in no way I could manage the climb. We, my husband and I, have climbed many of Colorado's 14000' peaks with and without our children who are now grown and serious climbers/skiers. I actually suffered altitude sickness on Quandry, south of Breckenridge, and then successfully re-climbed it on another try. We have treked in the Annapurna region, visited much of Asia including Myanmar and last year in Bhutan. On the way back to India, we watched Everest so clearly out of the plane window and I wept in awe and admiration for all who attempt the climb. Know that you carry dreams of so many on your shoulders as you move up through the ice fall toward the higher camps on the way to the summit. Go with God speed.

Rhoda

You guys are very brave and i want you to know that you are like really cool for doing what you are doing and risking your lifes every step of the way. I found out about this from my science teacher and we have been looking to see what is going on with the hike like every day. well anyway you people are doing good keep up the work.

Sarah

I just found out about your web page today. This is a good thing because I am currently reading "Into Thin Air" for the first time and the route maps , graphics, and dispatches from the mountain on the web are helping me get a better perspective on the climb the book is about. I truly hope the expedition is a success in meeting it's goals and everyone gets back safely. Thanks for bringing all this to us.

Best regards,
Tom Geriak

Wow! My students will love to find your site!
This past week we've talked a fair bit about the disaster, the death of eight climbers in May of '96, on Everest. It is a compelling story to them (and me) because it is one of honor, of strength, of heroism as well as one of human frailty and the unfathomable power of nature. It is extreme, so for those of us who sit and watch your titanic strides from the safety of suburbia, there is nothing more vicariously intriguing. What you do is truly awesome.

We salute you and others who have passed that way, and hope for your safe return.

Sincerely,
Not-so-secret-admirers
Bob Bilyea

What a web page!!
Scientific, conversational, entertaining, and significant.

HKoeppe@aol.com

Hey, just wanted to wish you all the best, and to thank you for being brave, courageous, testing your limits, and advancing the world's knowledge of Everest. Good luck, and Be Safe!

Laura

Until I saw the movie on the tragic climb, I never realized how scary and difficult it was, don't know whether fools or heroes climb that hill, but you amaze us all—go go go and good luck to you.

Rowshe2@aol.com

Have sent your site to just about all I know - catch up with you almost every day - have also downloaded your Everest ScreenSaver on work and home computers. I Love You Guys!

Donna Prout aka RedHdSkier

Namaste Charles
Galen and I have been watching your website since our return from trekking to Base Camp in April. We hope all goes well in the upcoming week. We are holding good thoughts for your expedition and wish you a safe and successful climb!

Sincerely,
Barbara and Galen Rowell

Greetings,
I am an Airline Pilot living on the East Coast of the U.S. I have been following your trip and would like to wish you the best of luck. There are many days when I fly along at altitudes that you are at right now and look down at the computer and think..... .....wow...if this was Everest...this 90 knot wind would be blowing over some tents! Have spent many hours drilling emergency procedures on quickly donning Oxygen masks during decompression drills. Knowing how critical it is and how we have just a few moments to get them on. Also have been through decompression chamber and all I can think of now is you guys trying to actually climb in that 'thin air'. Whew! Anyway.....wish you good luck, great weather, and happy returns.

Karl Clemmensen
P.S. Would be glad to make a call for someone.

I hit up the web site everyday as soon as I get into work. I know I'll never get my act together to make the trip that you all are on, so I live vicariously through your reports.

Good luck and God Speed!!
SG

As I sit here at work every day, I think of what it must be like for you waiting to make the summit. I have been trying to stay up to date with your expedition and am very excited for all of you. This Saturday, May16th, is my 39th birthday and my sons 4th birthday as well. I will be thinking of you and praying for you that you reach the summit and successfully make your way back down to camp. We will be thinking about you throughout your climb.

Eric Hochreiter

Greetings, prayers and best wishes for Wally Berg and all the team fosr a successful summit and safe trip home, from David Caffey, Philmont Chief Ranger 1974-77. Your achievement makes me pround. Son John and I are getting ready for a Philmont expedition to begin July 28.

David Caffey

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Ohh those dispatches from the north side, i look forward to seing them, they are so colourful. It is like as if you are right there. Looking forward to more.

St.Clair Richardson

Dave Hahn needs a Literary Agent!

By far and away the best site on the web. The dispatches are the start of each day for me. I can go on about my day (in a Walter Mitty kind of way) or some of my friends call it a Cliff Clavin (Cheers post man) kind of way.

Sean Vill aka: Coupdevill

Dear zoners...
New to the web and still discovering how much fun it is. I've always enjoyed reading about or seeing reports on TV about Everest climbs. I became especially fascinated after readin "Into Thin Air" and watching the NOVA special on Everest. Discovering your site was an unxpected bonus. I've been monitering it and other Everest sites for weeks and want to compliment you on the extent of the information your site contains.

As well as giving we Everest "voyeurs" a window into summit attempts, you provide a lot of hard fact about the area, the mountain and its challenges. Your science coverage is excellent.

Keep up the good work and I'm looking forward to staying with mountainzone.com for years to come.

SP Smith

'And the wind said: "May you be as strong as the oak, yet flexible as the birch; may you stand tall as the Redwood, live grace- fully as the willow; and may you always bear fruit all your days on this earth."
—Native American Prayer

P.S. I just wanted to let you know that I LOVED THE SLIDESHOW and hope to see more of such presentations of your GREAT adventures!!!!!

Take care,
Bozena

Dear climber and team,
I have been following your progress on the mountain for weeks on the internet with my children. Congratulations on achieving your goal and installing the equipment! It is great to be able to get online and follow your progress. The day that everyone turned back was heartbreaking for me and the kids, we were really praying for a safe trip to the summit for the team... I hope that the climbers can try again, we are all pulling for you if you try!

Congratulations, and God Bless!
Karen Weaver

My wife and I in the last two years have taken up hiking. We were on a trip at Bryce Canyon two weeks ago. I pick up at the local drug store a paper back book called "Into thin air". Reading the book made me aware of the drive that exist in people's hearts. I have tasted that sense of accomplishment and pride in myself and that drive to push on. Reading the book made me aware of the dates. So went out to the internet to see if there was info on the current expeditions. Sure enough, I found you. As I read about Wally Berg and others summit of MT. Everest. It bought the reality and danger that was described in the book and made me want to send a message to the summiteers.

God speed...
Rick Bell

Hallo Heores of 1998:
What a gift you extend to us. Here you are, on the stage of the world. But you are not actors, no pretenders, you are actually living your "life" roles.

And we are your breathless audience, even vicarious participants — worrying and rejoicing with you, as the occasions may arise. We are with you — and remember: Shared misery is half the misery; shared joy is double the joy!

Keeping my fingers crossed.
JKB

Congratulations to Wally Berg and his team on the summit of Everest. I've been following the climb for about a month now and have really enjoyed it. I've also been following several other teams and yours has been the most informative. Again congratulations!

RecknerDD

Thanks for the wonderful daily reports. I never did figure out how to get the audio and video, but that didn't matter in the long run. I cried when I learned Wally Berg had reached the summit safely. I wonder if you all have any idea how many of us out here were like your angels, climbing with you all the way. Thanks for all your sharing.

Namaste
Rhoda Resnick

Dear Mountainzone
Have been following the '98 Everest Expedition for several weeks, and I am sorry to see it end! It has been very enjoyable to arrive home each evening; click on the Web, and watch the daily progress of the attempt on Everest. Please extend my congratulations to everyone involved, and especially to Wally Berg. I sensed his coolness, strength and wisdom from early dispatches. I did not surprise me to learn that he had summitted; stayed two hours on the summit, and, of course, was successful in his deployment of the GPS equipment. Good job, and please let us be involved again in another great climbing adventure!

Thanks,
Gary Ludwig

Elisabeth Sutherland

P.S. I hope you rech the summit!

CONNECTICUT
Tashi delek, zoners — and kudos, thumbs up, hurrah! The coverage is great this year.

I assume you are in contact with the team — if so, please pass on my thanks to Eric Simonson for an exceptionally honest, poignant dispatch. It is so unusual for climbers to be open about how this sport tears up our personal lives! I, too, am a high-altitude climber — I echo his sentiments, and applaud his integrity in describing the raw, real picture. My prayers are with him.

I would also love to hear more about the other expeditions and climbers that are there. I have friends on three of the other teams, and it would be really nice to have broader news coverage. (Is there any way I can email the team directly myself?)

Heidi Howkins
1998 U.S.A. K2 Expedition Leader

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
WOW
I just had to let you know that what you are doing and the fact that you can share it with all of us "wanna-be" adventurers in our office—is fantastic. Every morning I come to the office, I can't wait to see or hear information/pictures about the climb. Thank you for making my breakfast break enjoyable.

Macy Andrew

LAGUNA NIGUEL, CALIFORNIA
Hi
My Name is David Spangenberg Poss. I am six years old and am in Kindergarten. I am doing a report on Mt. Everest. I watched the movie Everest. It is my very favorite movie. I was sad that people died and I was happy when the three climbers climbed all the way to the top of Mt. Everest. Some day I would like to climb Mt. Everest with my Mom. Are kids allowed to climb Mt. Everest or only grown ups? If only grownups how old do you have to be? Can you tell me more about Mt. Everest for my report? How do you go to the bathroom on Mt. Everest? When you climb to the top of Mt. Everest can you see out of those masks or do you need to take them off? How long can you stay up there? Since Mt. Everest is the tallest when you are on the top can you see the rest of the world?

Thank you very much
David Spangenberg Poss
(My Moms name is Suzi and she typed what I said.)

TEHACHAPI, CALFORNIA
I get online every day to find out what is happing and where you all are. Incredible! I can't imagine being there and I want to thank everyone that made everestzone@mountainzone.com possible. I pray the expedition is succesfull and may the "Force" be with all the "Skywalkers" on Everest.

Fina Gallegos

NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA
I will be watching this wonderful website with intense interest. My hope and prayers will be with you all the way to the top.

Much luck,
Bob Armstrong

LUBBOCK, TEXAS
Greetings from Lubbock, Texas. Just wanted to tell you guys to be careful and keep on keepin-on! God Bless You! Elevation 3200 ft. and flat as a table- top.

Kevin McGinnis

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
Greetings from windy, flat Chicago! Good luck and stay warm up there.

David A. Lively

BURKBURNETT, TEXAS
hello, we are a third grade class in Burkburnett, Texas and we are going to be following your expedition. we wish you the best of luck and look forward to hearing from you.

Ms. Brumley's 3rd Grade Class

IOWA
hello all at base camp,
i don't know if you guys get too many messages from University of Iowa students, but i just caught your web sight, and i thought i would write your team a note of encouragement. i'm guessing that the summit push is probably coming in the next couple weeks, so i had a question, is the team thinking at all about what happened two years ago? i'm sure their sights are higher than that, and i hope they have a safe journey to the top.

another question, if you don't mind. i know of some people (even from iowa) that traveled out to base camp in a clean up effort. have things gotten any better for those of you that are back this year? it really depressed me to hear that there is pollution even up there, even though packing out what you bring in takes on a whole different meaning at 17000+ feet and two months :)

welp, good luck and light feet to those of you traveling up. i hope you keep your brains from leaking out and your toes from falling off! wave west to iowa from the top if you get the chance.

Scott Morgan

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
Greetings from Chicago:
All of you are really nuts! Thank you from all of us who wish we were but aren't. Your pictures and stories and maps and information are wonderful and thrilling. We wish you all success, good health and Godspeed!

Anne, Bud, Jessica and Will Clements

TEXAS
Dear Guys,
I come home from work everyday and can't wait to see where you're taking me on the mountain today! The video coming in is incredible...the sound of the snow crunching under your boots makes it so real. This is a great story unfolding here.

Safe journey up to Camp III and beyond. Eric: We had some Tex-Mex food tonight and thought of ya!

Sincerely,
Peggy

NEW JERSEY
I just wanted to wish all the people involved with the 1998 expedition a safe journey. You have my admiration for your determination and courage. I'll be following your journey to the top of the world. Best of luck and may all your personal dreams come true. Good luck!

Kathleen

COLUMBUS, OHIO
Best of luck to Y'all. Were all here in Columbus, Ohio praying for a safe trek. Looking forward to the online reports.

Brent A. Thompson

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
Congratulations on the Everest '98 web site. I've been waiting for April 1 to get here to check it all out and I wasn't disappointed. This is a brilliant site. Great design and maneuverability and containing everything I was hoping to see and more. Keep up the good work. Best of luck to all.

Dan McElroy

CALIFORNIA
Everest team,
Have a great climb we will be with you. We are here in California. We are working on the effects for the TV show Star Trek Voyager and are finding time each day to check you progress. Thanks so much for taking time to keep us all posted.

May all go well for you!
Ron Moore

NEW YORK
My friend and I are overweight middle-aged female couch potatoes on Long Island. Yet words like "Khumbu Icefall" and "South Col" roll off our tongues like we were seasoned climbers! Thanks for sharing your dreams and adventures with the rest of the world. We're with you in spirit and wish you success!

John P. Gelinas

WEST HILLS, CALIFORNIA
Hey TMZ,
I LOVE IT, it's that time again!!!
I have been following the Everest expeditions for several years now and I love the day by day trials and tribulations your site conveys to the world through the eyes of these adventurers. I would give anything to just go to basecamp and experience this awesome mountain. Thank you for helping me to "vicariously" climb Everest through TMZ. I LOVE IT.......

Paul Murphy

PORTLAND, OREGON
Hi all, Good Morning!!!!!
I'm a teacher in Portland Oregon and our high school class of 9 boys, my instructional assistant, and I are virtually climbing Qomolangma as a class endeavor. My kids are doing there virtual best, but it would be great if we could check in with your team on a semi-daily basis if possible to sort of shadow your expedition and add reality to ours. Our expedition is a massive undertaking and we haven't even left the Tualatin Valley. Let us know, there are many who are watching our virtual climb, pieces of our hearts are living 14 hours ahead in Nepal and we are beginning to to form as a team...Can we be a small part of yours?

Philip Summers
Reese-Lamb School

CALIFORNIA
keep up the good work!
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved."
— William Jennings Bryan

Best Wishes,
Mechelle Collins & Jennifer Fleming

SUN CITY, ARIZONA
Dear Ones,
As an old climber I want to tell you that our pryaers are with you. I am amazed at the dedication and efforts of such as you.

J. Curtis Kovacs

LOVELOCK, NEVADA
I am a small time 56 year-old day hiker, mountain biker who works at a mine located at the top of a 7,000 foot mountain in north central Nevada. All my life my heros have been the climbers of Mt Everest. I vicariously climbed it last year with Jon Krakauer and it looks like I will climb it again with you. Keep you chin up, spikes on and remember it's one step in front of the other.

best wishes,
Ron

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
Thank you for the opportunity to to see what it's like, to in away, reach out and see the ice blocks the size of an apartment building on Khumbu Icefall to feel the weather that can kill a person if it's written to be. May your god or gods be with you.

Paul Hoffman

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY
I am not a climber but recently read "Into Thin Air". I then began to watch everything that came on TV regarding Everest. I totally respect what you do & the strong will that it takes to reach the summit. I wish you the best of fortune on your journey.

Lisa Lindell

DALLAS, TEXAS
Guys,
I was just surfing the net and found your page. I'm in Dallas, TX. and just wanted to wish you the best of luck on your effort. I'll follow your progress. Go for it......

John P Mastoras

ATLANTA, GEORGIA
You guys certainly do provide non-stop thrills for us nine-to-fivers in the big cities. We are with you every step of the way. Be safe and come home.

The Kanes - Daniel, Elizabeth, Trevor and Quinn

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
We are all watching the progress on a daily basis. Enjoy all of it. Kansas City is excited to be following this expedition.

Love,
Kay and Tom

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
NAMASTE WALLY,

THANK YOU FOR ALL THE AUDIOS YOU HAVE BEEN SENDING. I'M HERE IN SAN FRANCISCO AND I HAVE INVITED LOT'S OF MY FRIENDS TO GO ON THE EXPEDITION WITH YOU. OF COURSE WE WILL BE TRAVELING THROUGH CYBERSPACE, BUT I HAVE DONE THE TREK UP TO BASE CAMP IN '92 AND I RETURNED TO THYANGBOCHE LAST YEAR IN MAY. I JUST HEARD YOUR AUDIO ABOUT THE PUJA ,AND I AGREE WITH YOU THAT PANGBOCHE IS A BEAUTIFUL AND AUSPICIOUS PLACE. SO FAR I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET YOUR DISPATCHES EVERY DAY. I'M IN THE HOTEL BUSINESS IN S.F. WHICH IS VERY BUSY, BUT I WOULD NOT MISS THIS TRIP FOR ANYTHING. I JUST GOT INTO TO THE INTERNET AND THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS I GOT INTO IT. I LOVE NEPAL/TIBET AND I APPRECIATE THAT I COULD TAG ALONG WITH YOU. TASHI DELEK TO YOU AND YOUR FELLOW CLIMBERS AND I WILL OFFER A PRAYER TO BHUDDA FOR A SAFE AND REWARDING TRIP.

NAMASTE
GARY F. PEREZ (KARMA TENZING DORJE)
I TOOK REFUGE 10 YEARS AGO AND THAT IS MY BHUDDIST NAME

AMARILLO, TEXAS
Spotted your e-mail address in USA Today, 4/15/98, while on a business trip to Albuquerque, NM. Being from Colorado, I have always loved the mountains, but have only done non-technical mountaineering...19 of the 14ers with very much the desire to tackle more challenging mountains; of course, Everest would be the ultimate as so many others feel. I will follow your expedition and participate vicariously; perhaps some day the opportunity will arise to allow me to be there...stranger things have happened!

Best of luck to all members of the team...have fun; work hard; take care of each other.

Bill Hastings

PORTLAND, MAINE
Hello Brave Souls,
I have been following your expedition each day. I enjoy all of your dispatches. I wish you all the best of luck. May the wind fill your sails, may the sun shine warmly on your shoulders and until you return safely, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.

Hoping you are at peace with yourselves and your surroundings,
Josh Barrett

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI
Greetings from St.Louis, Missouri to Nepal! I am a 40 year old trial lawyer who just finished Into Thin Air, and was instantly captivated by the Everest story and mystique. While I will never climb Everest myself, the way that your team and others have shared your Everest adventures allows us a compelling glimpse of this feat. I will pray for your success and well-being. May God bless your team.

Robert E. Seibel

LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA
Hi Gang:
I wanted to say hello and tell you how much I envy all of you for following your vision. My son Robbie, just turned 6 and has been rock climbing for 8 months now at a friend's indoor climbnasium in Lancaster, PA. I'm proud of his early ability and I know he would be totally thrilled if one of the team could could e-mail him with a few words of inspiration. Although he's only six, he's already talking about someday climbing everest. Have a great climb. Nail that bugger!

Bob Myers

LITTLE RIVER, CALIFORNIA
Dear climbers,
My name is E.J. Barney. I do a morning radio show on the Mendocino coast of northern California, each weekday morning from 7 to 9. As soon as I get home, I go right to your website for the latest dispatch and I feel as if I'm right there with you. Your reports are awesome and give a real insight into the challenges you are facing. May God bless and be with each member of your team as you continue your conquest.

Sincerely,
E.J. Barney

HOUSTON, TEXAS
To Everyone at Mountain Zone,
Kudos for your wonderful web site! We read it daily and really enjoy the in-depth coverage that you provide of the 1998 Everest Expedition. Keep up the good work and enjoy yourselves!

Theresa and Evans Attwell
TAttwell@aol.com

TEXAS
I really enjoy your web site, good luck, and I will be checking every day. I don't get a chance to see many mountains here in Texas. The tallest mountains we have are left behind from of the bull sh___ stories we hear sometimes. I can only dream of something like this and live it out through your tales, so keep up the GREAT WORK and I will pray for a safe return of all. God Bless ya'll and while you are up there that high put in a good word to the man above for this Texan. Thanks for living my dream.

your friend
Rodney Hill

SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA
I wanted to tell you how much I am enjoying your web page. I am in awe at what you are doing. I check your web page 1st thing in the morning from my office overlooking the Pacific Ocean here in San Clemente, California (sea level at its levelest). I wish you the best of luck and will follow your daily activities.

Jim O'Brien

FORT WASHINGTON, PENNSLYVANIA
Dear Wally,
I know you guys are busy, so GOD SPEED, and thank you all for the pictures and audio transmisions you are sending out to the world to see!!!! I have been waiting a year since I bought this computer to watch this climb.

Again Thank you, and good luck to you all!!!
Gary Seeburger

MIAMI, FLORIDA
Hello for Miami...
Your site is terrific! The organization, the layout and the art work, beautiful. And very informative. I'll be a regular visitor through the climbing season.

Very nice
cdtiger

VIRGINIA
Greetings from Virginia!
It is exciting to read your daily dispatches (trek and expedition). I am green with envy and longing to trek to Mount Everest-but not summit. I look out at the full moon and think of what it must be like from where you are. I look up at jets cruising along and remind myself that is about the height of Mt. Everest. If you ever e-mail people back, please consider ME. It would also be a big thrill for my children. Safety to all, and may the weather be on your side.

Robyn Claytor

SEQUIM, WASHINGTON
God bless you from Sequim, Washington. I just found your web site and am in awe of your courage. Please don't forget the limits you set for yourselves.

Sandy Pinckert & Betty Adams

WISCONSIN
Just stumbled on to your site. What an exciting adventure. I'll check back to see how you are doing. I live in Wisconsin.

Good luck—Stay safe—Have fun
Ginny

ATLANTA, GEORGIA
As I sit in my house in Atlanta, GA, I am fascinated by your courage and fortitude. I have always been interested in the Everest quest and plan to keep up with you daily. My thoughts and prayers will be with you.

Loretta

TEXAS
Greetings from Texas, we send you some sun shine, and warm breezes!!!

Good luck,
evan,12

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
Greetings everyone!
Thank you for the excellent coverage of the Everest climb. I am enjoying it so much. It takes a lot of cajones to take on the mountain and I like visiting your site and pretending that I am really there.

Bye for now!
Karen

AUBURN, MICHIGAN
GOD BLESS YOU, best of luck to you all, take care of each other, PEACE ON EARTH.

Jerry Janowicz

OMAHA, NEBRASKA
Here in Omaha, Nebraska USA we are tracking you on the web site. My kids find it very interesting and so do my husband and I . The pictures we have seen are fantastic. I could never do what you are doing, as I am afraid of heights. The icefall crossing looked very scary and beautiful. Won't keep you as you need any rest you can get. Good luck and take care...will keep tracking you.

BBEEP69@aol.com

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN
...to all! thinking about you guys from Milwaukee, WI

take care and be safe!
Lisa Labuz, climbing fan

BELLS, TEXAS
Good luck to every one in this year's expedition. Since '96, the mountainzone's daily cybercasts of each expedition have been a high point of my day, and I eagerly await this year's efforts. Thanks to everyone on the mountain for sharing your dreams with those of us who are merely armchair adventurers! May you all come home safely.

Cheryl Byrne

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA
Having had the privelege of being guided by Dave Hahn on Rainier, we are excited to seet he extended coverage of the north side climb. Thanks and keep up the good work.

Ben and Nancy Broder

TUCSON, ARIZONA
I just found your site through an item in our local newspaper. As a teen I read Annapurna by Maurice Herzog and was overwhelmed by the danger and courage of man as he undertook to climb these awsome mountains of our world. Being born in 1940 I have watched and read of the many climbs round the world. I have always known I would never climb a peak so huge and am so pleased to be able to "join" your venture through this web site. Thank you for the wonderful photos and reports. Providing this must be a real pain sometimes and I for one appreciate your effort. TOnight I will take my 5 year old granddaughter Alex to the mountain and let her learn about what you are doing. Thank you and may God watch over all of you and may the Mountain welcome you and protect you all.

Sincerely,
Barbara Yorkis
it will be 80° here today!

ARLINGTON, TEXAS
I found this web site tonight and I am in total awe at this ability for you to share this trip with us.

Wish I could send you some good Mexican food from Texas!!! Be careful and keep sending this fantastic experience to us.

Sincerely, Peggy

PHOENIX, ARIZONA
Gentlemen:
A great website. Am telling all my web friends. Best of luck...and keep up the great work. Will be living vicariously!

Mike Moore

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
I want to thank you guys for taking the time to share your fascinating expedition to the top of Everest. To be able to sit at this desk and read your words that you all put out here on this site, from the other side of the world, amazes me of the times we live in. And now taking another step with modern technology by placing these positioning monitors to measure the movement of Everest is something. You guys are a daily conversation amongst my friends and are our inspiration to climb a couple of 14'ners this summer in Colorado. We will be cheering you guys tonight over a couple of pints of Guinness.

Best of luck, safety, and God Speed,
Jim Cooney

GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA
Wally Berg and the whole expedition crew
I just wanted to send a quick little note to wish everyone the best with this trip. I will be following you each day as you make your way to the top. Be Careful but enjoy the trip. You are doing something I would love to do, but can't so send many pictures.

This last saying is usually used for astronauts, but it suites what you and the expedition is trying to accomplish: May GOD BLESS AND GOD SPEED.

Rob Staverman

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
I hope that each day will provide a better opportunity to reach the summit. I have always desired to climb the big one so I will do it with you through the internet!

I am a minister outside of Boston in a great New England church and if you have any prayer needs I would be delighted to pray for you all and the success of your trip.

Pastor Dave Stewart

TULSA, OKLAHOMA
Thanks so much for the cybercasts and all the information provided at this website. After reading Krakauer's book, I am much more familiar with the areas and camps that you report from. I anxiously await your daily reports of your progress. Best wishes and here's to a safe and successful summit '98.

Jill Falkenberry

WEST VIRGINIA
I just wanted you to know that I have been following your progress every day since early April. I work for the United Methodist Church in wild wonderful West Virginia. We are surrounded by marvelous mountains, I call the grandmother tooth mountains, having been worn down by centuries of activity, both natural and human-produced. We are now battling to save these mountains from "mountain-top removal" coal mining practices.

I appreciate tremendously your respect for the sherpas and your inclusion of them in your dispatches. I have traveled to the southern regions of India and know how much we have to learn from the people of central Asia. I appreciate also your respect for their religious traditions and your inclusion of that information in the dispatches. I am learning a lot.

Your safety is in my prayers,
J. F. Lacaria

ARIZONA
Here in Arizona and there you are on top of the world—I'm a 53 year-old lady who would love to do what you are but, cannot, so go guys—godspeed and I'll be checking on you. Be safe.

Rowshe2@aol.com

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
Hello!
We are very pleased to be able to follow your expedition on the Internet. My husband was an avid climber earlier in his life. He unfortunately never made a climb outside the U.S. (Mt. Rainier, the Needles) as he suffered extensive knee injuries in separate sporting incidents and can no longer participate. We are both very interested in Mt. Everest and read all of the information available to us. Being able to log in and get your updates allows my husband to share in a dream that he himself can never realize. Thank you and may the mountain keep you all safe!

Greg & Darice Heishman

ASPEN, COLORADO
Hello from Aspen Co. Our 4th grade class will be tracking your progress. Good luck!

Matt Harder

FAIRVIEW, OKLAHOMA
I am really enjoying your reports and photos. This is fantanstic! It is really getting me pumped up to finish the fourteeners (4) in Colorado this summer.

Don Friesen

COLUMBUS, OHIO
I just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying this web site and the daily dispatches from the climbers on Everest. I very recently completed Jon Krakauer's book, INTO THIN AIR, and I am totally fascinated, yet completely amazed, by this and the people who attempt Everest.

Good luck and godspeed to all — I will continue to check in each day and avidly follow your adventures.

Susie Boggs

VANCOUVER, WASHINGTON
I just got through reading all current dispatches from Dave Hahn on the north side, and I'm marvelling at the word pictures he paints. I only wish the dispatches were longer, because while reading them, he makes me feel like I'm there too. I was very moved by his descriptions of Memorial Hill.

Thank you for putting this information on the web. I have climbed Mt. Rainier and I and love the mountains, but I know my best climbing days are past. This is a way to keep in touch and remember why mountains are sacred.

Thanks again
Glen Pierce

MAUI, HAWAII
I am sitting here in Maui, Hawaii and have just "found you". I'm new to the internet and all of this is especially exciting to me as I was climbing on the lower slopes of Pumori 20 years ago. Now at age 60 all of this brings back wonderful memories and I will follow your progress with much delight. My thoughts and prayers are with you, as are those of every mountaineer who has ever dreamed of summiting Everest. For me it will be vicariously through your expedition.

Dr. Ray Scheimer

KAUAI, HAWAII
Aloha,
In 1979 I was leading a tour group of senior citizens around the Orient and Nepal was one of our stops. We took in Kathmandu and Tiger Tops. Whilst In Tiger Tops I sat and chatted with the other guide...at one point he told me that I reminded him of his daughter who now lived in another country. He said that she was a great climber... his name was Tenzing Norgay.

When I watch a special on Mt. Everest or now that I have the chance to read and see your expedition...I think of that kind and gentle man I met many years ago. He is there climbing with all of you.

Best of luck and aloha,
Laurie Loo

OAHU, HAWAII
Coming to you from the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. Thinkaboutit. Good luck to you all. We are watching your progress and wish we were there with you. Especially Jerry!

hightower, Rich and Jerry

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
Hey guys
it's 75 degrees and hot and humid here in new orleans louisiana. we are fascinated by your attempt at climbing mount everest and cannot imagine the cold temperatures and the majestic beauty of the mountain. we have been following your daily dispatches and wish you well on your summit attempt. we will toast to your health and success with mint juleps on our veranda upon news of your return.

madeleine, brian, meric, and lilly meissner

FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA
I didn't realize until today that I could send an e-mail right to the Base Camp. I hope this is where this is going. I have been reading every word of every dispatch, listening on my real audio and learning as much as I can sap up about all pertaining to Mt Everest. I am so anxiously awaiting the Summit bid, I will be celebrating with my husband when you all reach the top. It is my dream to trek in Nepal some day, it has been for many years. (My husband will stay home but he will train with me....) I'll never climb Everest, but you all inspire me so to follow my dream of simply seeing the mountain from the trail from afar.

I also pray for the safety and health of all of you during your Summit bid. "Om mani padne hum" will be on my lips for you that day.

All the best
Dawn Siegel

RIDGEWOOD, NEW JERSEY
Hi team: Just to let you know that you have a fan in new Jersey. My son and I do little climbs (The Whites and Shasta etc) so as we have been following your team I have developed what I think are sympathetic altitude headaches. My daughter is a student at MIT so we're even more intent on wishing you all success.

BE CAREFULL!
Ron Brogan

MAINE
Hi to the whole team,
Thank you very much for making this cybercast available to us. This expedition does many things, one in particular is that it gives tremendous encouragement to all of us watching. It encourages us to go outside the box. You are all an inspiration to me and my children, (Jenna, 5yrs and Katie, 8yrs).

Good luck getting to the summit, hopefully on Saturday! I hope you have an opportunity to e-mail my girls, they would love to share your e-mail with their classrooms.

Happy Summit,
Steve Eastman

FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA
God speed and good luck, I have said a prayer for you guys each day since the 10th. of May. Be careful, smart and patient!!!

I am treking to base camp in October, please be careful so I can remember it for the fun I had and not to wish your souls adieu.

John Erickson

OREGON
Hi,
Since I was 10 years old, I'm now fif, fif, fif...ahh 50 :), I have been interested in the great mountain. I have recently been reading about Mt Everest and I am still in awe of the the mountain the towers mother earth. I'm a newbie in using the Internet and I'm very happy to have found your site, I will be checking it daily. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to help fill one of my life long desires, to stand on the top of our planet. Wishing you the best of luck from the South Coast of Oregon, El. 21 feet.

Rich

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
Wally & Expedition Team,
Thanks for all of the correspondence and effort of keeping us informed of your tremendous progress. I'm sure that pecking away at a keyboard or sending audio updates is extra time at the end of the day that could be spent resting.

All of your thoughts, discoveries and observations are thrilling to us "arm-chair" mountain enthusiasts. Keep up the good work, God speed to all of you and please be careful!!!

Best Regards,
Roger Reynolds

FORKS, WASHINGTON
Reaching out to you from the NW corner of the Olympic Peninsula Forks, WA
While working in the hills surronding Mt Olympus looking down into the Hoh River valley today, I watched the morning clouds melt away from the peaks of the olympics and as the sun began to warm the valley I thought of you folks. Your mountain is on a grander scale than mine and I know that its really different but for a moment I felt that in a small way we are connected.

Thinking of you all and what it must be like and sending my wishes for your well being and success.

Connected by the mountains...
David Carroll

COLORADO
I just finished the book "Into Thin Air" at midnight. I then scrambled to my new computer to search for answers and to reasearch the book I have not been able to put down for 2 days. I realized that it is May 12 and base camp at Everest must be a hub-bub of activity. I must find someone to filter all the feelings the book has left me feeling at this moment. The enormous endever you are about to embark upon is overwhelming, I truely wish you all the luck and good vibes I can send your way...

Just know that around the world in a small town in Colorado, a housewife and mother is sending you best wishes...

Jolly Rushing

ROME, GEORGIA
Hello Wally, Charles, David, Eric, Greg and Sherpas!
My family and I have really enjoyed following your expedition at home. We check for new dispatches several times each day, and think of you often. My daughter Dailey, 10, and son Patrick, 8, have been following your progress with great interest. They saw the IMAX film at the Fernbank museum in Atlanta, and now feel they are experts. They discuss summit bids, altitude sickness, the Khumbu ice falls, etc., with great authority.

We will be spending the weekend at our log cabin in the North Ga. mountains. When we make our daily 45 minute climb to the top of Millsap Mountain, my 8 year old will, as always, pretend that we are attempting to summit Everest. I hate to be away from computer for two days—what if we miss your summit atttempt!! That will be the first thing I check when we get home.

Keep the dispatches coming. We will be praying for a safe and successful outcome for your expedition. Dailey and Patrick would love to hear from you, but I can only imagine how much mail you are receiving.

Sincerely,
Patty Hunter

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
To everyone on Everest
I just want to wish you all the very best of luck, and to say my prayers are with you all on this trip - I read your daily dispatches, and it never ceases to amaze me that all of this is now possible with modern technology - the video of the Icefall was just amazing - one felt that one was almost right there with you.

Anyway, once again, my prayers are with you all on the day you make your summit bid, and may you all be able to celebrate on safer ground in a month or two from now!

Michelle Bartley

COLUMBUS, GEORGIA
I am a 53 yr old retired teacher with 30 yrs of service. Listening to your calls daily is the most exciting thing to come my way in years. I live in Columbus, Ga. USA. You are my heroes. May God protect you on this adventure of a life time. I feel as if I'm there with you.

have a peaceful day
reply requested
foreversaturday@webtv.net

MAUI, HAWAII
Aloha 1998 Everest expedition-
I have been following you up the great mountain and want to thank you for letting me hear and see Mount Everest- as you crossed the Khumbu Ice Falls i could hear the sounds of the ice beneath your deet as well as the shortness of your breath- good luck to you all- may the weather cooperate with your incredible expedition- may God Bless you one and all-

aloha from maui
michelle

MINNESTOA
Many thanks for the Web site. I found it last year and visited it early this year to watch the expedition from the beginning. The site is well done and informative; my commendation to the Webmaster.

I live in Minnesota, so I certainly know what cold, windy, weather is like. But I'm trying to figure out how the experience on Everest compares to anything I have experienced. I'm sure that when the sun is out, the altitude makes it feel much warmer. And your pictures at base camp - and even above - show people dressed for what I would consider ordinary winter weather. It isn't until higher up, maybe camp III and above, where it seems to be a much different matter. And above camp IV, I'm sure it can be like being on another world. Or am I biased by all of the extreme situations I hear about (e.g. 1996)? Can a summit bid on a nice day be something akin to cross-country skiing on a cold, but sunny, Minnesota day?

I hope you can get the sense of what I'm trying to say. Can you, in some way, describe the weather up there in terms that the rest of us can relate to?

Dave Fraatz

LAS VEGAS, NEVEDA
I thought while you were giving updates to the world on your Everest adventure that I would give you a few updates from Las Vegas, Nevada. You know one gambling meca to another. Currently our Mega Bucks Jackpot is over 16,000,000. So if when you are done with that adventure you decide you want to gamble a little more you can come here and go for the big one.

Now for the update that will make you a little jealous. It is unseasonably cool here this week . The outside temperature is about 80 degrees. Although there is a light breeze of 8-9 miles an hour.

Okay now for the good stuff.
"You only see an obstacle when you lose sight off your goal. Great spirits often encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds." —Einstein
Keep your mind and heart and spirit all in the same place. The world is pulling for you. There are more people than you think that admire the feat you are attempting rather than think that you are crazy. Although, we know there has to be something that you are searching for on that mountain. I hope that all of you find what it is you are looking for and I also hope you all make it up there and back safely.

The world is wishing you well
Nick

MINNESOTA
The '98 expedition website is remarkable—interactive, personal, educational. It has become a breakfast ritual for me—coffee, toast and everest98.com. Thanks to the expedition members for their input and the website designer for his/her professional contribution to the experience (ie. bringing it home for "the masses"). It has been particularly special for me to access the site because my daughter, Ali, is one of the many trekkers approaching basecamp at this moment. The photo gallery and day by day trek descriptions give me a real feel for her experience.

If by chance any of you cross paths with my daughter, pass on my greetings—it will surprise her I'm sure that I was able to track her down on a mountain. To the expedition members I would like to to say the same thing that I said to her—good luck, have fun and stay safe.

Nancy Lacika

OPELOUSASA, LOUISIANA
The Westminster Rangers are a four year curriculum (high school) backpacking organization. I'm one of the adult leaders and as so would like to wish you all the best on your ascent and then your safe descent until your final stop at your homes and with your families. We're based in Opelousas, Louisiana and don't see many mountains except for occassional trips to the Appalachains or Rocky Mountains.

We'll be sure to keep checking your Web site, expecting and hoping for the best.

God Bless you...Jack Chandler

CLEVELAND, OHIO
I find the moutainzone.com site to be one of the most compelling web experiences I have ever seen. I hope everyone passes through the summit and it is a safe season for one and all.

We're looking in and rooting for you in Cleveland Ohio.

Michael B. Bidwell

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA
I don't know whether the guys on the mountain get any of these messages (you must get thousands) but I'd like to take this opportunity before Wally and the gang attempt the summit to say thank you, to all of you at mountainzone and especially the climbers and their support teams for giving us ordinary folks a chance to share in your adventure. Myself, my wife, my son and a large number of friends have been following with great interest you travels since April 1. Checking your web site is the first thing we do when we get home for work and we usually recheck it in the evening before we retire. It has been an education and has rekindled an interest in the part of the world that has been dormant for a number of years (maybe we'll get out act together and do the Nepal trek, yet).

So thanks again. Good luck on your summit bids and BE CAREFUL.
Bruce, Marta and Luke Bloy

OAK RIDGE, TENNESSEE
You guys are crazy! I'm just fascinated.

Jules

SONORA, TEXAS
I have really enjoyed your Everest updates!!!! You are now my number one bookmark taking over from CNN. I look forward to cooler weather and your snow reports.

Carol Pope

WYOMING
Hey, you fellas are incredible! It was an inspiration to all of us to follow your progress day by day and see you pull off the expedition so well. Your adventure has been a daily topic of conversation among several of my colleagues at work. I know some folks figure that Everest climbs are becoming routine, but I disagree... every time it's different, just as challenging, and just as remarkable—and for many of us, reading the books etc. is the only way we'll ever get there! Hurray!

Sherrill Shaffer