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The Summit Day part 3 | back to part 2 Moving Up the Mountain 
The team has been up to Camp 3 and back to Base Camp four
times now, a total of 24,000 vertical feet of climbing at high
altitudes. It's been a long season for them, having been among
the first to arrive at Base Camp nearly 8 weeks ago and now
among the very last to leave. But with an IMAX/IWERKS large
format film to shoot, in addition to reaching the summit of
Everest, they know the task they set out to accomplish was
never going to be easy. Most of their time has been spent
filming and waiting for ideal weather conditions to make their
summit attempt.
 (Click here
to hear David talk about why he's here.) After being on the
mountain for what seems like an eternity, Sumiyo comments:
"When I finish my climbing I wish to have a hot bath and fresh
bed sheets, just a blanket on my body. I wish to run away from
this small tent and this narrow sleeping bag. That is my wish
I think."Where mountains are concerned, it's best to err on the side of safety, and both David and Ed, the veteran climbers of the group, are cautious about the summit day. 
For Ed, conditions have to be perfect for a team to reach the
top: "It's weather conditions, the snow conditions, your
attitude, your will, your health, and still how strong you
are. All that has to come together on that one summit day. If
one of those things is not there, you're not going to make it.
Everything has to be perfect and everything has to click on
that one day." If focus is what it takes to make it to the
top, Ed Viesturs is the most likely to get there: "For me
everything is now pointed to the summit day. Getting myself
prepared mentally and physically for that one day. All the
days in between I know I can handle. It's that summit day
which I know is going to be super taxing physically and
mentally. So it's like I'm preparing for a test, I'm studying
now for the final exam."
Click here
to hear Ed talk about what happens if you don't make the
summit and want to try again. Continue Photos: (1) courtesy Robert Schauer; (2-3) Liesl Clark. Lost on Everest | High Exposure | Climb | History & Culture | Earth, Wind, & Ice E-mail | Previous Expeditions | Resources | Site Map | Everest Home Editor's Picks | Previous Sites | Join Us/E-mail | TV/Web Schedule About NOVA | Teachers | Site Map | Shop | Jobs | Search | To print PBS Online | NOVA Online | WGBH © | Updated November 2000 |