Day #27

Location: Base Camp (Mt. Everest)
Altitude: 5364m
Local Time: 5:30pm / April 23
Weather: Cool (30's) windy/snow

I am 29 years old and recently completed my MBA from Kellogg (Northwestern's b-school). I am currently a real-estate developer.

I will briefly describe our fabulous team.

1. Mike Allsop, 37 years old, is from New Zealand. He is married to Wendy and they have three children. Mike (aka Maverick) is a pilot for Air New Zealand. Mike is a happy go lucky type of guy and he proudly talks about how cool it is to be a dad.
2. Bob Jen, 53 years old, is from New York, New York (the accent is real). He has been married to Cindy for 22 years. She is a "Five Star type of gal" according to Bob (aka Bobby). Bobby is a passionate runner. He fastest marathon time is 2:17! Bobby has summitted Everest before and he hopes to summit Lhotse on this trip.
3. Anna Shekhdar, 27 years old, is from Bristol (UK). Anna is Rob's girlfriend. Anna (aka Bebe) is a practicing doctor. She has a great attitude and is an elite water skier.
4. Rob Casserley, 31 years old, is from Bath (UK). Rob is a practicing doctor. He has made the summit of Everest twice. Rob (aka Tuffy) is a nice person who wears his heart on his sleeve.
5. Mike Davy, 41 years old, is from Sussex, (UK). He is married to Jan and they have a daughter Annie. Mike is a management consultant. Mike (aka Mr. Techy) is truly hilarious - his jokes and demeanor are always priceless.
6. Jean Clemonson, 69 years old, is from France. He was the first Frenchman to climb Cho Oyu (the 6th tallest mountain in the world). His English is not the best but nonetheless he is charismatic and a kind person.
7. Edward Supplee, 43 years old is from San Francisco. Edward (aka Ward or Iceman) is a carpenter. He is married with two girls. Ward is a great person and a strong climber.
8. Pat Hickey (aka Prof). Pat is truly one of a kind. He is always up for an adventure. Prof is always making people laugh and is very interested in having deep conversation with team members.
9. Bo Parfet (see above for brief bio).

Thanks for your time.

Warmly,

Bo Parfet

Jon Leebowwrites, “Bo Parfet ’95 and I, along with another friend, were in the La Ruta Maya River Challenge, a 170-mile canoe race in Belize in Central America. There were a lot of nice people and it was a great experience. None of us ever really canoed before – it was fun, challenging, enlightening, humbling, grounding, rewarding, and a reality check. We were very tired at the end of the race – it took us a little over 31 hours to complete it. Our goal was to finish safely and not come in last. We achieved both goals.”

Bo Parfet scaled the summit of Mt. Everest on May 17. Although obviously exhausted after the climb, Bo sent in this update four hours after coming down the mountain: "While climbing Everest I faced many challenges. Avalanches and rock slides are the biggest killers. Secondly, the bad health conditions. At one point (because of the lack of oxygen to the brain), I had to deal with cerebral confusion, exhaustion and sleeplessness, vomiting, diarrhea and dehydration. Thirdly, the weather was a problem because of frost bite and freezing temperatures, which are commonly minus 35. ... Everest was simply the hardest experience of my life. The cold air burned my lungs like fire. Every step was torture and with every step my body and mind were screaming at me to turn down. I, somehow, kept pushing my physical and mental limits. In the end, I was lucky enough to stand on top of the world."