We were asked to submit 2 pictures from when we were little at work for the surprise Christmas party. Here are some Dad emailed me.... I love that Mom dressed me in a sweat suit with black platinum leather shoes and white socks for the one picture.
Monday, December 18, 2006
I'll be home for Christmas!
I'm extremely excited to go back to S.C for the holidays. I'm taking a red eye 12/20. The last few weeks have been really great. I've gotten some days in snowboarding, transitioned back into having a horse in Utah in the winter time, returned to a regular workout schedule, and taken some time out to spend with friends. I love when I feel like I have control over my life and I'm not just hanging on for the ride. It is all about simplification.
We were asked to submit 2 pictures from when we were little at work for the surprise Christmas party. Here are some Dad emailed me.... I love that Mom dressed me in a sweat suit with black platinum leather shoes and white socks for the one picture.
We were asked to submit 2 pictures from when we were little at work for the surprise Christmas party. Here are some Dad emailed me.... I love that Mom dressed me in a sweat suit with black platinum leather shoes and white socks for the one picture.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Nate's Aconcagua Trip
For anyone interested:
My friend Nate, who I climbed Rainier with, is in Argentina climbing Aconcagua. It is his first solo big mountain climb. 2 weeks ago, the temperature on the summit was -70. It is now -20. I've included updates from his girlfriend Claire.
Dec. 9th
Hi Everyone:
Nate has made it to Argentina! After a ridiculous morning of calls to Argentina, dropped Sat phone calls from Nate, missing permit offices and other complications, Nate is all settled in Mendoza with his climbing permits, and will be leaving tomorrow morning to trek into base camp. The permit office has recently moved, throwning a kink into Nate's plans, but it has been all worked out, and he will still be leaving to get to the mountain tomorrow morning! He has very limited internet access at his hostel in Mendoza, so though he may not be able to
answer, he may be able to read his emails if any of you would like to drop him a few quick lines. Tomorrow he leaves for his two day trek into base camp, and will rest there for a day. After that, he has several solid days of climbing, with summiting projected on the 16th. He will return to the states on December 23rd.
Thanks
Claire
Dec 10th
Hello Everyone:
I heard from Nate this afternoon at about 4 pm (Which is about 8oclock in Argentina), and he was settled at his first camp, Confluencia, about half way into his trek to base camp. He started climbing at 4 30pm today (after leaving at 10 to drive the 170 kilometers out to the beginning of his journey) and made it to camp by 7pm, and apparently in a rather miserable snow storm. He says most guided groups usually take 3-5 hours for this portion, with mules, so he was very happy to do it in 2 and a 1/2 unsupported. He says it is cold at his camp, but the storm subsided, and he is now all settled in his tent and warm. When he called me he was getting ready to make dinner, and sounded great. He says he feels strong, and is excited to start climbing tomorrow and make it to base camp, where he will spend two days. He says hello to everyone!
Claire
12/15/06
Hi Everyone:
I apologize for not emailing you all sooner with updates, finals and wrapping up at my job for the semester have kept me rather busy. I heard from Nate on the 11th, and after a grueling 10 hour trek, he made it into base camp. There he spent a much needed day resting, and then pushed on to his first camp that was actually on the mountain, Camp Canada, at 16,108 feet. Apparently there is a small storm on the mountain, and he said his push to Camp Canada was very cold. As of now, I have not heard from him since 2 days ago when he made it to Camp Canada. I know he was going to push to his second camp, Nido Des Condores (17,552ft), and then wait out the weather from there, and then attempt his summit when it was clear. The satellite phone does not work when there are clouds in the sky, so I am hoping that the reason I haven't heard from him is the lack of reception due to the storm. Please send happy thoughts towards Argentina, let's all hope this storm subsides! He has several weather days built into his schedule, and the proper gear to wait out a storm, so I know he will be safe. I will email you all as soon as I next hear from him.
Claire
12/16/06
At this point, I had hoped to be emailing you all to tell you that Nate would be attempting his summit tomorrow. However, I have some different, and more critical news. Today at 11 30am I recieved a call from a group of Australians climbing who had found Nate at Camp Canada (approx 16000ft), suffering from what they believed to be Pulmonary and Cerebral Adema, both basically very very severe forms of high altitude sickness. He went on his climb with medications for both of these, and I was able to direct the men that found them to where the meds were, and get them administered to him. After that, with loads of help from lots of people, namely my father, we managed to get an evacuation coordinated, and approxamatly an hour and a half after I got the phone call, a rescue team had reached Nate, and brought him back down to base camp. I then got another call at base camp from the Australians, letting me know that Nate was in seeing a doctor. This was the last communication I had with anyone down there. On the descent, he regained consciousness, and was able to talk again by the time
he reached base camp. Thankfully, the way these illnesses work is that the instant you start to descend, you begin to feel better. As of now, that is all the information I have. As I get more information, I promise to pass it along as soon as I know. I wish I had more to tell you all, but as of now, take comfort in knowing he is at base camp in the hands of the medical team, which is the best place he can be right now. He will be ok. Again, I will email the instant I have more information. Please keep Nate in your thoughts and prayers.
As of this morning, I heard from the Australian fellow who was at Base Camp with Nate. He is doing well, and according to him, he was leaving base camp today on mules. However, after speaking with some other people involved in this situation, they seem to think he was going to be helicoptered out of Base Camp to Mendoza. Despite the conflicting information, all reports indicate that he is safe, and doing well. I have still not talked to him, and we believe this is due to the storm currently on Aconcagua (clouds obscure the sat phone reception). When I hear more, I will be sure to let you know, but we know that he is conscious, coherent and safe at this point. Now it is simply a matter of getting him back to Mendoza and then back to the USA. Again, I feel bad that I don't have more information for everyone, but I promise that as I do get it, I will pass
it along. I am back in Colorado for break now, and hopefully will be flying to wherever it is that Nate comes back to in a few days.
12/17/06
I have wonderful news! We have found Nate, and I spent about 20 minutes on the phone with him this morning! After much searching, we discovered that he made it to a hospital, not in Mendoza, but in a suburb about 30 miles out from the city. We finally found the number, and after a few tries, I was able to get in touch with the hospital, and finally, for the first time since Wednesday afternoon, talk to Nate! He sounds good, and just wants to get home to the states. His father and I are working on getting him out of the hospital and back to Mendoza. He is doing ok, and says that he currently is just feeling some back pain (apparently when he was moved
from Camp Canada to Base Camp, it was on a sled, and was a rather rough ride). He is still at 12,000 ft, so when he makes it all the way to Mendoza (4000ft) he should be feeling even better. With any kind of luck, he may be back in the USA as early as Tuesday. Right now we just have to get everything squared away with getting him out of the hospital and to Mendoza to a hotel. I made sure to pass along all the supportive emails that I have been getting to Nathan. As soon as we get him out of the hospital and to Mendoza, I will let everyone know.
Another email with good news! Nate called me a few hours ago, and has made it back to Mendoza, and was eating at a restaurant when he called me. Though the connection only lasted for about 20 seconds, he was able to tell me that he was getting some food, had made it to his hotel, and got back in touch with his wallet and plane tickets, so things are looking up. From here, he just needs some rest, and then when he is ready, he will fly home. I know I can rest a bit easier now, knowing that he is safe, and has access to food, a shower and a nice clean bed. I can only imagine how much better he feels. Again, thank you for all the kind words, I will be sure
to pass them along to Nate when we get to talk for longer than a minute!
My friend Nate, who I climbed Rainier with, is in Argentina climbing Aconcagua. It is his first solo big mountain climb. 2 weeks ago, the temperature on the summit was -70. It is now -20. I've included updates from his girlfriend Claire.
Dec. 9th
Hi Everyone:
Nate has made it to Argentina! After a ridiculous morning of calls to Argentina, dropped Sat phone calls from Nate, missing permit offices and other complications, Nate is all settled in Mendoza with his climbing permits, and will be leaving tomorrow morning to trek into base camp. The permit office has recently moved, throwning a kink into Nate's plans, but it has been all worked out, and he will still be leaving to get to the mountain tomorrow morning! He has very limited internet access at his hostel in Mendoza, so though he may not be able to
answer, he may be able to read his emails if any of you would like to drop him a few quick lines. Tomorrow he leaves for his two day trek into base camp, and will rest there for a day. After that, he has several solid days of climbing, with summiting projected on the 16th. He will return to the states on December 23rd.
Thanks
Claire
Dec 10th
Hello Everyone:
I heard from Nate this afternoon at about 4 pm (Which is about 8oclock in Argentina), and he was settled at his first camp, Confluencia, about half way into his trek to base camp. He started climbing at 4 30pm today (after leaving at 10 to drive the 170 kilometers out to the beginning of his journey) and made it to camp by 7pm, and apparently in a rather miserable snow storm. He says most guided groups usually take 3-5 hours for this portion, with mules, so he was very happy to do it in 2 and a 1/2 unsupported. He says it is cold at his camp, but the storm subsided, and he is now all settled in his tent and warm. When he called me he was getting ready to make dinner, and sounded great. He says he feels strong, and is excited to start climbing tomorrow and make it to base camp, where he will spend two days. He says hello to everyone!
Claire
12/15/06
Hi Everyone:
I apologize for not emailing you all sooner with updates, finals and wrapping up at my job for the semester have kept me rather busy. I heard from Nate on the 11th, and after a grueling 10 hour trek, he made it into base camp. There he spent a much needed day resting, and then pushed on to his first camp that was actually on the mountain, Camp Canada, at 16,108 feet. Apparently there is a small storm on the mountain, and he said his push to Camp Canada was very cold. As of now, I have not heard from him since 2 days ago when he made it to Camp Canada. I know he was going to push to his second camp, Nido Des Condores (17,552ft), and then wait out the weather from there, and then attempt his summit when it was clear. The satellite phone does not work when there are clouds in the sky, so I am hoping that the reason I haven't heard from him is the lack of reception due to the storm. Please send happy thoughts towards Argentina, let's all hope this storm subsides! He has several weather days built into his schedule, and the proper gear to wait out a storm, so I know he will be safe. I will email you all as soon as I next hear from him.
Claire
12/16/06
At this point, I had hoped to be emailing you all to tell you that Nate would be attempting his summit tomorrow. However, I have some different, and more critical news. Today at 11 30am I recieved a call from a group of Australians climbing who had found Nate at Camp Canada (approx 16000ft), suffering from what they believed to be Pulmonary and Cerebral Adema, both basically very very severe forms of high altitude sickness. He went on his climb with medications for both of these, and I was able to direct the men that found them to where the meds were, and get them administered to him. After that, with loads of help from lots of people, namely my father, we managed to get an evacuation coordinated, and approxamatly an hour and a half after I got the phone call, a rescue team had reached Nate, and brought him back down to base camp. I then got another call at base camp from the Australians, letting me know that Nate was in seeing a doctor. This was the last communication I had with anyone down there. On the descent, he regained consciousness, and was able to talk again by the time
he reached base camp. Thankfully, the way these illnesses work is that the instant you start to descend, you begin to feel better. As of now, that is all the information I have. As I get more information, I promise to pass it along as soon as I know. I wish I had more to tell you all, but as of now, take comfort in knowing he is at base camp in the hands of the medical team, which is the best place he can be right now. He will be ok. Again, I will email the instant I have more information. Please keep Nate in your thoughts and prayers.
As of this morning, I heard from the Australian fellow who was at Base Camp with Nate. He is doing well, and according to him, he was leaving base camp today on mules. However, after speaking with some other people involved in this situation, they seem to think he was going to be helicoptered out of Base Camp to Mendoza. Despite the conflicting information, all reports indicate that he is safe, and doing well. I have still not talked to him, and we believe this is due to the storm currently on Aconcagua (clouds obscure the sat phone reception). When I hear more, I will be sure to let you know, but we know that he is conscious, coherent and safe at this point. Now it is simply a matter of getting him back to Mendoza and then back to the USA. Again, I feel bad that I don't have more information for everyone, but I promise that as I do get it, I will pass
it along. I am back in Colorado for break now, and hopefully will be flying to wherever it is that Nate comes back to in a few days.
12/17/06
I have wonderful news! We have found Nate, and I spent about 20 minutes on the phone with him this morning! After much searching, we discovered that he made it to a hospital, not in Mendoza, but in a suburb about 30 miles out from the city. We finally found the number, and after a few tries, I was able to get in touch with the hospital, and finally, for the first time since Wednesday afternoon, talk to Nate! He sounds good, and just wants to get home to the states. His father and I are working on getting him out of the hospital and back to Mendoza. He is doing ok, and says that he currently is just feeling some back pain (apparently when he was moved
from Camp Canada to Base Camp, it was on a sled, and was a rather rough ride). He is still at 12,000 ft, so when he makes it all the way to Mendoza (4000ft) he should be feeling even better. With any kind of luck, he may be back in the USA as early as Tuesday. Right now we just have to get everything squared away with getting him out of the hospital and to Mendoza to a hotel. I made sure to pass along all the supportive emails that I have been getting to Nathan. As soon as we get him out of the hospital and to Mendoza, I will let everyone know.
Another email with good news! Nate called me a few hours ago, and has made it back to Mendoza, and was eating at a restaurant when he called me. Though the connection only lasted for about 20 seconds, he was able to tell me that he was getting some food, had made it to his hotel, and got back in touch with his wallet and plane tickets, so things are looking up. From here, he just needs some rest, and then when he is ready, he will fly home. I know I can rest a bit easier now, knowing that he is safe, and has access to food, a shower and a nice clean bed. I can only imagine how much better he feels. Again, thank you for all the kind words, I will be sure
to pass them along to Nate when we get to talk for longer than a minute!
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Eating Raw
It has now been 3 weeks eating only raw foods, with the exception of crackers and canned chicken noodle soup when I was sick. Let's just say vegetables didn't sound very good. I made it through Thanksgiving, a Whitesell family vacation, and living with roommates still in college. I've lost weight, have more energy, and best of all have gained a great deal of self control.
New favorite snacks- almonds, dehydrated vegetables, rasberries, and sugar snap peas
New favorite snacks- almonds, dehydrated vegetables, rasberries, and sugar snap peas
Disney World Trip
Last Wednesday I flew to Orlando for our family’s Disney World trip.
12 adults + 11 kids (5 in diapers) + 5 strollers + 1 wheel chair + 2 “How to get the most of your Disney vacation books” = a typical Whitesell family vacation
The trip went pretty well except for a horrid stomach virus that began making its rounds on day 3.
Trip back to UT:
3am Sunday morning I met my cab driver to make the trip back to the airport. As we chatted my stomach began churning and I started to look for the button to roll down the window, then noticed the floors were plastic; no worries. By the time I checked in and walked to the gate my stomach and I were hating life. I sprawled out on the gross tile floor in the handicap stall and waited for my flight to take off. The flight to Denver was bearable- I had the entire row to myself and slept with the occasional rush to the bathroom. When I landed in Denver I had exactly 30 minutes until my connection to Salt Lake left. The flight attendant announced the Salt Lake flight would be leaving from concourse C23; she was even nice enough to clarify with, Charley 23. Blast! I was in concourse B. I grabbed my throw up bag and ran for the tram, and then ran down to the end of concourse C. But wait! What did I find? There was no gate C23. My flight to SLC was departing, now in 10 minutes, from gate B23. With throw up sack in hand I ran back to the tram and then down to gate B23 and boarded as they shut the doors. Within 12 hours of being home one of my roommates started throwing up, and last night the other one started as well.
Even with all of the stress of such a large group and the horrible trip home, I enjoyed myself. I love spending time with my quirky family!
12 adults + 11 kids (5 in diapers) + 5 strollers + 1 wheel chair + 2 “How to get the most of your Disney vacation books” = a typical Whitesell family vacation
The trip went pretty well except for a horrid stomach virus that began making its rounds on day 3.
Trip back to UT:
3am Sunday morning I met my cab driver to make the trip back to the airport. As we chatted my stomach began churning and I started to look for the button to roll down the window, then noticed the floors were plastic; no worries. By the time I checked in and walked to the gate my stomach and I were hating life. I sprawled out on the gross tile floor in the handicap stall and waited for my flight to take off. The flight to Denver was bearable- I had the entire row to myself and slept with the occasional rush to the bathroom. When I landed in Denver I had exactly 30 minutes until my connection to Salt Lake left. The flight attendant announced the Salt Lake flight would be leaving from concourse C23; she was even nice enough to clarify with, Charley 23. Blast! I was in concourse B. I grabbed my throw up bag and ran for the tram, and then ran down to the end of concourse C. But wait! What did I find? There was no gate C23. My flight to SLC was departing, now in 10 minutes, from gate B23. With throw up sack in hand I ran back to the tram and then down to gate B23 and boarded as they shut the doors. Within 12 hours of being home one of my roommates started throwing up, and last night the other one started as well.
Even with all of the stress of such a large group and the horrible trip home, I enjoyed myself. I love spending time with my quirky family!
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