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March 15, 2000 Left Canada for Kathmandu Nepal

March 17, 2000 Arrived in Kathmanudu

March 20 to April 1 Trekked to Everest Basecamp

April 1 to April 30 Established and stocked camps

May 21, 2000 Summitted Mt. Everest

May 24, 2000 Left Basecamp on trek out

June 3, 2000 Byron arrived back in Canada

Trek to Basecamp

The expedition team flew into the village of Lukla in the Khumbu Region of Nepal March 20, 2000. At 2,800 metres (9,200 ft) Lukla was the starting place for the trek to Basecamp. Along the way the team camped and stayed at various lodges and teahouses. They stopped at several schools and monasteries, and also visited the Khunde Hospital. The team followed the Dudh Kosi River through the Himalayan Pine and Doeder Cedar forests to the historic villages Phakding and Namche Bazaar.

Namche Bazaar is a historic trading center where Nepalese and Tibetan traders exchange salt, dried meat, textiles and traditional crafts. The team then turned north up the Imja valley towards Khumjung, the site of the first school in the Khumbu region, built by the Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation. Next came Tengboche with the jagged peaks of Thamserku, Kantega and Ama Dablam in the distance.

The expedition continued on towards Dingboche, Lobuche and Gorak Shep before arriving at Basecamp at the foot of the Khumbu Icefall on April 1, 2000. This camp, at an elevation of 5,350 m (17,500 ft), was the team's home for almost two months.

The Climb

The Everest 2000 team approached the summit via the Southeast Ridge, climbing by the classic South Col route pioneered by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953. To get there the team first had to climb up the Khumbu Icefall, through the windy Western Cwm (valley) and over the Lhotse Face.

BASECAMP - 5,350 m (17,500 ft)

Situated at the foot of the Khumbu Glacier, Basecamp was home for Team Everest 2000 from April 1 to May 25, 2000. The camp is located on the glacial moraine, a mass of debris carried by the moving ice.

During the acclimatization period, when climbers allowed their bodies to adjust to the altitude and thinner air, the climbing team moved back and forth between Basecamp and Camp IV.

» CAMP I -- 6,000 m (19,700 ft)

To make it from Basecamp to Camp I, the climbers navigate the deep crevasses and massive blocks of ice of the Khumbu Icefall. Here, they ascend 671 m (2,200 vertical feet) - one of the most challenging parts of the climb.

The Western Cwm appears to be smooth and flat when compared with the trek from Basecamp, but it is covered with crevasses and is in reality quite steep. Camp I is equipped with large tents for cooking and eating, and smaller tents for sleeping. The climbers spent two nights at Camp I on their first acclimatization climb.

A visit to Camp I, followed by an ascent to Camp II and a descent to Basecamp helped the climbers acclimatize to the altitude as their bodies became used to the lower air pressure and resulting decrease in oxygen.

CAMP II - 6,500 m (21,350 ft)

Higher up the Western Cwm, the Sherpas on the team established Camp II, an advanced base camp (ABC). This was extensively stocked with food and supplies. Over the course of the acclimatization period the team visited Camp II about five times, spending three nights at this height, to allow their bodies to get used to the effects of increasing altitude.

CAMP III - 7,200 m (23,700 ft)

To reach Camp III, climbers negotiate the Lhotse Face - a sheer wall of ice and snow. The camp offers some relief to the weary climbers, but it is so steep and treacherous that the well-conditioned Sherpas move directly from Camp II to Camp IV on the South Col, refusing to stay on the Lhotse Face. This camp functions as an interim camp in getting to Camp IV and the summit. The bodies of the climbers strive to respond to the increasing altitude by producing additional red blood cells to carry oxygen, but from this point on, it's a constant struggle between acclimatization and failing bodily systems.

After having acclimatized to Camp III, spending one night there April 21, 2000, Byron and Tim descended to Basecamp for a rest. Because of the weather they ended up waiting 11 days before venturing up again. Meanwhile, the Sherpas on the team spent the fair weather days setting up Camp IV. The stay at the lower altitude before a summit push gives climbers a final opportunity to recharge their bodies after a tough few weeks.

CAMP IV - 8,000 m (26,300 ft)

When the weather finally seemed to settle, the team moved toward their goal, camp by camp, up to Camp IV on May 6, 2000.

Camp IV is the highest camp on the south side. Here on the South Col, just a short stop on the way to the summit, the air pressure is one-third of that at sea level. Teams try to spend as little time here as possible. On the first summit attempt, Byron Smith, Tim Rippel and their Sherpas spent only one night here before descending to Camp II.

The area above 7,620 m (25,000 ft) is often referred to as the "Death Zone" and here, altitude and low-oxygen pose unique problems to the climbers. A team that spends too much time here could experience problems with eating, drinking, sleeping and orientation.

SUMMIT DAY - 8,850 m (29,035 ft)

It takes from 6 to 12 hours to climb from Camp IV to the summit, depending on conditions and fitness. When Byron Smith departed for his successful summit bid May 20, 2000, he and the team left Camp IV around 10:30 p.m., ascending in the dark, with the moon and headlamps to light the way.

They climbed at night so that the return trip, down the icy face, would be in daylight. The light provides some help to the climbers as they descend with tired bodies taxed by the time spent in high altitude.

On the way up, as the team left the South Col, the climbers were equipped with bottled oxygen to help them breathe in the thin air. On the first part of the summit climb Byron passed some familiar landmarks which he remembered from his 1998 trip. First, the team approached the Triangular Face, a 500-metre (1,640-foot) snow slope, leading to the crest of the Southeast Ridge, where the route gets steeper.

The crest of the Ridge, called the Balcony, is 8,402 m (27,560 ft) high. Byron reached this point just after 2 a.m. Sunday, May 21. Cameraman Tim Rippel turned around before making it to the Balcony.

From here Byron and the Sherpas continued up the ridge and then climbed with fixed ropes to the South Summit. From there they negotiated the knife-edge ridge and then the notorious Hillary Step. The step is a vertical pitch of steep rock and snow, 18 m (60 ft) high.

The last stretch for the team was a strenuous climb up this section of mountain to the final snow ridge and the summit of Mount Everest. Byron and seven Sherpas reached the top shortly after 7 a.m. Sunday May 21, 2000.