Excerpted from The Next Everest: Surviving the Mountain’s Deadliest Day and Finding the Resilience to Climb Again, by Jim Davidson. Out April 20, 2021, from St. Martin’s Press available for pre-order now!
I stood outside the mess tent at 2:10 a.m., shifting my weight from one leg to the other. As each climber and guide pair departed base camp, they shook hands with several expedition crew members who lined up to see us off. Wishes of “Good luck” and “Namaste” were exchanged. As I worked my way down the reverse receiving line, Phunuru shook my hand and said, “I will go to Camp Two to support everyone, so see you there soon, bro’. ”