The AAI/AC Everest Team is currently resting at Base Camp, recovering from a trip to Camp 1. Although the Nepalese army has asserted that teams are no longer allowed to send out dispatches directly from camp, we received a new email from an anonymous source today:
"Experiencing the realities of being under military rule (albeit soft) at Base Camp is a first for me. The collusion of factors (Chinese politics, Olympic Torch, Nepalese elections, the legitimizing of the Maoists who were not long ago 'mass murderers', the Nepalese Army now taking orders from the Maoist Government as it now forms) creates a bizarre and compounding set of circumstances. The reactions of other groups in unspoken compliance . . . it's all part of the rich tapestry of life."
For more Everest news relayed from the AC office, please check out our dispatches webpage: http://www.aai.cc/currentnews/