Descending to the South Col

Another one of the few photos I took. I am sure this drove Russ nuts but I intentionally descended slowly here because I wanted to savor the moment once I realized I would make it. During this part of the descent, I caught up to two other American women - Kay LeClair, who summited at 60, and Lori Schneider, the first person to summit with multiple sclerosis. There were four American women to reach the summit that season and we all did it on the same day, same route. The other was Melissa Arnot, a mountain guide and multiple Everest summiteer who climbed with the Eddie Bauer team. I was in good company that day with these impressive women.