Everest diary/Grania Willis: Finally, the mountain has offered the briefest of respites to allow a few privileged climbers up to its summit.
Figures still aren't confirmed but well over 30 people are thought to have made it to the roof of the world on Everest's north side over the weekend. But, in the nature of climbing, the mountain has exacted her toll.
Two bodies have been found, one close to the summit and one in a tent at the 8,300-metre high camp.
The winds had abated slightly, luring climbers up the mountain, despite the fact that the forecast suggested that the weekend window in the weather was incredibly narrow. Alex Abramov, expedition leader for the 7-Summits Team, advised against an attempt on the summit, but a fellow Russian and two Slovenians opted to go for the top.
Marco Linekah, Victor Minar and Vladimir Lande left advanced base camp (ABC) last Wednesday, with Saturday earmarked as their summit day. Slovenian Victor Minar reached the top shortly after 12.30pm, 7.30am Irish time. The billiard- table sized summit was crowded with Sherpas and other climbers.
An hour later he started to descend and met Marco Linekah, his friend and similarly experienced climber, about an hour below the summit.
That was the last he was to see of him. Like Mallory and Irvine before him, Marco may or may not have made the summit. No one will ever know, but the 47-year-old's body is allegedly curled up under a rock just below the top of the world's highest mountain.
Victor Minar descended safely, as did Russian Vladimir Lande, who had broken a crampon at the Second Step. At that stage, all that was known was that Marco Linekah was missing.
A search party of four Sherpas was organised, but they only got to camp II at 7,700 metres before they were forced to take shelter in increasingly dreadful weather conditions.
The Chinese team, which put a reported 25 on the summit on Sunday morning, radioed back that they hadn't seen any bodies up by the summit. But the 7-Summits team has already declared Marco dead.
The identity of a second body, found in a tent at high camp, is still something of a mystery. It was originally thought to be a French-Canadian climber, but he radioed through to ABC on Sunday to say that he was safe at the 7,000 metre North Col.
He arrived back at ABC on Sunday night and was treated for frostbite on eight toes before descending for the more hospitable climes of base camp yesterday.
So the body at high camp remains unnamed and unclaimed. But there were also rumours yesterday that a body had been brought down to ABC, bringing the death toll to three over the past weekend on the north side.
There are still bodies on the mountain from last year, when six climbers died on the north side and one on the Nepalese side. Two have already been declared victims of the south side this season and, despite its traditionally earlier summiting period, no one has reached the top from the south so far.
Some teams are already abandoning their expeditions following news that the Khumbu icefall, the gateway to the south side of the mountain, may be closed early due to the heavy snowfall and high winds.
Despite the tragedies, everyone in the Himalayan Experience (Himex) team is keen to get on with the push for the summit, but our longed-for weather window over May 27th/28th has already closed and we're now looking towards the first week in June.
There seems to be more of a door than a window, but that could be slammed in our faces too. All we can do is hope and pray that the mountain will be kinder to us than it has been to Marco Linekah and the unknown soldier at high camp.
The Grania Willis Everest Challenge 2005, supported by The North Face, Sord Data Systems, Peak Centre Ireland and Great Outdoors, is in aid of the Irish Hospice Foundation and the Friends of St Luke's Hospital. Donations can be made to the Grania Willis Everest Challenge, Permanent TSB, Blackrock, Co Dublin, a/c no 86877341, sort code 99-06-44. Visa card donations to 01-2303009.