Keith Cowing 13 May 2008 5:00 pm EDT: I arrived home today to find a voice mail from Scott Parazynski who called by satellite phone from Everest Base Camp (5,380 meters - 17,700 feet) - it was morning here when he called, nighttime there.

According to Scott "We had a great rotation down from Camp 3 (altitude 7,470 meters - 24,500 feet). We got back yesterday. We're back here for several day's rest - and we're hiking around to stay fit."

"We're now waiting for camp to be set up on the South Col - Camp 4 (7,920 meters - 26,000 feet) and some fixed lines towards the summit. We're a bit uncertain when the summit window will open - probably some time after 22nd."

"I feel great and am fully acclimatized. feel great. Being at Camp 3 at 24,000 feet felt super. Life is going well. I had a fantastic visit with my friends from the NASA Trek team. I can't tell you how much that meant to me."

"I will be leaving voice mail on the JSC phone regarding some of the things we talked about before I left - the correlations between space exploration and mountaineering."

"Hope everything is going well with you. You should be getting some pictures and video with Sabrina when she returns home to use on the blog."

Keith Cowing 14 May 2008 12:20 am EDT: Just got another call from Scott. Coordinating media issues. The summit window now looks a bit firmer for 22 May. That would put him back at Everest Base Camp on 24 May.

I asked Scott if he had felt the large earthquake that struck China. He said the did not - but that several other folks in Base Camp thought that they might have felt it. However, with avalanches on a daily basis Scott said that it is often hard to tell exactly what one is hearing/feeling.

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