Climber nears Everest's summit

Bill Burke of Costa Mesa was quite possibly on top of the world Monday, the day he expected to summit the 29,035-foot peak of Mt. Everest, according to his most recent trip reports. The last few weeks have not been easy for Burke, with unrelenting snowfall, an injured sherpa and a brief blackout.

At 65 years old, climbing colleagues believe Burke will be the oldest American to summit the world's tallest mountain.

In an entry on his website dated at 6:52 a.m. Monday, Burke described preparations for the final ascent:

May 21, Everest Camp IV

"The four of us are crammed in a small tent before we make our move to the summit. The move from Camp III to Camp IV was huge. It was straight up the Lhotse face. The oxygen was a huge help. Now we are resting for our summit push, which will be in approximately 1 1/2 hrs at 9 p.m."

Here are earlier online excerpts from Burke's most recent trip reports:

May 7, Everest Camp III

(22,500 feet)

"Climbing from Camp 2 to Camp 3 is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. It made climbing in the Khumba Icefall seem like children's play, even with building blocks…. Picture yourself looking at a 20-story building made out of ice which you have to climb."

May 14, Pheriche

(14,600 feet)

"The mountain is fighting back. Gale force winds took out many of the camps at Camp 2, including all of our camp. Our sherpas were there and tried to hold the tents down, but they were unsuccessful. One of the tents was pulled straight up by the platform, snapped all the lines and disappeared down the mountain. Then an avalanche took out all of our tents at Camp 3, so we are back to square one to establishing camp two and camp three on the mountain. One of our strongest sherpas caught his crampon on the ice and fell sixty feet down the Lhotse face. After the fall he said he had a "flash vision" and he quit the expedition and headed down the mountain…. In tears he told Dan that he is never coming back to Everest. So we are left without one of our strongest sherpas."

May 16, Everest Base Camp (17,600 feet)

"[Some] things I miss after spending six weeks in the shadow of Mount Everest: