Two Ogden men continue quest to conquer Mt. Everest

OGDEN -- Two men from Ogden are well on their way to the top of Mt. Everest.

The wife of climber Tom Burton said she got an email from his group saying they had reached Camp 3, one of four that serve as stops on the way to the summit, Thursday morning. With him is his friend Will Calton, also of Ogden, as well as two other Americans.

Gaylynne Burton got the email around 4:30 a.m. Thursday, which would be about 4:30 p.m. on the climbing team's side of the world.

According to the email, "everyone was feeling good and healthy," she said.

As of Thursday evening, their plan was to spend one night at Camp 3, which is 23,500 feet above sea level.

They would then head to Camp 4, spend six to eight hours resting there, then try for the summit this weekend. Camp 4 is about 2,800 feet above Camp 3, and the summit is another 2,700 feet from Camp 4.

The team had reached Camp 3 earlier this month, but climbers return to lower elevations and then climb back to up the mountain to help themselves acclimate to the ever- decreasing oxygen levels.

The climbers originally expected to reach the top by Monday, but unfavorable conditions set them back.

Jill Calton, Will's wife, said earlier this week that the experienced team is attempting to climb Mt. Everest during some of the worst conditions in the past decade.

They've faced falling rocks that would normally have been encased in ice and snow, high winds and cold temperatures, according to dispatches the team leader Jeff Reynolds has sent to the news site Ogden Outdoor Adventure. An avalanche also buried one of their tents while they were away from camp and they had to dig their gear out of the snow, according to the dispatch.

The climbers expect to return around June 1.