Hi folks, well after the third progressively higher ascent up the route to C3, most of us have just arrived back in base camp for the final time prior to making the final summit push. Here is a summary of these past few days:
(Wednesday May 7) – Gripes to an early start / Move to C1
After getting off to a cold, early 3am start today, to which Andy begrudgingly detested, most of us headed back up into the ice fall aiming for C1. Most of the load carrying sherpas also leave around this time, however they would quickly overpass us slower souls! The appeal of moving so early in the morning is the snow under foot is much firmer enabling more efficient and safer movement, and also that the ice fall is at it’s most stable.
It had been about 10 days since we were in the ice fall last and in numerous sections the route had clearly changed. In the middle of the ice fall, one section had collapsed across the former route necessitating we scrambled over large fallen ice blocks. Higher up on the ice fall, once section had completely collapsed down upon itself. One crevasse is also noticeably getting wider - upon our first ascent up the ice fall the crevasse necessitated 2 ladders to span it’s breath. This crevasse has now widened to some 4 ladders (you can see plenty of pics now on www.project-himalaya.com), and continues get wider every day. Despite all these changes in the ice fall, we are all a lot more comfortable moving through it albeit we are moving a heck of a lot faster – by capability, but also by choice!
This being the 3rd time up the ice fall, I was able to do it in record time of 4 hours which was further encouragement of getting better acclimatized and moving faster. We timed our arrival for sunrise at C1, and the moment the sun rose above Everest to the east, we were immediately struck by the unbearable heat of C1; draining us of energy to do anything really; especially melting snow to rehydrate or cooking food. Nevertheless we stuck it out for the day, lying outside for a couple of hours under sleeping mats to gain protection from the scoldering sun, but at the same time, enjoying the coldness of a slight breeze. James and I promised ourselves, due to these unbearable conditions at C1, to bypass C1 in favor of C2 on all future re-ascents.
(Thursday May 8) – Beat the heat / Move to C2 / Chinese
After having lied awake for several hours today at C1, I was motivated to get to C2 asap before the heat of the day struck us again. What was also most appealing about getting an early start was the prospect of getting to C2 for a proper cooked breakfast prepared by our 2nd team cook, Tawa Sherpa at C2 kitchen. James also concurred with the idea of breakfast cooked for us, and was quickly onboard for us to make an early departure at 6am for C2.
On the hike up to C2, most striking was the unappealing weather on Everest – a dense, dark lenticular cloud loomed over the summit of Everest and neighboring
A plane circling the summit of Everest above suggested, that despite these nasty looking weather conditions, that the Chinese Olympic team were making another summit attempt.
We hiked for about 2 hours reaching C2 in good time and enjoyed a hot breakfast and few hot drinks, thanks to Tawa Sherpa. Bathing in the milder temperatures of C2, the plane continued to circle above. At 11am news came through over the radio that the Chinese had summited
Word on the Chinese Olympic team spread quickly up and down to all camps and to all climbing teams. Within a short time all restrictions on our team were immediately lifted and we were now free to move up and down the mountain at free will, and especially above C2 which was previously forbidden. The Nepalese army whom had established a presence at both BC and C2 immediately withdrew.
Everest was now open to all climbing teams. It was now open to our team to summit at will.
We now have no more excuses!
(Friday May 9) – Easy Day
Today was, by choice, a relatively easy day with a slow stroll up to the bottom of Lhotse Face with James and Anselm.
These two lads chose to go a little higher onto the Lhotse Face, whilst I was content to have an easier day and return to C2, with intent to go all the way to C3 the following day.
(Saturday May 10) – A taste of the
Well with an early breakfast this morning, James and Anselm would return down to BC, whilst Andy, Raphael and I would set out for the Lhotse Face. Setting out at 6am, a clear trail of climbers could be already seen well up the Lhotse Face. As it turns out, this would be both sherpas heading up to establish C3 tents, and also other climbers heading up to acclimatize at the higher elevation.
The Lhotse Face perhaps is the most prolonged exposed section of the whole south side route – some 800m of often hard blue ice, with slope angles varying from 45 to 70 degrees. To move safely up and across the Lhotse Face, and along other exposed parts of the route, fixed lines are established in advanced by experienced Sherpa teams. Climbers then clip a safety line attached to their harness, onto these fixed lines as a safety precaution from taking a slip or fall.
Compared to yesterday, I got to the start of the Lhotse Face in just 1.5hrs which was another good sign of moving faster. I then turned to the start of the Lhotse Face and after attaching my jumar to the fixed line, started to kick one step up in front of the other – gravity never felt so darn heavy. (The jumar is a device attached to your climbing harness that is slide up the fixed line and then automatically locks onto the line to prevent you from slipping back down the fixed line - handy indeed).
In starting up the Lhotse Face, I was immediately overcome by the steepness of the route : the hard blue ice often necessitated kicking the crampons (attached to my boots) into the ice, multiple times, to get a decent hold. The thought of a crampon coming loose became an immediate concern, and prompted me to recheck their attachment to my boots; a lost crampon is not a scenario to contemplate so I am happy to check and recheck every so often!
Two fixed lines were available to climb up. The reason for the two lines is one being for those climbers ascending, and one line for those descending. Having two lines is a lot safer than just having one fixed line as it enables climbers, firstly to travel faster in any given direction, and secondly enables climbers to remain clipped in when passing others traveling in the opposite direction.
On this relatively steep slope, I would gain altitude quickly; which was a good thing as climbing is all about gaining altitude. However a safety hazard to contend with was the constant showering of ice projectiles falling from above – kicked loose by other climber’s kicking decent steps with their crampons above. Whilst these ice particles are not that large, it is the sheer speed with which they fall from high above that makes them potentially dangerous – wearing a helmet and decent eye protection is an appropriate safety precaution taken along this section of the route.
The climb up the Lhotse Face was constant – climbing some 300m up to C3. I made reasonable speed on a number of other climbers above, although the Sherpas will always kick my butt! One noticeable group that I caught up to was one of the larger commercial expeditions. These larger commercial groups are not uncommon on Everest, however one of the problems these larger groups can create for smaller expeditions and independent climbers is that the larger groups often travel together along the fixed lines in a tightly packed group which makes them difficult to pass. This can lead to traffic jams on the fixed lines; especially where only one fixed line is available. Whilst on the Lhotse Face this is manageable given there are two fixed lines, these traffic jams caused by larger groups or slower climbers presents a concern; especially up higher if bad weather is to move in quickly. It is something we are well aware of, and must take into consideration and watch out for on summit day. When seeing these larger commercial groups, the attraction of traveling in a smaller expedition such as that which I am on now; one that allows us to move up and down the mountain at our own pace, either with fellow team members or independently, is of great appeal!
I reached C3 at 1030am, moving well, breathing well, and feeling strong. C3 is located half way up the Lhotse Face at 7150m. Our Sherpa team had arrived their just 30 minutes before and had already got to work carving out 3 tent platforms for our team’s future use.
A noticeable feature of C3 is that there are multiple lines placed at ground level between and around all tens at C3 – these lines serve as safety clip in points to prevent any climbers from slipping off the Lhotse Face (this occurred to one climber a few years ago who apparently wandered to far from his tent one night to go to the toilet). All our team members would prefer to make maximum use of their “pee bottle” at night in favor of such an excursion!
After hanging out at C3 for about 1hr I descended back to C2, this time rappelling down steeper sections on the fixed lines. I was back to C2 just in time for lunch to catch up with the rest of our team. We decided that afternoon we would return to BC tomorrow for the final time before the summit push. Gina arrived at C2 today and would remain here to head for C3 tomorrow.
(Sunday May 11) – Return to Base Camp for Final
Jamie, Raphael, Andy and myself had a hearty breakfast and set out at 730am today for BC. We stopped in at C1 for 1 hour to clean up and check on the tents there.
We have returned to BC today with the intent to rest for few days in preparation for the final summit push – it seemed that we have been here for weeks without making much progress, but now all of a sudden we were on the verge of making that final summit push.
Our sherpa team remained at C2 tonight and would have a big day tomorrow to move supplies (tents, oxygen, food, stove, and fuel) up to the South Col (Camp 4 at 7.090m).
(Monday May 12) – Weather forecast expected to slow final summit push
We have woken today to quite a bit of snow. The weather outside is not looking good – both down the valley and higher up on the mountain. Jamie has radioed up to C2 to check the conditions there and our sherpa team reported heavy snowfall which has prevented their progress up to C4 earlier today.
Jamie downloaded the latest weather forecast and the outlook is for preciptation through until 16th May or so. This is not necessarily good for the Sherpas establishing C4.
A good weather window is now the most critical factor to us making a successful summit attempt, so over the comign days we will be watching closely the latest Everest weather forecasts available.
For the actually push to the summit it is a 7 day round trip from base camp. The outlook at the moment is as follows, however this is completely tentative, and is expected to change, pending how the weather works to our favor:
May 17 BC to Camp 2 (6400m)
May 18 Sleep 2nd night Camp 2
May 19 Camp 2 to Camp 3 (7100m)
May 20 Sleep 2nd night Camp 3
May 21 Camp 3 to Camp 4 (
May 22 Camp 4 to
May 23 Camp 4 to Camp 2
May 24 Camp 2 to Base Camp !
(Tuesday May 13) – Out for Lunch
The weather forecast is not improving. Andy, James and myself decided to head down to Gorek Shep (a 1 hr hike) and have indluged there in a lunch of sizeable proportions – 1x Rara noodle soup with egg, 1x fried vegetable momos, 1x plate of boiled potatos, 1x tuna/cheese pizza, 1x tomato/cheese pizza and 1x Coke in favor of a cold dry Asahi beer (because we consider ourselves a disciplined bunch).
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