We came back up to base camp on 27 May with a glint of dropping winds and a chance to go for the top. There are an estimated 120 people from other groups at camp 2 waiting, while we are still at base camp. But this morning’s forecast (27 May) says no summit window yet, too much wind. So we wait. The long range forecast says we have a good chance the first few days of June, so we are holding out. Around June they have to close the icefall as it gets too warm, so it is down to the wire and getting late.
Crossing fingers didn't work before, so please think of something else!
Otherwise in good spirits and health. Back to my book...
Across all the teams at base camp, which include 180 clients and sherpas that want to reach the summit, there is a strong feeling of despair. The weather is not cooperating, the jet stream is over Everest and the Monsoon too far south. So there is no summit weather window for the south before 29/30 May. That is the end of the forecast, so that is not certain. There are a lot of frustrated people here and several other expeditions have now run out of time and are going home.
But the veterans are confident that the weather will change and we will get a summit window. So I, and all the rest of our team are hanging in here. We might be a few days to a week late home, but after 2 months, it seems wise to wait a bit longer. We're about to go back down to Orsha (4000m) for a few days rest, chicken dinners and other such food.
The people that tried for the summit the day we came down didn't make it. The wind was too much and some got frostbite. This is probably the latest for many years that no one has yet made the summit. Hence a lot of worried people!
As before, I'll let you know when I get back to base camp.
There we were at Camp 3 (7200m) in bright sunshine and no wind (20 May). Down suits on and bags packed to go to the South Col for the summit attempt. Then we got the latest weather forecast which said that part of the jet stream would move soon from south of Everest to north of it. The meaning: high winds up high.
So summit attempt called off and back down to base camp. So the night of 20 May was spent having chicken at base camp rather than a night at the South Col. So we wait some more, at least until the 26th it now looks like. The problem is that the main jet stream is still south of Everest. The monsoon needs to build and push the jet stream north - that leads to the needed stable weather. So it will be at least another week of waiting and staying fit.
Except for an occasional cough, I'm fit and healthy and ready to go. The wait for the weather is not easy!
I attach a photo of the start of the Lhotse Face at 6700m. A sheet of ice with fixed ropes. The summit of Lhotse is above and the yellow band up to the left. Everest's summit is way left out of the picture.
There is a glint of good weather, so we are going up top Camp 2 on Tuesday 17 May. We will rest the 18th there as well. If the forecast stays good, we will move to camp 3 on the 19th and eventually try for the summit the night of the 20th. Or maybe one day later. If the forecast doesn't hold good, we will either wait at camp 2 or come down again. I've got my oxygen regulator and gear all packed. Fingers crossed!
The wait continues. Although the weather is pretty sunny here at base camp, it is still very windy up the hill. It is expected that the 16th will have light winds, but not for a long enough time to go for the summit. So right now the sherpas are going to the South Col to fix ropes to the Balcony in the one day of good weather. The sherpas do a fantastic job of doing everything. Carrying O2 to the Col, getting all the food and tents up, etc. We really just cruise along on the back of their hard work. And in spite of the hard work, they are always cheerful.
I've been keeping busy going for walks: down to Kala Pata, the famous viewpoint and yesterday up to Camp 1 on Pumori. It is a lot safer to go there than up the icefall again.
On another day, we had a game of Australian Rules football on the moraine with a group of Australian Police from Victoria and TV crew. A bit lethal, but no one got hurt. I'm told there is a picture of us on www.vicpoleverest.com.au or something like that. Be warned, I was on the 'skins' team! [click here to see the pictures]
Rumors are everywhere at base camp that there will be good weather before long, so it is a matter to watching the forecasts, waiting and trying to keep the fitness up. Amazing how many rest days we have, but acclimatisation is the main goal.
Having come back to base camp on the hope that there was a break in the winds, the latest forecast says there isn't one. That is the way it goes. So we'll be around base camp for another 5 days at least, and hoping for a good forecast before long! So the wait continues….
Otherwise base camp is nice and sunny and no more afternoon snow, so a bit frustrating, but that is the way of the big mountains.
Just arrived back at base camp after three days rest and eating at (only) 4000m. Stuffed myself, especially on a superb chicken banquet we all had. It was also nice to sleep in a bed for the first time in 27 days!
There is a chance of good weather later this week, hence we are standing by. Won't know until tomorrow, but we are here at base camp in case it is good enough to go up. Been windy lately, but no more snow and we hope the wind will drop.
Amazing how I can walk around at 4500m as if I was walking on a land rover track in Scotland, a month at 5000m really makes a difference!
I'll send an update when we get the next weather forecast,
The plan was to try and go high on the Lhotse face again, possibly up to the Yellow Band. On 5 May we rested, but a couple of us took a walk to the base of the Lhotse Face for exercise. Acclimatisation really works! The first time I did this walk, it took over 2 hours and I was out of breath all the time. I had to stop and catch my breath in spite of walking slowly. This time, we just walked along, at 6500m! Amazing how much easier it was. I guess I have more red blood cells after a month :-)
We avoided the base of the face since there had been a lot of new snow and it was snowing again. The exercise was good. That night we got about 10 inches of snow at Camp 2 (it is really winter there). The sherpas decided there was too much snow on the steep ice and hence too dangerous. So on 6 May we headed down in the morning, back to base camp. When we first arrived, the mountain was fairly dry, but now we walked down among 10 inches of new snow. A superb lunch greeted us all at base camp.
My Acclimatisation phase is now done. Today (7 May) we will drop down to Pangboche or Orsa for a few days. The forecast up the HIll is strong winds for a few days. Also, the sherpas have only done one carry to the South Col, so it is not ready for a summit attempt. It will be another week before the weather and the sherpa build-up is ready. So I look forward to a few nights in a bed!
I'll be in touch once I'm back up to base camp. Now comes the waiting ...
At 5:20 am, we were having tea and breakfast getting ready to go up the icefall to Camp 2. We heard the noise of a large avalanche, but that is nothing unusual. Large avalanches come off the Lho Lo pass just west of Everest pretty often.
8:20 am and we are half way up the icefall. Two people are descending and tell us a large avalanche has totally wiped out Camp 1. This sounds surprising since Camp 1 has tents from many groups and covers a large area. I notify base camp by radio. A short time later, they cal back: it is true! I stay with one of our slower members to be sure he gets up the icefall ok, while the doctor with us takes the radio and shoots up to Camp 1.
When I arrive about 11 am, the site is a real mess. A serac had broken off high on the west shoulder of Everest and really wiped out most of the camps. Where our tent used to be is now a pile of ice blocks. Glad we don't stay there any more! One person had hurt their back by being blown about and was being taken down by sled. A couple of others had heard it coming and ran from their tents, but still got slight injuries from the ice blocks. What was left of some of the tents was a real mess - bit and pieces. There was nothing more to do so we carried on up to Camp2, arriving in a snowstorm.
just down from a couple of days at Camp 2. It snowed each afternoon, so we didn't get to go back up the Lhotse Face. I'm feeling well acclimatised and fit. Now starts the recovery and wait for the summit window.
I wasn't caught up in the big avalanche at Camp 1, although I did arrive a few hours later. I'll do a longer update soon.
For the past few days I have been resting at Base Camp. Although we have done the basic steps to acclimatise for the summit, it is still too early. So I'll be going up to Camp 2 and Camp 3 again for some more fitness training (at 6500m) just to be as ready as possible. I'll head up The Hill on 4 April and be gone a few days. Not sure how high I will go, depends on the weather.
In the meantime, here are a few snippets of life at base camp:
We are camped on an active glacier, but it is covered in stones and pebbles, and some very big rocks! During the night it creaks and cracks and makes odd popping sounds. It is critical to convince yourself that you won't suddenly get swallowed by a crevasse!
Our 'shower' is a large garden weed-killer container and pump that has a nozzle on the end. We have a little 4 ft by 4 ft tent (but 6 ft tall) that we clean in. I don't bother with the weed killer pump, but just use a very large bowl. Having had my weekly 'shower' yesterday, I don't seem to have lost much weight yet (it is the only time to really check). I didn't think I needed the shower, but everyone else said I did!
I even wash some clothes sometimes! Today I cleaned various garments in a large bowl of hot water and put them on rocks to dry. I then move them to the tent for a final dry. When the sun is out it can be 70F in the tent. But each night it has been -10C here at base camp. Our eating tent is great. Real plastic chairs, carpet and gas heaters. Very comfortable for the evening meals and card games at night. The light is driven from the battery driven by the solar panels. Pretty nice when it is snowing outside. In spite of this luxury, we go to sleep about 8 pm each night with a hot water bottle.
The day then starts at 7 am when the sun hits the tent and milk tea is delivered to us.
Other than that the Pope is German, the only real news we have of the outside world is the English football scores. Personally, I enjoy being in this isolated world where the focus is the big hill behind us. I do a lot of reading. My little red folding chair is great! I can even sit on it in my tent. A typical afternoon is spent reading and listening to music on my MP3 player. For all you Apple fans, iPods don't work at this altitude! Something to do with lack of air pressure.... At camp 3 (7300m), the air pressure was only 400mb (compared to 1000mb for normal sea level.
Weather-wise, for the past 2 weeks it has been sunny in the morning, then clouds up mid day with snow late afternoon. There is a cool breeze, so never hotter than about 8C outside when the sun is shining. Light winds most of the time. The only bad day was when I went to Camp 3!
Overall I'm very healthy and no problems, I do have a cough when I breathe cold air, but that isn't unusual. As long as it doesn't get worse I'm fine. I'll provide an update when I get back down again. Having most of the preparation done means I can relax a lot and just enjoy going up and down. Only 3 of us have spent the night at Camp 3 (7300m) so far, so most of the others went up this morning (Tuesday) to try and go up to there.
I've been up The Hill for a week and am back down and will update my adventures in a long message:
Base camp to Camp 2
First we went all the way from base camp (5300m) to Camp 2 (6300m) in one day. And it was a hard day! This is like climbing Ben Nevis in terms of distance and height gain, but it took us 8.5 hard hours! We left at 5 am to do the icefall before the sun hit it. It is actually very pretty with blocks of blue ice, layers of snow and many big deep holes. It went a lot faster than last time. There are now 21 ladders to cross between base camp and camp 2 and some are over very deep holes. In one place a whole area collapsed and the route goes around a different loose block. I've got the ladders down pat, but still can’t stand in the middle and take a picture - I need both hands for the guy ropes.
After a short rest at camp 1 (6100m), we went up to camp 2. Hill walking at this height is tough! The glacier had big waves of ice, so several times we have to drop 50 feet in to a wide slump, then climb up the other side, only to drop 50 feet again. Pretty demoralising at the height of Mt McKinley!
There is a huge crevasse with 3 ladders tied together a mile before Camp2. Spectacular! The last mile from 6100m to 6300m is a real killer. I took it at a very slow pace and kept it steady. This slow and steady technique worked and we passed a few people, but by then we had been walking out of breath for 8 hours. Even the snow chairs didn't leave me fit enough for this height.
Camp2 is a bit spartan. We have a dining tent and a gas light, but sit on tents on top of stones. Not many games of hearts in the cold there, but some. It is typically -15C at night, but my big bag is great.
After getting there, we had a rest day of lying about and reading.
Up to Camp 3.
I had been told by others that the climb up the Lhotse Face to Camp3 was one of the hardest days of the expedition - and it was! We started in good weather at 7 am. It takes 2 hours from Camp 2 to the base of the fixed ropes up the face. Easy walk at a slow pace and not even out of breath. The Face is the large glacier covered face of Lhotse, one of the highest 8000m peaks in the world. We camp in the middle of this huge face before traversing to the south col. It is fairly steep ice - 45 to 60 degrees. One uses a jumar to pull up the ropes. Right away it is steep, people on the ropes above you and below you, and hard work. Everyone is out of breath and stops, then we all try and move, but get out of breath and stop. This goes on for 4 hours. No chance to go slow and save your breath, it is up and up.
We were only 1 hour up the face and the wind picked up, blowing spindrift across the face. So far not too bad. After another hour, the wind really picked up, often 50 mph. Then it started to snow hard. I could see only a short distance up. Soon it became a raging Cairngorm-like blizzard. I dug out my bigger gloves and kept going. We wouldn't climb in this weather in Scotland, but at 7000m+, there was nothing to do but keep inching up. By now I was always out of breath, taking a few steps up the ropes, and then gasping for air. But the blizzard raged, so I had to move as quickly as I could. The only safety would be the tent, somewhere way above. Overall I was warm and fine, so just kept slogging up. Somewhere in there I set a height record for my self (PB). It seemed to go on forever, keep moving or else....
Finally we hit the tents and all was fine. There were just 3 of us that made it, one other turning back much lower down. But there we were at Camp 3!
The night wasn't bad. It was very windy all night, but a sherpa had brought my big warm bag up, so I had a good night. Well deserved after one of the worst blizzards I had been in for a long time!
Next morning (29 April) was very windy, so down the fixed ropes we went back to Camp2. This went OK and I was down in a couple of hours. I did drop a couple of things and almost froze my fingers when putting on my harness, but it was good preparation.
Then on 30 April, we descended to Base Camp for a rest. How great it is to sit in a chair again! Technically I have now done the basic preparations to be ready to go for the summit, but practically we are too early. We don't anticipate a summit window for a couple of weeks and most others have not been to camp 3 yet. So after a rest at base camp, I'll go back up again.
So far, from the start of the walk in, I have ascended 8,460m! That is like climbing Lhotse from sea level! Happy May Day from Everest Base Camp!
We have taken Monday 25 April as another rest day at base camp. I had a great sleep! We leave about 5 am tomorrow to go up the icefall, all the way to camp 2 in one push. The biggest potential problem is that the Western Cwm will get very hot as we slog up the last mile of glacier. We will then rest at Camp 2 for 2 nights and then go for a night at Camp 3 (7300m). That will be a new altitude record for me.
We then come down for a long rest. After our night at Camp 3, we are 'officially' ready to go for the summit when the weather is right, but that might be another three weeks. So I'll be out of touch for a few days, but there might be updates on the expedition web site http://www.ice8000.com. This will be updated for the group while I am up the hill.
Feeling very good today, but one still doesn't walk anywhere fast at 5400m!
Here is a photo of a typical ladder in the icefall. The trick is to look at your feet being placed on the ladder, but not to look much further down! They are fun when you get the hang of them,
It is a second rest day here at sunny base camp. We got down from Camp 2 on Friday and will probably go back up to camp 2 again on Monday (25). I've just spent the past hour sitting in the sun outside my tent in my little camp chair, reading a book. With my shirt off of course! We have had snow every afternoon for the past week, but it melts the next morning. Life isn't too hard with good food, chairs and gas heaters in the mess tent. But I'm still sleeping in a tent on a glacier and going to the toilet at night is not fun! Of course, we have to drink a massive amount, so it is always necessary.
The trip to Camp 1 and Camp 2 went fine. The icefall has about 16 ladders, some very impressive, but all safe so far. Impressive! It was a real slog the last mile up the Western Cwm at 6200m. For once I felt the altitude and it was hard work. A three-day rest at camp 2 however and all felt fine. I just always get out of breath when walking up any small hill. But we are now ahead of pace for acclimatisation. Better to be ready a bit early...
I collected about 25 envelopes of primula samples on the way to base camp. However it might be that none of them contain seeds! I found primula up to 5000m, but seeds are very hard to find. It was fun to try anyway.
There must be 200 people and tents here, but we keep to ourselves to avoid picking up any illness from any other camp. I have seen a few friends from other trips, always nice.
Just back from 2 days up The Hill. We went up the icefall for the first time on Monday. Great fun actually, since it was all frozen. We then had a comfortable night at camp 1. Rather than go down, we went up to camp 2 the next day. The last hour going up to 6300m was hard work! I've now had three pretty comfortable days up there and feel good. Just got back to base camp for a few days rest. Will send a longer update before long.
It was -16C each night in the tent when we went to bed, but I have my big bag rated at -40C, so I have been toasty warm at night. We get up at 8 am when the sun hits the tent and the cook boy brings us milk tea. That warms everything up quickly!
The face of Everest and Lhotse is very impressive. We are higher than Mount McKinley, the highest point in North America and still more than the height of the highest mountain in Australia below the summit (as we keep reminding our two Oz guys).
This morning we had our Puja, the formal blessing before going up the mountain. It isn't a request for a blessing, but a request for forgiveness for us unworthy mortals to tread on the snow of the hill. It seemed to have gone with good omens. Of course, lots of chang meant it wasn't clear how it really went.
Tomorrow (monday 18) we head up through the icefall to Camp 1. Should be interesting! We have breakfast at 5 am so that we get most of the way up before the sun hits it. We will spend one night at Camp 1 (6000m) at the top of the icefall. If the weather is good and we feel good, we will go to Camp 2 (6300m), otherwise come back down. So I might not be back in touch until Wed or Thur. Today got cloudy for the first time in a week, so who knows!
Otherwise I'm feel fine and fit. We went to Pumori Advance Base Camp yesterday at 5700m and felt really good. Great view of both the north col and south col. The mountain is pretty dry now with little snow.
I'll miss having tea at my tent at 7:25 am when the sun hits it. And already having to sleep on the ice and avoid going to the toilet in the night is getting hard!
Tomorrow, into the breach!
best to all,
Rob
ps. When we first arrived, I was not able to send an email so say we were at base camp but I was able to send a message via I-X. Thanks!
We have now been at base camp for 4 days and all members of the team are now here. It is a pretty relaxed life. The weather is sunny all day and temp about 10 C (50F). But there is a cold wind all afternoon, so not much sunbathing. However when we go to bed at night it is generally -10C. With my sleeping bag rated to -40, I haven't been cold at all! We have gas heaters in our cook tent, so we get pretty warm by the time we finish the evening meal! Of course, dinner is followed by many games of hearts until the cook team want us to go to bed. We have electric lights driven by a battery and solar panel, so it is comfortable late at night.
It has taken some time for all the batteries and solar panels to arrive by yak. Hence the lack of emails being sent. We have only managed a small charge on the notebook. But today we are setting up all solar panels, batteries and cables so contact should be better now.
yesterday we went up the first part of the ice fall and crossed our first ladder over a big crevasse. A bit wobbly at first, but I got the hang of it and now it is fun. The icefall is like a giant ice park, but I am sure the dangerous parts are higher up.
Sunday we have our Puja, the Nepalese ceremony for blessing and Monday we head up to Camp 1 for a day or two.
Most of us walked into base camp at 14:30 local time yesterday (12 April) to be greeted by endless cups of tea and noodles. The weather has been terrific so far, with only one day of cloud. The walk in has been pretty effortless. Mostly I get a sore neck and stubbed toes from looking at all the amazing mountains around. More incredible than I ever imagined!
The evening has been passed with not only endless cups of tea, but now also endless games of Hearts. Everyone learned how and we sometimes have 10 people playing in two groups. All of us are feeling well. In fact I have been feeling well enough that I have arrived at base camp one day early. At 4000m, my blood oxygen percentage was 95% of sea level. Let’s hope that keeps up!
The walk to base camp is something that everyone should do. Nice easy days walking, staying in lodges with great food, meeting lots of nice local people and seeing wonderful scenery.
Today we are resting at base camp, unpacking our duffle bags, washing and putting on the first real clean clothes for 10 days. Tomorrow we plan to go see the ladders in the ice fall (it looks pretty scary!).
all the best,
Rob
ps. this was delayed in sending as we worked out the solar charging system for the laptop. 10 days of porters, yaks and cold temperatures left the batteries low!
Hi from Namche Bazar at 11,000 ft in the Himalayas. We have done the first two days of our walk in and are having a rest day. The flight over was fine and I didn't have to pay any excess baggage (cheer). We only spent an afternoon in Kathmandu, long enough to repack our bags, organise the bags to go direct to base camp and have dinner. We were up at 5 am the next morning (read midnight UK time!) for the flight to Lukla. The mountains are very spectacular and rise right up from the plains. A solid landing on the steep uphill runway and we were in the mountains!
We spent 6 hours the first day walking to Jorsalle, just inside the national park. We went up and down a lot, but didn't gain any height! A good night sleeping at 2800m, helped by having had endless stops for cups of tea on the walk in. On 6 April we had a short walk up the valley to an impressive suspension bridge and then a steep slog up the 600m hill to Namche. We got a great view of Everest from part way up. It looks a long way away, and it is hard to believe we will walk all that way! But we have another week just to get to it. It is also odd to think that we have to go higher than all the mountains we see here. But one step at a time.
So far I’m feeling very good and eating well. Endless cups of tea of course. This morning we walked up top see Ama Dablam, very impressive! - and another great view of Everest. I also met the rest of the team last night - a very good natured lot.
Tomorrow we start moving up towards base camp, but it is still a week away. I might not be able to send an update until I get there, which should be about 13 April. What a great place to be!
…with a small step through the mountain of gear on my dining room floor. In the photo you might be able to see: 2 sleeping bags, 2 back packs, down suit, 8000m boots, thermos, 2 water bottles, pee bottle, 2 gore-text jackets, a one piece gore-tex suit, 4 pair of mittens, Golower bars, medical experiment equipment, 4 sets of fleece, 6 sets of socks, a couple of huge books, an ice axe, crampons, descender and jumars (ascenders).
It took some effort, but I got it all into my two duffles and large backpack. Should be fun checking in tomorrow morning (Sunday 3 April). The good news is that I get double baggage allowance since I am a BMI gold card holder (to 40kg). The bad news is that I have 52kg!
Sunday will be spent flying all day to Bangkok and then to Kathmandu, arriving Monday lunch time. If all goes well, I'll be at base camp by 14 April and be able to send a couple of updates between now and then. I'm not sure what communications restrictions are still in place in Nepal, but will send a note when I can.
Its April 1st and my last working day for 2 months (no joke!). A bit frantic finishing all the last minute preparations, but I'm ready to go. The dining room is covered in equipment, and my fitness is about as high as it has ever been. I've been carrying the snow chains from my car in my back pack to increase the weight. It seems to have worked since I did three remote peaks last weekend with no problems. It was nice to be free of the chains!
My flight leaves Edinburgh Sunday morning, so at least I have all day tomorrow to pack. Thanks for all the messages of support, let the fun begin!
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