Game Over

We arrived at Camp 2 on Friday afternoon full of enthusiasm, and slept surprisingly well given the altitude and the terrain the tents were on. Unfortunately things started to unravel early on Saturday.

We were up and packed, ready to head for Camp 3, when Pasang put his head through the doorway of the tent and told us to hold fire, as the wind was too strong again. The forecast was for 100 km/h winds at midday, but the Sherpas wanted more like 40 km/h to negotiate Mushroom Ridge, an exposed knife-edge ridge between Camps 2 & 3. The route wiggles around on either side of the ridge without enough anchors, so there is a fair amount of loose rope and a fall could end up being quite significant.

Weather Problems Again

We were up this morning and almost ready to go when Pasang (our sirdar) told us that we were going to stay put for the day because it was too windy. Winds of 110km/h were forecast and we have to negotiate a tricky ridge on the way up to Camp 3, which the Sherpas would prefer to do when the winds are below 40 km/h.

At that point the plan was that we’d set off at 04:00 tomorrow morning and skip Camp 3, going straight to the summit. This would obviously mean a longer day, but we’d be travelling much lighter as we wouldn’t have sleeping bags and mats.

Moving on up

Haven’t moved far since yesterday, but the terrain between Camp 1 & 2 is pretty slow going. The route is all on fixed lines and is a combination of hauling oneself up on an ascender or traversing on a couple of karabiners.

We’re now at just over 6,000m, so have climbed about 300m. Quite a large chunk of this the famous Yellow Tower, which leads up to Camp 2. It’s near vertical, and pretty much wiped out the whole team.

Stuck at Camp 1

It’s now 10 days since we first arrived in Base Camp. The first couple of days were spent checking climbing gear, planning food for our first trip up the hill, and training on fixed ropes like we’d be using from just below Camp 1.

Last Thursday we began the next phase of acclimatisation by climbing up to about 5,200m on a day trip from Base Camp, then on Friday we climbed up to Camp 1 at about 5,700m, and stayed the night. We climbed most o the way to Camp 2 on Saturday, slept at Camp 1 again, then dropped back down to Base Camp on Sunday.

Heading off to Basecamp

Tonight is our last night in a building for what will probably be just over two weeks. Tomorrow we move to Ama Dablam basecamp, where we’ll live for most of that time, apart from the occasional foray up the hill. To begin with these will just be day climbs, but if all goes well then we’ll spend a night at camp 1. There is no fixed plan as it depends how we acclimatise, what the weather does and what other teams are doing, but the aim will be to gradually push higher, ultimately spending a night at camp 3 and going for the summit.

Pheriche

The cards last night were considerably more successful than the previous night - I managed not to lose at all, which probably contributed to me sleeping so well. Apart from a brief awakening to use the pee bottle, I slept very soundly.

The pee bottle isn’t a necessity in a lodge with toilets just down the corridor, but once we get to basecamp, and certainly higher up, getting out of the tent in the middle of the night could be very unpleasant. At camp 2 and 3, it could be fatal, as there’s barely any space between the tents and a long steep drop, so being able to lie in a sleeping bag and pee in a bottle is a useful skill.

Deboche

One thing that never fails to amaze me is the enormous contrast between day and night (or sun and shade) temperatures. The last few days we’ve been walking in T-shirts, but once the sun goes in, the layers go on. We’re now sitting in a lodge at Deboche, and most people have two or three layers on (the Sherpas are wearing down jackets), even inside. We’re hoping they might light the stove before dinner, but the bedrooms are going to be cold tonight.

Namche

The route from Monjo to Namche begins fairly calmly, meandering along the river and occasionally crossing one of the crazy swinging suspension bridges. After an hour though, it starts climbing, and goes on and on until you get to the village.

Even when we did finally reach the village, the climbing continued as our lodge is right at the highest point of Namche. It isn’t quite as plush as the one in Monjo, but does still have a warm shower for about £4.

Down and up to Monjo

Start: Lukla (2,843m) End: Monjo (2,846m)

The first day of trekking began sometime after 11am, when we’d made sure all the bags had arrived from Lukla. It was a beautiful day, and we were soon stripping down to our base layers, slapping on the sunscreen and working on our tans.

On the face of it, the stats would suggest that today was a pretty straightforward 3m climb, but Lukla is high up on the side of a mountain and the path drops gradually down to cross the Dudh Khosi river, then goes up and down several times, before finally climbing up to Monjo.

Landed at Lukla

After a day relaxing and shopping in Kathmandu, we’re finally underway.

Last time I flew to Lukla we got up early, got told the flight was cancelled, spent the next four days waiting for the weather to improve, and finally had to charter a helicopter to avoid the chaos at Kathmandu airport. This time, things were much smoother - we got up at 04:00 today, got the first flight out of KTM and were in Lukla before 07:00.