Finally there was a break in the snow on Monday afternoon and night and we set off for the North Col first thing on Tuesday morning in bright sunshine.
The sunshine lasted until the North Col headwall came into sight when both the headwall and approach were bathed in cloud. The North Col would be the first time we would actually climb on Everest and for most of the team this would be their first time and which was obviously very exciting.
The Col itself is a series of steep snow slopes, ice walls and crevasses and is around 400m high rising to just over 7000m above sea level at the top (higher than anywhere in the world outside of the Greater Himalayas). The ropes had only just been fixed by the CTMA and the route was similar to last year, I think some of the crevasse ladders have not yet been put in place and the crevasse at the top had widened since last year and now required an extra ladder which made things interesting.
Geordie was really flying and was up there first despite suffering from a severe bout of Royal Wedding fever. I climbed with Ben (who despite being called Ben and being from Leeds is a sound chap) and we both reached the top in under three hours (a couple of hours before turn around time) which is very good going for the first time up especially as there was still a fair bit of snow on there which made some sections more tiring. Overall five of our team (plus both leaders) reached the top with the others all getting within 150m of the top this was sufficient height to complete this phase of the acclimatisation programme so was a good result all round.
I was pleased with the way the climb had gone, I didn't really struggle with the altitude and felt stronger than last year. We estimated that approximately 10,000 calories per person would be burnt throughout the day, I probably hadn't eaten or drunk enough (Porridge and Omelette breakfast; Bounty bar; Snickers and about a litre of water) although the terrain is quite tricky and the weather windy and snowy so there were not many opportunities so I was especially pleased thatＩdidn't feel at all tired once back at ABC and felt I could have easily gone back up (I was pretty shattered last year once I got down the first time).
For the rest of the team the drama was only just beginning. After I had returned to ABC, we heard a radio message which said help was required, get some food and water inside him and get him moving. At first we had no idea what was happening and were worried that one of our team was in trouble but it turned out that Greg saw what looked like a body lying in the snow. This body was in fact a Chinese climber who was a member of the CTMA rope fixing team and was exhausted descending from 7800m and had collapsed. The rest of our team had managed to get some food inside him and get him moving under his own steam while we sent some sherpas out to help him back to camp.
Despite my earlier reservations about our schedule I think we are now ahead of most (if not all) teams. Tuesday was the first opportunity to climb the North Col and I was expecting it to be very crowded so was quite surprised when there were only a handful of Western climbers on there and indeed many teams were only making their way up to ABC while I was descending.
The following day I made my way down to base camp and with all the recent snow the trail looked completely different to anytime I had seen it in the past and I was lucky enough to see some Himalayan deer (I am sure they have a different name but they look like deerand we are in the Himalayas) for the first time.
After a week at ABC it is instantly noticeable how much thicker the air is at BC, you don't really realise how tough life at ABC is until you descend. It is generally agreed that the human body deteriorates above 5500m and spending the next few days at BC should be ample to prepare me for the next stage.
It was also great to have my own tent again the first night I slept right through without disturbance and felt totally refreshed the next morning. The only downsides are that my cold still won't shift and I seem to have picked up some sunburn on my face, it is nothing too dramatic (I hope) but I think caused either by the reflection off the snow on the way down to BC coupled with the fact thatＩhave no beard to protect myself this time.
The current plan is to stay at BC until Monday when we will return to ABC and then move up to the North Col to sleep before climbing up the North Ridge to 7500m, generally agreed as the highest point at which the human body can acclimatise. This would be our final acclimatisation stage and seems to be coming around very quickly and while this will be less than 1500m from the summit it will still not feel like we have broken the back of the journey.
I was pleased with the way the climb had gone, I didn't really struggle with the altitude and felt stronger than last year. We estimated that approximately 10,000 calories per person would be burnt throughout the day, I probably hadn't eaten or drunk enough (Porridge and Omelette breakfast; Bounty bar; Snickers and about a litre of water) although the terrain is quite tricky and the weather windy and snowy so there were not many opportunities so I was especially pleased thatＩdidn't feel at all tired once back at ABC and felt I could have easily gone back up (I was pretty shattered last year once I got down the first time).
For the rest of the team the drama was only just beginning. After I had returned to ABC, we heard a radio message which said help was required, get some food and water inside him and get him moving. At first we had no idea what was happening and were worried that one of our team was in trouble but it turned out that Greg saw what looked like a body lying in the snow. This body was in fact a Chinese climber who was a member of the CTMA rope fixing team and was exhausted descending from 7800m and had collapsed. The rest of our team had managed to get some food inside him and get him moving under his own steam while we sent some sherpas out to help him back to camp.
Despite my earlier reservations about our schedule I think we are now ahead of most (if not all) teams. Tuesday was the first opportunity to climb the North Col and I was expecting it to be very crowded so was quite surprised when there were only a handful of Western climbers on there and indeed many teams were only making their way up to ABC while I was descending.
The following day I made my way down to base camp and with all the recent snow the trail looked completely different to anytime I had seen it in the past and I was lucky enough to see some Himalayan deer (I am sure they have a different name but they look like deerand we are in the Himalayas) for the first time.
After a week at ABC it is instantly noticeable how much thicker the air is at BC, you don't really realise how tough life at ABC is until you descend. It is generally agreed that the human body deteriorates above 5500m and spending the next few days at BC should be ample to prepare me for the next stage.
It was also great to have my own tent again the first night I slept right through without disturbance and felt totally refreshed the next morning. The only downsides are that my cold still won't shift and I seem to have picked up some sunburn on my face, it is nothing too dramatic (I hope) but I think caused either by the reflection off the snow on the way down to BC coupled with the fact thatＩhave no beard to protect myself this time.
The current plan is to stay at BC until Monday when we will return to ABC and then move up to the North Col to sleep before climbing up the North Ridge to 7500m, generally agreed as the highest point at which the human body can acclimatise. This would be our final acclimatisation stage and seems to be coming around very quickly and while this will be less than 1500m from the summit it will still not feel like we have broken the back of the journey.
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