Summit attempt begins

Firstly many thanks to Dave, Euan and Paddy who looked after my blog while I was away and indeed even found time to add some "very witty" pictures and comments of their own!!

I arrived at ABC with the intention of going for the summit on 25 May but following a change in the weather forecast and after much debate within the team we decided to delay our attempt until 26 May, this would give us lower summit winds and better weather for the approach days.

The following day we received news of yet another change and it seemed that we would have to endure high winds of up to 60mph on the North Col and North Ridge climbs.  We were aware that with the increased snowfall that the monsoon was imminent (once the monsoon arrives climbing becomes extremely dangerous) and we knew we didn't have forever so decided to stick to the 26th and, if necessary, spend an extra night on the North Col.

Bottom of the headwall

Typically winds on Everest are higher later in the day so we set off up the North Col early on the 23rd.  I felt great, my pack was much lighter than on our last North Col climb and I powered up from ABC to the North Col camp in just under five hours (including two hours of breaks), even keeping pace with the Sherpas on the headwall (admittedly they were carrying much heavier loads and probably weren't really trying but was still a boost to my morale).  Once again some of my teammates had paid the Sherpas to carry up some of their kit, I was glad that throughout the trip I hadn't had to do this and carried all my own gear - hopefully this would stand me in good stead higher up.

On the North Col

As it happened the wind did not get up on way up the North Col and while this was a relief at the time, it did call into question the reliability of our weather forecast.  We planned to spend the night up there, assess the weather in the morning before deciding whether to proceed up the mountain.

North Col camp 

The morning arrived but the forecast winds didn't so we set off early up the North Ridge.  It may not look by much but the North Ridge is an incredibly tough slog up a seemingly never ending snow slope.  The weather started off bright and warm but I wore my full down kit to reduce my pack weight although my pack was still a very heavy 20kg.   I didn't seem to be alone in carrying a heavy pack and the whole team was struggling here with Heather and Simon both deciding to turn back.  As we progressed the weather closed in and on account of the heavy pack, I reached the top of the snow slope,  7500m, more slowly than on our earlier acclimatisation climb.  Above here the ground changed to mixed rock and snow, the heavy snowfall in recent weeks meant that there was more snow than in 2010, this was both a help and hindrance.

On the way to camp 2

Camp 2 was situated between 7600m and 7800m with our tents were situated at the top of the camp which meant that from the time we saw the first tents it would be over an hour before we reached our own camp which was frustrating at the time but very welcome the following morning.  I eventually rolled into camp after about 7 hours at 1530, very tired and a couple of hours after my target time but still 4 hours earlier than in 2010 which would give me more time to re-fuel and hydrate.

Arriving at camp 2

There is no obvious place to camp up here and with no flat surfaces the tents are usually perched precariously on a ledge and I had to dig out a flat surface in the porch before being able to work the stove.  I had managed a couple of litres of water and dehydrated Spaghetti Bolognese (which was practically inedible but was forced down) and then settled down to rest with no sign of my tent mate, Salam.  I was awoken shortly afterwards by a Sherpa with the news that he was still going but moving slowly and wasn't expected for some time.  I boiled up some water for him and waited, he eventually arrived exhausted in the dark at just before 2100.

The climb up to high camp was a much shorter day, 4 to 6 hours, and once more over mixed ground.  It was on this day last year that I sprained my knee so while the climbing was not technically difficult I was keen to avoid a repeat although had taken the precaution of carrying two knee strappings (one for use on the go and the other stronger one should I need to strap up at camp).  I immediately recognised the spot were I injured myself last year and even though I took extra care here, I was still very tense and glad to overcome it without incident this time.

On the way to camp 3

The weather was sunny and calm.  I felt strong once and I climbed up into the "death zone" (above 8000m and the 3rd time I have reached this altitude) and up to high camp, arriving in just over 4 hours at around 1300.

Arriving at camp 3 (8300m) the highest camp in the world

Having taken the decision not to set up high camp in advance, no doubt influenced by the storms wrecking a number of tents on the North Col, the Sherpa team had left earlier to set up camp.  Once I got up to high camp at 8300m some of the tents weren't ready but after a short wait (and offer to help, which fell on deaf ears) I dived into a tent and began the process of melting snow to make water.  After the debacle of last year we had decided to allocate two stoves to each tent unfortunately we had only had one working stove and I began to feel a sense of deja-vu.

I was sharing a tent with Mark and we quickly got to work, the first pan took an hour but after that we got our act together and both managed to eat a dehydrated Sweet and Sour chicken meal, which was surprisingly palatable.  I had also brought up a big bag of Salt and Vinegar peanuts which given the huge salt deficiency in my body tasted so good (although weirdly the thought S n'V makes me wretch now).  I decided to only carry a litre of water on summit day figuring that any more would freeze and just become excess weight so I needed to rehydrate as much as possible before leaving the tent.  I managed about two and a half litres which was excellent considering I had managed less than a litre last year so was as hydrated as I felt I could be.

By about 1830 Mark and I had finished melting snow and had enough to get going and by this time Nick joined us in our tent.  Nick was exhausted and, after a rationale discussion, he took the unselfish decision not to go for the summit.

Mark left the tent for the summit at 2130 and I followed him an hour later.