Everest 2010

Full photo album


Arrival and acclimatisation

Following the difficulties with meeting the flight baggage allowance on Cho Oyu I decided to make my own travel arrangements and did not meet any of the team until we got to Kathmandu.

For the first few days we would follow the same acclimatisation schedule used on Cho Oyu, which meant more time to experience the delights Zhangmu, Nylam and Tingri.

I had been absolutely dreading this and was so glad when we finally arrived at base camp.

I had met Heather before but the rest of the team were new to me

Our leader would be Stu Peacock, this would be Stu's 3rd trip to the North Side of Everest and if he summitted he would more North side summit than any other Brit.  He would be supported by Matt Dickinson, a mountain guide/ ski-tour instructor in the Alps, Matt had done some impressive climbs, notably the North face of the Eiger, but had less experience at altitude and none above 8000m previously been up to around 7500m.

The team was very big, 19 in on the Everest summit team plus a team of 7 climbing up to the top of the North Col and climbing a nearby 7000m peak, Lhakpa Ri.

The experience levels in the team were pretty varied most had climbed either Denali or Aconcagua but was surprised that some hadn't even done that before and I was the only client with 8000m experience.  Some were pretty experienced climbers but at the other end of the spectrum had very little climbing experience.  I had been told to expect this on Everest so was prepared.

Everest and Lhakpa Ri teams

On Everest and other high peaks there are people climbing with different levels of support.  From the world class mountaineers climbing completely self sufficient and exploring new routes to the people who would go on a fully guided climb with dedicated Sherpas carrying all the equipment, oxygen and personal equipment for them.  Obviously the level of support impacts on the difficulty of the climb.

We were somewhere in the middle on what was described as a professionally led expedition.  We had good base camp facilities and some sherpa support, in that our high camp would be set up and stocked with oxygen by the Sherpas but we were still responsible for carrying our own personal equipment and expected to be able to move up and down the mountain independently.


Base camp
One of the advantages of the North Side over the South is that it is possible to drive to base camp, the drive is 6 hours from Tingri and takes you through stunning Tibetan scenery.  The lifestyle of the Tibetan people is very different to that we are used in the West and is almost medieval, with the exception of mobile phones which seem to have even penetrated out here.  The sun was blazing as we drove through but I can imagine that the winters here are exceptionally harsh.

Tibetan life

Tibetan dwellings

We were also fortunate enough to see some fantastic views of Everest alongside Cho Oyu, which was special for me having been to Cho Oyu only six months earlier.

In front of Everest and Cho Oyu on the way to base camp

Base camp is situated neat the Rongbuk Glacier and just before we got to Base Camp we would come to the Rongbuk Monastery which is the highest monastery in the world and very sacred to the Tibetan buddhists.

Everest from the Rongbuk Monastery

Base camp itself is situated just below the Rongbuk Glacier, at about 5200m over sea level, it is very sparse and exposed and when the wind blows, which it often does, it can get very cold.  It is also extremely cold first thing in the morning before the sun hits although the arrival of the sun can quickly turn your tent into what seems like a sauna in a matter of minutes.  It would be our main home for the next two months so we had to get used to these things and it was certainly a lot more hospitable than any of the camps higher up the mountain.

In addition to our own tents, we had a couple of mess tents with a DVD player and a shower tent, unfortunately the shower broke before many of us had a chance to enjoy warmish shower which meant two months without a shower although obviously we did wash ourselves regularly in the interests of personal hygiene and team harmony.

The traditional Everest base camp trek takes you to the South Side base camp and there were only 72 climbers attempting to summit Everest from the North this year (significantly less than from the South) so the place felt pretty isolated.  The weather was not dissimilar to other base camps I had experienced, very cold until the sun appeared and could be quite warm once the sun shone although it was much windy here than either Aconcagua or Cho Oyu had been.

It is also afforded outstanding views of Everest, quite a sight to wake up to every morning.

View from my tent

There were also numerous memorials to the mountain and to climbers who had lost their lives here littered around.

Mallory memorial

On first arriving at base camp even the simplest tasks, like putting on boots, were very tiring but the longer you spent there the easier things would become.  One of our team, Matt, was suffering very badly from the altitude at Tingri, his condition had had become more serious on arrival at base camp and developed into a full pulmonary edema so he was forced to return Kathmandu for treatment.  Matt was a Royal Marine and a very strong guy but we thought it was unlikely he would be able to return but he was very determined and made a full recovery in hospital and returned to join us two weeks later.

The rest of us spent the next week or so resting and getting our bodies used to the altitude and doing some acclimatisation walks up to 6000m.

Acclimatisation walk overlooking base camp

Once again, we would have a Puja ceremony before we were able to climb on the mountain.

Puja ceremony

Advanced Base Camp
The next step was to get up to Advance Base Camp.  The trek to ABC was very daunting, undulating terrain over 23km with the altitude rising from 5200m to 6400m and I wasn't expecting it to be easy especially the first time.

To make it a bit more manageable on the first time, we used an intermediate camp at 5700m to allow the body to attune to the altitude and rest.   Having said that it was still very tough but made it into ABC, extremely tired but without any dramas.

Fortunately, the Yaks were also able to climb to ABC which lightened our load considerably as ABC was our staging post for climbing higher and we needed to get lot of kit and supplies up there.

En route to Advanced Base Camp

Advanced base camp

We would continue to follow the accepted climb high, sleep low acclimatisation method common used for high altitude climbing.  On our first visit we would spend 4 nights at ABC and climb to the top of the North Col, spend a short amount of time there and descend.  ABC was 6400m above sea level, a mile higher than Mont Blanc, and life here was much tougher than at base camp, it was extremely cold and once more with the altitude gain performing simple tasks was exhausting.  We would share tents from here upwards and my tent was at the top of a small mound so getting back to my tent from the mess tent was tiring at first but this would improve as we became more acclimatised.

We would then descend to base camp to recover.  While the effects of altitude on the body are still not fully understood it is accepted that the human body does recover above an altitude of around 5500m and begins to feed on itself and therefore it is important on these long trips to drop down below this height for recovery.

The North Col headwall

The bottom of the North Col headwall was about an hour from ABC with crampon corner, so named because that was the point when we would need to equip crampons, was situated just before the headwall.  The headwall was about 400m in height and the first Col climb was tough going even without a full pack, especially at the start although I found myself getting stronger as I progressed up the wall which was a pleasant surprised.  I was also surprised at the number of ladders that were required on the North Col to cross crevasses, one of the reasons I had chosen the North over the South was that I did not fancy crossing the crevasses on Khumbu Icefall on ladders lashed together, it seemed I would still get the "opportunity" here but it was not as bad as I had feared.

Ladder used to cross a crevasse

I made it to the top of the North Col in around three hours at just over 7000m we are now higher than any point in the world outside of the Himalayas, spent half an hour at the top, descended back to ABC and returned to base camp the following day to rest and recover.  The Lhakpa Ri team stayed at ABC for a couple of days longer with Noel and Tim both summiting Lhakpa Ri - congratulations to them and in fact Noel was the first Irishman to summit the mountain.

While we were at base camp, we got news of an avalanche on the North Col and unfortunately one climber lost their life.  I texted home to let people know I was still safe but this was a reminder of the inherent dangers of climbing Everest.  Amazingly there is a mobile signal at Everest base camp and above the North Col, you can even access the internet on your phone although I discovered the hard way that it is incredibly expensive!

After a few days at base camp, it was time to head back to ABC and North Col.  Most of us would do the trek from base camp to ABC in one go this time, it was certainly easier than the first time but still tough going and took me about 7 hours to complete, although some members of the team found it tougher and took around 13 hours.

We did see the amazing sight of a 9 stone Sherpa carrying a Westerner (who we estimated was around twice the weight) all the way back down to base camp from ABC.  Unfortunately the Westerner had suffered a heart attack, needed to descend immediately so there was no time to call the Yaks so the Sherpa had become a Yak for the day, a  remarkable display of strength at sea level let alone this altitude and made me feel very humble.

Sherpa being a Yak for the day

The plan was to climb the North Col with a full pack, spend a couple of nights up there and climb higher.  It was at this point that we lost our first team members Mickey, Jantoon, Scott and Don decided that they would not be continuing and decided return to home.  

I decided it would be a good time to carry extra food supplies up the North Col, and so my pack was very heavy, but the next time we climbed the North Col would be on the summit push so I wanted to conserve as much energy as possible at that point so while tough at the time, worth it I think.

On the North Col

Climbing the North Col

The weather was fine once more and the pack weight made going tough but right before I got to the top of the North Col the weather turned for the worse.  In a matter of minutes we went from bright sunshine to heavy snow and wind.

Bright and sunny on the North Col

Minutes later the weather had turned

When I arrived at North Col camp it was very windy and cold, when out to collect snow and began melting water.  My tent mate was finding the going tough today and was many hours behind, the Sherpas went down to find him and help him up the North Col so it dark before he got into camp by which time I had already re-hydrated, eaten and boiled up some water for him.

For the first time on the trip I had a bit of a headache, this was pretty much exactly the same height I had got a headache on Cho Oyu which in a strange way was reassuring, again a couple of paracetamol and it was gone.  This was the only time I got a headache on the whole trip, I was very lucky and so exactly as on Cho Oyu I had got by on just 4 paracetamol.  There is a cocktail of other drugs that you have to carry at high altitude Ciprofloxacin (stomach), Nifedipine (to treat High Altitude Pulmonary Edema, HAPE) and Dexamethasone (for acute AMS and High Altitude Cerebral Edema, HACE) these will be used in different circumstances if the headaches or other side effects of altitude sickness do not subside or if you start to feel dizzy or nauseous on the mountain.  The team would also carry a Gamow bag up to ABC to simulate rapid descent, if required.

Another drug that many used to help assist the acclimatisation process was Diamox, this was a subject of constant debate at base camp and many people swore by it.  It does have side effects - tingling hands, change of taste sensations, increased frequency of toilets visits (it is a diuretic) amd, in some cases, blurred vision.  Personally I have never used it and don't intend to but it obviously helps some people.

We had more snow overnight on the North Col which was going to make the next day much harder.  I slept OK but the wind was howling when I woke up.

North Col Camp

The plan for today was to go up the North Ridge to 7500m and it was going to be a tough day.  After porridge for breakfast I left pretty early. Nigel and Stu had left very early and were well on their way by the time I set off the weather was very unpleasant and a number of the team decided to spend the day in their tent.  After nearly boiling alive in my down kit at this height on Cho Oyu I decided to go out without down this morning and try to move quickly, this turned out to be a bad decision.  I was going fine but the wind was gusting even stronger on the North Ridge, it was difficult to walk in this wind, the deep snow that had fallen overnight and the altitude so add the fact that I was getting very cold,  I kept going for about 3 hours and got up to about 7300m before turning round.  I was freezing cold very tired, and the conditions were described as the worst Stu had encountered on Everest so I didn't want to do myself any serious damage and while it would have been ideal to get up to 7500m, not essential, as I planned to use supplementary oxygen above 7500m on the summit push.

It was also a bit strange, I often have porridge for breakfast at sea level and every day at base camp and find it a really good energy source but at altitude it just doesn't seem to agree with my body so well.  Not sure if I don't digest it properly at altitude but I always seem very short of energy on porridge so switched to desserts for breakfast above ABC from that point on.

Looking up the North Ridge

I was glad to get back into the tent to warm up again although a bit frustrated that despite not leaving the tent all day my tent mate had not melted up any snow or even been out to collect fresh snow.

The next morning Ian provided a bit of entertainment for us all.  A small ice wall had been erected to signify where to go to the toilet, Ian decided to lean on the wall for support while doing his business but the wall wasn't as strong as it looked and Ian fell into the toilet area, strangely no one seemed to want to climb down with Ian that day.  We climbed up the North ridge again the following morning for a couple of hours before returning to ABC and then to base camp the following day.

We would rest at base camp for the next four days and then wait for the weather to allow us to go for the summit.  The weather just wouldn't settle, there was a cyclone over the Bay of Bengal and this was affecting the local weather system and the four day rest turned into a two week wait at base camp.

The two week wait for the weather was mentally tough and with the summit push looming difficult to think about much else.  While the summit push, health and well being dominated conversation we tried to keep ourselves entertained with films, books, cards, games of Risk and some more creative ideas like Quiz nights before too long you get into a routine and each day starts to merge into the next.  You are also in your own little world at base camp and become complete oblivious to the outside, world we did have contact with home through email and phone, but things like the dust cloud that enveloped Europe didn't really register massively with us.  We will miss all Royal Wedding hoohah this year so I guess it is not always bad.

While we waited at the North, the weather on the South was much better and a lot of people summited which was even more frustrating.

I think Heather's blog describes base camp life very well so I have linked directly to  a couple of her blog pages below:
Groundhog Day
Man Day

Unfortunately for Heather she had developed a severe cough a couple of weeks earlier which still hadn't shifted, the constant coughing had left her ribs very sore and she decided not to go for the summit but stay on the mountain to operate comms for the team.  She was diagnosed with four broken ribs when she got to the UK so it was a very wise decision.  She will be returning this year and hopefully will have more luck than in 2010.

No link is available to the Adventure Peaks trip report so am unable to include at this stage.