Title: Acclimatisation complete, waiting for the weather again...where is the Little Chef when you need one ?

Apologies as it has been a while since my last update, everything still going well but either haven't had anything interesting to say or don't seem to have been near a computer anytime recently.

Have now been up to 7500m so my acclimatisation is now complete and we are back at base camp resting and waiting for the weather to settle and allow us an attempt on the summit. We are currently in our third day at BC and after a two week wait last year it is beginning to feel like Groundhog Day already, albeit it without Bill Murray's dry wit.

Despite being our second time, the North Col climb was pretty tough as the weather was extremely hot. We went up with a full pack (all my food, kit and clothing is now up there to try and preserve energy on the summit bid) so was hard work but made it in good enough time.

In the past, I have found both sleeping and climbing above 7000m for the first time difficult with headaches and loss of appetite. I didn't have the best night's sleep but I still managed to race up the North Ridge to 7400m the following morning without any difficulty which was a pleasant surprise. The North Ridge is a long steep snow slope, really not very interesting without any convenient stopping places (unless you want your pack to slide into oblivion) but there are amazing views of Cho Oyu, Pumori, Changtse and other stunning peaks.

The last hour up to 7500m was very hard work, as the wind dropped and I was battling severe heat in down salopettes and jackets designed for much colder temperatures so was tough going. Four of us reached 7500m around lunchtime with the rest of the team reaching altitudes between 7100m and 7400m. I won't have to climb above this altitude without oxygen again on this trip and had reached 7500m very quickly overall so was happy with the way things had worked out (particularly as last year the weather had prevented any of us reaching 7500m on acclimatisation).

It is also above 7000m where we begin to collect snow and ice to melt, unfortunately my regular tent mate had a chest infection so stayed at ABC and I tented solo above 7000m for the first time which, while it made it easier to cook and make water, was incredibly cold through the night.  Melting ice and snow is a laborious task which gets harder the higher you get, we need to do this to drink and eat. Food consists of rehydrated or boil in the bag meals, I will probably write more about food later this week,and drinking water is either boiled or just melted with iodine tablets (which don't taste too good) - either way with the complete loss of appetite up there not particularly pleasant.

The following day I returned to ABC and then back to BC, which feels like a five star hotel compared to the higher camps. Although I have just finished reading a book about the Foreign Legion so find it difficult to feel too sorry for myself but my trekking boots are nearly dead so I hope they have one more BC to ABC trip and back left in them as I don't feel like going through the full Foreign Legion experience.

Some of the team were unwell and had delayed their final North Col run for a few days to try to recover so while we were back at BC the jet stream came very close to Everest and there was a huge storm high on the mountain, destroying five of our seven tents on the North Col.  We had been aware of the storm risk and most of the critical kit had been stored in central storage tent, which fortunately had escaped,but there was a lot of kit and supplies in the individual tents. I had left my food pack in my tent, which while it wasn't blown off the hill was destroyed so while we think it has survived I am not completely certain what is left and will have to carry more up the last time just to be sure.

In the meantime, we wait at BC trying to keep ourselves busy doing 'things'. There have been some summits from the South already but the ropes will not been fixed to the summit on the North side until around the 14th and there is talk of a summit window around 16th/17th and some teams are heading up for then.

The CTMA have not fixed the ropes to the North summit yet (sometimes they make the Labour party look efficient!) but hopefully this will happen in the next few days.  Our latest weather forecasts indicate that it will be windy on the summit until at least 18th/19th so guess we just have to be patient but maybe things will change.

Over 7000m at last but still not broken the back of the journey

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.

First time at ABC

Date: 25 April 2011

We had a few comms problems between writing and sending my previous post so have in fact been at ABC for a few days now.

The journey from BC to ABC was fairly uneventful and didn't seem as tough as last year, I think this is combination of the body remembering how to acclimatise and my knowing what to expect and therefore how to pace myself. I was certainly more sensible than last year and kept a steady pace so had a lot left in the tank on my arrival at ABC.

The trail is mainly on glacial moraine and the scenery is spectacular, although my own view is probably slighted by the fact I have made the trek seven times already (four up and three down) - at 15 miles each way and around seven hours time that will be around 180 miles and 84 hours on exactly the same track by the end of this trip so you might be able to understand why I go onto autopilot.

There is a decent of path of sorts and Yaks can carry heavy loads up to ABC which means facilities are decent, we have a cook tent, mess tent and toilet tent but life at ABC is much tougher than at BC.

At 6400m ABC is very high and simple tasks can leave you breathless at first and simple tasks like washing, cleaning teeth and dressing are difficult. Having said that, it is amazing what a difference a couple of days up here can make, the slight dizziness and headache that I had on arrival have now completely gone for me although a couple of the team are still suffering.

This is also the first time that we will share tents on the expedition, while this makes tent admin more difficult but since it is so cold at night and we don't have as much stuff as at base camp is probably helpful overall.

The sun is also incredibly strong up there (especially when it reflects off the snow) and some people, like Heather who has acquired the new nickname of Little Miss Sunburn, have been caught out. But I have learnt from past woes, in particular when my lips and nose peeled off on Aconcagua, and have kept myself well covered up.

The weather at ABC has been atrocious until today with a lot of snow which prevents us from doing much - we have managed a bit of climbing practice on the ice towers and a walk up to about 6600m but that is about it. We have had large dumps of snow which makes it very dangerous to go up the North Col, for both hidden crevasses and avalanche, and are hoping to head up the North Col first thing in the morning.

Hidden crevasses are even a bit of a danger around camp for the unwary and unfortunately one of the yaks fell into one earlier today and was killed but hopefully we all have greater awareness of the danger than the poor yak.

Apologies for the fairly dry update but my plan is to head straight back to BC the day after (think two long days will help fitness and stamina) but not sure the computer will be coming down until a couple of days later so thought I had better let you know all was well.

Acclimatisation Continues

We have now been at base camp ("BC") for six days and are heading up to advanced base camp ("ABC") tomorrow.  I have settled into base camp life once again and for those of us who were here last year there is a huge sense of deja-vu - including the games of Risk. I am pleased to report that, at the time of writing, I am unbeaten (although this will likely change by the time you read this as we have only played once and are hoping to play again this later).


I am also back into the same routine of getting up and going to bed early. This is largely governed by the sunlight and temperature and always reminds me of how people must have lived in the days of yore, like when Dan was a boy and not a Prince Charles lookalike.

The food has been erratic thus far, we seem to have had an awful lot of spam (I can count five times already).  I am not particularly happy about this and still don't know how this can possibly count as meat so am refusing to eat it (I am not the only one). Even the cook team have now taken to stealthly trying to disguise it amongst other foods.  Having said that, I am not in anyway criticising the kitchen staff who do an excellent job and anyone who knows me will know I am not in a position to make judgements on anyone else's cooking ability.

So far, the weather has been much worse than last year so, after a reasonable start, the last three days and nights have been very windy and it is showing no sign of abating which could make our stay at ABC interesting.

I have done three separate acclimatisation walks up to 5500m, 5700m and 6000m over the past few days. The purpose of the acclimatisation walks is get my body used to higher altitude and increase my red blood cell count. Each time, I will try and spend as long as possible up high to maximise the benefit. Despite suffering from a very sore throat since arriving at BC, I haven't really encountered any difficulties and my training seems to be working so far (but as previously said I would really know how I am doing until I get to ABC and beyond).


I was concerned that my throat was the start of the famous Khumbu Cough but, after a couple of disturbed nights' sleep, it has now thankfully gone only to be replaced by a cold. I only have myself to blame for the cold though, after I had the bright idea to go up to 6000m only in a shirt and windproof jacket on a very windy day - I guess I should really know better by now. Maybe I was still deluding myself that I lived in Durham and could get away with this before I became an adopted Southerner?

We have also had our main Puja ceremony a few days ago. The Puja is a Buddhist ceremony where a Lama comes to camp and blesses the mountain, the team and our equipment. The Sherpas will not climb on the mountain until the Puja has taken place and many of them use it as a last chance to relax before the hard work begins. I decided to take the precaution of getting my knee support blessed this year as well as my boots, crampons, ice axe etc. I have also managed to avoid losing my prayer string thus far after losing it the day after last year!

The walk to BC to ABC is around 15 miles with an ascent from 5150m to 6400m across tough undulating terrain. It would normally take me around 7 hours and is extremely tiring but I am strangely looking forward to it as it should give me an idea of how strong I am compared to last year. We will split it into two the first time and use an intermediate camp at 5700m. Intermediate camp is probably the most depressing place in the whole world and I am not looking forward to our night there.  The walk itself is mainly through a moraine and there is no real objective danger apart from a load of huge rocks defying gravity and menacingly perched over the route like something out of a cartoon and just ready to fall, I remember the first time I saw them I thought "This is dangerous".

ABC is a very tough place to live and I will aim to spend around four days there this time. It is very cold, windy and high (6400m above sea level, so a mile above Mont Blanc and 500m higher than Kilimanjaro) and very basic tasks are draining when you first arrive. Apparently, we are in exactly the same place as last year so I will aim to get there as quickly as possible and secure one of the best tent spots (i.e. not at the top of a small hill from the mess tent and toilet like last year).

One indicator of acclimatisation is oxygen saturation (although often mis-used), my oxygen saturation has risen back above 90%, as opposed to 83% when I first arrived at BC. Admittedly this is not good compared to the normal 99% at sea level (where under 90% would lead to admittance to intensive care) but much higher than most (including some of the sherpas). I feel very well acclimatised so will hopefully not suffer too much as we ascend although will be interested to see what it drops to at ABC and the North Col.

Once at ABC, we will get a fantastic view of the whole route up to the summit and the plan is to spend a couple of days getting used to the altitude and then climb up the North Col to over 7000m. After over three weeks out here this will be our first bit of proper climbing so am looking forward to that and it will feel like we are finally getting going.
Over and out to the next time !!
Andy

Journey to Base Camp

It turned out that our last night in Kathmandu was Nepali New Years Eve so we set out 1 January 2068 (Nepali years) although I still haven't managed to find out what year zero signifies. The bus used for our early morning trip to the border had no suspension and brakes that sounded like they'd not been oiled for quite some time. The road itself is pretty interesting and has featured in the lists of the 'World's Ten Worst Roads', mostly on account of the winds that swirl around it and the general surface condition. However, the locals are nothing if not resourceful and they get around this by driving up the middle of the road and honking their horn to warn oncoming traffic. A little unorthodox but seems to work ! I wasn't too worried as I've shared a few car journeys with Jarrod and am still here to tell the tale.

This is the third time I have made this journey in the past couple of years and after a losing a wheel on the way to Cho Oyu and suffering a puncture last year it was nice to make it to the border unscathed this time. However the Iceland team (the other UK team on the North Side of Everest this season) were not so lucky and they lost a bus full of supplies down a ravine a couple of days earlier, killing the driver and nearly ending their expedition. We saw the bus as we drove past and it was completely destroyed.

The border crossing across the Friendship Bridge was trouble free, aside from the usual Chinese bureaucracy which meant that every single bag was emptied and searched, as usual they seemed more interested in reading material than anything else. Once over the border we are in the hands of the CTMA (Chinese Tibetan Mountaineering Association). They pick us up at the border and drop us off at base camp as part of our climbing permit. In between they tell us where we stay, what we eat and where we go.

Right over the border we were in a Chinese town Zhangmu which was perched on the side of the hill and was a typical frontier town - not very charming lots of shady characters and dubious establishments the CTMA informed us we would be spending the night here.

Tibet is on Beijing time (we stayed on Nepali time) so we set off very early the next morning, the first thing that you notice in China is the markers denoting the distance to Beijing every km. These reminders plus the military checkpoints you pass through leave you in little doubt as to who is in charge here.  The road up to the Tibetan plateau is superb. When I first came through a couple of years ago the new road was incomplete and there were tents on the roadside for the workmen to live in but now it is complete, I have no idea how many people died in the construction but it is a fantastic feat of Chinese engineering and a real contrast to the Nepali side.

Once on the Tibetan plateau itself the landscape becomes much more barren. We swapped our bus for Land Cruisers at the border so we made swift progress through Nylam and Tingri. Unfortunately in Nylam we learnt that the leader of the Adventure Peaks Everest North Col/Lhakpa Ri expedition, who had been acclimatising in Tibet and will be sharing base camp with us, has been attacked by wild dogs in Nylam and will have to return to the border to get himself checked out. Wild dogs are a real problem in these places and I have always carried a walking pole to fend them off but it sounds like he was attacked by a pack and could do nothing about it.

After a long day in the car driving through Tibet, with most of us avoiding Tibetan food and water after one of last years team is thought to have contracting Hepatitis E here, we finally arrived at base camp. At around 5150m above sea level base camp is over 300m higher than Mont Blanc and we would not drop below here until our way out in late May/ early June. We had also seen our last tree and buildings for weeks but at least had the consolation of waking up to a magnificent view of Mount Everest every morning.

We have been at Base Camp for a couple of days now, quite a few team members are sick (I am fine so far) so we have had to alter our schedule. A few of us walked up to 5500m this morning and we should move onto 6000m in the next few days. While we are still on schedule, some of us are not convinced the revised is aggressive enough as a few days bad weather could cause problems so will have to keep an eye on this continue to try and push where possible. Over and out !! Take care all

Life on the road

Life on the acclimatization treks was basic but comfortable, we have been spending our evenings in Nepali teahouses.  The teahouses are charming little places, although some of the decor looks like it has come straight out of the Magic Roundabout.

Teahouse bedroom

Local artwork

But there are also some familiar names around and it was particularly nice to see that the Nepalis don't just support the winning teams!

Liverpool's favourite son

The diet is pretty standardized along the entire trek, meat is limited to Yak and Chicken and I haven't seen any sign of fish (probably a good thing in a landlocked country).  I have avoided meat so far as the level of meat hygiene over here is a bit different to that we are used to and seeing meat carried open on the trek was a pretty common sight that doesn't fill me with confidence.  So far I have avoided any significant problems but you always have to be very careful particualrly as running water is scarce and hot water is a luxury up there.

Local meat transportation "lorry"

The kitchens are basic and the contents of the menus are pretty uniform.  I have tended to stick to the same dishes - Dhal Bat (lentils, rice and veg), porridge, lots of eggs and rice and Mars bar pies.  I did attempt Pizza once, they used Yak cheese and it didn’t go well, so learnt my lesson and wasn’t so adventurous again.

Friendly "local"

Dorje helping in the kitchen

I did at first think that the Khumbu region was the first place in the world I had visited without an Irish pub.  Alas, when we returned to Lukla we found that even this part of the world has been inflitrated.

Probably the highest Irish pub in the world

While it was certainly much more enjoyable and a nice change from the Tibetan acclimatisation I followed last year and on Cho Oyu, I am still not convinced that the Nepalese acclimatisation route is as effective.  It is over ten days since I left the UK and while we have been over 5000m, we have only really touched this height and not actually spent a night above 5000m.  We will spend tonight in Kathmandu, tomorrow in Tibet (probably in Nylam at around 2900m above sea level) and then onto base camp at around 5200m.

We are a few days behind the schedule we followed last year, having said that there are still plenty of reserve days built in, we did spend a long time waiting at base camp last year and the team seems to be much healthier so hopefully it is just my natural tendency to compare to last year.

We did cover a fair distance but the trekking through the Khumbu region was straightforward and I felt strong throughout.  This is reassuring but I think it is difficult to tell anything until we get higher.  I have regularly measured my pulse and oxygen absorption levels and the readings are encouraging.

It still feels to me like we have not really started yet and that the expedition proper starts tomorrow (at about 0500 when leave the hotel).  Within the next week or so we will move up to base camp and then up to advanced base camp (6400m) but at least they gave me the "Everest" room in Lukla so hopefully that is a good omen for the coming weeks...

Cheesy picture of the Everest room

Acclimatising on the South Side of Everest

Have been in Nepal for over ten days now but time seems to have flown by. 

After a week or so following the classic Southside Everest base camp trail in the Khumbu region of Nepal, I am now back in Kathmandu and preparing to travel across the border into Tibet tomorrow.  Apologies to those chasing an update, the communications in the Khumbu region were very "basic" and didn't have a great deal of spare time.  Once I arrive at base camp updates should become more regular.

The trek was a lot of fun and we followed the famous route through Namche Bazaar, Pangboche and Dingboche before trekking back to Lukla and flying out again.

As I had expected the flight into Lukla last Monday was an experience (and not necessarily a pleasant one).  The turbulence as our little two engined plane flew through the hills was something else, it was more like a roller coaster than a flight at times and I was extremely glad to finally land safely on the famous sloped runway.

The airport is like no other I have ever visited.  Planes only fly in the morning (before the clouds come in) and during this time they appeared to take off and land every a couple of minutes, in many ways it was more like a taxi-rank than an airport.  It was absolute chaos compared to our airports although the mayhem didn't seem to bother some of the employees.

Sleeping bank clerk at Lukla airport

We shouldn't complain though, the airport was only built in the late 1970s and before that the only way in was a two month trek into Lukla.

We set off on the trek as soon as we landed, the trekking itself was not particularly taxing and the weather seemed to follow a pretty regular pattern - bright and sunny from the morning through to mid afternoon then the clouds would arrive sometimes accompanied by snow.  As always at altitude, the sun was fierce and hot but once it disappeared it became bitterly cold.  

View of Lhotse from the trek

The route was surprisingly quiet on the way out but far busier on the way back to Lukla.  We were able to visit the centre of the Sherpa world, Namche Bazaar.  I had always wanted to visit, it is an important trading post between the Sherpa people and Tibetans who have made the five day trip over the Nangpa La pass near Cho Oyu.  Unfortunately there were no Tibetans there at this time but the town is still main hub on the Everest base camp trek and is still a busy little town.

Namche bazaar

The original plan to visit Ama Dablam base camp was aborted as the tea house had not yet opened (we are delaying our first night in a tent until we reached base camp) but this allowed us to visit Everest ER and the memorial at Piriboche.

Everest Southside memorial

And also visit Khumjung and see the famous Yeti scalp.  I am told that it is genuine but I am a bit sceptical particularly as this particular Yeti appeared to have ginger hair and a centre parting and not the white frizzy hair I expected.

Yeti scalp

We also stopped off at the famous Everest View hotel en route.  The hotel is famous for Japanese tourists flying in to enjoy the views and requiring supplementary oxygen in their rooms but is now rumoured to be one of the destinations on William and Kate's honeymoon so may soon be famous for a different reason.  The view of Everest (left with the plume) and Ama Dablam (right) is certainly quite spectacular, although I have to say absolutely nothing on the view of Everest from the North side. 

Everest and Ama Dablam from the Everest View hotel

We climbed up to 5100m on Saturday, spent some time up there to maximise our acclimatisation, then descended and began the walk back out to Lukla.

On ridge up towards 5100m