Heading Up
After two trips up Lobuche and sleeping on the summit for two nights (6090 meters), it was time for a big party in BC to celebrate the end of “Phase 1.” At 3am, the “white pod” was still shaking with music and dancing–Sherpas, guides, and members all getting down! A couple of nights later was a bit different when the team left BC at 2am for 6 days of acclimatization on Everest itself. By the end of this acclimatization, everyone will hopefully have spent 4 days at Camp II (6400 meters) and 2 days at Camp III (7300 meters). If all falls into place, the team will be ready for a summit push after another rest in BC and, of course, another party. In the meantime, the Sherpa have fixed to Camp IV (South Col) and have begun to stock Camps III and IV with oxygen, tents, fuel, rope, etc. Hopefully, they will be able to fix to the summit this week if the weather is stable. It has been quite cold (-40 Celsius) and windy at 8000 meters, so the temperatures will have to increase and the winds will have to die down a bit. We’ll keep you posted!