Rest In Peace Ueli Steck

World famous alpinist Ueli Steck (41) passed away today after a tragic fall off Nuptse.  Ueli was solo climbing high on the face presumably with no protection when he fell.  His body came to rest in the vicinity of Mt. Everest camp 1.  

I feel fortunate to have met Ueli and sad that our paths will never cross again.  Our hearts go out to Ueli's family and friends as we mourn their loss.

The type of climbing that Ueli practiced is for professionals and experts only.  My team and I will have multiple safety measures in place when traveling across exposed terrain to prevent a tragic fall.  While no plan is perfect, our conservative approach will help us return home to our families safely.

Namaste

Waiting Between Rotations

Tuesday the 25th through Sunday the 30th were rest days.  The first couple of lazy days were nice and gave us time to get clean, do laundry, eat as much as we could in order to gain back weight and of course rest.  

I've been trying to work out my upper body a bit throughout the trip and at least do some pushups and sit-ups/crunches to stay fit.  The pushup count is now about 9,500 so I'll easily break 10k before heading home.  Below photo shows a makeshift outdoor workout center.

Many of us also did a little walking around base camp just to stretch legs and stay sane.  The entire Everest base camp area takes almost an hour to walk from one end to the other.  Below is a good shot showing much of our team's base camp including the lakeside living area.  There are another 20 or so tents just on the back side of the hill to the right where most of the Sherpa stay.

On Thursday the 27th, four of us decided to go for a hike across the valley and about a thousand feet higher than base camp.  We got a nice view of Everest, Lhotse and the south col with wind plumes coming off all.  Reports have winds in the 60-70 mph range up there for the next day before dying down.  This timing should work well for our push to camp 3 in a few days.

The photo below shows the expanse of Everest base camp and the Khumbu Glacier with Mt. Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse above.

 

On Thursday afternoon, we were issued our oxygen masks which will be used during the summit bid.  We also had training on fit, regulator use and a discussion of where bottles will be available on the mountain.  With everything on, there should be no exposed skin.

Our team is prepared to leave for our next rotation.  Now we just need the winds up high to die down so we get back to climbing.  Our plan is to climb through the Khumbu Icefall, bypass camp 1 and climb all the way up to camp 2 in one push.  It'll be 6-8 hours depending on icefall conditions, weather, how we feel, etc.  As before, we're all starting to focus inwardly on our personal plans for the climb.  A teammate decided to ease some tension and liven things up this morning in his Yeti costume.

We will be on our rotation for a minimum of 5 days, 4 nights once we leave.  As always no news is good news and the IMG blog should have some updates while I'm gone.  Let's hope for a safe and successful rotation up to camp 3 and back.

Namaste

Rotation to Camps 1 and 2

On Wednesday the 19th, we left base camp for our first rotation on Everest.  The next 5 days will bring us to camps 1 & 2 with the plan for spending two nights at each location.  Our goal is to acclimatize to the increasing elevation gradually as well as bring supplies and gear further up the mountain.

We were up at 2:30, had a quick breakfast and were walking by 3:35.  Fura and I moved at a nice even pace through the Khumbu icefall and arrived at camp 1 (19,800 ft) by 8:05.  I felt well exercised for sure but still healthy and happy with the safe and successful morning.

Camp one is a pretty basic setup since we won't be spending too much time there.  Just a half dozen climbers' tents, a few Sherpa tents and a cook tent, plus a sweet restroom setup.  You'll notice all of our facilities lie between a couple of crevasses so no walking around camp in slippers!

On Friday the 21st,  we packed up and moved from camp 1 to camp 2.  It was another clear and brisk morning and we looked forward to a change of scenery and a more comfortable camp.  While this route had far fewer obstacles than the Khumbu icefall, we did have some challenges along the way.

This part of our climb lies within the Western Cwm.  It's a great expanse of open terrain which can be described by any number of superlatives.  The scale is amazing and goes on for miles.  The nights are bitterly cold and sunny days are unbearably hot due to the effects of solar radiation reflected from all sides.  A climber could easily suffer from heat stroke in the middle of the day, even though the temperature in the shade is 20 degrees F.

Unlike some, my focus is not on documenting myself overcoming treacherous ladder crossings jumping crevasses or gingerly walking on free standing ice pillars.  These are dangerous places and safety is my priority.  Below is a photo showing a ladder crossing in the Western Cwm that we had just crossed.  The crevasse was easily 100 feet deep and a ladder crossing is no place for fiddling wth a GoPro camera.

The climb took less than 3 hours to gain the 1,500 ft elevation gain and cover who knows how many miles.  We can definitely feel the elevation and lack of oxygen as we climb the rocks approaching camp 2.  Arriving at about 9:30, we were glad to have arrived before the sun got too strong.  Knut, Moe and I arrived first, had a nice drink and then went to work setting up our tents.

Our teammates came in shortly thereafter and we were together once again at a new camp, happy that everyone arrived safely.  The photo below shows our sleeping tents with the long dining tent in the background.  It's a comfortable camp and it doesn't take us long to settle in.

Above camp 2 is where the climbing gets quite sporty.  It's a solid hour to the base of the Lhotse face and then a couple of thousand feet straight up the face to camp 3.  The photo below shows the terrain for this next section of our climb.  The route heads up along the boundary between the smooth face and the rough looking glacier to the right.  Camp 3 is just now being established by the Sherpa to the right of the "yellow band" which is the diagonal rock formation almost at the top of the face.

Saturday and Sunday were active rest days for us.  On both days, we climbed up towards the base of the Lhotse face for more acclimatization and to move our bodies.  Sunday was supposed to be our descent to base camp but we stayed at camp 2 because the icefall route was damaged over night and needed to be reworked.  It was probably better for us to spend an extra night anyway and our bodies were definitely feeling better after the extra time up high at 21,300 ft.

The climb Sunday was further up than Saturday and we reached our high point at almost 22,000 ft.  The bonus for us is that our cloudy weather up here is much better than the wet snow they've been getting down at base camp.  

The Icefall Doctors made quick repairs to the route and we were back on track to descend to base camp on Monday the 24th.  Knowing the route may be unstable in places, Fura and I kept our focus and made good progress through the Western Cwm and the Khumbu icefall.  The rest stop we took shown below was fairly stable and gave us a nice view of base camp over 1,000 ft lower.

We left camp 2 at about 5:45 am and arrived back to base camp about 3-1/2 hours later.  Fura and I became a stronger climbing team through this rotation and were happy to be back at our comfortable base camp safely along with the rest of our team.

Namaste

Heading to Camps 1 & 2

After the icefall climb on Sunday and a recovery nap, I started working on a stone tent entrance.   The entrance, I reasoned, would help keep my tent cleaner and would look nice and homey.  The real reason for those who know me isn't a surprise.  The project would basically keep me occupied for a couple of our "rest days".

The work started Sunday afternoon but didn't really get into full swing until Monday.  The Sherpa guys do a really nice job on their tent sites so I wanted to at least create something respectable.  Wandering around our campsite, I collected what appears to be a white granite for use as the walls and some dark slate for the floor.  Building it wasn't very physically difficult, the heaviest stone was maybe 40#. The real challenge was the mental puzzle of fitting the pieces together structurally and aesthetically.   Below is the final product.

I also managed to take a shower and do some laundry in anticipation of our climbing rotation up to camps 1 & 2.  These simple tasks take so long and make me appreciate normal life back in Colorado.

Sherpa Fura and I met up today (Tuesday) for a chat about our climb in the morning.  I also gave him a Pipestone hat to reinforce our bond as partners in this adventure.  We had a couple of laughs and said farewell until morning.  

Tonight will be another inwardly thoughtful dinner, final preparations for our climb and early to bed.  I'm sure we'll be up at 1 or 2 for an alpine start.  The plan is to climb all the way through the Khumbu icefall to camp 1 in the morning which sits at approximately 19,600 ft.  We'll spend two nights there and then head up another 2,000 ft to camp 2.  We will also spend two nights at camp 2 before heading all the way back down to base camp on Sunday morning.  Weather permitting, on our last full day at camp 2, we will walk an hour or so towards camp 3 and the Lhotse face.  Let's hope everyone has a safe and successful climb during this rotation!

Namaste

First Steps

It's a fitful night of sleep caused by the elevation, high winds blowing the tent around and the anticipation of climbing on Mount Everest for the first time.  The alarm goes off at 2:00 am and it's time to get moving.  Breakfast is at 2:30 and climber/Sherpa teams start to walk at around 3:00 am.  

I'm paired with Sherpa Fura, the same guy I climbed Lobuche with.  He's young, strong and a good climbing partner.  His skills far surpass his years and I'm appreciative of how free he is with tips, tricks and techniques for better climbing.  Fura and I leave at about 3:10 am.

The first stretch of walking is along most of Everest base camp heading generally north.  It would be an easy stroll except the snow from the day before has turned to ice from the passage of so many boots.  No time for sleep walking, the focus gets sharper and we move forward with a sense of purpose.  Hanging a right and entering the lower icefall, my grin widens.  What a dream to be here in Nepal starting to climb the highest mountain in the world.

After a few more minutes, we arrive at "crampon point" which is where we attach our climbing crampons to our boots in preparation for steeper terrain.  It's a quick process for the two of us and we leave just behind the two fastest climbers in our group, gaining back the 10 minute delay we had leaving camp.

It's quite dark and our path is lit by our headlamps.  In another few minutes of walking, it becomes obvious that all of the stories about the icefall are true.  It's basically an ice obstacle course out of some fiction writer's imagination.  Oh and it's moving imperceptibly all the time and dramatically some of the time.  We climb with our legs, arms sometimes and with the aid of ropes in a few places until we get to the start of the fixed lines.  These are ropes anchored to the mountain that we use for protection during climbing.  It's about this time that I notice how beautiful the moon is, sitting above the icefall.

Day breaks slowly and the climbing gets harder.  For some reason though, I feel like I'm getting stronger and happier.  Maybe hypoxia is setting in a little but who cares. It's a beautiful day and except for the 20-25 mph winds, its perfect for climbing.  Fura and I are a couple hundred yards behind the fast guys and there's nobody behind us for a while. It feels like we have the icefall to ourselves.  

We continue to climb up and through a maze of ice formations, with the aid of ropes and ladders.  Some of the ladder crossings are quite basic and a couple are pretty thrilling. One "horizontal" ladder in particular was off camber and sloped.  It was probably just fine when the icefall doctors installed it days ago but glaciers move and this was our obstacle. Thankfully we had two safety lines for protection.

The day continued to break and first light hit the summit of Pumo Ri, across the valley from Everest. 

Another 15 or 20 minutes of climbing and climbing we reach the "football field".  In past years, this was a very large flat spot sitting at around 18,800-18,900 ft.  This year its quite smaller and we can only guess that we've been climbing over the rest of it this morning on our way up. The three climber/Sherpa pairs are in a good mood after such a fun climb and we stay up here for some time before heading back down.

It took me and Fura 2:30 hours to get up to the football field and 1:45 hours to get back to base camp.  It was some hard work to be sure and even though gravity helped our descent, our focus remained sharp all the way down. After a quick breakfast, I needed a nap. For the record, this is the first nap since the "I'm Only Human" post.

Namaste

Settling in to EBC

The walk back to Everest base camp seemed longer than I remembered, most likely because I wasn't sharing it with Kriss.  Nevertheless, the solitude brought its own form of comfort and allowed me to begin the transition to Mt. Everest climber.

With a little effort and organization, a two-person tent can be quite luxurious for one inhabitant.  I brought a few things to Nepal to aid organization and purchased a little rug in Namche for a touch of class.  The finished product (for now) came out well and I'm comfortable in my new home.

Friday the 14th was a rest day and I managed to get a shower but the laundry didn't happen.  We've got two rest days in a row so there's no reason to accomplish everything right away.  Mostly I spent the day eating and drinking and being lazy.  The lazy part is a novel concept for me but I got the hang of it after a while.  This is a skill that will be honed over the next month to allow my body to recover between climbs on the mountain.

On Saturday, we woke up to 4" of new snow.  It's amazing how clean and fresh the snow made our basecamp look.  It also insulated our tents against the cold and most of us woke up warm and ready to meet the day.

Unfortunately the snow made laundry out of the question today since the water lines were frozen but really what's the problem with wearing the same clothes for a few more days right?  The only plans for today are to work on some climbing and fixed line skills.  We'll be entering the icefall for the first time tonight and building muscle memory helps efficiencies when transitioning at anchors and repels.  The IMG Sherpa staff set up a little ropes and ladders course for us in base camp and we had fun making laps around it for a couple of hours.

 

In the late morning, we had a visit from world class mountaineer Uli Steck (AKA the Swiss Machine).  He seemed like a nice humble guy and was patient with our photo requests.  When asked what his climbing plans were for the season, he just let us know that he had permits for Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse.  We later saw him entering the icefall Sunday morning as we were on our way out.  He was solo of course.

Saturday evening, we had dinner, packed for our 3am departure to the icefall and went to bed early.  Some have asked about our food during this adventure.  I have to say the IMG Sherpa cook staff do an excellent job to keep us well-fed and minimize weight loss.  Tonight was a special "chicken sizzler" dinner served on hot platters like a fajita dish.  Below is a photo of some teammates enjoying the steamy meal in our dining tent.

There's a palpable nervous anticipation for our first voyage into the infamous Khumbu icefall in a few hours.  Most of us eat, fill our water bottles and head to the tents without much delay, all hoping for a safe climb in the early morning.

Namaste

Success on Lobuche East!

The trek back to Lobuche base camp went smoothly and we appreciated the thicker air back down under 16,000ft.  On Tuesday the 11th, we moved up to Lobuche high camp in preparation for our climb.  Moving camps so often gets a little tedious and we only take what we need up the hill for or climb, leaving the rest in our tents below.

High camp is a great spot with our tents surrounding the lake.  Our weather continues to be fantastic and dominated by high pressure.  Occasionally we have some winds, but the sky has been blue every day for over a week now until at least the early afternoon.  Our tent site had a great view of the lake which we enjoyed while resting after our climb up. 

We have an early dinner and are tucked into our sleeping bags before 7pm.  Tomorrow we have an alpine start in the dark.  This gets us moving when the mountain is cold and keeps us off the upper mountain in the heat of the day.  

Wednesday the 12th and we're climbing by 4:45 am.  It's pitch black and our headlamps look like fireflies going up the mountain.  The first part of our route consists of scree and sloped rock slabs covered in loose rock and scree.  This is a difficult combination in our big boots and our focus is sharp to make sure there are no mishaps.

After an hour of climbing, dawn starts to break and it promises to be another beautiful bluebird day!  There's not a breath of wind and we're all in great moods to be climbing in the Himalayas during such a great morning.  Another hour brings us to crampon point where we transition from the loose rock routine to snow.  Our hopes are high for some good cramponing after the lack of good footing so far this morning.

With our big boots and sharp crampons on, we're ready to climb a snowy mountain in the Himalayas!  It's an amazing feeling and I'm almost levitating with excitement.  Over next couple of hours, I was completely energized and made really good progress up towards the summit.  It was a steep route and we had fixed lines for over a thousand feet, into which we attached our jumars (ascenders) to protect against a fall.  Almost to the summit, I took the photo below which shows the route as well as our high camp next to the lake and our base camp over 4,000 ft below.

 After 3 hours, 55 minutes of climbing, I reach the summit and am greeted by continued blue sky and light wind.  We have an amazing view of the Himalayas, including of course Mt. Everest which looms another 9,000 ft above.  

Standing on the summit of Lobuche East at almost 20,000 ft above sea level, I remembered having a little rubber Singer valve in the lid of my backpack.  Here's a shout out to everyone back home.  We're having a great time here but we still think of our family and friends back home.

The descent takes only an hour and a half and we're back to the tent by 10:40 am.  What a great day!  After our team gets back down to high camp, eats and drinks and rests a bit, we head down to the thicker air of base camp for dinner and a much needed sleep.

It's now Thursday the 13th and a tough day for me and Kriss.  I'm going back up to Everest base camp and Kriss is heading back down the Khumbu valley and home.  It'll take her three days to trek back down to Lukla.  Then hopefully she gets a quick flight to Kathmandu and then the long flights back home.

My goals for the next 24 hours are to get a shower, do some laundry and set up my single tent which will be my home for the next 4-5 weeks.

Namaste

Lobuche Base Camp to Everest Base Camp

On Friday the 7th, we left Lobuche base camp heading for Everest base camp.  This will give us a chance to acclimatize at over 17,000 ft before coming back down to climb Lobuche peak.  It was a good 6 hour trek with a couple thousand feet of elevation gain and we felt it.

Coming over a hill outside of Gorak Shep, we got our first good view of base camp.  It's a sprawling affair with teams from all over the world.  International Mountain Guides has a great spot and already there are 40 or more tents set up, including those for cooking, dining, etc.

Saturday the 8th was a rest and recovery day.  We had a chance to take a hot shower which was fantastic.  We also did some laundry and got organized.

Sunday the 9th was a great day.  We had a Puja ceremony in the morning with the entire team.  This is a blessing ceremony for our camp, gear and for a safe climbing season.  We had a lama present and the entire thing took over two hours with chanting, singing and dancing.  Everyone was in such a great mood afterwards and we could tell this was a very special day.

After the Puja, we had some lunch and then did some ice climbing and repelling.  It felt good to work the rust off our crampons and get on a rope.  We did some arm wrap repelling and traditional steep repelling after the climbs.

It's Monday the 10th and we're heading back down to Lobuche base camp to prepare for our climb.  Hopefully all will go according to plan.

Namaste

Pheriche to Lobuche Base Camp

On Tuesday the 4th, we left the frigid tea house in Lobuche heading for our base camp on Lobuche Peak. From now until sometime towards the middle or end of May, the Everest climbers will be living in tents. It's a funny thing to think about but personally I like sleeping in a tent and am looking forward to it.

As we head further up the valley, we continue to climb above 14,000 ft towards our destination. We're in a wide glacial valley with a meandering river running through it and surrounded by majestic Himalayan mountains. It's truly a stunning view and we soak it in for miles. Chola peak is on our left and Lobuche rises in front and slightly to the right.

About half way to Lobuche base camp, we stop at a tea house in the small village of Thukla. It's a nice place to rest, have some tea and a few snacks and talk about the day. The weather has been spectacular for us every day! Blue sky dominates our treks and eventually gives way to the clouds rising up the valley by mid afternoon. It's a welcome pattern and we hope it holds at least until the Lobuche climb is finished and Kriss has made the return trek back to Lukla.

Another hour or so down the trail we get our first view of Lobuche base camp. It sits in a nice level amphitheater on the flank of Lobuche Peak and looks like a great place to spend a few night acclimatizing at about 15,800 ft. Look closely for some small yellow tents tucked way down against the mountain.

We arrive in camp, get our tent assignments and proceed to move in. The Eureka tents are really quite nice and already I'm considering the roominess and organizational benefits of their design versus the weight of hauling one around Colorado on my back. I guess we'll see how I feel after living in one for 45 days.

Base camp is well organized with a large cooking tent, two dining tents (the dome is our favorite), two toilet tents and all of the sleeping tents with two people in each. It's comfortable and the IMG Sherpa cooks do a great job of keeping us well fed.

On Wednesday, we take a hike up to Lobuche high camp which sits another 1,300 feet or so directly above base camp. It's a chance for us to take a good look at the climbing route and gain some additional acclimatization at roughly 17,000 ft.

The route goes around the left side of the lake and traverses up the natural line to the right all the way to the ridge. We then follow the ridge up to snow line, put our crampons on and continue along the ridge heading away and left until we get to the cleft between the east and west summits. Our high point will be about 20,000 ft and we should have some amazing views from up there!

Thursday is what we call an active rest day. We take an easy hike to a small nearby village called Zonglha. It's a chance to blow off steam, gain access to wifi (yes, it's pretty amazing and reliable during the climbing/treking season) and have some tea. Our excursion only lasts a few leisurely hours and we're back in camp for lunch.

Tomorrow we head to Everest Base Camp!

Namaste

Phortse-Pengboche-Pheriche

Saturday and Sunday, April 1st and 2nd

The next two days of trekking bring us further up the Khumbu Valley.  We're making steady progress as we move closer to Everest Base Camp.  After living at the 11,000-12,000 ft elevation range, we're now moving up to 14,000 ft in two days.  Slow steady progress every day keeps us all healthy and feeling good.  Kriss and I are doing great!

Pengboche is the home of the oldest monastery in Nepal.  Once we get settled into town and had some lunch, we head up to pay our respects to Lama Geshe.  This Buddhist Lama is well into his 80's and the story we were told is he accompanied the Dalai Lama when he fled Tibet to Bhutan decades ago.  It's traditional with IMG to visit Lama Geshe before heading further up the valley to climb.  

Each person brings an offering and a Kata (silk scarf) to present to the Lama after which he receives the offering, places the kata over the person's head and ties a colored string around their neck all while giving a blessing for good health and safety.  Once everyone has received their blessing, we drink tea and share some prayers as a group.  It's a very moving experience and an extremely important part of our trek for the Sherpa people. 

All along the trail, we encounter pack yaks and most of them are heading back down the valley to pick up another load.  Before we see these beasts of burden, we can hear the gentle sound of their bells as they approach.  As with the horses and mules down valley, these animals are big and have the right of way.  They also have horns that would put an end to anyone's trip if they were on the receiving end.  Here's a great shot of a yak train with Ama Dablam in the background.

During our trek up the valley from Pengboche to Pheriche, we approached, walked beside and passed the entire massif of Ama Dablam.  It's really an amazingly beautiful mountain and would be an honor to climb it successfully.  In many places along the trail we would pass Buddhist prayer tablets and stupas or other monuments.  Out of respect, we follow the tradition of passing these places on the left.  

The last stretch into Pheriche brought us up high over a pass then we descended to the river and into town.  It wasn't a real big day but the consecutive days are work and we continue to ascend to higher elevations.  Pheriche is at about 14,000 ft and we can feel it.  This is the first time we get a view of Lobuche Peak which is the high mountain directly above our heads in the photo below.  We will be climbing this mountain in a week after days of acclimatization at Lobuche and Everest base camps.  It's big for sure but climbable, and we find out that two teams have already been up there this season. 

Namaste