Camp 3 Rotation

After all of the waiting and anticipation, we finally left on Tuesday May 2nd at 2:00 am. The plan is to go all the way to camp 2 today and then take a full rest day before heading up the Lhotse Face.  I made it to football field in 2 hours, first in the group and feeling great. Moe is right behind me with Pat right behind him.  The three of us have been climbing strong so far and that pattern will continue throughout the rotation.  This day, there are also a ton of Sherpa porters moving loads up the mountain.  

Almost immediately upon reaching the football field, we hear the icefall is damaged a short distance above us.  After some discussion, Dallas (IMG Guide) Karma Rita (Sherpa guide legend) and another Sherpa guide went up to attempt a fix. 2-1/2 hours of waiting in the cold and we're moving again. The first route fix looked like this:

The climbing lasted 20 minutes until we hit the next damaged section. This repair caused another 2-1/2 hour delay but they worked really hard and got it done. It was a very sketchy repair with a trip down into a big crevasse and back up a dicey rope and ladder affair.  

There were 40 or so of us, all knotted together and we were definitely happy to get through this section and to the top of the icefall.  We were all also very appreciative of the route fixing work those three men plus Fura and a few others performed which saved us a return trip to base camp and an additional one or two day delay of our rotation.

What should have been less than a three hour climb to camp 1 actually took close to 8 hours.  It's all part of climbing through a dynamic environment but the consequences to us climbers were many.  First, we burned a considerable amount of calories just staying warm while standing around for 5 hours.  Second, we lost significant hydration for the same reason.  Third, we reached camp 1 at 10:00 am in full sun.  The Western Cwm is an oven between 9:00 and 3:00 if the sun is out, and travel between camps is discouraged.

Each one of us had the choice of continuing to camp 2 in the sun or waiting it out at camp 1 until 2:00 or 3:00pm and then moving up when temps were cooler.  The group made a split decision and I joined those who continued to camp 2.  While I was happy at 2:10pm to have my booots off and a day and a half of rest in front of me, the effort required to climb through the oven was a questionable trade off.  I knew that hydration was my primary responsibility for the rest of the day.

Not much had changed since the last time we were in camp 2 a week ago. One of the most notable things was the size of the oxygen bottle cache.  These bottles will continue their journey up to camps 3 & 4 and the Balcony over the next two weeks.

Wednesday May 3rd was a rest day and I did very little while trying to recuperate after Tuesday. There are a few of us with mild GI issues that we're tying to get under control.  The body sure does strange things with long-term exposure to high elevations.  There has been significant wind up high and we're hoping it will die down tonight before we start climbing. In the photo below, you can see a plume rising off the entire massif of Lhotse and trailing up and away from us.  This means the wind is slamming squarely into the Lhotse face and our camp 3.

Thursday the 4th and we're heading up the Lhotse face for the first time to camp 3. I wore my summit suit to dinner last night just for fun and to get used to it.  Our plan is to be up at 3:00am and walking at 4:00am.  Somehow I'm fairly speedy and am first out of camp just before 4:00 with Fura. Moe, Pat and James are right behind and after a little while I let them pass. Those guys move steadily and we pretty much spend the day lined up like that. Moe and Pat pull into Camp 3  after 5 hrs 15 min and I'm right behind superman James at 5 hrs 45 min. James has been here once already because of the special no O2 (oxygen) regimen he's on. It's a new high point for me at close to 24,000 ft.

The Lhotse face is very steep and mostly hard blue ice.  Below is a photo taken from the edge of our camp 3 looking back down the face at climbers still ascending.  

Above our camp 3, the grade lessens a bit and then traverses to climber's left and the Yellow Band.  The photo below shows our camp 3 with the route above.  Note how many aluminum picket anchors have been pounded into the ice to hold our tents in place.  

Camp 3 is a hazardous place literally chopped into the ice. One slip and a person could go all the way down. Moe, Pat and I share a tent. It's warmer with three bodies and arriving at camp after Moe and Pat I got the middle. Super cozy. We rest all day and night but nobody gets any real sleep. Below are my tent mates, Pat first then Moe.

Everyone asks about restroom facilities at the various camps.  At camp 3, we have a hole chopped into the ice at the edge of camp, places for your feet on either side and two safety ropes to hold onto in front.  If you look behind you, there's a good 2,000 ft of steep ice at a 60-70 degree angle until the bergschrund and start of the Western Cwm.  My guts are still rumbling and I get two shots at using the safety rope handled toilet. Imagine getting the summit suit trap door unzipped, dealing with pants underneath and a couple of other layers, then keeping all this stuff out of the way while you hang on to ropes with your naked butt exposed to the elements and then "relaxing" to do your business.  No photos available but just imagine the comedy. 

Friday May 5th, we're up at 5:00am and walking at 6:00am happy to be heading down to the thicker air and comforts of camp 2.  Most of our climbing Sherpa partners went back down to camp 2 yesterday and came back up again this morning. Those guys are amazingly strong climbers and truly the heros of the expedition. It wasn't long though before Fura and I blew everyone's doors off. Damn, looking down the blue ice of the Lhotse face first thing in the morning is a good way to wake up. No warmup today, just right into repelling. The last repel of the day was off the bergschrund.

 

Once we were down on the Cwm again, it was an easy downhill walk to camp 2.

We made great time and hit camp after only two hours from the top. The thicker air feels good although many of us have a little cough now from the dry air. The rest of the day is consumed by eating, drinking and resting.  Sleep comes easily after dinner as our bodies absorb the nutrition and oxygen they need.  Camp 3 is basically at the entrance to the death zone where each of us begins to deteriorate.  Breathing oxygen on the next rotation will adjust this threshold about 3,000 ft.

On Saturday we head back down to base camp which will feel more like sea level.  It'll be nice to have the comfort and privacy of our own tent again.  On the way, we pass a group of "icefall doctors" whose job it is to maintain the ever changing icefall route.

One of the tasks they accomplished was to improve our two ladder, two rope ice climbing affair with a nice four section ladder.  While not as sporty as the IMG solution, it's definitely safer and we appreciate their efforts.

Namaste