Escape to Namche

For the last couple of days, the feeling in base camp has been sour.  Each weather forecast brought consecutively worse conditions for the upper mountain.  Wind is the culprit and the velocities are gradually increasing to over 50 mph.  Anything above 15 or 20 mph continuous is out of the question for climbing due to the increased risk of frostbite or worse.

The climbing route is fixed only to the balcony and the Sherpa fixing team is back at base camp with everyone else.  Nothing is progressing on the mountain and no relief is in sight.  A few of us have been discussing a departure from base camp to break up the monotony.  I've been to Gorak Shep and back twice this week and am still bored as hell.  

On the morning of the 12th, Greg brought news that the high winds are expected to continue to the 17th & 18th which is as far as the forecast goes.  It's at that moment I decide to head down to Namche along with a few teammates.  It's a drop of 6,000 ft to 11,300 or so and our rationale is that we'll rest more, eat better, put on some weight and improve our mental state with a few nights down valley.

It's a two-day hike down to Namche or a 15 minute helicopter ride.  Wanting to maximize our bodies' recovery, we chose to fly.  I was lucky enough to sit in front and what an amazing ride it was.  We were barely 100 ft from the treetops ripping down the valley like a special forces unit ready for insertion into enemy territory.

Stepping off the helicopter, it felt like we were arriving at a tropical destination.  The air was warm, thick and smelled like living things.  We sensed trees, grass, animals, food and human existence.  The positive feeling we all had was immediate, like having a warm blanket put over your shoulders.  The coughing stopped and within less than an hour, we were all hungry.  In fact I was starving.  It felt great to have my appetite back in full force.  Over the next few days, I would eat 4-5 meals a day and barely keep up with the metabolism.

Namche has a much different feeling now than it did when we first arrived about 6 weeks ago.  The trekking season is winding down and will be essentially finished on the day of the Everest Marathon held on the 29th of May.  The low key vibe fits perfectly with our goals for the next few days.  Restaurants and coffee shops are quiet and the owners, being happy for the business, don't care if you hang around and use their wifi.

My favorite place to relax is the Hermann Bakery which serves a great coffee and some ridiculously delicious food.  It's a good thing I'm not worried about calories at this point!  Sitting here on the upper level patio (Saturday the 13th) I can hear a crew of stone masons working hard on a construction site in the center of town.  Dozens of hammers connecting with dozens of chisels to form stones and ultimately create a building.  This is a site where an existing building collapsed during the earthquake of 2015 and provides a reminder that the reconstruction in Nepal is far from over.  In fact, the Khumbu valley is the wealthiest valley in Nepal and reconstruction is much further along than most other areas affected by the earthquake.  Reports we've heard are that some villagers in neighboring valleys are still living in tents and temporary structures.

Today is Sunday the 14th and I decided to take a long hike.  Heading up and past the helicopter pad, my goal is the town of Thamo and if the weather holds, maybe all the way to Thame, the home of Tenzing Norgay (first Sherpa to summit Everest).  This is a different valley than we trekked in before (Thame valley) and it has a more traditional Sherpa feeling.  I only see a handful of trekkers on the trail.  Most of the traffic is locals going about their business.  The villages are not as commercialized as the ones in the Khumbu valley so it's easier to get a sense of how the locals live.

The trail runs through a forest full of cedars and flowering rhododendrons.  It feels great to be walking again and my pace picks up as the old legs get warm.  Along the trail, the Buddhist influence can be seen everywhere as can the effects of the 2015 earthquake.

The quiet villages have such a peaceful and religious feel, it's almost like the entire valley is a big monastery.  

Approaching the village of Thamo, is a Buddhist Kani (entrance gate) that's being rebuilt since the earthquake.  As the sign reads, the structure is complete but the elaborate interior painting is still ongoing.  Imagine the effort required to paint 108 Buddha images on the ceiling and walls of this small building.

As I enter the village, the trail is split by a long line of mani (prayer) stones inscribed with the Tibetan Buddhist mantra Om Mani Padme Hum.  It's common to find stones like this stacked along the trails both in town and at prominent points or near Stupas.  This mantra is also inscribed on the prayer flags strung throughout the region.  

More Buddhist decorations are visible while entering town, like this prayer wall.

Climbing up the hill a bit, I see what looks to be a monastery decorated in yellow and maroon with gold trim.

Deciding to check it out, I continue up and into the courtyard of the monastery.  Turning the corner, I have a bit of an Indiana Jones moment.  The temple entrance is lavishly decorated, way beyond what I was expecting.

The nuns were friendly and I spent about 45 minutes talking with them, looking inside the temple and purchasing a few small items.  Further up the valley, the trail is quiet and eventually drops down to the glacier fed river.  Since the sky was starting to get darker, I decided to turn around and head back to Namche.  It's funny how the same path can look different depending on the direction traveled.  Here are a couple interesting photos from the other direction:

By early afternoon I was back in Namche and passing by the monastery there.

What a fantastic hike!  Sometimes it's nice to have one's own company for a day and not have to worry about coordinating with the interests of others.  Back at the Khumbu Lodge, our team gathered for dinner and to recount stories of our day.  Each of us accomplished our goals and were happy to be together again for a nice meal.

Let's see what tomorrow brings......

Namaste

IMG Everest Base Camp Tour

Since there's no climbing in our immediate future, I thought it may be interesting to share more details related to our base camp.  After being here for a while, I realize that we've got quite a spread.  Here's the big picture look from the expedition leader's communications tent.

Greg Vernovage is our expedition leader.  He shares the big tent on the hill with Ang Jangbu, our Sherpa leader.  The front of their tent houses all of the communications equipment, computers, radios, etc. required for keeping tabs on all of the climbers, the weather and the outside world.

Besides hanging out in our individual tents, we spend quite a bit of time in the dining tent.  Meals are a good time for us to get together, pick on each other and generally mess around.  We usually hang around well past the end of the meal telling stories, getting weather updates and discussing the next phase of our climb.

Across from the dining tent is the cook tent.  Khagi Sherpa is the head cook and does an amazing job considering his available supplies.  It's a continuous challenge to eat enough calories to compensate for keeping warm all day besides normal body functions.  This situation is further complicated by a general lack of appetite when living at high elevations.  On climbing days, it's impossible to eat enough and the body consumes itself.  Most of us have lost 10% of our body weight by now and some even more.

On most evenings, we have "movie night".  Moe has a long list of movies on his computer and IMG has supplied a projector for the purpose.  This activity takes place in the charging tent which is an heavy duty army surplus tent equipped with a solar powered battery and inverter system with backup generator.  This is where we can charge our electronics, boot heaters, etc. as well as getting together in the evenings.  The movie provides a couple hours of escapism where we can forget our surroundings and enjoy simple entertainment.

Upon returning from a rotation on the mountain, most of us feel tired, hungry and generally dirty.  The first order of business is often taking care of the later with a warm shower.  The mental restorative benefits from getting clean right away are pretty amazing.  It's a quick way to improve your mood after descending through the Khumbu Icefall.  

After the shower and probably a snack or meal is laundry time.  As previously described, this is a manual process using a 5 gallon bucket, plastic plunger and hand wringer.  It feels pretty archaic but the result is a pile of clean clothes which also improves the mood and the smell of one's tent.

The last facility of note is our restroom.  Really, it's an impressive stone throne with a comfortable seat and sheltered by a nylon tent.  What more could an intrepid climber ask for?  It's actually quite posh when compared to the higher camps, especially the previously described perilous setup at camp 3.

Hopefully those descriptions help give you a feel for our home away from home.

Namaste

Resting and Waiting

Starting on Sunday the 7th, our team is in rest and recuperate mode.  We've been through this routine before but that doesn't make it easier.  The first day or two isn't bad because we're actually pretty beat up internally (malnourished, dehydrated and plain old tired).  After that, we just want to get back up on the mountain and finish this thing.

Having a shower Saturday was the first order of business after getting a bite to eat.  It's a real luxury that we appreciate considering the water is from a nearby melting glacier, pumped with solar power and the heating is accomplished via propane tanks that were carried all the way up here from Lukla along the same route we trekked.

Sunday was pretty low key.  The morning was nice and sunny which was perfect for doing laundry.  I had accumulated a nice pile from the last rest day week plus the camp 3 rotation.  This means it took an extra cup of coffee to get me motivated to get it done.  It's a manual process as you've seen previously and took a solid half hour of labor to finish.  All of the clothes just fit on my tent by using the tent clothes line as before and draping some items on the roof.  Then it snowed.

Well, maybe the new snow soak and freeze cycle will help improve freshness.

Later in the day, IMG guide Dallas Glass held an impromptu anchor building class in the dining tent.  Since my interest in ice climbing has increased over the past couple of years, I decided to join in.  Besides, it was either that or head back to the tent and sleeping bag which I wasn't ready to do.

Monday the 8th was my mom's birthday so first order of business after breakfast was to send a happy birthday email.  Feeling fairly well-rested and mostly stir crazy already, Pat and I went for a hike down to Gorak Shep.  This is the closest "town" to base camp and about an hour walk away.  It's basically a chance for a change of scenery, get a snack and drink at a tea house and make a phone call back home.  The day started off very cloudy and by the time we reached town, it was snowing heavily.

We stayed at the tea house for almost an hour before heading back to base camp.  Staying any longer would most certainly cost us our lunch and we knew the heavy snow would make the normally mindless trail somewhat treacherous.  Along the route, we came upon a Sherpa porter taking a rest break at a memorial site for a fallen climber.

Reaching base camp after an hour and a half of careful "don't sprain an ankle" walking, we were struck by how beautiful all the prayer flags looked against a backdrop of fresh snow.

The scene back at my tent was also quite nice.  Fresh snow combined with the gray afternoon light gave contrast to the landscape.  Behind my tent you can see the west shoulder of Mt Everest and the Khumbu Icefall.  It's a view I'll never get tired of and will most surely miss when I'm gone.  Thankfully the ground and air temperature wasn't too cold so we only had an inch or so of accumulation in most places.  Just enough to pretty our world up a bit.

Tuesday was a lazy day.  More clouds, some snow and only a touch of sunshine in the afternoon made everyone want to rest in their tents including me.  Reading, listening to music and napping were the order of business.

Today is Wednesday the 10th.  We've been here in base camp since returning from camp 2 on Saturday morning at 9:00 or so.  It's safe to say that all of us want to get back to climbing.  The next push is to the summit and will take 6 days start to finish.  Unfortunately the winds and weather have not been cooperating.  The field lines are in place up to the balcony but it's still a long way from there to the summit.  Our Sherpa fixing team had to come all the way back to base camp yesterday so we're now trapped in a waiting game.  We may leave in a day or two or it may be four.  At this point, we really don't know.  Whatever the schedule is, you can be sure that safety for all of us is paramount in the decision making process.

This morning we said goodbye to one of our teammates.  Kriss and I climbed Vinson Massif in Antarctica with Mathieu a couple of years ago.  Unfortunately summiting Everest is not in the cards for him this year.  It's a continuous challenge to keep your body strong and healthy for so long.  Ironically, the summit push is where you need the most strength of the entire expedition and it occurs when you are the weakest and most strung out.  Ah, the paradox of climbing big mountains.

 

More news on our schedule to come....

Namaste

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

Still Waiting for Camp 3 Rotation

Well, we were supposed to leave for our camp 3 rotation at 2am on Saturday the 29th.  High winds above camp 2 have delayed our departure so we wait, rest and go a little crazy.  It's hard to remain focused on the hard work ahead when schedules are dependent on weather, but that's mountaineering and we've all experienced similar situations on other climbs.

With lots of time on our hands, a few of us went exploring on Saturday.  Some time ago, Everest base camp was located east of the current location closer to Nuptse and on the other side of the Khumbu glacier.  We decided to go treasure hunting along the old route and camp to see what we could find.  It took some creative orienteering to find a suitable path through the glacier since we didn't bring our climbing gear with us.

Once on the other side, we were completely separated from the noise and activity of base camp.  We headed north towards the icefall, walking spread out in search of ancient climbing relics.  Mostly what we found was junk and beat up camping equipment.  I did come across an old Sherpa porter's pack basket sitting on the medial moraine of the glacier.

The real treasures were the ice sculptures formed by the weather and sun.  As the glacier travels downhill driven by the persistent forces of gravity, it scours the mountains and picks up rocks, gravel, etc.  This material can travel within the glacial ice for thousands of years until it becomes exposed by the weather.  While walking along the east side of the glacier, we saw some really interesting formations of rock and ice.  It was fun to think about how old the ice was and how far it carried those rocks along its journey from Mt. Everest and the Western Cwm.

We also found a beautiful section of overhanging ice within the main body of the glacier.  For obvious reasons, ice rarely exists in naturally overhanging formations.  This feature appears to have been created by melting action of the morning sun on the lower and middle portion of the glacier.  What an amazing opportunity if only I had my ice climbing gear and of course the skills required to successfully top out on this ridiculously difficult test piece.

After a couple hours of exploring, we found a break in the glacial ice towers which offered a view of the northern part of base camp.  Cutting through brought us to the main trail which leads from the icefall still to our north back to our base camp further safe.  While we didn't find any priceless treasures during this adventure, it helped us forget about the boredom of hanging around waiting for the wind to die down at camp 3.

While resting after our earlier explorations, I was awakened by my Sherpa partner Fura.  What a great surprise!  My friend Kelly from Colorado just arrived at base camp after trekking up the Khumbu valley.  He remembered I was climbing with IMG and found our camp right away.  We had hoped to connect here in Nepal but knew the chances were 50-50 depending on his schedule and our climbing rotations.  It was a real treat to spend an hour catching up with a friend from home.

The monotony of waiting was broken again on Sunday by a work assignment.  The nearby helipad was of course built on part of the same glacier we're camping on and over the past month has been melting.  About 40 Sherpa and 30 westerners worked together moving large & small rocks and gravel to build up and even out the helipad.  It was an hour or so of hard work but we really had a good time.  The Sherpa guys are so fun and their energy is contagious. 

IMG has some better photos of this effort and our group photo after we finished.  just go to mountainguides.com and look for their Everest blog.

Today is Monday and we were encouraged to rest for most of the day.  If all goes according to plan, we will be leaving at 2am Tuesday for our camp 2 & 3 rotation.  Keep your fingers crossed that our plan holds and that we have a safe and successful climb up the Lhotse face to camp 3 at over 24,000 ft.

Namaste