Potential Delays

We all had our 'half term reports' yesterday afternoon and I'm pleased to report that David thinks that if we keep going as we are, stay healthy and get the right weather break all of us should summit which is excellent news.

So our afternoon elation was then tempered by the news, after dinner, that there are potential delays ahead.

Whilst it's the high winds higher up that have delayed our departure by a day. The winds are due to abate on Friday which is when we plan to go to Camp Three and sleep overnight. The problem is the winds have prevented the Sherpas from erecting the tents up there. The current plan is that they'll do that on the Friday as well (they'll be much quicker than us).

There is however a larger problem that needs to be sorted out in the next few days.

The Lhotse face is particularly icy this year and there are a lot of stones and rocks either on or just underneath the surface. Consequently there is an increased risk of rock and stone fall and hence injury.

The position of the current fixed rope up to Camp Three is close to a natural funnel (think inverted) making the lower section apparently quite dangerous.

The big six teams (of which JG are one) and their Sherpas are currently discussing the best way forward. Options include moving the fixed ropes 100m to the right but this would then be over substantially steeper terrain (several vertical sections). The Sherpas are not keen on this as it makes the route much harder for them and their load carrying. Another option is to stop all climbing above Camp Two for a day whilst a group of Sherpas go up the existing route but spaced out horizontally to dislodge the stones and rocks.

Unlike crossing the Grand Couloir on the way up to the Goutier Hut on Mont Blanc you only have to dodge any rockfall for 45-60 seconds as you travel across the couloir. Here we are going to be underneath potential stonefall for 3-5 hours!

Neither option is perfect but these delays, even of a couple of days, mean that a summit bid of mid May has slipped away and we are now probably looking at 20-25 May. Frustrating for us as this will inevitably lead to more people attempting the summit on any given day and potential delays on bottlenecks such as the Hilary Step.

As David said 'it's a complicated mountain'.

What with the unstable icefall, the 2012 season looks like it has the potential to be memorable for all the wrong reasons.

Needless to say the team are rather subdued today and I can't even think of anything humorous to end on.

Next post hopefully from Camp Two tommorrow.

Actually I've just thought of something to brighten up the day for all you male readers!

My favourite Albert Einstein quote:

Some men spend a lifetime in an attempt to comprehend the complexities of women. Others preoccupy themselves with simpler tasks such as understanding the theory of relativity.