We are off

So this is it the culmination of seven and a half weeks of preparation here in Nepal and countless hours in the gym, cycling and out on the hill before then.

We are planning to move up to Camp Two tomorrow at 1.00 am followed by a rest day. Subject to the weather holding we would then move up to Camp Three on Friday, Camp Four on the South Col on Saturday with a summit bid on Sunday. At least all you insomniacs could follow our progress over Saturday night! I should add though that this is subject to the weather and the rope fixing taking place on the 18th. Am I nervous? You bet, not just from the point of view the danger but also how will I perform above Camp Three. I really don't want a repeat performance of what happened on the North side two years ago. Yes the mountain will still be there next year but I won't be! Thankfully I've not got a bad cough and I should be Hepatitis E free. Hopefully I can just continue to put one foot in front of another. I'm still not thinking about summit day as a lot can happen weather wise over the next five days. So mentally I've broken it down into 8 hours to Camp Two, 7 or 8 hours to Camp Three, 7 hours to Camp Four then14-18 hours return trip to the summit and back. There that doesn't sound quite so bad does it!
We are all packing now, checking gear, replacing batteries and trying to reduce as much weight as possible. Somehow I don't think I'll be getting much sleep before we set off this evening!