So we've reached the very end of the journey and it's time to goodbye!
I'll leave the blog up for a couple of months and also do some kit reviews as well as a comparison of the north and south routes.
This next section is a bit dull but it's only polite to thank those who have helped me achieve my dream! You never know but if you read it you might just spot your name.
Firstly thanks to Caroline, my long suffering wife, who even when I'm away is still the butt of so many of my jokes! We could have done a hundred and one other things with the money I've spent on climbing Everest and I am so very grateful that she likes the simple things in life ie me! Any way what's wrong with a Skoda.
To Henrietta for doing all of the hard work keeping the blog up to date as well as her amusing emails to me. To Victoria for her love and regular contact too. They'll never realise how much I looked forward to receiving their emails.
Thanks to the rest of my immediate family even though most of them thought me mad to try a second time. (It's ok I had my doubts as well).
To those who helped train with me and spur me on : Nick Helliar, Saxon Ridley, Stephen Straughan, Jeremy Savage, Philip Arundale (best fruit and veg in North Wales!), Sally & Mike Leach (Sally you know in your heart of hearts I let you beat me back to car!!).
To Jagged Globe and in particular David Hamilton for making the trip so enjoyable, safe and successful.
To all of you who kindly made a donation for my two chosen charities. I am very grateful. We're only about halfway towards the target so if you've overlooked it please have a look now!
To all of you who kindly offered your support and sent good wishes.
To the Dartmoor Rescue Group - Ashburton section for excusing me from training.
Finally, the biggest THANK YOU goes to you the reader (of which there were over two thousand by the end!). I sadly don't know who most of you are but I do hope you have enjoyed reading about my exploits as much as I have writing about them (please note that for those of you from abroad I'm very happy to come and show you my pictures in return for free accommodation for me and my family!).
As the comedian Dave Allen used to say:
'Whoever your God is, may your God go with you. God Bless'
Best wishes
Ian
Ps if your name wasn't mentioned please try and make it from the following word whilst thinking of Julie Andrews leaping around in the Austrian mountains. Good luck!
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious -
Just saying it should put a smile on your face!
Showing posts with label Mount Everest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mount Everest. Show all posts
Sunday, 3 June 2012
Saturday, 2 June 2012
So what's really next?
Well I'm home for 10 days before I lead a Three Peaks Challenge on behalf of the Intensive Care Foundation on the 12/13 June, then it's up to Yorkshire to help marshall the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge on the longest day. Can't help feeling Caroline might be getting a few nights away with me (under canvas of course - I'm not being paid that much!)
After that in early July I'm off leading a World Challenge school trip with Churcher's School from Petersfield to, believe it or not, Nepal to do the Annapurna circuit followed by a community project in Kathmandu followed by two weeks sight seeing in Northern India. At the end of September I might be leading a trip to Kilimanjaro on behalf of the Intensive Care Foundation subject to enough people having signed up. (If you're interested get in contact as soon as possible). Finally at the end of November I'm off to Nicuagura and Costa Rica for a month, again with World Challenge.
Obviously outside of those dates I'm available for any of the courses that I run!
I've already been asked to give to two talks about my adventures, one of which is up in London. So if you know any organisations who might enjoy hearing about my exploits or who might benefit from a motivational talk with plenty of humour please get in contact! I'm also very happy to give talks to schools.
For those in and around the Exeter area I really do intend this time to give an evening talk at some stage in the Autumn subject to finding the right venue. So please watch this space.
Obviously outside of those dates I'm available for any of the courses that I run!
I've already been asked to give to two talks about my adventures, one of which is up in London. So if you know any organisations who might enjoy hearing about my exploits or who might benefit from a motivational talk with plenty of humour please get in contact! I'm also very happy to give talks to schools.
For those in and around the Exeter area I really do intend this time to give an evening talk at some stage in the Autumn subject to finding the right venue. So please watch this space.
The picture is of The Garden Of Dreams on the outskirts of Thamel in Kathmandu. I can thoroughly recommend it as an oasis away from the city's hustle and bustle if ever you visit.
Last entry tomorrow! Have a guess at the title?
Last entry tomorrow! Have a guess at the title?
Friday, 1 June 2012
So what's next?
Well some people have been far too generous and have said I should write a book about the trip. I suspect it would only appear as a freebie for Kindle owners or for wrapping up fish and chips!
Can you beleive that some of the team members have said I should be a stand up comedian (they can't get out much), to which I replied ' I already was standing up!'.
Which reminds me: why do women get married in white? to match the kitchen appliances! Boom boom. Ok I'll stick to the day job.
I've been as open with you as I have felt possible (some might say to open at times!) throughout the 10 weeks however there are some things that I have omitted.
Firstly if you are considering climbing any mountain over 8000m there is a strong possibility of risking your life or health, not just with AMS, HAPE etc but also snow blindness, frostbite or retinal haemorrhaging to name but a few.
Very few people know that I had three bleeds in both my retinas following my 2010 trip (sorry Dad as this is the first you will have heard about this). I put them down to my severe coughing. Well perhaps unsurprisingly I'm fairly sure it has happened again this time.
On my last trip down to Gorak Shep about three weeks ago the sight in my left eye became very slightly blurded in part of my field of vision. Thankfully this rectified itself the following day. I also had a piercing headache like pain directly behind my right eye shortly after this which took three days to subside. Every time I coughed it felt as if my eye was rattling around in it's socket. It was so painful I thought I would have to go and see the HRA doctors, who I was convinced would send me down to Kathmandu and end my attempt. The pain started up in Camp Two so I was really relieved when our first summit bid was aborted and we returned to base. I'm pleased to say that everything seems to have settled down now as I've had no similar symptoms since then.
On any long expedition you're bound to have good and bad days and you've got to be strong enough to overcome those days of self doubt etc by yourself.
You will have read about the numbers of climbers on the route. David estimated that in the end around two hundred and fifty climbers probably summited which is a large number. It's hard to be accurate until all of the teams are back and have spoken with the Ministery of Tourism.
In terms of the total of number of ascents from the UK after this season it will probably be around 450 people which out of a population of 60 million is a very small fraction.
So that's it for today. Only two more days and hence posts to go!
Can you beleive that some of the team members have said I should be a stand up comedian (they can't get out much), to which I replied ' I already was standing up!'.
Which reminds me: why do women get married in white? to match the kitchen appliances! Boom boom. Ok I'll stick to the day job.
I've been as open with you as I have felt possible (some might say to open at times!) throughout the 10 weeks however there are some things that I have omitted.
Firstly if you are considering climbing any mountain over 8000m there is a strong possibility of risking your life or health, not just with AMS, HAPE etc but also snow blindness, frostbite or retinal haemorrhaging to name but a few.
Very few people know that I had three bleeds in both my retinas following my 2010 trip (sorry Dad as this is the first you will have heard about this). I put them down to my severe coughing. Well perhaps unsurprisingly I'm fairly sure it has happened again this time.
On my last trip down to Gorak Shep about three weeks ago the sight in my left eye became very slightly blurded in part of my field of vision. Thankfully this rectified itself the following day. I also had a piercing headache like pain directly behind my right eye shortly after this which took three days to subside. Every time I coughed it felt as if my eye was rattling around in it's socket. It was so painful I thought I would have to go and see the HRA doctors, who I was convinced would send me down to Kathmandu and end my attempt. The pain started up in Camp Two so I was really relieved when our first summit bid was aborted and we returned to base. I'm pleased to say that everything seems to have settled down now as I've had no similar symptoms since then.
On any long expedition you're bound to have good and bad days and you've got to be strong enough to overcome those days of self doubt etc by yourself.
You will have read about the numbers of climbers on the route. David estimated that in the end around two hundred and fifty climbers probably summited which is a large number. It's hard to be accurate until all of the teams are back and have spoken with the Ministery of Tourism.
In terms of the total of number of ascents from the UK after this season it will probably be around 450 people which out of a population of 60 million is a very small fraction.
So that's it for today. Only two more days and hence posts to go!
Thursday, 31 May 2012
Summit bid - 37 hours without sleep!
I'm sorry but as this covers almost two days it is quite long so grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea and a biscuit or two!
Departure from Camp Three 24th May
We had agreed a set off time of 6.30am the previous evening and were given a new oxygen cylinder that we were told should last 7.5/8 hours at a two litre per minute flow rate. Unbeknown to us the sherpa's had set it at 1.5 per minute which with hind sight gave us a margin for being slow.
On getting out of my tent I was horrified to see this queue of people stretching as far as the eye could see up the fixed ropes! We were not the only ones planning a summit on the 25th May. The earlier photo that I posted under ' an accident waiting happen' would have been just as apt!
We joined the queue and, ever so slowly it seemed to me, we began to inch our way up the rest of the Lhotse face.
So our best laid plans seemed to be in turmoil.
Well it's fair to say that this season has been one of the most difficult in recent years as there have only been two very narrow ( ie two/three day) weather windows coupled with Russell Brice's decision to withdraw entirely from the mountain which probably added a delay to fixing the ropes to the summit.
Consequently on our planned summit attempt of the 25th there were probably over a hundred people attempting to reach the top.
As we ascended the fixed ropes on the Lhotse face, David, Warner and I tried to overtake some of the slower moving climbers by ascending the 'down' rope but after about an hour we had only gained about ten places and so resigned ourselves to a slow but steady plod up the face to where the route traverses horizontally to the left across the Yellow Band.
Part of the route across the Yellow Band is almost vertical and scrabling for grip on the smooth rock with crampons was at times very difficult.
Beyond this there is a snowy couloir where the route for the summit of Lhotse branches off. Thankfully this seemed to significantly reduce the numbers on the route.
By now it was mid-morning and the sun was already high in the sky and baking down upon us. There was nothing to do but to put up with it - I certainly wasn't going to loose my position on the ropes.
Next came the Geneva Spur, another rock band that needed to be negotiated. Once over the top of this it was with great relief that one could see the South Col but not the tents yet. It wasn't long though after a fairly level traverse over rock that the tents came into view.
The south col is a really desolate place and very wind swept. Warner and I arrived there after about six and a half hours which was pretty good considering the numbers on the route and the fact that you can only go as fast as the person in front you.
I was sharing a tent with both David, and Nick, who arrived about an hour after me.
Shortly after arriving David got the weather forecast from Adam at BC and it wasn't good! Previously the forecast had indicated sub 15 mph winds but now within the space of less than 24 hours the forecast indicated winds speeds around 20/25 mph with gusts of 35-45 mph around dawn just as we would summitting! The forecast also suggested that by the following day the winds would subside again. So it was a gamble either go for the 25th and hope the winds might not be as forecast but knowing that there were just within the bounds of possibility. Or wait another day (without adequate food) and hope the forecast didn't change significantly again.
After much deliberation and seeing what the other teams were doing David decided to stick with the original plan and a scheduled departure time of 8.00pm that evening .
Nick and I then spent the next three hours just solidly trying to boil as much water as possible to try and rehydrate. It wasn't untill at round five pm that we tried to get some sleep. Well I suspect it was nerves but Nick and I got none!
At around seven pm Nick and I started preparing for the final leg of this trip of lifetime. Filling our flasks, getting some snacks together etc. So it was at just before 8.00pm that we set foot outside of our tent only to see a long line of headtorches illuminate the night sky high above us. I met up with Winma my sherpa who was very kindly going to carry my additional oxygen cylinders for me (2 bottles weighing 4kg each).
I had already lightened my pack as much as possible by relying on Pasang and David to carrry the essentials ie medical kit etc.
By the time we left we had now been up for 13 hours.
The South Col is fairly flat and rocky but this soon changes to an icy face that quickly steepens to an average of 45/60 degrees and it literally remains at this angle or steeper all the way to the South Summit. In fact it was the steepness that came as a surprise to me. I knew there was approximately 900m of ascent but hadn't appreciated that the route literally takes the most direct route, there's no zig zagging to lessen the angle.
Winma and I soon settled into a rythym and occasionally he'd unclip me from the rope to over take slower moving people. Whilst I could get by I would be gasping for breath for minutes afterwards. It might be easy for him but for me it was a Herculean effort. After the first couple of hours he dropped back behind me and just let me keep my place on the queue.
We soon came to a rock band that needed to be climbed. This was the sequence: move one foot up trying to find some purchase for your crampons, take a couple of breathes, slide the jumar up, take a couple of breathes, try and find some grip for the other foot and take another couple of breathes. This sequence was to be repeated over snow and rock for the next ten hours!!!
David had said that it was roughly five hours to the Balcony, which is a shoulder where the route then follows the ridge line, and then a further five hours to the top.
My watch was buried beneath several layers and I'd made the conscious descion not to look at it as I felt it might be demoralising if I wasn't within or around the five hours to balcony.
I just kept relentlessly plodding on up, my target was purely to keep up with the person in front - nothing more, nothing less.
It wasn't too long before we came across a body. It was somebody who had sadly died earlier in the month. Soon there was another, this time still clipped into the rope, so we had to respectfully unclip from the rope and give them a bit of space. In all we had to pass four bodies on our way up and down.
It sounds dreadful but I didn't give them much thought except how sad, all I could concentrate on was breathing and climbing. There was no spare capacity within me at the time for how and why, or what if. Everest is a dangerous place and whilst it's very easy for me to say it: you should always have some reserve capacity to get down back the mountain unassisted.
I couldn't tell you when exactly but after the balcony Winma changed my first oxygen cylinder.
Every time I looked up all I could see was a line of head torches stretching ever upwards, false summit after false summit came and went. It was as of I was on a continuous conveyor belt, as soon as I thought I was making progress my hopes were dashed by the sight of another line of headtorches high above.
Still unaware of the time, I thought to myself and hoped that I'd see the signs of dawn spreading from the East but nothing came, just darkness and the stars.
The wind was picking up now and my hands were getting cold despite having some thick down mitts on and some liner gloves. So I opened some chemical hand warmers I had in a chest pocket in my down suit and popped them inside the mitts. Because of the reduced oxygen pressure they were really ineffectual and hardly warmed up at all.
Not only were my hands cold, I'd not eaten or drunk anything since leaving the tent which I estimated was over seven hours ago! In my rucksack I had a litre of water (no doubt frozen by now) and a litre of sweet tea in a thermos, whilst in an inside chest pocket I had 500 ml of water.
However I didn't want to stop and loose my place on the rope. I also worried that if I stopped would I ever start again? The plod, plod rythym would be broken. Somehow I knew I had to keep moving. So every now and then I had a quick drink of the water from my chest pocket whilst the person in front was stationary but it was soon gone. The next drink I had was half way down when I drank my litre of tea at around 9.00am
So severly dehydrated and with leaden feet I just continued to put one foot in front of the other and slide the jumar up. I was just a robot functioning without thought. There was certainly no pleasure in this climb in fact quite the opposite. I kept thinking: its got to get light soon, please please let me see a glimmer of light, all the time my hands were getting colder and colder.
Every so often when I felt I was weakening I had to remind my self why I wanted to climb the mountain. Must keep going , don't stop I kept telling myself. I didn't want to let myself or my family down, or indeed any of you.
Finally yet imperceptibly at first, there was a very dim glow over to the East. At last dawn, I thought to myself. I immediately thought I'd soon be warm and perhaps my hands would be ok. I also thought that the time must be around 3.30 am, so I'd been going for roughly eight and a half hours without a break.
Surely it couldn't be much further to the south summit, I thought. Buoyed on by the ever increasing light, each false summit still crushed my spirit yet finally I could see another ridge coming out of the gloom slightly to the left. This must be the north west ridge that leads to the summit I thought. Surely the South summit can't be much higher!
The wind was increasing now quite dramatically and the gusts were enough to blow you off your feet if you weren't careful. Then suddenly I was suffocating! I couldn't breath though my mask. Pulling the mask away from my face to break the seal I gasped for breath. After I had got over the initial shock I checked the reservoir and saw that the bag was still inflated so oxygen was still available. The only other potential item it could be was the exhilation valve freezing. All I could do was to trying free the inner flap with my tongue!
I could have stopped and taken the mask off completely to try and solve the problem, however I thought it less hassle to carry on as I was. (In fact after I had summited and was descending the problem stopped as the wind was no longer blowing directly over the valve and causing rime ice to form).
Finally I reached the South Summit after about eight hours and whilst the north summit only looked a few hundred metres away it was going to take me another two hours to negotiate the ridge and infamous Hilary Step.
By now some groups had already summited and were returning along the very narrow ridge. It's difficult to describe but I would have thought a cross between the narrow sections of the Cuillin Ridge and Aonach Eagach ridges would be fair.
By now I was really tired and first couple of attempts of traversing some of the rock was embarrassingly pathetic , I just could not seem to get any purchase with my crampons. Any delay just saw people coming towards you as people returned. I could almost hear people behind me tutting. I thought I must get a grip of the situation. The climbing wasn't technically difficult (although there was a 4000m drop!), I was just exhausted. I had to dig deeper to find whatever physical reserves I had left!
Next came the Hilary Step, probably a grade 'Diff' climb of 4 m with a very 'thrutchy' move at the top. You literally had to straddle the top of the rock with one leg either side of a triangular pillar whilst clipped into one rope. Very ungainly but the consequences of falling would have been catastrophic!
Finally came a couple of snow slopes with false summits. David was on his way down by now and gave me a great big hand shake. It was just what I needed to make the final push. At last the TOP!!!!
Was I euphoric? Not at all, just relieved that after ten hours and forty minutes I didn't have to climb any higher!! After I'd caught my breath I spoke to Phil who was on the summit and took a couple of photos. The next thing was that the battery on my camera died. Whilst I had a spare battery on me my hands were numb and would have been incapable of changing it so I only have a few!
I looked all around and took in the view - did it really register? Partially. Yes it was amazing to literally be the highest person on the earth at that particular time and to physically see the curvature of the earth. Yet I knew I was only half way through the climb - it wasn't really over until I was back at the South Col.
The descent once I'd negotiated the ridge to the South Col was fairly straight forward, if ever so tiring, and took about six hours mainly using the 'Sherpa wrap'. My hands eventually warmed up with no I'll effects.
I got back to the South Col around lunchtime on Friday. I'd caught David up and Nick wasn't far behind me by the time I reached the tent.
Despite being so exhausted we deliberately spent the afternoon melting snow to try and rehydrate. It wasn't until the sun set around six thirty pm that we eventually went to sleep.
We had been awake for over 37 hours.
Taking into account the climb up to Camp Three we have been climbing/walking continuously for the last eight days. It's taken up until this morning (31/5/2012) for me to be properly rehydrated as indicated by the colour of my urine. Whilst I felt have physically more tired previously, mentally I've never been more challenged. I think it helps to be stubborn!!
Five of us reached the summit that day.
The deceased: it costs roughly $25000 to recover a body to base camp. This may be covered by insurance (unlikely) or the families have to pay. Consequeny most of the bodies are left either on route or cut free.
Departure from Camp Three 24th May
We had agreed a set off time of 6.30am the previous evening and were given a new oxygen cylinder that we were told should last 7.5/8 hours at a two litre per minute flow rate. Unbeknown to us the sherpa's had set it at 1.5 per minute which with hind sight gave us a margin for being slow.
On getting out of my tent I was horrified to see this queue of people stretching as far as the eye could see up the fixed ropes! We were not the only ones planning a summit on the 25th May. The earlier photo that I posted under ' an accident waiting happen' would have been just as apt!
We joined the queue and, ever so slowly it seemed to me, we began to inch our way up the rest of the Lhotse face.
So our best laid plans seemed to be in turmoil.
Well it's fair to say that this season has been one of the most difficult in recent years as there have only been two very narrow ( ie two/three day) weather windows coupled with Russell Brice's decision to withdraw entirely from the mountain which probably added a delay to fixing the ropes to the summit.
Consequently on our planned summit attempt of the 25th there were probably over a hundred people attempting to reach the top.
As we ascended the fixed ropes on the Lhotse face, David, Warner and I tried to overtake some of the slower moving climbers by ascending the 'down' rope but after about an hour we had only gained about ten places and so resigned ourselves to a slow but steady plod up the face to where the route traverses horizontally to the left across the Yellow Band.
Part of the route across the Yellow Band is almost vertical and scrabling for grip on the smooth rock with crampons was at times very difficult.
Beyond this there is a snowy couloir where the route for the summit of Lhotse branches off. Thankfully this seemed to significantly reduce the numbers on the route.
By now it was mid-morning and the sun was already high in the sky and baking down upon us. There was nothing to do but to put up with it - I certainly wasn't going to loose my position on the ropes.
Next came the Geneva Spur, another rock band that needed to be negotiated. Once over the top of this it was with great relief that one could see the South Col but not the tents yet. It wasn't long though after a fairly level traverse over rock that the tents came into view.
The south col is a really desolate place and very wind swept. Warner and I arrived there after about six and a half hours which was pretty good considering the numbers on the route and the fact that you can only go as fast as the person in front you.
I was sharing a tent with both David, and Nick, who arrived about an hour after me.
Shortly after arriving David got the weather forecast from Adam at BC and it wasn't good! Previously the forecast had indicated sub 15 mph winds but now within the space of less than 24 hours the forecast indicated winds speeds around 20/25 mph with gusts of 35-45 mph around dawn just as we would summitting! The forecast also suggested that by the following day the winds would subside again. So it was a gamble either go for the 25th and hope the winds might not be as forecast but knowing that there were just within the bounds of possibility. Or wait another day (without adequate food) and hope the forecast didn't change significantly again.
After much deliberation and seeing what the other teams were doing David decided to stick with the original plan and a scheduled departure time of 8.00pm that evening .
Nick and I then spent the next three hours just solidly trying to boil as much water as possible to try and rehydrate. It wasn't untill at round five pm that we tried to get some sleep. Well I suspect it was nerves but Nick and I got none!
At around seven pm Nick and I started preparing for the final leg of this trip of lifetime. Filling our flasks, getting some snacks together etc. So it was at just before 8.00pm that we set foot outside of our tent only to see a long line of headtorches illuminate the night sky high above us. I met up with Winma my sherpa who was very kindly going to carry my additional oxygen cylinders for me (2 bottles weighing 4kg each).
I had already lightened my pack as much as possible by relying on Pasang and David to carrry the essentials ie medical kit etc.
By the time we left we had now been up for 13 hours.
The South Col is fairly flat and rocky but this soon changes to an icy face that quickly steepens to an average of 45/60 degrees and it literally remains at this angle or steeper all the way to the South Summit. In fact it was the steepness that came as a surprise to me. I knew there was approximately 900m of ascent but hadn't appreciated that the route literally takes the most direct route, there's no zig zagging to lessen the angle.
Winma and I soon settled into a rythym and occasionally he'd unclip me from the rope to over take slower moving people. Whilst I could get by I would be gasping for breath for minutes afterwards. It might be easy for him but for me it was a Herculean effort. After the first couple of hours he dropped back behind me and just let me keep my place on the queue.
We soon came to a rock band that needed to be climbed. This was the sequence: move one foot up trying to find some purchase for your crampons, take a couple of breathes, slide the jumar up, take a couple of breathes, try and find some grip for the other foot and take another couple of breathes. This sequence was to be repeated over snow and rock for the next ten hours!!!
David had said that it was roughly five hours to the Balcony, which is a shoulder where the route then follows the ridge line, and then a further five hours to the top.
My watch was buried beneath several layers and I'd made the conscious descion not to look at it as I felt it might be demoralising if I wasn't within or around the five hours to balcony.
I just kept relentlessly plodding on up, my target was purely to keep up with the person in front - nothing more, nothing less.
It wasn't too long before we came across a body. It was somebody who had sadly died earlier in the month. Soon there was another, this time still clipped into the rope, so we had to respectfully unclip from the rope and give them a bit of space. In all we had to pass four bodies on our way up and down.
It sounds dreadful but I didn't give them much thought except how sad, all I could concentrate on was breathing and climbing. There was no spare capacity within me at the time for how and why, or what if. Everest is a dangerous place and whilst it's very easy for me to say it: you should always have some reserve capacity to get down back the mountain unassisted.
I couldn't tell you when exactly but after the balcony Winma changed my first oxygen cylinder.
Every time I looked up all I could see was a line of head torches stretching ever upwards, false summit after false summit came and went. It was as of I was on a continuous conveyor belt, as soon as I thought I was making progress my hopes were dashed by the sight of another line of headtorches high above.
Still unaware of the time, I thought to myself and hoped that I'd see the signs of dawn spreading from the East but nothing came, just darkness and the stars.
The wind was picking up now and my hands were getting cold despite having some thick down mitts on and some liner gloves. So I opened some chemical hand warmers I had in a chest pocket in my down suit and popped them inside the mitts. Because of the reduced oxygen pressure they were really ineffectual and hardly warmed up at all.
Not only were my hands cold, I'd not eaten or drunk anything since leaving the tent which I estimated was over seven hours ago! In my rucksack I had a litre of water (no doubt frozen by now) and a litre of sweet tea in a thermos, whilst in an inside chest pocket I had 500 ml of water.
However I didn't want to stop and loose my place on the rope. I also worried that if I stopped would I ever start again? The plod, plod rythym would be broken. Somehow I knew I had to keep moving. So every now and then I had a quick drink of the water from my chest pocket whilst the person in front was stationary but it was soon gone. The next drink I had was half way down when I drank my litre of tea at around 9.00am
So severly dehydrated and with leaden feet I just continued to put one foot in front of the other and slide the jumar up. I was just a robot functioning without thought. There was certainly no pleasure in this climb in fact quite the opposite. I kept thinking: its got to get light soon, please please let me see a glimmer of light, all the time my hands were getting colder and colder.
Every so often when I felt I was weakening I had to remind my self why I wanted to climb the mountain. Must keep going , don't stop I kept telling myself. I didn't want to let myself or my family down, or indeed any of you.
Finally yet imperceptibly at first, there was a very dim glow over to the East. At last dawn, I thought to myself. I immediately thought I'd soon be warm and perhaps my hands would be ok. I also thought that the time must be around 3.30 am, so I'd been going for roughly eight and a half hours without a break.
Surely it couldn't be much further to the south summit, I thought. Buoyed on by the ever increasing light, each false summit still crushed my spirit yet finally I could see another ridge coming out of the gloom slightly to the left. This must be the north west ridge that leads to the summit I thought. Surely the South summit can't be much higher!
The wind was increasing now quite dramatically and the gusts were enough to blow you off your feet if you weren't careful. Then suddenly I was suffocating! I couldn't breath though my mask. Pulling the mask away from my face to break the seal I gasped for breath. After I had got over the initial shock I checked the reservoir and saw that the bag was still inflated so oxygen was still available. The only other potential item it could be was the exhilation valve freezing. All I could do was to trying free the inner flap with my tongue!
I could have stopped and taken the mask off completely to try and solve the problem, however I thought it less hassle to carry on as I was. (In fact after I had summited and was descending the problem stopped as the wind was no longer blowing directly over the valve and causing rime ice to form).
Finally I reached the South Summit after about eight hours and whilst the north summit only looked a few hundred metres away it was going to take me another two hours to negotiate the ridge and infamous Hilary Step.
By now some groups had already summited and were returning along the very narrow ridge. It's difficult to describe but I would have thought a cross between the narrow sections of the Cuillin Ridge and Aonach Eagach ridges would be fair.
By now I was really tired and first couple of attempts of traversing some of the rock was embarrassingly pathetic , I just could not seem to get any purchase with my crampons. Any delay just saw people coming towards you as people returned. I could almost hear people behind me tutting. I thought I must get a grip of the situation. The climbing wasn't technically difficult (although there was a 4000m drop!), I was just exhausted. I had to dig deeper to find whatever physical reserves I had left!
Next came the Hilary Step, probably a grade 'Diff' climb of 4 m with a very 'thrutchy' move at the top. You literally had to straddle the top of the rock with one leg either side of a triangular pillar whilst clipped into one rope. Very ungainly but the consequences of falling would have been catastrophic!
Finally came a couple of snow slopes with false summits. David was on his way down by now and gave me a great big hand shake. It was just what I needed to make the final push. At last the TOP!!!!
Was I euphoric? Not at all, just relieved that after ten hours and forty minutes I didn't have to climb any higher!! After I'd caught my breath I spoke to Phil who was on the summit and took a couple of photos. The next thing was that the battery on my camera died. Whilst I had a spare battery on me my hands were numb and would have been incapable of changing it so I only have a few!
I looked all around and took in the view - did it really register? Partially. Yes it was amazing to literally be the highest person on the earth at that particular time and to physically see the curvature of the earth. Yet I knew I was only half way through the climb - it wasn't really over until I was back at the South Col.
The descent once I'd negotiated the ridge to the South Col was fairly straight forward, if ever so tiring, and took about six hours mainly using the 'Sherpa wrap'. My hands eventually warmed up with no I'll effects.
I got back to the South Col around lunchtime on Friday. I'd caught David up and Nick wasn't far behind me by the time I reached the tent.
Despite being so exhausted we deliberately spent the afternoon melting snow to try and rehydrate. It wasn't until the sun set around six thirty pm that we eventually went to sleep.
We had been awake for over 37 hours.
Taking into account the climb up to Camp Three we have been climbing/walking continuously for the last eight days. It's taken up until this morning (31/5/2012) for me to be properly rehydrated as indicated by the colour of my urine. Whilst I felt have physically more tired previously, mentally I've never been more challenged. I think it helps to be stubborn!!
Five of us reached the summit that day.
The deceased: it costs roughly $25000 to recover a body to base camp. This may be covered by insurance (unlikely) or the families have to pay. Consequeny most of the bodies are left either on route or cut free.
Arrival back in Kathmandu: 9.5 weeks later!
Having decided to pay for a helicopter flight to make sure we got ourselves and (very importantantly for me) our bags back to Kathmandu today, it was with some relief that the weather dawned misty. There were roughly four or five fixed wing flights first thing this morning before the cloud cover became too thick by around 9.00 am.
Our helicopter eventually came in around 11.00 am and five of us got on board. By chance the cargo handler said 'the old man' should sit in front next to the pilot! What a cheek, anyway I wasn't going to argue.
The helicopter took off and flew within the valleys, much lower than any plane, only rising to enter a new valley. The ground beneath was a patchwork of cultivated terraces and remote hamlets and communities that only increased in size as we approached Kathmandu almost an hour later. At first there were no roads only footpaths and tracks for yaks.
The terraces looked just like contour lines on an ordnance survey map. I don't know what was being grown as the pilot was obviously the 'Stig's brother. He wore a hat, dark glasses and a buff so you couldn't see any of his face. What's more he didn't say a word all trip!!
During the latter part of the trip we encountered a severe rain storm that buffeted the small helicopter. Whilst I wasn't surprised that the wipers didn't work I was pleased the Stig had X-ray vision as I certainly couldn't see where we were going!
I was just pleased that I still had Lama Geshi's card and and scarf in my hand luggage (remember his insurance - apparently no one had died on Everest carrying his card). Although it did occur to me. 'I wonder who the underwriters are and who do you contact in the event of a claim!'. Thankfully we passed through the storm without mishap.
Once at the hotel I had the hottest bath I could stand and just wallowed for about half an hour - bliss. We were back to civilisation!
Our helicopter eventually came in around 11.00 am and five of us got on board. By chance the cargo handler said 'the old man' should sit in front next to the pilot! What a cheek, anyway I wasn't going to argue.
The helicopter took off and flew within the valleys, much lower than any plane, only rising to enter a new valley. The ground beneath was a patchwork of cultivated terraces and remote hamlets and communities that only increased in size as we approached Kathmandu almost an hour later. At first there were no roads only footpaths and tracks for yaks.
The terraces looked just like contour lines on an ordnance survey map. I don't know what was being grown as the pilot was obviously the 'Stig's brother. He wore a hat, dark glasses and a buff so you couldn't see any of his face. What's more he didn't say a word all trip!!
During the latter part of the trip we encountered a severe rain storm that buffeted the small helicopter. Whilst I wasn't surprised that the wipers didn't work I was pleased the Stig had X-ray vision as I certainly couldn't see where we were going!
I was just pleased that I still had Lama Geshi's card and and scarf in my hand luggage (remember his insurance - apparently no one had died on Everest carrying his card). Although it did occur to me. 'I wonder who the underwriters are and who do you contact in the event of a claim!'. Thankfully we passed through the storm without mishap.
Once at the hotel I had the hottest bath I could stand and just wallowed for about half an hour - bliss. We were back to civilisation!
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Back to Lukla
We all set off from Namche Bazaar with sore heads this morning either from a lack of sleep last night or alcohol induced. Some had both!!! Everyone had enjoyed last nights party.
The walk back took around six hours and I remembered the final hill up to Lukla which is a real sting in the tail from when I climbed Ama Dablam in 2009.
It started to rain just as we entered Lukla and this was a precursor to negotiations which have just finished at 10.00pm.
Unfortunately there have been no fixed wing flights out of Lukla for the last three days and the forecast is for more poor weather until Sunday- the day of our flights home to the uk!
The fixed wing air craft need a much higher cloud base and horizontal visibility than helicopters. So we've been trying to find three helicopters to fly all of us and our kit out in the morning. Finally we think we've succeeded but we will find out in the morning as its impossible to get anything in writing or even something resembling a ticket out of the Nepalese here. We've just got to hope its not thick cloud or even the helicopters won't be flying. After ten weeks everyone is understandably very very keen to get back to civilisation! Yes it's going to be quite expensive but in the scheme of things not too bad.
I've almost finished the summit day post so hope to have that up by the close of play tomorrow.
As for the summit photo, yes it is me and whilst it's sunny what you can't see is the 30 mph winds and probable -40 to 50 wind chill - I wasn't going to be exposing anything!
The walk back took around six hours and I remembered the final hill up to Lukla which is a real sting in the tail from when I climbed Ama Dablam in 2009.
It started to rain just as we entered Lukla and this was a precursor to negotiations which have just finished at 10.00pm.
Unfortunately there have been no fixed wing flights out of Lukla for the last three days and the forecast is for more poor weather until Sunday- the day of our flights home to the uk!
The fixed wing air craft need a much higher cloud base and horizontal visibility than helicopters. So we've been trying to find three helicopters to fly all of us and our kit out in the morning. Finally we think we've succeeded but we will find out in the morning as its impossible to get anything in writing or even something resembling a ticket out of the Nepalese here. We've just got to hope its not thick cloud or even the helicopters won't be flying. After ten weeks everyone is understandably very very keen to get back to civilisation! Yes it's going to be quite expensive but in the scheme of things not too bad.
I've almost finished the summit day post so hope to have that up by the close of play tomorrow.
As for the summit photo, yes it is me and whilst it's sunny what you can't see is the 30 mph winds and probable -40 to 50 wind chill - I wasn't going to be exposing anything!
Tuesday, 29 May 2012
Arrived in Namche Bazaar
This is just a very quick post to I've finally got my phone charged and have been able to send yesterday's post (it's posted below). Secondly I've finally got a reasonable internet connection!
I know a lot of you are understandably waiting to hear what summit day was like and I'm working on that (promise!) but first I thought it only polite to reply to the numerous comments and emails that I've had over the last four or five days, so please bear with me.
I think I've replied to all of them but if I missed anyone I am sorry!
Last night I had my best night's sleep for probably nine weeks, eight hours uninterrupted sleep. Bliss. So finally felt slightly more human than I have for the last four days!
Today's walk from Pangboche should have taken six hours but we cracked it off in four! Not quite as fast as those in the Everest marathon which took place today. It starts at Base Camp and ends here at Namche. The fastest runners do it in about three hours! Incredible considering the terrain and the heat.
Tonight there is apparently a big 'rave' style party which we are all going to. I'm sure my 'status quo' dancing will go down really well!!
I know a lot of you are understandably waiting to hear what summit day was like and I'm working on that (promise!) but first I thought it only polite to reply to the numerous comments and emails that I've had over the last four or five days, so please bear with me.
I think I've replied to all of them but if I missed anyone I am sorry!
Last night I had my best night's sleep for probably nine weeks, eight hours uninterrupted sleep. Bliss. So finally felt slightly more human than I have for the last four days!
Today's walk from Pangboche should have taken six hours but we cracked it off in four! Not quite as fast as those in the Everest marathon which took place today. It starts at Base Camp and ends here at Namche. The fastest runners do it in about three hours! Incredible considering the terrain and the heat.
Tonight there is apparently a big 'rave' style party which we are all going to. I'm sure my 'status quo' dancing will go down really well!!
Monday, 28 May 2012
Base Camp to Pangboche
After a very late night (early morning) I woke at just after five am to finish packing with out a headache.
It seemed odd to be leaving my temporary home of the last sixty days. Not that I'll really miss it - having to stoop every time you wanted to get in or out (even for a short guy like me), the ever changing landscape of the floor as the ice either moved or melted, melting ice dripping on your face in the morning. Yet despite all this it was a sanctuary, your own little area of personal space, and most consequently most welcoming.
The day dawned with blue sky and brilliant sunshine (unlike yesterday which for the first time in the whole trip was cloudy and misty which made for an ominous atmosphere whilst negotiating the ice fall).
Our main bags are going by yak to Lukla over the next three days whilst we will be walking with light rucksacks with some waterproofs and overnight gear.
The walk was uneventful but reasonably fast paced. We passed the Sherpa cemetery just south of Lobuche which was quite moving.
There were some love purple alpine like flowers just below 4500m which made me realise I'd not seen any flowers for the last eight weeks! (Note to self: perhaps flower arranging is the way forward).
The landscape was also just showing signs of a little bit of green in the valley floors, again a colour we'd not seen for eight weeks.
Also whilst descending below 4700/4500m three of the five of us (the rest had got up even earlier to try ang get to Namche Bazaar in one day), all commented how much easier it had suddenly become to breathe. I think this shows that even at BC you are only just surviving.
Stone walls defining field boundaries or yak pens all show that we are slowly but surely returning to civilisation.
Once at our lodge in Pangboche (c3900m) we all ordered yak steak and chips. Despite what seemed to be a good twenty minutes of pounding, the meat still came out rather tough but was nevertheless most enjoyable.
It seemed odd to be leaving my temporary home of the last sixty days. Not that I'll really miss it - having to stoop every time you wanted to get in or out (even for a short guy like me), the ever changing landscape of the floor as the ice either moved or melted, melting ice dripping on your face in the morning. Yet despite all this it was a sanctuary, your own little area of personal space, and most consequently most welcoming.
The day dawned with blue sky and brilliant sunshine (unlike yesterday which for the first time in the whole trip was cloudy and misty which made for an ominous atmosphere whilst negotiating the ice fall).
Our main bags are going by yak to Lukla over the next three days whilst we will be walking with light rucksacks with some waterproofs and overnight gear.
The walk was uneventful but reasonably fast paced. We passed the Sherpa cemetery just south of Lobuche which was quite moving.
There were some love purple alpine like flowers just below 4500m which made me realise I'd not seen any flowers for the last eight weeks! (Note to self: perhaps flower arranging is the way forward).
The landscape was also just showing signs of a little bit of green in the valley floors, again a colour we'd not seen for eight weeks.
Also whilst descending below 4700/4500m three of the five of us (the rest had got up even earlier to try ang get to Namche Bazaar in one day), all commented how much easier it had suddenly become to breathe. I think this shows that even at BC you are only just surviving.
Stone walls defining field boundaries or yak pens all show that we are slowly but surely returning to civilisation.
Once at our lodge in Pangboche (c3900m) we all ordered yak steak and chips. Despite what seemed to be a good twenty minutes of pounding, the meat still came out rather tough but was nevertheless most enjoyable.
Sunday, 27 May 2012
Back in Base Camp!
This morning was really hard work both physically and mentally.
Nobody seemed to have slept well, whether this was because we were over tired or the anticipation of going through the ice fall once more. Especially as Adele, who had summited Lhotse the same day as us, had already gone down to BC the previous day, and warned us of how unstable the ice had become and that parts had been re-routed. All kinds of thoughts sprang to mind - so you climb the highest mountain in the world and them get crushed in an avalanche! Needless to say we took it very gently through the ice fall (perhaps not the best tactic but our legs literally wouldn't carry us quickly). Although it took an hour and a half longer than usual it was with great relief that reached our tents in one piece - well almost!
Muggins here is going to have a scar to remember his ascent by!
We had reached the edge of the ice fall and the morraine on which Everest Base Camp is situated where we always take our crampons off as our camp is about a 15 minute walk away over the rocks. Normally I put my crampons under the lid of my rucksack but today it was too full. I couldn't put them on the outside as I had my sleeping bag dangling off the front of it. (Not very professional I know but my pack was overflowing). So I was tired and lazy and thought, oh well it's not far I'll carry them in my hand. Well of course the inevitable happened I slipped about 20 m from the HRA tent and put a nice puncture wound in the palm of my right hand! It's about a 1 cm wide so I suspect it's about a 1 cm deep.
Rachel one of the doctors patched me up within about three minutes of it happening which is probably momentarily faster than a NHS walk in centre! So apart from feeling a right charlie (no change there then) my hand is fine with no numbness or tingling and fully fuctional (the last parts really for my Dad).
The afternoon was spent showering and packing. It's strange but now all I want to do is be back home and see the family (obviously don't tell them that or I'll be fleeced for something or other or probably three!).
The odd thing is it is only now that the enormity of what we have achieved is sinking in. I suspect a lot is to do with that we are now safely off the mountain and previously we were just mentally and physically too exhausted to think about anything except moving down hill.
I'm hoping to do the Camp Three to Four and summit blog tomorrow evening - 37 hours without sleep.
Nobody seemed to have slept well, whether this was because we were over tired or the anticipation of going through the ice fall once more. Especially as Adele, who had summited Lhotse the same day as us, had already gone down to BC the previous day, and warned us of how unstable the ice had become and that parts had been re-routed. All kinds of thoughts sprang to mind - so you climb the highest mountain in the world and them get crushed in an avalanche! Needless to say we took it very gently through the ice fall (perhaps not the best tactic but our legs literally wouldn't carry us quickly). Although it took an hour and a half longer than usual it was with great relief that reached our tents in one piece - well almost!
Muggins here is going to have a scar to remember his ascent by!
We had reached the edge of the ice fall and the morraine on which Everest Base Camp is situated where we always take our crampons off as our camp is about a 15 minute walk away over the rocks. Normally I put my crampons under the lid of my rucksack but today it was too full. I couldn't put them on the outside as I had my sleeping bag dangling off the front of it. (Not very professional I know but my pack was overflowing). So I was tired and lazy and thought, oh well it's not far I'll carry them in my hand. Well of course the inevitable happened I slipped about 20 m from the HRA tent and put a nice puncture wound in the palm of my right hand! It's about a 1 cm wide so I suspect it's about a 1 cm deep.
Rachel one of the doctors patched me up within about three minutes of it happening which is probably momentarily faster than a NHS walk in centre! So apart from feeling a right charlie (no change there then) my hand is fine with no numbness or tingling and fully fuctional (the last parts really for my Dad).
The afternoon was spent showering and packing. It's strange but now all I want to do is be back home and see the family (obviously don't tell them that or I'll be fleeced for something or other or probably three!).
The odd thing is it is only now that the enormity of what we have achieved is sinking in. I suspect a lot is to do with that we are now safely off the mountain and previously we were just mentally and physically too exhausted to think about anything except moving down hill.
I'm hoping to do the Camp Three to Four and summit blog tomorrow evening - 37 hours without sleep.
Wednesday
We set off 6.00 am back across the glacier to the Bergschund that sits across the bottom of the Lhotse face. Whilst our pace didn't seem fast we didn't take any breaks arriving there in approximately two hours.
Next came the jumaring up the fixed ropes as they zig zigzagged their way across the face and finally to Camp Three. Amazingly I made it in five hours some three hours quicker than last time.
It was obvious that some people had be sleeping in our tent! It was just like Goldie locks and the three bears except that we ever found out who they were. I thought some of my food that I had left had gone but when Brett arrived he said that most of his food plus four pairs of handwarmers had been taken. Now nobody objects to someone using a tent in an emergency but they could easily have radioed us to say what has happened and to us to bring some more food up.
I put on my cannula to get some additional oxygen inside me to try and help me recover and to also give me an appetite (it failed!).
There was lots of jolly banter between the team members and tents probably buoyed by our good time. The ledge was so small the tents had been pitched very close together by neccesity.
The weather report still sounded good and I was certainly looking forward to stepping foot on what was to be new territory.
The afternoon was spent rehydrating and filling water bottles ready for the morning.
Next came the jumaring up the fixed ropes as they zig zigzagged their way across the face and finally to Camp Three. Amazingly I made it in five hours some three hours quicker than last time.
It was obvious that some people had be sleeping in our tent! It was just like Goldie locks and the three bears except that we ever found out who they were. I thought some of my food that I had left had gone but when Brett arrived he said that most of his food plus four pairs of handwarmers had been taken. Now nobody objects to someone using a tent in an emergency but they could easily have radioed us to say what has happened and to us to bring some more food up.
I put on my cannula to get some additional oxygen inside me to try and help me recover and to also give me an appetite (it failed!).
There was lots of jolly banter between the team members and tents probably buoyed by our good time. The ledge was so small the tents had been pitched very close together by neccesity.
The weather report still sounded good and I was certainly looking forward to stepping foot on what was to be new territory.
The afternoon was spent rehydrating and filling water bottles ready for the morning.
Tuesday
Today was a rest day and I'm kicking myself for leaving the battery on in the wireless router which means I haven't been able to send any emails for the last two days.
The day was spent just lounging around and listening to the weather forecast which was improving.
There was an air of nervous anticipation preparing for the next day.
The day was spent just lounging around and listening to the weather forecast which was improving.
There was an air of nervous anticipation preparing for the next day.
Friday, 25 May 2012
Standing on top of the world
Have just spoken to Ian, he is safely back at the South Col, having successfully summited Everest in the early hours, stepping foot on top of the world at 06.40am local time. He seems very well and in high spirits (by that I mean cracking poor jokes!), looking forward to some well earned rest. An absolutely incredible achievement and we could not be more proud of him! Congratulations.
Thursday, 24 May 2012
On their way.
The summit push on everest has begun for the Jagged globe team, have heard from Ian, he's feeling good, the wind speeds are much higher than predicted but he had an excellent climb up to the South Col and has been trying to get some rest this afternoon. The easiest place for updates on his progress will be the Spot2 tracker, although don't worry if signal is lost, as there is potential for this around the south summit. Also the Jagged Globe website will be updating throughout the evening with progress, follow this link: http://www.jagged-globe.co.uk/news/despatches_list.html?id=39
We wish them all the best of luck, will try and update when we know more.
Camp 4
Arrived at the south col, extremely windy. Planning to summit this evening local time, feeling good, had a good nights sleep at Camp 3 last night however the Lhoste face is much steeper than I had anticipated.
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
Tweets instead of daily blog!
I'm sorry to say that I'm going to be leaving the electronics necessary to send the blog here at Camp Two.
I've removed any excess items from my pack and it just seems crazy to add another 750 grams back to it. That just shows you how fine I think the line between success and failure could be.
I am still talking my satellite phone so I intend to do a lot more 'tweeting' so you'll still be able to follow my progress. To be fair I'm not sure how much energy I'd have to write anything meaningful. Unfortunately it's very much a one way affair. I can tweet but I can't see any messages that have been sent.
You'll also hopefully be able to follow my progress on the interactive map page on the web site. I still plan on taking the Spot2 gps messenger with me. Unfortunately I forgot to switch it on this morning, so it's not fool proof.
I also know its only approved for use up to 4500m and whilst it's worked at higher altitudes here already I can't guarantee that it will continue to do so. Basically if its not working don't panic!
I've removed any excess items from my pack and it just seems crazy to add another 750 grams back to it. That just shows you how fine I think the line between success and failure could be.
I am still talking my satellite phone so I intend to do a lot more 'tweeting' so you'll still be able to follow my progress. To be fair I'm not sure how much energy I'd have to write anything meaningful. Unfortunately it's very much a one way affair. I can tweet but I can't see any messages that have been sent.
You'll also hopefully be able to follow my progress on the interactive map page on the web site. I still plan on taking the Spot2 gps messenger with me. Unfortunately I forgot to switch it on this morning, so it's not fool proof.
I also know its only approved for use up to 4500m and whilst it's worked at higher altitudes here already I can't guarantee that it will continue to do so. Basically if its not working don't panic!
Sunday, 20 May 2012
A sad night on Everest
We went to sleep last night with heavy hearts. We had heard reports throughout the late afternoon and into the evening of potential tradgedies unfolding. Pasang told us that lights could still be seen at the south summit from the south col at 7.30 pm local time.
At breakfast David gave us the unconfirmed news that sadly there have been some fatalities.
No doubt the armchair coroners will be quick to summise as to why the deaths occurred but until their teams and climbing sherpas return to base camp this would be pure conjecture. For now our thoughts are with their families.
This is after all the day we were due to summit. The high winds arrived as predicted and whilst they drove some teams back there have been some summits today which is incredible.
The weather forcecast is still indicating a second window opening up on Friday the 25th.
This means we shall return to Camp Two early tomorrow morning, rest for a day, go to Camp Three on Wednesday and Camp Four on Thursday.
It snowed overnight here at base camp and every so often I'd be woken by the snow 'whooshing' off the fly sheet making a sound just like a cheap rocket racing into the sky on bonfire night.
Talking of flysheets. I understand from Pema, our Sirdar, that because the ultra violet light from the sun is so strong here at base camp that after their eight weeks of use the flysheets will have to be replaced.
Not a day for any humour, one of reflection.
No doubt the armchair coroners will be quick to summise as to why the deaths occurred but until their teams and climbing sherpas return to base camp this would be pure conjecture. For now our thoughts are with their families.
This is after all the day we were due to summit. The high winds arrived as predicted and whilst they drove some teams back there have been some summits today which is incredible.
The weather forcecast is still indicating a second window opening up on Friday the 25th.
This means we shall return to Camp Two early tomorrow morning, rest for a day, go to Camp Three on Wednesday and Camp Four on Thursday.
It snowed overnight here at base camp and every so often I'd be woken by the snow 'whooshing' off the fly sheet making a sound just like a cheap rocket racing into the sky on bonfire night.
Talking of flysheets. I understand from Pema, our Sirdar, that because the ultra violet light from the sun is so strong here at base camp that after their eight weeks of use the flysheets will have to be replaced.
Not a day for any humour, one of reflection.
Saturday, 19 May 2012
Back to base camp.
To be honest not the title I would like to have chosen but the right one.
Returning to base camp for possibly less than 48 hours has split the team, having said that everyone in the end chose to come back down. I was happy to come back down as the food is so much better at BC and most importantly the air is thicker. You may recall me saying in an earlier post that the body only deteriorates above circa 5500m (Camp two is at 6350m).
The reasoning for dropping back down was that our sherpa team wanted a rest at a lower altitude following the rescue of a colleague two days ago. There's a separate post on that below but let me just say that Pem is stable. We understand he suffered a broken left femur, left humerous and had to have an operation on his left hand. Everyone is very relieved that his injuries weren't any worse.
In addition the winds are now forecast to increase from this afternoon for the next two days which is contrary to what was predicted when we set off. This is one of the problems of choosing a day to summit. You have to rely on a forecast five days ahead. Just think how well the Met Office do it! Unfortunately you just can't sit it out on the South Col at 8000m, in the death zone, waiting for the right day.
Coupled with the huge numbers going for the current window David has wisely said we will wait.
I don't know if you were able to make out the line of people on yesterday's photo but there could easily have been 100 people all hanging off the same piece of 100 m rope. The danger is not the rope breaking but the anchors coming out which are likely to be either fixed with ice screws or snow stakes both of which are highly susceptible to solar radiation loosening them.
So it's time for a shower, rest and relaxation, and taking on board lots of food and as importantly fluid. I think the best way to describe my body composition at present is like 'streaky bacon' - very little meat but still plenty of fat!
The ice fall continues to surprise and I can only wonder whether the ice fall doctors are on holiday or there's been a Nepalese national holiday!! Two of the ladders are now verging on the dangerous: the crevasse which one of them spans is now only a couple of inches narrower than the ladder itself, whilst on the other the left hand end of the ladder actually no longer bridges the chasm. The ladder just gently rocks 45 degrees at this end! Not for the nervous.
We only saw one avalanche up to our right on the way down.
So now it's a case of watching the weather forecasts that come in around lunchtime on a daily basis. Being selfish, I hope we don't go back up until early Tuesday am giving us an extra day here.
I find even coming down hill exhausting but I suspect that has a lot to do with my knees.
What I am finding hard to convey is just how difficult physically I'm finding this mountain to climb and also how it saps your morale. Every step up is difficult and has you panting for breath. We are basically now two weeks from home which is a lovely thought (if I can find a lock smith!) but we've still got this huge mountain to climb.
I am hopeful that with the right weather window (and based on how I feel compared to two years ago) I can make it. I'm certainly very grateful for all of the support you've kindly given me. Thank you.
Returning to base camp for possibly less than 48 hours has split the team, having said that everyone in the end chose to come back down. I was happy to come back down as the food is so much better at BC and most importantly the air is thicker. You may recall me saying in an earlier post that the body only deteriorates above circa 5500m (Camp two is at 6350m).
The reasoning for dropping back down was that our sherpa team wanted a rest at a lower altitude following the rescue of a colleague two days ago. There's a separate post on that below but let me just say that Pem is stable. We understand he suffered a broken left femur, left humerous and had to have an operation on his left hand. Everyone is very relieved that his injuries weren't any worse.
In addition the winds are now forecast to increase from this afternoon for the next two days which is contrary to what was predicted when we set off. This is one of the problems of choosing a day to summit. You have to rely on a forecast five days ahead. Just think how well the Met Office do it! Unfortunately you just can't sit it out on the South Col at 8000m, in the death zone, waiting for the right day.
Coupled with the huge numbers going for the current window David has wisely said we will wait.
I don't know if you were able to make out the line of people on yesterday's photo but there could easily have been 100 people all hanging off the same piece of 100 m rope. The danger is not the rope breaking but the anchors coming out which are likely to be either fixed with ice screws or snow stakes both of which are highly susceptible to solar radiation loosening them.
So it's time for a shower, rest and relaxation, and taking on board lots of food and as importantly fluid. I think the best way to describe my body composition at present is like 'streaky bacon' - very little meat but still plenty of fat!
The ice fall continues to surprise and I can only wonder whether the ice fall doctors are on holiday or there's been a Nepalese national holiday!! Two of the ladders are now verging on the dangerous: the crevasse which one of them spans is now only a couple of inches narrower than the ladder itself, whilst on the other the left hand end of the ladder actually no longer bridges the chasm. The ladder just gently rocks 45 degrees at this end! Not for the nervous.
We only saw one avalanche up to our right on the way down.
So now it's a case of watching the weather forecasts that come in around lunchtime on a daily basis. Being selfish, I hope we don't go back up until early Tuesday am giving us an extra day here.
I find even coming down hill exhausting but I suspect that has a lot to do with my knees.
What I am finding hard to convey is just how difficult physically I'm finding this mountain to climb and also how it saps your morale. Every step up is difficult and has you panting for breath. We are basically now two weeks from home which is a lovely thought (if I can find a lock smith!) but we've still got this huge mountain to climb.
I am hopeful that with the right weather window (and based on how I feel compared to two years ago) I can make it. I'm certainly very grateful for all of the support you've kindly given me. Thank you.
Rescue from Camp Three
In line with my policy of delaying bad news by 48 hours the events below took place in the early hours of Thursday morning 17 May and I wrote the post that afternoon.
I was woken by David at 5.50am and told to get dressed and meet him in the comms tent. I could tell by his voice that there was a sense of urgency.
Once there,which didn't take long, he told me that unfortunately one of our Sherpas had been hit by a serac fall close to Camp Three. Because of my mountain rescue training he wanted me to man the radio and to co-ordinate radio traffic between the rescuers, our base camp and the HRA doctors (whose work ive already spoken about) also at BC.
I had heard an avalanche/rockfall earlier at about 5.00am from the Lhotse face but thought nothing of it.
The first call was made at 6.03am and the last to say that the casualty was on his way to Kathmandu at 12.47pm.
Initial reports from the sherpas spoke of two leg injuries, an arm and a head injury.
This is a shortened version.
David left with Adele (the Lhotse leader) at roughly 6.45am taking our extensive medical kit and also picking up some morphine and IV fluids on the way up to the bergschund.
Pasang had left Camp Two immediately on hearing the news and had taken a Sked (portable type of stretcher) up to the casualty.
Apparently the serac fall happened just 50 m from our Camp Three tents and has unfortunately wiped out an number of other teams tents. Thankfully as far as we currently know nobody was sleeping in them at the time.
The sherpa rescue team reached the bottom of the Lhotse face at about 8.45 am where the Sherpa was given some morphine.
Meanwhile we had been liasing with other teams to provide additional man power, Sherpas and medical resources. In the end everybody from our team contributed in some way.
Thankfully certain helicopters can fly to/from Camp Two so we were able to have one on standby at Lukla from around 7.30am. Unfortunately by the time we got the eta of the causality at Camp Two it had been called to another job.
There are no air ambulances here in Nepal and for the helicppter companies 'time is money'. We later learnt that it had gone off to pick up a trekker with non life threatening injuries.
So plan B swung into operation which was to clear a mess tent near the helipad to receive and hopefully stabilise the casualty until the helicopter could arrive. The casualty arrived in camp at 10.30 roughly five and a half hours after the incident.
With the help of a couple of JG team members we found a Dutch doctor and an Indian paramedic in camp who both kindly agreed to assist.
Time was not on our side with the weather as the typical afternoon cloud was beginning to bubble up.
Eventually he was evacuated at 12.24pm back to BC where the doctors assessed him. Whilst this was happening the pilot returned a second time to pick up another Sherpa who was also caught in the serac fall although he had slightly less serious injuries.
The last radio call was to say that the casualty was on his way to Katmandu.
As of now, Thursday lunchtime, we understand that our Sherpa's injuries are a broken left leg, broken left arm and some superficial head injuries. Our concern is of course for any internal injuries.
Our thanks go out to all those who helped in the rescue and we hope he makes a full and speedy recovery.
There is also a quick personal message to the Dartmoor Rescue Group Ashburton section: a really big thank you for all of those hours of training you all put for the benefit of others. Rob now I know what it feels to like in the control vehicle (yes I had a thermos)! To Richard & Tas thanks for the Casulty Care course. Whilst I wasn't hands on (hence much more chance of the casualty surviving) it was great to be able to make some informed suggestions as to the casualty's welfare.
Ps please can I be excused radio relay for a couple of evenings!
I was woken by David at 5.50am and told to get dressed and meet him in the comms tent. I could tell by his voice that there was a sense of urgency.
Once there,which didn't take long, he told me that unfortunately one of our Sherpas had been hit by a serac fall close to Camp Three. Because of my mountain rescue training he wanted me to man the radio and to co-ordinate radio traffic between the rescuers, our base camp and the HRA doctors (whose work ive already spoken about) also at BC.
I had heard an avalanche/rockfall earlier at about 5.00am from the Lhotse face but thought nothing of it.
The first call was made at 6.03am and the last to say that the casualty was on his way to Kathmandu at 12.47pm.
Initial reports from the sherpas spoke of two leg injuries, an arm and a head injury.
This is a shortened version.
David left with Adele (the Lhotse leader) at roughly 6.45am taking our extensive medical kit and also picking up some morphine and IV fluids on the way up to the bergschund.
Pasang had left Camp Two immediately on hearing the news and had taken a Sked (portable type of stretcher) up to the casualty.
Apparently the serac fall happened just 50 m from our Camp Three tents and has unfortunately wiped out an number of other teams tents. Thankfully as far as we currently know nobody was sleeping in them at the time.
The sherpa rescue team reached the bottom of the Lhotse face at about 8.45 am where the Sherpa was given some morphine.
Meanwhile we had been liasing with other teams to provide additional man power, Sherpas and medical resources. In the end everybody from our team contributed in some way.
Thankfully certain helicopters can fly to/from Camp Two so we were able to have one on standby at Lukla from around 7.30am. Unfortunately by the time we got the eta of the causality at Camp Two it had been called to another job.
There are no air ambulances here in Nepal and for the helicppter companies 'time is money'. We later learnt that it had gone off to pick up a trekker with non life threatening injuries.
So plan B swung into operation which was to clear a mess tent near the helipad to receive and hopefully stabilise the casualty until the helicopter could arrive. The casualty arrived in camp at 10.30 roughly five and a half hours after the incident.
With the help of a couple of JG team members we found a Dutch doctor and an Indian paramedic in camp who both kindly agreed to assist.
Time was not on our side with the weather as the typical afternoon cloud was beginning to bubble up.
Eventually he was evacuated at 12.24pm back to BC where the doctors assessed him. Whilst this was happening the pilot returned a second time to pick up another Sherpa who was also caught in the serac fall although he had slightly less serious injuries.
The last radio call was to say that the casualty was on his way to Katmandu.
As of now, Thursday lunchtime, we understand that our Sherpa's injuries are a broken left leg, broken left arm and some superficial head injuries. Our concern is of course for any internal injuries.
Our thanks go out to all those who helped in the rescue and we hope he makes a full and speedy recovery.
There is also a quick personal message to the Dartmoor Rescue Group Ashburton section: a really big thank you for all of those hours of training you all put for the benefit of others. Rob now I know what it feels to like in the control vehicle (yes I had a thermos)! To Richard & Tas thanks for the Casulty Care course. Whilst I wasn't hands on (hence much more chance of the casualty surviving) it was great to be able to make some informed suggestions as to the casualty's welfare.
Ps please can I be excused radio relay for a couple of evenings!
Friday, 18 May 2012
Is this an accident waiting to happen?
I apologise for the quality of the picture but I hope it gives you an idea of the number of people on the Lhotse face just above Camp Three.
Seeing that sight at 8.30 am makes me very pleased that we are still down here at Camp Two.
We are waiting for an updated weather forecast early this afternoon but at present it looks likely that we will be going back down to BC to wait for a second weather window that seems to be opening up around the 26th May. Increasingly strong winds are now forecast starting on the 19th putting a summit bid on the 20/21st out.
Yes it's disappointing but we must be guided by David's experience. There are also a number of other teams who are still sitting it out at BC waiting for the right window.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)