737 Leg 7 Everest - Day 147
Okay, where do I start! Today (7th) is a rest day at base camp. Both Steve and myself are feeling good and enjoying Gavin's cooking and the company of the main Jagged Globe team. Amazingly Gav, wearing his Welsh - feed me till I want no more apron, which I gave to him in Antarctica, made sushi for lunch. There's a really good buzz in the Jagged Globe base camp as the main group have finished their acclimatisation rotations up the mountain and are all ready for their summit bid soon.
Which brings me on to the main part of the update; today Steve and I had another long meeting with David Hamilton (our team leader), Andy Chapman (our assistant leader), mingma sherpa, and nima sherpa the climbing sirdar (Sirdar is a Nepali trek leader) and camp sirdar respectively. Steve and I have climbed to camp 1 - we climbed through the icefall in good time and slept/ate well in camp 1. Based on the llama (holy Nepalese) calendar - which suggests that after the 23rd there will be no weather window, we have revised our summit strategy to make it even more ambitiously short. Weather permitting we're hoping to be ready to summit on the 22nd May.
After discussing ideas between all 6 of us, Steve and I have decided to run two different summit strategies, but join together for the final summit bid.
Having come into this off the back of 5 months of expeditions, and having 2 more mountains after, my concern with a traditional acclimatisation programme is climbing up and down the mountain expending energy. For me the climb through the icefall is the biggest energy sapper, which is only going to get worse as it melts making the route more complicated. With this in mind, knowing my own body at altitude and having discussed it through thoroughly with the leaders, I've decided on less acclimatisation rotations up the mountain but to spend longer up there before my summit bid.
Steve on the other hand is following a more traditional acclimatisation strategy by returning back to base camp in between time at higher camps.
Tomorrow, the 8th, both Steve and myself will climb to camp 1 for 1 night.
9th - we both go to camp 2, 6400m
10th - rest day in camp 2 together
11th - Steve climbs down to base camp. I stay at camp 2 and climb to the foot of the Lhotse face and back to sleep at camp 2
12th - I rest at camp 2. Steve rests at base camp
13th - Steve climbs direct from base camp to camp 2. I climb from camp 2 to above camp 3 up the Lhotse face taking me to 7300m without using supplementary o2 and back to sleep at camp 2.
This is controversial as most people sleep at camp 3. I am against that as nobody actually sleeps there as it’s too high, so I would rather climb there and a little higher (camp 3 is 7100m) but descend to sleep at camp 2. On the summit bid when we do have to sleep there I will sleep with a low flow of o2. I will meet up with Steve in the evening at camp 2.
14th - Steve will climb from camp 2 to camp 3 and stay the night there. I will have a rest day in camp 2.
15th - Steve will climb down from camp 3 and rest in camp 2. I’ll climb down from camp 2 direct to base camp.
16th – I will rest in base camp, Steve will climb down from camp 2 to base camp.
17th - both of us will rest in base camp
18th - both will rest in base camp
19th - both of us together will leave base camp for our summit bid.
The pros with me are obviously less climbing up and down the mountain saving energy in the legs, but the potential cons are the possibility of getting weaker living at the higher altitude above 6400m for 6 days. Secondly I don't get a trial run of sleeping at camp 3. I'm confident that this is the best strategy for me right now in the physical condition that I am in and in the context of the full 7 months.
We've been given radios each so we are always in contact with Gavin or nima sherpa at base camp.
FACT: The western flank of Lhotse, a peak which is connected to Everest via the South Col is known as the Lhotse Face. Any climber bound for the South Col on Everest, including Richard and Steve must climb this 1,125m (3,700 ft) wall of glacial blue ice. This face rises at 40 and 50 degree pitches with the occasional 80 degree bulges. Two rocky sections called the Yellow Band and the Geneva Spur interrupt the icy ascent on the upper part of the face.
