It’s very easy to lose track of days here, but I believe this is our third day down from our last rotation. It’s been a very restful three days, with an hour and a half walk back down to Gorak Shep yesterday to use the internet. The rest of our time has been taken up with reading, watching films in the evening and playing cards; resting to get rid of any Khumbu coughs and to build our energy back up for the next rotation. The difference in the oxygen percentage and the humidity means that people really are getting better quickly down here, as well as letting us all sleep better and walk around without feeling out of breath. It was quite amusing yesterday walking down the path the Base Camp trekkers are using on our way to Gorak Shep, as, because we’ve been here almost a month and are very acclimatized, there was a huge difference in our breathing and those that had just got here. Some were walking incredibly slowly and gasping for breath, whilst for us the air feels normal and we were able to walk straight past.
We leave for our next rotation the day after tomorrow, another 3am start, but this time skipping Camp One and going straight to Camp Two. We’re doing this as Camp One is currently an avalanche risk, having been buried under an avalanche off Nuptse yesterday, and had the wind from an avalanche hit it the day before. Luckily no one was killed, but one Camp Two cook has been evacuated by helicopter after breaking his back running from the avalanche; he’s now stable in Kathmandu. Going straight to Camp Two will make it a very long day, and there’s going to be the opportunity of staying in Camp One if any members feel as if they’d prefer not to go on. So far, however, we all seem to be in accord that we’d prefer not to stay in the risk area.
This next rotation will be all the way up to Camp Three, and spending a night there without oxygen. We’ve all heard horror stories about this night there, and can’t say we’re looking forward to it particularly! Sleep sounds elusive and the altitude will most definitely make itself known. Team members who might not benefit from this night may be just “touching” Camp Three before descending for the night in Camp Two instead.
We’re sorting out snack food for the rotation tomorrow, and have had the pleasure of enjoying Rob’s cooking for lunch this afternoon! He cooked Chili Con Carni and it was very good indeed. I believe it’s Sushi Night again tonight – not that Jenny’s spoiling us or anything… The photo I’ve attached is of a section climbing down in the Ice Fall – I wish I could attach a whole album, but I’m afraid that just isn’t possible. For some great photos and another blog you could take a look at Alpine Ascents website as they’re doing a cybercast from Everest and are posting photos most days.
One last thing to mention: While we were up on our first rotation my grandad, my dad’s dad, Duncan Shuttleworth, passed away. He was so very loved, and we’d now like to dedicate this climb to him. Of course without taking any unnecessary risks, we hope to summit in his honour.