May 5, 2008 - 4:47am — MountEverest2008
A Pinata, a Heart, and a Plan for May
Base Camp
Happy Cinco de Mayo! The holiday was not overlooked at base camp - in fact a climber from Mexico initiated a celebration inclusive of Mexican food, beer, and even a pinata! It was a great excuse for climbers to get together and have fun.
I guess perhaps I was feeling romantic today too. Were there oak trees in the vicinity, I would have selected one and carved Hlee's name on it with a pocket knife. Given where I am, I had to go to plan B, grab my ice axe, and go to work on a nice section of vertical ice wall. Hlee is clearly on my mind... and now she's listed at the base of the Khumbu Icefall too!
Here's a few details of another critical piece of gear, the cowtail. This can be considered an Everest climber's life line. At times, I'll reference fixed lines... be they in the Icefall or up the steep inclines one finds above Camp II. The fixed lines are ropes that are anchored or 'fixed' to the mountain. Consider them part of the mountain itself. Climbers, using their cowtails, clip in to these fixed lines, thereby securing the climber to the mountain; in the event of a fall, the climber will be protected from a long and fatal drop. One end of the cowtail is girth hitched (a type of knot) to the climber's harness. The other two ends (one with an ascender (blue) and the other with a locking carabiner) are both secured to the fixed line. The reason two points of connection with the fixed lined are necessary is because at various points along the fixed line, the rope is anchored to the mountain (via a picket, ice screw, etc.). A climber needs to 'pass' the anchor, doing so by first undoing one of the clips, moving it above the anchor, and then undoing the other clip, likewise reclipping it above the anchor and then continuing to climb upwards. With double clips, the climber is always secured to the fixed line.
Regarding our climbing plans, the following is the best guess at what the rest of May may look like. This is highly subject to change, dependent on China's progress with the torch, weather, and the team's overall condition. Also note, with China's torch effort delayed due to snow storms, etc, we are definitely behind schedule. Each year challenges are thrown at the various expedition teams. At least one challenge for climbers in 2008 is the rather tight time-frame we'll be facing the latter half of May. It's all workable, we just hope no major hiccups occur to negatively impact our tentative schedule any further.
May 7th - depart base camp head to Camp I, stay overnight there
May 8th - depart Camp I, traveling to Camp II and stay overnight
May 9th - May 12th - from Camp II, climb to Camp III when possible. Doing so is dependent on a few factors. First, we need a greenlight from the military that we can climb above Camp II (this is dependent on China's status on the north side). Second, we need the fixed lines up to Camp III to have been installed; if there are no fixed lines, there's no traveling above Camp II. Typically, it takes maybe three days to install the fixed lines above Camp II, and currently our team of guides and Sherpa has not been granted permission to install these lines yet (permission also dependent on China's torch effort). Finally, the weather will need to be acceptable to proceed to Camp III.
Note that the whole objective of this trip up the mountain is to log some time at Camp III, thereby greatly facilitating the acclimatization process. Historically, teams have slept one night at Camp III for this purpose. This year, given the circumstances, we are simply hoping to visit Camp III on a day climb, returning to Camp II to sleep. Not ideal, but still workable.
May 13th - travel back to base camp
May 14th - May 19th - travel to and recuperate at a low elevation village (one of the little towns we visited on our trek in to base camp). This below base camp descent is known as the 'drop back' and is a key step in process. During the drop back, we access thicker, oxygen rich air, regain our appetites and eat a huge amount, and in essence recharge our batteries before heading back up for our attempt on the summit.
May 20th - back at base camp, ready for attempt on summit; now we hope for a weather window to make our push. When weather forecast looks promising, we go for it. The schedule may look like the following:
May 21st - climb from base camp to Camp II (no stop at Camp I)
May 22nd - climb from Camp II to Camp III (overnight at Camp III, sleep on oxygen)
May 23rd - climb to high camp, Camp IV (overnight at Camp IV, sleep on oxygen)
May 24th - rest at Camp IV, prepare for middle of the night departure for summit!
May 25th - summit attempt!
Sounds like a winner, but let's see how things play out. We've got the best guides and Sherpa on the mountain and I'm confident their experience and expertise will give us the best shot at a safe and successful summit attempt in the near future.