That was a great but tough second rotation!

Day 34: Getting through the icefall was actually not as difficult as the first time, and I managed to shave off about an hour off my time to get to Camp 1. The first photo is a look back down at Camp 1 – you can see people coming up through the icefall. We had great weather, but just a little cooler this time. It was nice to be able to get into our warm, cozy tents at Camp 1 around 9am to relax for the rest of the morning. It started snowing at 11am and didn’t really stop for the rest of the day. We got 3-4 inches.

Our guides have done a great job of keeping us off-cycle from the other teams. Most of the other teams are 3-4 days ahead of us which means we don’t have crowds as we are climbing. This is a good thing…especially in the icefall. Standing around waiting to go up/down fixed lines or across ladders gets you cold, but because of the lack of crowds (except for some climbing Sherpa carrying loads), we have been able to be efficient.

Day 35: We only stayed one night at Camp 1 so we climbed to Camp 2. It was very hot which made the climb to 2 seem more difficult than last time. We still made good time, but I was pretty tired when we reached camp. We just rested and recovered for the rest of the day. For those that know me well, you know I am usually a very good eater. The same goes for on the mountain. This was the first time I had trouble eating or having an appetite. I know it is just the altitude and a result of the exertion I am putting my body through, but it was hard not to eat a lot like I normally do. It affected some of my other teammates as well.

Day 36: In retrospect, I am glad we had this full rest day prior to our climb to Camp 3. I definitely needed it.

There is quite a bit of gear being stored here at Camp 2 in preparation for loads to be carried to the higher camps prior to our final summit rotation. I included a photo of all the oxygen bottles we will be using. I think each bottle weighs approximately 8 lbs. Our Sherpa will be carrying most of those bottles and staging them higher on the mountain. There are high winds still in the forecast higher on the mountain for the next several days, so our Sherpa will not be going higher until the winds calm. We heard that another guide service has already had at least two Sherpa suffer from frostbite because they went up in the high wind conditions. Our guide service is not willing to put its Sherpa at risk so they will wait to go up.

Day 37: Today’s goal was to climb up and touch Camp 3 (just means we weren’t staying at 3 overnight). Camp 3 is at approximately 23,500ft which is a new personal best for me. We left Camp 2 at 5am. I knew it would be hard, but I have to say that it was one of the more difficult climbs I have ever done. The approach to the Lhotse face felt long, and then the climb up the face was difficult terrain. It was just plain hard. I think most of our team felt the same based on conversations afterward. We reached Camp 3 in roughly 5 hours, and then rested for about a half hour prior to descending. The descent was very quick for which I was grateful. I was completely exhausted when we returned to Camp 2. Everyone laid their gear out to dry on the rocks in the sun and then collapsed in their tents to recover. My appetite only grew worse over the course of the day. You would think that after all that effort I would be starving, but I wasn’t. Plus, I was very dehydrated.

Day 38: We had another early morning departure at 5am, but nobody was complaining. We were all anxious to get back to EBC. The icefall had changed again as there was some fresh debris from additional ice collapses. We made it back to base camp in just over 4 hours which is over an hour better than last time. It is hard to believe that we could become so much more efficient that we could shave that much time off our descent, but the numbers don’t lie.

Lakpa and the Sherpa greeted us at the edge of camp (like they always do). It’s always a nice welcome. We all got hot showers shortly after arriving back at camp and relaxed (or played poker) for the rest of the day.

Tomorrow the heli will pick us up at 9am (ish) to take us to Pheriche, and then from Pheriche to Namche. The reason for the stop at Pheriche is because of weight restrictions for the heli. We will spend 3 nights at Namche before returning to base camp. I can’t wait to sleep in a real bed and use a real bathroom! Have I ever showed you what I pee in on the mountain? You’ll see in my next post.