Finally getting out of base camp

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Since we have arrived here at EBC it has been non-stop. There has been so much work to do in the labs and our lab teams have been incredible. The conditions are very challenging given that in the morning it is very cold and by mid-morning the temperatures in the lab tent are quite high thus making it difficult to keep the equipment running. However the lab guys have been fantastic and they are now testing the first trekking group.

In the midst of the testing period we had a day off for the Puja ceremony which is a very important ceremony for the sherpas (see Roger?s blog on the matter). During this ceremony the Lama recites prayers for the climbers and the climb ahead.

Yesterday the climbing team finally broke camp and we walked up to Kala Patar. This is not a particularly high peak but it gives us a little more altitude exposure which will help us in a few days when we attempt to go up the ice fall toward the western cwm of Everest. There is an old climbing adage which goes ?Climb high, sleep low?. The reason for this is that in going high your body is exposed to lower oxygen levels and thus further acclimatization is stimulated. In then coming down low to sleep you avoid the upset to sleep patterns. Today we ventured up to camp 1 of Pumori which is just behind EBC. We were treated to stunning views (see photo attached) of Everest (north, west and south sides), Lhotse, the South col, Nuptse and Changtse. We also got great views of the incredible ice fall as it comes off Everest and Lhotse and turns sharply to form the Khumbu glacier.

Our camp is situated right on top of the glacier at the bottom of the ice fall. Being that a glacier is by definition a river of ice and is thus moving we are treated at nights by bangs and creaks as the glacier moves below us?..but it doesn?t stop sleep!!

I am feeling great at the moment but given that we are about to go higher I (and others) are expecting to feel grim again ? but that?s the nature of extreme altitude mountaineering. The team is gelling really well together and there are lots of laughs which is always a good sign?as we say in Ireland??the craic is good?.

The last few days we have been treated to a stash of yummy food ? a couple of full legs of Italian hams, salamis, biscuits, branston pickle and a range of great cheeses. These have helped the appetites which at times fail us greatly.

Tonight is the last night of the first trekking group so I will probably take my guitar down and the song books and see if they are keen on a few songs. Tomorrow we are going to the start of the ice fall to bone up on our crevasse and jumarring skills. The day after that we will probably head up to camp 1 for an overnight and a return to base camp.

Thanks to all of you who are sending messages to us on the blogs ? they are greatly appreciated.

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Blog by Nigel Hart