First Hurdle

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So the first hurdle and psychological block has been dispelled. Yesterday we retreated from camp 1 (at about 6100m) after having negotiated the fearsome Khumbu icefall. Fair to say, we probably all found it a bit more difficult than expected.

The icefall is huge, to say the least. It is difficult to give an impression of just how big it is, but hopefully the pictures on the website will give some idea. It is not for the faint-hearted. Some of the ice-blocks that are waiting to crack and fall are as big as houses. Some of the crevices over which one traverses via ladder are 30-40m deep. Some say the icefall is more dangerous this year, others say not. Either way, it is a daunting piece of terrain over which one has to cross to get to the Western Cwm and Everest.

As climbers we all have our own coping mechanisms for the daunting task of a high altitude mountain. For the physical side we all have our own pace that we require to set to manage the many hours ahead of us. Thus some by necessity walk slowly, others fast. Later on, some then require more rest, others less. For relatively fit athletes, we all must cope psychologically with the many grueling hours of physical activity. I tend to ?zone-out? and think of other things. Others may ?zone-in?, and choose to focus on the ?pain?.

Needless to say, the first time is probably the toughest ? we have to do it at least twice more. So today is a day of rest to replenish the body and mind. It has been really good to receive all the messages from the blog. In answer to some of the queries, I can assure all that the climbing team is well and present. Chris Imray is still with us and has not absconded to a Caribbean island and Maryam is still the smiley powerhouse she always is. Nigel and Roger will write their own blogs and Mike can be caught on BBC World occasionally. Paul and Sundeep are their usual solid selves, eating as much as possible and slogging the miles away. Mind you, it is ditto for the rest of us. On days off rest we tend to eat an enormous amount as our energy expenditure is massive on climbing days.

Our only concern is Mick O?Dwyer. I think he has sustained hypoxic damage as he forgot that this weekend is his fianc?es birthday. Roisin, with apologies, we all hope you have a wonderful weekend in Paris and have many happy returns. While Mick berates himself and his stupidity in his tent this afternoon, what are the rest of us doing on our ?off-day?? Some have done washing, some have slept and some are watching a movie. Some of us are ?tweaking? our climbing equipment. I have switched to a body-harness this year, so required to change the length of the ?slings? on my equipment. The common themes though, are rest and eat! Andre and I are also finishing off a study on coagulation.

Tomorrow is also a day of rest. Final preparations will be made to enter the Western Cwm the following day for about 10 days. This will be to establish a laboratory at camp 2 and hopefully to climb onto the South Col for some further work. Then back down for a prolonged rest. So it will be final washes, pack the sunscreen and of course, eat and eat.

So after tomorrow, Kay will keep you up-to-date on our adventures. What would be really cool is to find out the cricket score while we are up there. So from all of us, God speed.

PS: A final note from me. This time last year I was heading for Denali, desperately waiting to find out that I had twin nieces born to my brother and his wife. This year I have just found out that they are starting to walk. Little snippets like this are ?manna? for us hard nuts.

Patrick Doyle

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