Snowed In

18th April

Base Camp (BC) woke up to find that snow had fallen during the night. This meant that the climbers at Base Camp could have a relaxing day and catch up on any admin they may have, or in the case of Ro and Pauline cook some wonderful flapjacks for the hungry team.

Up on the mountain, Tarka, Phil, Chris and Seb stayed another day at Advanced Base Camp (ABC) acclimatising (or not fancying a descent in the snow!). But at interim camp, Jamie, Andrew and myself woke to find 6 inches of snow had fallen during the night. When we set out yesterday from BC, our aim had been to walk to interim camp, sleep the night, walk to ABC and descend to interim the same day again sleeping the night, before descending to BC the following day. After a successful walk upto 5800m yesterday the snow caused us to have second thoughts. Having had a good sleep at interim which suggests good acclimatisation, we saw no reason to slog up through the thick snow to ABC. Instead we took the wise option of descending back to BC whilst fighting a strong snowy head wind. The fact that we saw no other climbers walking to interim camp would suggest that we took the correct option. The snow slowed us down significantly but as we descended, so the oxygen content in the air increased which felt great as it hit the lungs.

Although we had not reached ABC, we had had a successful trip up the mountain and this will help us in our acclimatisation. There are now many eager climbers waiting at BC for the snow to clear so that trips can be made higher up the mountain. This is a crucial preparation time for us and it is vital that we can make ascents to varying altitudes so that the body is ready for any possible summit attempts. Let us hope that the lure of flapjacks does not prevent the team from attaining their goal.

Posted by Nic

Back to Civilisation !

17th April

The last four days have been the hardest days I have known in the mountains. We left on Friday for Interim Camp at 5800m with the yaks and herders carrying our ABC kit. The initial walk heads towards Everest and then you turn left up the East Rhombuk glacier crossing the moraine for several hours. The last few hours were spent up and down through glacier moraine fields. Each corner became more and more disheartening as you hoped to see camp ahead. It took us 6 hours to walk 11km and we were all absolutely exhausted, not so much from the distance but from the altitude and the weight of our packs. Camp that night was with the yaks and herders and our tea and water made interesting drinking! We were all in bed by 7.30pm absolutely exhausted listening to the sounds of the yak herders laughing and joking together. The next morning the sherpas headed off to ABC with the yaks and we moved the Interim Camp to a better spot and spent the rest of the day acclimatising to the altitude. The camp site was stunning as we were surrounded by the penitente ice stacks. They are amazing white structures up to 100ft high which creak all night and they run for about 8 miles up the glacier. In some lights the ice looks a glassy blue colour so solid that it would be impossible to put in an ice screw. The Interim Camp facilities were fairly basic with three ridge tents; one of them was our cook tent with limited noodles and soup.

We all woke early the next morning to the sounds of other team's yak herders loading up their cargo and we headed up the moraine to the path on a miserly breakfast heading towards ABC at 6400m. This was a marathon morning (literally!) and we headed up and down moraine on the glacier never being able to see the next stretch of path for several hours. It was a cold morning and a number of us had very cold feet and hands but these soon warmed up as our hearts were pumping to the dozen!! We then came to a stretch where you could see the end of the pentimente. This was a gradual incline and yet I passed several climbers taking 5 steps and then pausing to take breath. I passed one amazing yak herder. She was about 15 and walking in a light shirt, trousers, trainers and no gloves, singing to her yaks. These people really are a tough race and so used to the altitude. Eventually we turned right and could see ABC and the North Col which was a very welcome sight. It still took a good half an hour of panting up the hill to eventually fall in a heap into the mess tent and be fed garlic soup (the altitude remedy) by the sherpas.

Our camp at ABC is on the glacier. It consists of a cook tent, mess tent, the sherpas tent and three ridge tents for the climbers. It's still a work progress as the sherpas only arrived a day ahead of us and cold weather and ferocious winds hampered their progress setting up camp. It was very exciting as you could see the mountain from a different aspect – you could see our exact route and it felt within touching distance (perhaps a little optimistic at the moment!!). Last night was a cold night with the wind howling through the tent and it took a number of us some time to get used to the new breathing pattern due to the thinness of the air.

Seb and I decided this morning to return to the luxury of Base Camp and replenish our stomachs and lungs. It took us 6 hours to descend the 22km. On the route down we passed the kiwi double amputee, the discovery film crew, an American climber descending on the back of a yak due to a bad cough and most importantly Jamie, Nic and Andy who were doing well.

Base Camp feels like luxury and I am looking forward to a good wash, plenty of food and some sleep before considering heading up the track again.

Posted by Andre

Slow is the new 'black'

16th April

I was stirred from my sleep by the gentle sound of a yak bell. As consciousness dawned on me, and the bell got louder, I realised it was Dickie using Patrick's newly acquired memorabilia as a wake up call for those of us a Base Camp. Most of us needed waking as we had a late night for us…yes we were up till gone 10pm having had a ling-a-long in our favourite ‘chill out' tent with guitars by Patrick and Alan (visitor from the army gang for the night) and vocals by all. I contributed some harmonica where appropriate or at least when the gang encouraged me to try (yes they are very long suffering!). Hopefully the neighbouring expeditions enjoyed the noise/music as much as we did.

Today was pleasantly uneventful as we all move in slow motion trying to adapt to the altitude. Some of us went for acclimatisation walks on the surrounding mountains. Dr Andrew tried his hand at cycling down to Rombok for the fun of it and found he really quite enjoyed the attention (the exercise was irrelevant). A Tibetan man asked for a go on the bike and had a great time. Andrew was a bit surprised when the man then offered him a silver ring and felt obliged to explain that a handshake was thanks enough. He is presently reading Seven Years in Tibet and it is hard in this environment to distinguish between genuine cultural welcome and generosity as described in the book and those trying to exploit the ‘Everest' visitors. The later obviously perceive that we have loads of money and need to buy as many souvenirs as we can. In this case it was a genuinely kind gesture. In the end, they exchanged gifts, a bracelet for Andrew and a pair of gloves for his new Tibetan friend.

Nic and Dickie were busy making sure our solar panel was working to its optimum so we can have our phone on all the time to receive any messages from Advanced Base Camp. We are expecting our first call from there this evening as it looks like Phil, Andre, Tarka, Nigel, Chris and Seb have decided to carry on there after their two nights at intermediate camp.

Jamie, Ro, Sarah and I have made the most of our newly erected shower at Base camp. It consists of a bucket with a small tap at the bottom being strung up on rope inside a small tent. Perfect for us and lets face it, none of us were expecting poser showers.

Who knows what entertainment we will have tonight in our fast living life at Base Camp !?

Posted by Pauline

Seven Days in Tibet?

15th April

Seven days in Tibet Base Camp – not quite seven years but we all know we have been out here! All of us are acclimatising, some more slowly than others, but we are getting there. This is a truly beautiful place with the backdrop of the stunning North face of Everest beckoning. With most of the snow whipped off by 100mph plus winds some of the party have turned their attentions to forays of local peaks. Phil has been christened Tigger on account of his annoying amounts of energy whilst my efforts have been confined to lying down and staring at the tent roof wondering which utility bills I did or didn't pay back home. Each morning I am greeted by the wise, friendly eyes of Sonam (our lead Sherpa) who cheerfully comments, “little bit longer, yes!”

As ever we receive friendly and welcome visits from other expeditions – today Al Mason from the British Army West Ridge expedition called in gave an update on their progress and even offered to play in the musical extravaganza that we will put on later in the month. He has Robbie Williams and Oasis – how happy are we? Later, a visit to the hugely experienced Russell Bryce to discuss oxygen use at higher altitude. Weather is the eternal unknown up here and the dark arts of who knows what will certainly start informing the rumour mill as expeditions scramble for pole position.

We look forward to hearing from our lads who have headed up to interim camp yesterday and it is good that the slow, patient preparation for ascent is underway. Today Ro and Pauline went on a foray up the nearby ridge and again illustrated their good fitness as they positively sprinted back into camp.

Our Sherpa cooking team has excelled itself in the mess tent with pasta the clear favourite. Indeed their renown is traveling the site and they are getting visits from other expeditions asking for tips! For lunch we had spam - ain't life great.

Posted by Patrick

Heading on up

14th April

Today the journey to advanced base camp (ABC) began. Following breakfast, the noise of 60 Yaks and their bells alerted us that we were ready to send our kit up to ABC. It was an amazing scene to see the baggage weighed and each Yak loaded with 40kgs. Slowly the long train of Yaks and Yak handlers set off up the mountain. The Yak handlers would call out instructions that sounded like an excited seal. To our astonishment these noises seemed to tell the Yaks which way to go. Along with the Yaks, Phil, Andre, Seb, Nigel, Tarka and our Sherpas set off to spend the night at interim camp (5800m). This is the first acclimatisation journey of many and over the next month we will all become very familiar with the journey between base camp (5200m) and advanced base camp (6400m).

This morning may be the last time we will all be together for much of the expedition as we will all be following slightly different acclimatisation schedules. Those that stayed at base camp completed a number of administrative tasks including liaising with other expeditions. Dom, Pauline and I started to test the oxygen cylinders, regulators and masks. This consisted of Pauline handing the equipment to me for assembly, and then Dom would test the oxygen. This type of team work I think typifies Dom's leadership! High on oxygen, Dom and the rest of us have had a good meal of vegetable fried rice.

Tonight we are going on an expedition to take photos of Everest in the moon light. Last night the full moon made the mountain look majestic.

Posted by Andrew

Life at Base Camp

13th April

It is now great to have the whole team together on the mountain and prepare for the challenge of climbing Everest. This morning the Lama from the Rongbuk monastery arrived and conducted the pujah ceremony for several hours. This is a very important ceremony for the sherpas and they have over the past few days been preparing the altar and this morning it was decorated with prayer flags, incense sticks, food, rice, chang and drinks for the Gods. We all sat with the lama while he chanted prayers to the Gods for our safe climb on the mountain, it was a moving ceremony and culminated in all of us drinking the local chang!

A number of the team have been at Base Camp now for five days and it is starting to feel like home. It has taken all of us time to adjust to the altitude and we each in turn have suffered from acute mountain sickness in some form with splitting headaches, nausea and lack of sleep. However, it has been re-assuring for us to have Andrew on board who has been monitoring us daily checking our pulse rates and oxygen saturation levels. Living at 5200m, some 400 meters above Mont Blanc, is obviously not normal and it certainly takes its toil on the body but we are acclimatising well and a few of us have walked up some of the ridges that surround Base Camp and on the path to Advanced Base Camp.

Base Camp is a huge expanse of ground at the base of the moraine from Everest and surrounded by high ridges with Everest dominating the south aspect of the camp and is a constant reminder of the task ahead. We are positioned at the top end slightly out of the full force of the wind and our individual tents are scattered close together with our mess tent, communications tent, medical tent and cooking tents close by. There are a number of expeditions here with a few more set to arrive in the coming days. There is an international feel to the camp with teams from Italy, Ecuador, Spain, Mongolia, Bhutan, France and the British Army team, whom we have spent time with already on route to the mountain.

The weather has been bitterly cold for this time of year with strong winds constantly howling at the tents with last night the temperature dropping to -5°C in the tents. The Sherpa cooks have been fantastic feeding us three good meals a day.

A number of the team are preparing to go to the Interim Base Camp at 5600m tomorrow before heading up to Advanced Base Camp to continue the process of acclimatisation. A train of fifty-one Yaks also leaves tomorrow with our climbing kit for high on the mountain and this will be a fantastic sight.

Posted by André

Everest at Last!

12th April – distance 29km - ascent 530m - av speed 5km/hr - current position 28,08N 86,51E

It's in the bag! The last phase of cycling from Kathmandu to Everest was always going to prove a challenge and we weren't disappointed. The last three days especially have proved to be the most demanding of the trip, cycling consistently above 4000m and on rough roads. This was to be expected but we were not prepared for the biting headwinds and random dust storms strong enough to knock us off the bikes in places. Last night we were camped less than 30km from Everest basecamp but at this altitude that represents a full days ride. The conditions were so severe for the first 2km today that we were unable to ride and again had to walk the bikes. As the road improved and the wind eased to the odd gust we made better progress and started the long ascent towards the Rongbuk Monastery at over 5000m. The majestic view of Everest towering above us but still over 30km away urged us on. We were all exhausted by the time we arrived at the famous monastery, but took the time to take some pictures and have a quick tea before making our way along the final 8km stretch. The last few switchbacks to basecamp were punishing but we arrived to a welcome committee of the climbers who had arrived some three days earlier by vehicle. It was an emotional moment for all of us. The cycling is now over, after 112 days on the road and 8000km through eight countries. We were all relieved more than anything to arrive firstly as a team, in good health and still relishing the next challenge, which very much looms above us! Individual reactions were perhaps predictable. Sarah cried, perhaps with relief more than anything else. Pauline dug deep and found even more expletives today, which even after three months were still new to us all. Nic on finishing inspected his bike and looked around for a quiet spot to get the dust off. Jamie just looked starving and needed immediate sustenance. I have to admit I was happy to collapse in a heap, simply exhausted after the efforts of the last week. Rest assured we have all been stretched to the limit on this overland expedition. However it's wonderful to have completed a true ‘first', a journey that has never before been completed. As I said before on our arrival in Kathmandu teamwork has much to do with getting us this far. No more so than in the last few days where Dickie and Ro's support has continued to be outstanding, keeping us going with snacks every few km. As I write we are enjoying our first night as a team on the mountain. The climbers and sherpas have done a great job of setting up our basecamp and it already resembles a small village with still more tents to erect. Team members have already started on acclimatisation walks on the nearby ridges but for most of us the next few days will be spent in the gentle process of adapting to the altitude. Lots of food and fluids and plenty of rest. We can't wait..!

Posted by Dom