Sunday May 2nd
We woke up at 6 am with more than a foot of snow on our tents. I knew something was wrong when I awoke because my tent had formed around my body and when I tried to stretch I couldn’t move. It was a strange feeling but before long the Sherpa’s were shoveling the snow off the tent and around the base. The dining tent almost collapsed but the Sherpa’s and Tracy got it back upright without any damage.
The day was long because the weather was not very good all day. It was cloudy and cold so a lot of time was spent in the tent. I should have been more productive but turning the IPOD on and getting warm in the sleeping bag was too tempting.
I did spend some time on the internet looking at what was happening in the world (especially BKK) and of course keeping up with the Celtics who lost a hard fought one to the Cavs in game one.
We had dinner with some friends and had a great meal, Fried chicken, mashed potatoes and salad. The dessert was apple strudel. After our friends left, I spent some personal time with Jim to discuss the next few days.
I wanted to try his harness as it was lighter and easier to put on and off. He said he would be happy to let me use it for this climb.
I also hope this helps me adjust my backpack so I can put more weight on my hips. The last few days with my harness on, the weight of the pack has been transferred to my shoulders and neck and this really hurts after a while pulling on the ropes with the weight also on them.
We also discussed boots. I think I will change my boots this time. I will go with my Sportiva’s with the built in gaiters. This will allow me to change my clothes on the bottom and maybe regulate my heat better. Also it will give me the boot to climb the Lhotse with a warmer boot for the colder weather. I will try this and see what I will do on the summit push. Maybe my Crisper’s up to camp 2 then switch to my Sportiva’s. I am just trying a different combination to make it better than the time before.
I also talked to him about camp 3. We are now in the time to “fish or cut bait” I need to be able to get to camp 3 in a reasonable amount of time. Jim doesn’t want me to sleep at camp 3 but would like for me to climb to camp 3 and touch and come back down all in a day (8-9 hrs) This will be a challenge due to the steepness, the ice surface, the lack of oxygen moving from 21000 to 24000 ft and the lack of my familiarity of fixed lines. If I did make it to the top and was too tired to go back down, this would be ok ( 2nd option)but we would have to stay at 24000 ft without oxygen and he believes that this just “hammers’ the body and he hopes this does not happen due to my health. Now all of this is providing we will have good weather so as they say” It is all on me” for the next few days.
I have eaten better and have stayed hydrated so I do not think I will have any issues but the mountain will let me know if I am ready enough to go to the top.
I will be gone Tuesday- Sat / Sun so do not expect any email or blogs posted
The plan is to go to camp 1 Tuesday
Camp 2 Wed
Camp 2 Rest Thurs
Camp 3 Friday if I return to camp 2 (option 1)
Camp 2 Sat if I spend the night at camp 3 ( option 2)
Base Camp Sat Option 1
Sun Option 2 Mother’s day
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Glad you're coping better. Bill can certainly relate (at a much less strenuous level, however) to your need to transfer weight off your shoulders to your hips. He carries about 9+ lbs. of medical equipment around all the time and he avoids stairs like the plague. Hope the different backpack works out. We are maintaining our most positive wishes for the completion of this endeavor and looking forward to your next posts.
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