Base Camp - Acclimatisation Profiles - Special Thanks to the Altitude Centre!

The team has been enjoying the comforts of the Hilton that is our 5200m Base Camp for about 10 days now ‘recovering’ (eating everything in sight and sleeping 10 hours/day) from our last move to 7500m (above the North Col). Everyone is in good spirits - ready and waiting for the allusive weather window. Besides the usual ‘hot topics’ at lunch and dinner - weather windows, rope-fixing dates, and what exciting condiment will eaten at dinner today- a recent new ‘element of complexity’ has resurfaced entering an old, all-too-familiar bit of vocabulary back into our conversations - acclimatisation.

Base Camp - CHUCS and Mount Everest

Two of my most prized pieces of ‘mountain attire’ at Base Camp (where striking the delicate balance between mountain fashion and function is clearly a priority!) are my 
(1) ultra light down jacket and 
(2) Chucs sun cap. 
Having said that, fashion is relative… If I walked into the Base Camp mess tent in an Alexander McQueen gown and my high altitude boots I’m fairly sure that the boys would ask why I was wearing high altitude boots at Base Camp…. 

Base Camp - Weather Window Update & Special Thanks

The massive white plume of spindrift blowing from the summit provides every indication that the allusive weather window is still a way off. The wind is ripping into the North East Ridge of Everest as I type. We are still the only team left at Base Camp as the other teams moved up to Advanced Base Camp over a week ago to chase a rumoured weather window. We heard the news today that the Chinese Tibetan Mountaineering Authority (CTMA) rope fixers would leave to start fixing the ropes between 8300m and 8848m on the 18^th of May. 

Things We Won’t Miss about climbing Everest (initial list)

1. Getting dressed on your knees in a tent.....

Base camp - The Waiting Game

Waiting for the weather window feels a lot like Groundhog Day. The weather is generally the same every day (blue sky, sunny), we eat meals daily and regularly at 8:30, 12:30 and 6:30 every day, and conversations generally revolve around the summit window, or summit day generally or the ever popular weather forecast. Somehow these conversations always degenerate into one or another toilet joke or a ‘silent but deadly‘ fart by a member of the team where the next 20-minutes are spent arguing over ‘who-dunnit’.

Base Camp - Salted Plums and the Condiment Challenge

Spare yourself no illusions that we are heroically trudging knee-deep through a steep snowy slope in the Death Zone of Everest, clinging onto our jumars with clenched teeth, breathing each breath as if it were our last… Oh no. Rather, the greater proportion of us are laying in our tents, completely bored out of our rapidly shrinking hypoxic brains for the 5^th day in a row.

The days have started to run together and the ‘time warp’ that we are currently stuck in has begun to affect our mental capacities. Last night we hit a worrying climax at dinner when the ‘Condiments Challenge’ took an interesting twist.

Base Camp - Birthday Celebrations!

I’m fairly sure that I won’t be starting too many birthday celebrations bathing in a ¼ full potato pan in the vestibule of my Hilton of Base Camp tent…but regardless, a wonderful way to start my 35^th birthday. The first proper wash in quite sometime, with an end result that would definitely be a contender for a ‘Head and Shoulders’ commercial (not Herbal Essences as I‘m sure that would alarm the boys!!). My usual clothes smelling ritual (eg. Going through my kit bag to see what smells the least) was also avoided as I decided to treat myself with a clean(ish)wardrobe and a fresh coat of lip gloss before heading to breakfast.