Back at camp 2

Local time: 7 May, 19:00
Location: Camp 2
Altitude: 6500m
Weather: Overcast for much of the day -6C at c3

Hi it’s Paul at camp 2. After a restless night at camp 3, we descended safely down to C2.

The night at Camp 3
I felt pretty good during the afternoon and night yesterday at C3. I made sure that I drank plenty, which was easy as our Sherpa kept passing tea and water from their tent to ours.

I woke up a number of times during the night and it was hard to get back to sleep, but I did end up sleeping for about 6 hours, which was good. I’d find that just as I was going off to sleep, my breathing would slow down and not be enough, leaving me gasping for air. This is called Cheyenne Stokes breathing and would wake me up again.

We woke at 6am, got ready and left by a little after 7. We were back at camp 2 in time for breakfast of omelet with toast.

I have rested for much of today, and will be waking very early tomorrow to head down to base camp, where a nice shower will be waiting.

Your Messages
Hi Ken, I found the Lhotse face a bit easier this year than last. There were two very steep sections last year, but they have changed shape and are not so steep now. Yes, it’s very icy in some parts, but most of the way is hard snow. Since Pat has been there, a lot of Sherpa have traveled the route heading up to the South Col, kicking in steps, which makes it easier too. Some of Dan Mazur’s group were there, but otherwise that was it.

Hi Cam, The service from Asian Trekking has been really great so far. I have a few batteries, but I only carried one with me. I used it for about 5 hours in total on the one battery, and it was still going fine. I think it would be fantastic for fishing.

Hi Gavin, Yes the website seems to be working without a hitch. (Well from my end anyway).

Hi Moneal, The vest and battery is very lightweight – maybe 500grams. The battery is meant to be some new generation of battery and be very long lasting. The battery doesn’t get that cold, because the vest heats up within 30 seconds. I will put up a detailed comparison after the climb as I want future climbers to make an informed decision. It’s not all positive differences, and some things might be more important to other people, but I’ll give my perspective.

Hi Phil M,
My health is great this year and I feel very strong. The good food we are being feed and smaller group size is no doubt a big contributor. The Psolar mask that I am wearing really helps too. I would go as far as to say that no one should attempt to climb without one of these. It works better than any medication. Attila also has one of these and he swears by it too. I wish I could climb with it, but it fogs up my glasses too much. Once I get to camp, I put it on right away and I wear it every night.

Hi Mira, Thanks for the post about TA. This was the first I had heard of it – a real shame. I know how much effort she put into this. I presume TA feels that there isn’t enough time to get better between now and the end of May. Another guy with IMG got Giardia last year too – not sure how he contacted it. Obviously not systematic, but still a real concern. I and a few other people also got sick after the first meal prepared by their cooks on the trek in, but a course of antibiotics fixed this. The next day (going up to Namche) I was walking with a Swiss climber and we arrived at the lunch spot early. We watched them make some juice and saw that the water wasn’t boiled when they went to serve it. We both immediately asked them to boil the water properly, which they did, but it was a real concern. Bringing your own water filter is a good suggestion.

Hi Jennifer, I am doing really well this time and having a lot of fun.

Hi WP, Yes, you would be in big trouble if you forgot sunscreen. I have to remember to put it in my pocket, because otherwise it’s frozen solid.

Hi Liane, There are no rules, but usually the descending climber will unclip because a jumar (used by the ascending climber) is more work. When using a jumar, most people have a carabiner clipped as well, so this means more work.

Base camp, here we come! Paul.