The Rotation

Six days ago, we headed into the icefall at midnight to start our acclimatization rotation to Camp Two and above. We met in the dining tent an hour in advance.

As we forced down pre departure toast and coffee, Robert made a surprise announcement: “I’m not going with you guys. I just had three separate dreams in which I saw myself lying dead on the mountain. I don’t know if it’s fear of the icefall, or if it’s something else, but I’m out.” This from a guy who has been on Everest three times, skied from the summit of Manaslu, and has been on Lhotse twice. By my count, he has been through the icefall more than twenty times.

In a way, it didn’t surprise me. Climbing Everest is a hugely mental game. You can sense when peoples’ heads aren’t fully in it, and Robert’s hadn’t been. You have to listen to your inner voice. When he summited Everest in 2018, Robert had a very challenging descent. More recently on Lhotse, he had problems with altitude that forced him to descend. I had worried quietly about how he would do up high this year, and I think his inner voice was cautioning him as well. He was wise to listen to it.

So, as Robert packed his duffles for the trip down to Lukla to catch a flight to Kathmandu, Phil, Teemu, Sirdar Pasang Ongchu, and I were heading up the mountain.

I need to tell you about Pasang Ongchu. In addition to being Phil’s long time Sirdar, supervising all of the climbing Sherpas and expedition support infrastructure, he is an accomplished climber and certified guide. He has climbed all over the Himalayas, summited Everest eight times, and climbed in Switzerland, Peru, and Japan. For those of you who followed my climb last year, he is a bit like a younger Lakpa Rita.

As I worked with Phil to plan my climb, one critical component was arranging for Pasang Ongchu to be my personal climbing partner. We will climb together at all times on the mountain and share a tent. In addition to giving me the flexibility to move at my own pace and schedule, it assures that someone of his caliber will be in my tent at the south col and at my side on summit night, when if things go haywire the consequences can be severe.

Our climb through the dark icefall to Camp One was other-worldly, as it always is. Phil had suggested a midnight start to assure that we weren’t slowed down by other groups, and that worked perfectly, We paused only once to wait for a descending group to navigate a tricky ladder over a crevasse. That group turned out to be Ben Jones, my expedition leader from last year, and the three climbers who comprise this year’s Alpine Ascents team. Here is a photo of that moment, with Ben on the right. Ben and I clapped each other on the shoulders and exchanged encouragement as we passed.

It began to get light as we reached the upper portion of the icefall. Phil flexed his superhuman climbing speed and, along with one Sherpa, motored ahead to Camp One to get the tents set up. Pasang Ongchu and I maintained a steady pace. Teemu and another Sherpa maintained their own pace some ways back. Here is a photo of Pasang Ongchu in the icefall’s upper section:

And here is another of him navigating one of the steep climbs up the edge of a crevasse:

We arrived at Camp One shortly before 6:00am. It was cold until the sun rose over the surrounding peaks, after which it warmed up quickly. Here is a view of our tents looking up the Western Cym toward Camp Two and the Lhotse Face. That’s the Everest summit pyramid left center.

The following day we hiked up the Western Cym to Camp Two. Here is a photo Teemu took of Pasang Ongchu and me heading out, (me in the back, drafting Pasang step for step):

Camp Two, at 21,400 feet, serves as a staging area for Sherpas carrying loads higher on the mountain. As such, it has a surprisingly robust tent infrastructure. Here is a photo of Teemu (left) and Phil (right) in our dining tent:

A few more words on each of these two.

After a youth full of outdoor sports, Teemu got involved with the European music industry. This led to problems with drugs and alcohol. He went sober and wrote a book about it, which apparently is quite well known in Finland. Putting his life back together, he found salvation in the mountains as a backcountry guide. He explained to me: “Compared to managing Finish heavy metal bands, leading people in the wilderness is incredibly straightforward “. Teemu is an accomplished climber, including climbing Cholatse – a challenging technical peak at the foot of the Khumbu Valley – with Phil several years ago.

Phil is a legend. After growing up in the UK, he spent several years in Lhasa helping found the Tibetan Mountaineering School which has trained a generation of local climbers. He has summited scores of 8,000 meter peaks and now spends half the year based in Kathmandu and the other half based in Woodstock NY, leading expeditions in the Himalayas and South America.

In addition to possessing a sharp and irreverent sense of humor, Phil has a unique approach to his business. “Altitude Junkies” is a loyal band of experienced climbers who keep returning to climb with Phil. He receives frequent inquiries from people wanting to join him and delights in referring most of them to other guide services.

Phil eschews publicity and self promotion, and does not run Altitude Junkies like a typical business. He pays his Sherpa team well above typical Everest wages, and is the only operator who invests in oxygen for his Sherpas when they are carrying loads to high camps. Those looking for expedition updates on his rudimentary website typically find a terse “we have arrived and started ” comment at the beginning, and a “we have summited and are heading home” comment at the end. Anything more than that was probably put there by his wife Trish. When Phil and I agreed that I would join this year’s Everest climb, he never asked for a deposit. Two weeks before I flew to Kathmandu, I was still bugging him for an invoice so I could pay him.

I really like both of these guys, and Pasang Ongchu as well.

In keeping with Phil’ flexible approach to expeditions, Teemu and Phil headed back to base camp after two nights at Camp Two, while Pasang Ongchu and I spent a third night and climbed to 22,500 feet at the base of the Lhotse face. Here is a photo I took of some climbers ahead of us and we approached the Lhotse face:

The next morning, Pasang Ongchu and I descended to base camp. As we emerged from the icefall and stopped to take off our crampons, I thought to myself: “two icefall passages down, hopefully just two to go”, and thanked the mountain gods for safe passage so far.

REFLECTIONS AND OUTLOOK

The rotation went as well as it could have. I am feeling strong and, of critical importance, remain healthy. Once you come down with any kind of bug at altitude, it is very hard to shake. The model of climbing with Pasang Ongchu is working great. I really appreciate the flexibility to move at my own pace, which at least for the moment is quicker than many of the other climbers on the mountain. It is also incredibly freeing to be able to stop whenever you want, to rest or take a photo. Climbing in a group, there is always real or subconscious pressure to maintain pace with the person in front of you, and you can spend more time focusing on their heels than on your surroundings.

At the same time, this remains very hard work. The body gasps for air, and it requires real force of will to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Dangers of various forms always lurk, especially in the icefall. Much of the time, your are uncomfortable and physically exhausted. Some of my least favorite times are the transitions out of my warm sleeping bag in the morning to get ready to exit the tent. Every task is an effort. The cold feels like an enemy. Pulling on climbing boots is a hurdle that leaves me panting. Morning to evening, the overall misery index is high.

Having completed our acclimatization rotation, and being on a “two rotation” model rather than three, we – in contrast to many of the teams here- are almost ready to go for the summit. We just need the fixed ropes to be in place all the way to the top, our high camps to be fully established and stocked with oxygen, and a weather window to present itself.

The fixed ropes are already in place to the south col and should get to the summit within the next few days. Our Sherpas carried a major load to Camp Four last night and our camps are pretty much stocked. Phil is maniacally focused on having us ready to go for the summit as soon as an opportunity is there. On that front, current forecasts suggest that a weather window may open around May 9-12. If it does, we will be launching our summit push in the next few days. Things may unfold very quickly.

If we miss an early weather window for whatever reason, we will hang out here at base camp and wait for the next one. For now, my job is to rest, recover from the recent rotation, and get my head ready for the summit push, whenever it happens.

If we end up leaving soon, I will try to get out another short post with some final details, including how those of you who are interested can follow me on my Garmin InReach. Internet here at base camp, provided by a solar powered cellular relay system, remains frustratingly sketchy, but most days I can pick up a signal at some point.

ADDENDUM

It has been almost two days since I wrote this and I have been unable to post it because the internet is down. Something about a broken relay tower down the valley. Some updates and additions, with an eye toward the internet’s eventual return:

– The near term weather window continues to look very favorable. We are currently targeting May 10-12 for a potential summit. This would mean leaving base camp the night of May 6 or 7.

– In this scenario, we would climb through the icefall and go directly to Camp Two. Then move to Camp Three. Then move to Camp Four at the south col, rest there for a few hours, and depart for the summit mid to late evening: hoping to arrive at the summit around day break. Exact timing on summit night will depend both on the weather and on the number of other people going for the summit. Of course, all of this can change.

– Once we are at Camp Four and have finalized our plans, Jill has graciously offered to send an update out to the blog post alert list. I will be carrying my Garmin locator device on summit night and it will update my position every 20 minutes. For any of you interested, you can follow my progress at https://share.garmin.com/SUO62 .

– While timing can vary widely for all sorts of reasons, I am expecting it to take around 8-9 hours to reach the summit once I depart Camp Four, and roughly 3 hours to return. If you are tracking me and progress appears to suddenly halt, don’t worry. Garmin batteries can easily freeze up there.

It feels like things are coming together, and I am really excited. The summit push and return will be six of the most physically and mentally challenging days of my life, but I feel ready. I did five of them last year so I know what to expect. I hope I now get to experience the sixth.

I keep saying it because it is true: your interest and support mean the world. Thank you!