A Note from Joyce

I returned to New York last Monday (happily via Tokyo and not via Frankfurt — and Eyjafjallajökull! — as originally routed), and over the last 10 days I’ve had a wonderful time catching up with friends, family and a month’s worth of mail.

I’m delighted that so many of you followed our progress during the trek to Base Camp. I’m proud to have made it, and to have made wonderful friends with so many of my fellow trekkers during the ascent. Many have asked if I wish I was still on the mountain. In a word, no: for me, riding a bike through New York makes for a much more enjoyable spring than shivering in a tent on a glacier!

Others have asked if Don’s vivid reports — and the even more vivid photos — are making me nervous. They’re not. I have total confidence in the expertise of the guides and Sherpa with the Alpine Ascents team, and can attest to the group’s total seriousness of purpose. Most of all, I know how methodically Don has prepared for this, both physically and mentally, and how important this goal is to him.

But his goal encompasses more than just summiting the mountain with a hip replacement. We were inspired by our visit to the Hospital and Rehabilitation Center for Disabled Children last month, and by the doctors and young patients there who truly define what it means to “replace limits” every day. On our trek to Base Camp, we reflected on how lucky we are to have a health care system that allows us to undertake such an adventure — and how there is no reason the wonderful children of H.R.D.C. shouldn’t some day have similar opportunities.

I hope you’ll consider helping Don fulfill this half of his goal by making a donation to H.R.D.C. The American Himalayan Foundation website has set up a web portal through which you can donate in a few clicks; detailed instructions are on the “Donate” tab of Don’s website.

Please continue to comment away on Don’s entries — though he can’t access the web from 20,000 feet up, I know he’ll be overwhelmed when he sees how many people are rooting for him. If you’d like to drop him a line, he can receive text-only messages at climb@alpineascents.com (just put “Don Healy: Everest” in the subject line, and be sure your message is formatted in plain text). I’m sure he’d be thrilled to hear from you — though I also know he’d be even more thrilled by your support of H.R.D.C.

 //Joyce

Descent to Base Camp

On Friday 4/23, we arose for a 4:00 AM breakfast, geared up and at 5:15 AM started our descent from Camp 2 all the way to Base Camp. The journey took only six-and-a-half hours, compared to the 14+-hour total time to ascend to Camps 1 and 2. While seemingly fast, it was still an arduous morning and I was amazed at the many obstacles we had to traverse — the trail seemed even more daunting than it did on the ascent.

We arrived at Base Camp at 11:45 AM, had a quick lunch followed by a very welcomed (and needed!) shower. We collapsed in our tents for the remainder of the afternoon, recovering from four intense days of climbing.

//Don

Yet Another Acclimatization Climb!

Our second day at Camp 2, Thursday 4/22, started with a two hour climb up to the Western Cwm. As previously noted, these acclimatization climbs trigger the body into generating more red blood cells. A frequently cited adage of mountaineering is to “climb high and sleep low.”

 

We turned around as we approached the Lhotse face, which we will be ascending next week to get to Camp 3. It looks extremely steep and intimidating and is reputedly the toughest part of the Everest ascent. I can’t say I’m looking forward to it! (From Camp 3 upwards, we’ll be using oxygen, which makes the remainder of the climb easier.)

 

The panoramic views from the Western Cwm were even more glorious than those from below. After a rest break we returned to Camp 2, with the descent taking only 45 minutes.

//Don

On to Camp 2

After a bitter cold and windy night at Camp 1, we headed back up the Khumbu glacier, this time continuing all the way to Camp 2. The camp is located on a moraine at the edge of the glacier — just below Everest itself. It took five hours.

 

Camp 2 is much more “developed” than Camp 1, the latter being more of a temporary way station between EBC and Camp 2. Alpine Ascents maintains a cook tent and dining tent for their clients as well as the Sherpas who are working to fix lines higher up as well as those who will be assisting the climbers going forward.

One interesting observation was the amount of litter and debris from prior expeditions. Up to this point, I have been surprised at the lack of litter on Everest; there have been major attempts to clean things up in recent years. The reason for the mess at Camp 2 is twofold. First, this has been a big camp site for decades and much of the debris was buried by snow and ice. Several warm seasons in a row have uncovered much of the litter that was previously hidden. The second problem is that there was an enormous snow storm at the end of last season and a great deal equipment and supplies was abandoned. Clean-up efforts are ongoing, so hopefully Camp 2 will look better with time.

//Don

Khumbu Panorama

Monday I was too exhausted to appreciate the grandeur of Camp 1’s setting, but after 12 hours of sleep and a late 8:00 AM rise on Tuesday 4/20, I began to take in the surroundings on Tues 4/20. Camp 1 sits in the direction of the Khumbu glacier just before it breaks up at the ice fall. (A glacier is basically a frozen river — it moves slowly in wide smooth areas, but where there is a sharp drop or narrowing, it speeds up and tumbles, much like a rapids or waterfall — but at much slower speeds.) The camp itself was in the middle of a wide expanse of the glacier — yet on the edge of a 50-foot drop!

From our perch, we had a 360 degree view. Nuptse, with its glistening ice covered slopes to our north, was right on top of us. Pumo Ri was to the west — with its “Jabba the Hut” face and cap. Smaller mountains continued around to the south meeting up with Everest itself, which didn’t  look all that high from our vantage point — but actually shoots straight up one-and-a-half miles above the glacier. Joining up with Everest to the southeast is Lhotse, the fourth highest mountain in the world. We’ll actually be climbing the “Lhotse face” to get to the South Col of Everest.

To continue our acclimatization process, we headed towards Lhotse and the “Western Cwm” (Cwm is Welsh for valley.) We climbed for two hours towards Camp 2. While the trail was quite modest compared to the obstacle course of the Khumbu ice fall, there were still some serious crevasses to navigate and one could really feel the thin air — we were over 2,000 feet above Everest Base Camp. Having ascended another 500 feet or so above Camp 1, we returned there for the night.

//Don

Upward Bound!

 

Monday 4/19 was a big day — and a grueling one! We arose at 2:30 AM, had breakfast at 3:00 AM, geared up (mountaineering boots, crampons, safety harness, ice axe) and at 4:00 AM began our meandering through the maze that is the Khumbu ice fall. (Early starts are the norm to reduce the risk of the ice blocks moving as the sun heats things up.)

Our test run through part of the Khumbu on Saturday was a walk in the park compared to what we faced today. There were very steep uphill climbs, ups and downs in vast crevasses using ladders or rappelling on dangling ropes. All the training of the prior week was truly brought to bear.

The scale of the ice fall is immense — 20, 50, 100 foot slabs of ice alternating with huge crevasses. The constant up and down was very wearing and it took some nine hours to reach Camp 1 (19,600 feet), located on the Khumbu glacier just above the ice fall. It’s a very exposed setting with magnificent 360-degree views — Pumo Ri and a range of Tibetan mountains in the distance west and Nuptse, Lhotse, and Everest itself in our immediate surrounding — truly breathtaking and COLD!

Totally exhausted, we huddled in our tents and, much to our surprise, were treated to “room service” by our guides, who delivered hot soup followed by some lunch and dinner. We were all too tired and cold to venture out of our tents until the following morning.

//Don

A Stroll Through Everest Base Camp

Today was our first full rest day since the trek to Everest Base Camp began on April 1, and it was very welcome! After breakfast, I did some wash and then when on a walk through Base Camp with Vern Tejas, our senior guide (he’s summited Everest eight times already!), and two of my fellow climbers. We stopped by the Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA) clinic to say hello to Dr. Lou Ann Freer, who is head of the operation, and pass on a “Hello” from Dr. Deb Stoner who I had the pleasure of meeting at our timeshare in St. Lucia in January. Deb had previously spent a season at the base camp clinic as well as volunteering her services at other medical facilities in Nepal.

We also visited a photographic exhibit called Rivers of Ice, set up by David Breashears (of Everest Imax fame). The exhibit is sponsored by the Asia Society and the Richard D. Bass Foundation and documents the dramatic change in the Himalayan glaciers over the past 100 years as a result of global warming/climate change.

It’s hard to believe, but Everest Base Camp is close to a mile long from one end to the other. We didn’t go to the furthest camp (nearest the entrance), but Vern, who seems to know almost everyone at EBC, did stop by to visit friends at other expedition companies. On the way back to our camp, we met Ang Sherpa, who holds the record for the most ascents of Everest — nineteen. He’s aiming for his 20th summit this season.

The afternoon was spent preparing our gear for our 3:00 AM Monday morning departure for Camps 1 and 2. While packing, I heard a rumble and looked out of my tent to witness another avalanche quite close to our camp.

//Don

[NOTE:  I’ll be spending the next four nights at Camp 1 and 2, and will not have internet access, so there will be a pause in my blogging until I return on April 23.]

 

First Foray into the Ice Fall!

Having completed four days of training on crampon, ladder, rope techniques, etc., we put our skills to the test in our first serious climb today, 4/17. We arose at 5:15 AM, had breakfast and, after a quick stop at the camp Stupa, where we threw rice into the air for a blessing, we started climbing at 7:00 AM. This was going to be a four-hour round trip-climb — if we were heading to Camp 1, we’d be starting at 3:00 AM to avoid the heat of the day, which makes the Khumbu ice fall far more dangerous.

From our camp at the foot of the ice fall, it doesn’t seem that big or steep, but the scale of everything here is extraordinarily deceptive and only 1/3 of the ice fall is actually visible from EBC. As we entered it, the scale became more apparent — it’s BIG! We climbed some three hours and didn’t even reach the top of the first third. In this relatively brief climb, we used virtually every technique we had practiced over the previous four days. It’s a little more interesting crossing a shaky ladder with a huge crevasse open below you.

An hour later, we were back at our camp and ready for a hearty lunch. I also had my first shower at camp and it felt delicious! We had the afternoon off, which gave me the opportunity to read more of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest the third in Stieg Larsson’s Millennium series. As with the previous two novels, it’s a real gripper and perfect for tent reading.

//Don

Avalanche & More Training!

Twenty-four hours a day, avalanches and rock falls thunder around Base Camp about every half-hour on average. The south facing mountains are uncovered by snow and seem to be crumbling before one’s eyes – it’s hard to believe these mountains can last much longer for all the earth and rock that stream down them daily. Base camp itself is covered with this debris, or “scree” — which sits on top of the Khumbu glacier. During the day, the sun beats down on this base and rivulets open up all around. Without this melting, you would not know there is actually tons of ice under the rock beneath your feet.

On the north, east and west exposures, there are often huge overhanging glaciers — many as much as 100 feet deep — ready to fall. The other day, I had a camera in hand when I heard a huge roar and saw one such chunk of ice break away — the power illustrated was awesome, as you can probably glean from the attached series of photos. Fortunately, these overhangs are well removed from the EBC area.

On both Thursday and Friday, we continued our four-hour training sessions with more ladder work, rappelling, belaying and ice climbing. I’ve done ice climbing before and really enjoyed it. This time around it was much harder because we were using mountaineering ice axes rather than ice climbing axes and it was much more difficult to find a purchase in the ice. 

Looking around the Base Camp area, I did not notice any other groups training. I learned from our guides and from one of my teammates who attempted Everest with another group in 2002 that few expedition companies bother with training their clients. This is much to the detriment of those who are better prepared as the lack of training is a major cause of logjams on the ladders and fixed lines.

At the moment, the program calls for one more day of training on Saturday and a day of rest on Sunday. Weather permitting, we’ll start the first rotation to higher camps on Monday, climbing to Camp 1 (19,500 feet) where we’ll spend two nights. We’ll continue on to Camp 2 (21,500 feet), where we’ll spend another two nights and then descend all the way back to EBC.

//Don

Training Continues & Life at Base Camp

 

First, a big shout out to my daughter Mary, who celebrates her 24th birthday today.

Our training program continued today with our morning spent ascending ropes and practicing clipping our ascender and safety carabiners in and out of the fixed lines. There are fixed lines for much of the route up Everest and it’s essential that one smoothly transition from one fixed line to the next — with heavy gloves or mitts on.

The afternoon was spent traversing ladders with our crampons on. This is a very tricky process but, as with learning to use the fixed lines, crossing ladders is an essential skill — there are some 20 ladders ranging from 15 to 30 feet long extending over crevasses!

Things are settling into a routine at Base Camp. I usually arise at 6:45 AM, go to the kitchen tent to get a basin of hot water and then wash and shave in my tent as best I can in the frigid morning cold (I’m one, if not the only person, who tries to shave every day — I don’t really wake up otherwise!) Breakfast is at 8:00 AM and our training sessions begin at 9:30 and run to 1:30-2:00 PM, followed by lunch. We’ve been getting the afternoons off to rest up, read, and send emails. Dinner is at 6:30, and with much storytelling and banter, goes to about 8:30 PM. I’ve usually updated my blog after dinner and head to bed around 10:00 PM. There is a shower set-up, which will become available in a day or two. Climbers will have access to the shower every 4-5 days (assuming they’re not higher up on the mountain).

A number of commenters have asked how I’ve been able to maintain the blog from such a remote area. On the trek in, most of the small villages had some sort of internet café with a satellite uplink. The cost of internet service escalated with altitude, from 10 rupies (about 14 cents) per minute in Namche Bazar to 25 rupies (35 cents) at Gorak Shep.

 Alpine Ascents has a satellite internet link at our base camp – with limited access for the climbers. Please note that I can’t receive emails from my VGS or EverestHipHop accounts on the mountain. If you’d like to drop me a line, please e-mail climb@alpineascents.com with my name in the subject line. These will be forwarded to me, typically within 24 hours of sending. Please be sure to send any messages only in plain-text format, without any attachments. I hope to hear from some of you!

//Don