May 17: Camp 3 is located in the middle of the steep Lhotse Face on one of the few small flat-ish sections overwise dominated by a 60 Degree slope. The actual location of Camp 3 is so limited that responding to the call of Mother Nature is actually quite dangerous. There are well-known stories of climbers from previous seasons who have fallen to their deaths while attending to their morning business when they were careless in where they stepped...perhaps the equivalent of an urban legend. Nevertheless, the location of Camp 3 is quite intimidating. I spent most of my time in the tent inside my sleeping bag with my oxygen mask strapped to my head.
Enroute to Camp 4, we continued climbing up the steep Lhotse Face, engaged a traverse over to the rocky cliff section known as the "yellow band." The ascent of this cliff was not particularly difficult, except for the fact that the combination of wearing the oxygen mask (while breathing hard and fast) and goggles caused the goggles to fog up....resulting in having to climb the "yellow band" blind. The end result was an unnecessary expenditure of excess energy.
Once above the "yellow band" and the corresponding congestion of climbers, we climbed another steep ice/snow section, followed by another traverse to yet another rocky cliff.....which was surprisingly much easier to climb than it looked (i.e., well established snowy footprints weaved conveniently through/around the protruding rocks). Once this rocky cliff section topped out, the terrain was essentially flat for the remaining half hour to Camp 4.
Camp 4 is a large flat area known as the South Col and for most of the year is one of the harshest/nastiest places on Earth, primarily due to constant high winds. However, while we were there, the wind ranged from non-existent to 30 mph...extremely pleasant, albeit unusual weather for the South Col. Upon arrival, we quickly climbed into our tents, began making final preparations for the upcoming summit attempt, and tried to rest/sleep.
May 18 & 19: After reviewing the most recent weather forecast, it was decided to begin final preparations at 8:00 p.m on May 18, with the goal of leaving Camp 4 for the summit at 9:30 p.m. that same evening. So we spent most of the day trying to sleep/rest...and preparing for Game Day.
Anxiety was running high, and I decided to only take Gu packs/Hammer Gels/Power Gells for food because when frozen, these products remained viscous and therefore edible despite the extreme cold. This proved to be a solid decision. I kept the gells in a front pocket of my summit suit and so food was not an issue. I also placed two 1 liter water bottles in the inside pockets of the summit suit. The idea was to avoid having to remove the backpack.
As mentioned before, while climbing I almost immediately had to unzip the front of the summit suit, along with the side pant zips in an effort to avoid over heating (i.e., the irony of having to make an effort to avoid over heating in one of the coldest places on Earth matched up well with my skewed sense of humor). This proved fortunate because we all experienced a chest freeze. This was a new experience and was caused by the use of the oxygen mask. The moist air that we all continually exhaled out the bottom of the mask tended to accumulate and freeze on the chest region of our summit suits/heavy down jackets. Very quickly, the front zippers were completely frozen and impossible to adjust. While it was difficult to get to my water bottles, it was still possible....and so the chest freeze was more of an interesting phenomena than a practical problem.
I have no idea how I would reached my water bottles had the front zipper been zipped all the way up. During the 14-15 hour summit and return, I consumed only one liter of water and six Gu packets. We only stopped a few times to rest and it felt like we were always pressured to keep moving....a strategy that ultimately proved succesful.
We were back at Camp 4 by 11:00 a.m., and we piled into our tents and quickly found our sleeping bags. If I recall correctly, sleep came quickly as we were able to wind down from the summit effort.
May 20: We descended from Camp 4 to Camp 2.....much more difficult than anyone will ever know.
May 21: Left Camp 2 and returned to Base Camp passing through the Khumbu Ice Fall for the last time. As a side note, the Khumbu Ice Fall was well behaved on this day with perfect snow/ice conditions. The previously devestated areas had been repaired by the "ice doctors" and the condition of the tramped out trail was as perfect as one could want. Despite the two dozen ladders crossing over the numerous exposed crevasses, the Khumbu Ice Fall was, and always will be, one of my favorite parts of the Everest expedition.
ANOTHER REMINDER THAT MT. EVEREST CANNOT BE UNDERESTIMATED: After we reached Based Camp, we began hearing reports that a Spanish expedition, consisting of more than 12 climbers had been caught in 80-90 mph winds that descended on the South Col (i.e., Camp 4) in the afternoon of May 21. A massive rescue effort was undertaken by several guides who were on the mountain, and despite the heroic efforts, most of the distraught climbers ended up suffering from frost bite. It is my understanding that two of the climbers actually fell and had additional physical injuries....pretty much of a chaotic disaster. It was as if they didn't bother to check the weather forecast. When I hear about this type of encounter, I can only appreciate our guides and the support infracture they created to reduce the associated risk of reaching the summit. Anyway, best not to be up high when the winds go wild on Mt. Everest.
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