... Wrapping up Lobuche, on to EBC...
Our Sherpa Guided Team is high on Lobuche today working on their summit bid. This is our last wave of climbers for the season on Lobuche, they've got great weather for their summit bid and we're wishing them the best of luck!
Our Western Guided Team rolled into Everest Basecamp yesterday, and our Private team will be rolling into EBC later today. They'll start getting settled into their new homes and take advantage of a few days rest after the trek and climb of Lobuche. After being on the move and living out of teahouses the whole trek, having a spot to call your own is a welcome change!
In a few more days the Sherpa Guided Team will roll into EBC as well, marking the first time the whole team is together in one place. Lots of work left to be done before the summit, but the first phase of getting to basecamp is almost done! We love getting all the teams together after being split up for over a week trekking into EBC, the camaraderie that comes from being part of our Everest climbs is one of our favorite experiences.
Cheers,
CTSS Team
...A look at Lobuche...
Some lovely photos to share with you from Guide Ossy of our Private Teams ascent of Lobuche. (Amazing to get some through as the internet has been patchy as of late)
It's a very dry year and strong winds challenged the Western Guided Team, so it's wonderful to see all of our Private climbers topping out in perfect weather.
They are back at Lobuche Base Camp now and will head into EBC tomorrow.
Our Sherpa Supported Team will move up to Lobuche High Camp ready for their summit bid and following that they will also move to EBC where all the teams under the CTSS banner will unite.
Cheers
CTSS Team
...First Team moves Out, Last Team up on Lobuche...
Our Western Guided Team have arrived safely to their new 'Home Away From Home' - the CTSS Everest Base Camp. Strong winds prevented their Lobuche summits but the purpose of the climb was still achieved with their acclimatization so everyone in great spirits. They reached EBC in time for lunch and spent the afternoon moving in.
Our Private Teams and Sherpa Guided Teams are high on Lobuche today so they are quiet on the comms front as they focus on their climb. The Private teams are making their summit attempt, and the Sherpa guided teams are moving into place for theirs. We're looking forward to news of success soon!
Cheers
CTSS Team
...High Above Pheriche...
Hello everyone!!
We're rolling through the Khumbu in style at the moment, enjoying all the fantastic clear skies.
As you know The Western Guided Team are a bit quiet as they are unplugged high on Lobuche, yesterday they checked out the lower Lobuche climbing route (above High Camp) and weather permitting they'll be climbing right now to stand on top of their first objective - Lobuche East. You can check out the Lobuche climb here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WTTGuUGT7A&list=PLMz_kRmPTvqWaiXsJ-OVFw-ViMzHAzyjW
We'll bring you more news soon. Tonight they'll be dropping to Base Camp and tomorrow set off towards EBC!
Our Private Guided Team and Trekkers acclimatized above Lobuche Base Camp reaching a new high point and did a skills training clinic after lunch, they'll head up to begin their stay at High Camp today. They'll swap out with our Western Guided Team and no doubt get a little fresh beta on the climb. Conditions on Lobuche this season are dry which makes the ascent more challenging but the blue skies are making up for it. A few more days of acclimatization and then they'll tag the summit.
Our Personal Sherpa Team is moving up from Pheriche today after a stunning acclimatization hike yesterday high above Pheriche. You can expect them to now be out of touch for about 4-5 days as they follow the same schedule as the earlier teams.
Lobuche Base Camp looks a bit different than years past with our new, insulated geodesic dome keeping everyone toasty and extra comfy.
Cheers
CTSS Team
...2/3rds to Lobuche...
A quick update today as more of the team reach their first objective, Lobuche East.
Our Western Guided Team moved up to High Camp ready to tackle the peak in coming days. They're likely to continue to acclimastise tomorrow with a rest day and some briefings/light training before falling out in the wee hours of the next day for their summit bid, weather permitting. Those of you with loved ones on this team have probably been suffering with a bit of radio silence, but all is well, they're just out of range, delighting in being unplugged and waking up to the most beautiful views in the world!
Our Private Guided Team is hot on their heels, setting off from Pheriche and arriving into Lobuche Base Camp today, they'll take a rest tomorrow, with a light hike to High Camp, maybe waving hello to their compatriots in the Western Guided Team before doing some training and enjoying the excitement of breaking out their climbing gear. Just like the Western Guided team they may now be a little quieter as they go out of range so you can expect that you won't hear from them for a good few days as they focus on their first ascent of the expedition.
Our Sherpa Guided Team moved up this morning from Debouche to Pheriche and will do their acclimatization hike tomorrow.
CTSS Teams moving strongly as we get higher into the Himalaya!
...The Haze Clears...
The views are truly epic as the haze from the forest fires dissipates and the teams are spoilt with fantastic weather.
Our Western Guided Team will have tagged Lobuche High Camp today to reach a new high point before returning back to Lobuche Base Camp for some additional training and a shakeout of their skills. They'll be cosy in the insulated dome for dinner! Tomorrow they will move up to Lobuche High Camp and continue to acclimatise. Your loved ones might be a bit out of touch during this time but rest assured "no news is good news" and soon they'll be rolling on up toward EBC, first summit under their belts and spamming you with stunning images and stories from their few days on Lobuche. From the summit they'll be checking out their next objective.. Everest & for some Lhotse too!
The Private Expedition and trekking team is close behind in Pheriche. Today they did an acclimatization hike high above the village along the ridgeline, hitting 5000m which offers spectacular scenery. Some of the best views of Ama Dablam. Tomorrow they will move on to Lobuche Base Camp ready to strap on their crampons.
CTSS' Private Sherpa and IFMGA Sherpa Guided Team remained in Deboche with an acclimatization/rest day. A hike up to 4000m and a Puja at Tengboche Monastery with the High Lamas to ask for safe climbing. Tomorrow they will move up to Pheriche.
Everything is moving smoothly in Nepal, we're excited to be moving smoothly up and up...
Cheers,
CTSS Team
... Lobuche, Pheriche, Deboche ...
Our Western Guided Team rolled into Lobuche Basecamp today! Greeted with tents already set up and a spacious group dome tent they're settling in nicely. This team will climb Lobuche over the next 4-5 days before continuing on to Everest Basecamp. Good luck and good climbing team!
The Private Expedition and trekking team is close behind reaching Pheriche today. On their way to Pheriche, they stopped at the Pangboche monastery for a special Puja ceremony. Tomorrow is a rest day with a short acclimatization hike. This team is moving strong!
CTSS' Private Sherpa and IFMGA Sherpa Guided Team moved up to Deboche today. Tomorrow they will hike up to the Tengboche Monastery for a traditional blessing.
Everything is moving smoothly in Nepal, we're excited to be moving into Everest Basecamp soon!
Cheers,
CTSS Team
... Trekkers Approaching Lobuche Basecamp, Moving up the Khumbu...
Our teams are on schedule and moving well! We are now almost a week into the expedition and the rhythm of expedition life is settling in. As our teams keep working their way towards EBC the team is growing more acclimated and becoming familiar with daily life in the Khumbu Valley.
Our Western Guided Team stayed around Pheriche today, taking a hike above the town to help with acclimation. All of their "Climb high, sleep low" process of acclimation will soon be put to the test on Lobuche East. Lobuche is a beautiful peak just down the valley from Everest with excellent climbing. This team will arrive in Lobuche basecamp tomorrow, knock off the dust of the trail, and get into climbing mode heading for Lobuche's Summit over the next few days. Internet communication isn't great at Lobuche Basecamp, so we'll be keeping in touch with satellite communications until they reach Everest basecamp in 5-6 days.
The Private Expedition team headed to the famous Tengboche Monastery today to receive a traditional blessing. They had a beautiful, warm ceremony with the monks before hiking above the Monastery for extra acclimatization. This team will be moving up to Periche tomorrow, just a few days behind the Western Team.
CTSS' Private Sherpa and IFMGA Sherpa Guided Team took a rest and acclimation day as well in Namche, hiking to Everest View Hotel before returning to their lodging in Namche for the evening.
All of the move, rest, move, included in our trek is a time-tested strategy for success. The climbers are currently pushing their bodies to begin the long-term physiological changes that allow them to climb above 8000m in a month or so. These expeditions are all about playing the long game; stress than rest, stress than rest. It's like a savings account or investment, the more you tactically spend and save energy from your "bank" early on, the more "interest" has built for you to use when the big moment comes.
Good luck teams!
Cheers,
CTSS Team
... All teams trekking towards EBC...
CTSS Teams are all in the Khumbu Valley working their way towards basecamp and enjoying some of the most beautiful scenery in the world!
Our Western Guided Team moved up from Deboche today, stopping along the way at Pangboche for a blessing from the Lama before heading into Pheriche for the night. Tomorrow they'll stay around Pheriche with an acclimation hike above the village.
The Private Guided Team Left Namche and continued up the valley. Everyone is feeling strong and doing well! Team member Bryan Hill sent some beautiful photos from their day, the Khumbu is truly an amazing place.
Our Personal Sherpa and IFMGA Sherpa teams tackled Namche hill in good time, strong crew before settling into Namche for the evening. Tomorrow they'll take an acclimation hike up to Everest View Lodge for team. Mike Hamill is with the team and reported:
"We are starting to climb above the smoke from the forest fires but it is still a bit smoggy. There are very few people trekking in the valley so it feels good to have the place mostly all to ourselves, and everyone is very appreciative of us being here and bringing tourist money back to the region"
With the ups and downs of the last year, we're glad to be back in the Khumbu valley with such fantastic people.
The teams are doing great!
Cheers,
CTSS Team
...Everyone in the Khumbu (well, almost!) ...
Another stunning day in the Khumbu today with most of our climbers taking an acclimatization day (where we 'climb high and sleep low'. This season you will hear us talk about acclimatization/rotations alot so I've detailed the process a bit below but first, let's catch up with where are our teams are, and what are they up to...
Our Western Guided Team enjoyed an acclimatization day today, hiking high above Tengboche and then returning to Rivendell in Debouche for hot showers and some fixed line practice. Everyone strong and feeling great.
Our Private Guided Team also spent an acclimatization day hiking up to the Everest View Hotel above Namche, taking in some epic views.
And finally, our Personal Sherpa & IFMGA Sherpa Team flew into Lukla safely this morning after a 4:30am wakeup call! They trekked to Phakding today and will move to Namche tomorrow.
A few more Speed Ascent climbers to join us later in the month, but for now, it's great to be out of town and into the Khumbu! Every mile bringing us closer to Everest.
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Ins and Outs of Acclimatisation
The purpose of 'climbing high and sleeping low' (and once we get to Everest herself, all the ‘up and down’ ‘up and down’ climbing rotations) is to give the body a chance to acclimatize and this is a fascinating process. I’m about to go all biology geek on you so beware (but also a quick disclaimer, I’m not a physician so if this process is a little generalised, forgive me) …
The higher our climbers go the less dense the atmosphere, simply meaning the oxygen molecules in the air are further apart which is why we say ‘thin air’. At sea level, the atmospheric pressure is about 1.04kg per square cm. That’s a nice heavy level of pressure that helps give the oxygen an extra push to pass through the selectively permeable lung membranes and into the blood. However, the higher you go, the lower that pressure becomes and therefore the less likely it is that the oxygen molecules actually pierce through the lung membranes and get themselves into the haemoglobin of the red blood cells where they get transported to the rest of the body.
Think of atmospheric pressure as a giant ‘press’ pushing down on the oxygen molecule and ‘stamping’ it into its seat inside the red blood cell. At higher altitude, that extra assistance isn’t there. On top of that, the oxygen molecules are also further apart so you are less likely to come across as many of them in each breath as you would at sea level. So how does the body make up for it?
At first, there are superficial changes, the body increases breathing rate (to increase the chance of taking in the same level of oxygen but from much sparser air) and your heart rate and blood pressure also increase dramatically (even at rest) to help move more blood (hopefully oxygenated) around your system. The theory is the more you breathe & the more blood your heart pumps, the more chance an oxygen molecule gets to where it’s got to go. Following?
BUT (and here’s where it gets very cool) over time your body realizes it needs to make some more significant adaptations if it’s going to live at altitude successfully so it makes some longer-term adaptations to its efficiency. It increases the number of red blood cells as well as increases your capillaries and even your lung capacity and size. All of this change is to ‘up’ the probability of coming in contact with those precious (but flighty) little oxygen molecules. Understandably, these longer-term changes take time, (it’s tough work for the body) hence why Everest is a patience game and why is takes 10 days to trek the roughly 60kms into Base Camp. By increasing our high point a little more each time, the climbers/trekkers put manageable stress on their bodies, bringing them up to a new threshold and then by taking time to rest, they give their bodies a chance to play catch up and adapt to this new normal.
When our climbers get seriously high on Everest, they’ll go on oxygen which puts more oxygen molecules into their lungs on each breath, (but it still can’t increase the atmospheric pressure of it getting stamped through and into the red blood cells) so climbing Everest is a remarkable feat indeed, not just from a mental strength perspective but also from a physiological one. To put it in perspective, if I were to take you off your chair right now and whisk you away from to the summit of Everest you would pass out within a few minutes and die shortly after. The best example I can think of for how it might feel for our climbers is going to the gym and doing a high-intensity cardio workout whilst breathing through a straw. Tough right?
To snap us out of our impromptu science lesson, here are some sensational pics from the teams today
