...Moving Up & Out...
The whole team headed uphill for their first Everest rotation yesterday. Eager to get going, everyone was strong, feeling healthy and the route is the best it has been. They left early in the morning around 4am after a small Puja led by Tendi on their way out of Base Camp and made it to Camp 1 in around 5 hours.
While they already have a Lobuche summit under their belt (which in effect is a first rotation) they are continuing their acclimatization by sleeping up high for a night or two and cutting their teeth on the big E.
The plan is to sleep at Camp 1, tag Camp 2 on a day hike, return to Camp 1 for a second night before descending.
Here's an insight into what it's like to be in the icefall and doing crevasse ladder crossings - I'm sure the team are thankful for all the practice and refreshers.
CTSS Team
...Ready for a Rotation...
Our whole team is together! Our Lhotse climber has finished his trek up the valley and has joined us at Base Camp. He slept well and is well adjusted to the altitude already. It's good to have the whole team together.
Today we are readying the Everest team for a first rotation up to Camp 1 to take advantage of a clear weather window before some precipitation is due. The Sherpa team have already fully stocked the higher camps and did another carry load up to Camp 2 this morning. The icefall is in good condition this year with Sherpa quoted as saying the Icefall Doctors have put in one of the safest routes compared to previous seasons. (The Icefall Doctors are camped right next to CTSS and are a team of 8 highly experienced Sherpa who open the route through the Khumbu icefall each year using ropes and aluminium ladders to bridge any crevasses and allow climbers to tackle the vertical sections. They monitor and maintain the route throughout the whole season and are integral to the success of any Everest climber and we're appreciative of their hard work and dedication to safety)
After a few days training and rest at Base Camp the team is eager to move higher and put those skills they've been honing into action and get the legs moving. They will aim for a night or two acclimatizing at Camp 1. Of course we'll be keeping an eagle eye on the weather at all times.
Yesterday Casey had the team practicing on the aluminium ladders in camp so that everyone feels comfortable not only crossing the crevasses on them but they know how to kneel down and release a crampon should one get stuck. Moving confidently over the ladders means the team will move quickly and avoid adding to any traffic jams.
The skies have been cobalt blue every morning, and we've been having breakfast outside every morning. Life's sweet up here at CTSS EBC.
CTSS Team
...Training, Training, Training…
Practice makes perfect so today we’ve been doing drills in the lower part of the icefall. Going over both lower angle and steep fixed line work as well as repelling and descending via an arm wrap and back up. Things that might feel easy down here in a relaxed (and relatively oxygen rich) environment at Base Camp can quickly start to feel more complicated up high in heavy gloves or mittens so it’s important to get everything dialled in so that skills becomes second nature and climbers fall into good habits that feel effortless.
It was toasty warm out there in the sun so the team have been rocking a new look – base layers & t-shirts paired with triple boots and down mittens!
Sadly we waved goodbye to our trekking support team who are heading off back down the valley. They’ll hit Pheriche today, followed by Namche and then Lukla before flying back to Kathmandu. The impact of support can never be underestimated and having family and friends share part of the journey by trekking into EBC has been incredible. We’ll miss them dearly as the next chapter begins.
CTSS Team
….Lobuche Summits! and....
We’re HERE at Everest Base Camp!
We apologize that it’s been a good few days since our last update - rest assured no news is most often good news. We’ve simply been living our adventure beyond the reaches of cell reception or wifi on Lobuche peak.
After a great few days training at Lobuche base camp (approx 4,950m |16,200ft ) and acclimatizing at Lobuche high camp (approx 5400m |17,700ft ) we’re all feeling adjusted and great. Sleeping like babies and eating like royalty.
We are proud to announce that everyone who climbed Lobuche reached the summit in record time! (6119m | 20,075ft ) I think they even gave guides Tendi, Casey + Mike a good stretch of the legs at the pace they were all moving. This team is proving themselves stronger and stronger with each day. Lobuche is a great test for Everest and everyone passed with flying colors. It showed they have strong technical climbing skills that are being concreted down more and more with every training session. They are acclimatizing well and are fighting fit. We’ve had an amazing run with the weather and we’ve all pinched ourselves at the truly spectacular outlooks over the Himalaya every morning. Not to mention the incredible nights’ sky blanketed in countless stars framed by the silhouettes of the mountains.
The Team Move Across the Ridge - Photo Mike Hamill
We are now all settled into Everest Base Camp having arrived yesterday afternoon after a hearty 5 hour hike. I think everyone is happy to be settling into our home away from home. We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of our final Lhotse climber who is just a few days behind coming up the valley.
We’ve made sure camp is comfortable this year, with plenty of attention to detail in our CTSS set up. We have a carpeted, heated, custom made dining tent with a separate washroom so everyone can wash their hands before coming inside, a full catering kitchen (literally we have 3 stainless steel kitchen benches, a 3gas burner stove, sinks, and a full oven! Fresh bread everyday!) The kitchen is staffed by chefs who have been trained at 5 star restaurants and who have been fuelling us with the best meals we’ve had since we’ve been in Nepal. Lunch today was burgers on freshly baked buns with potato salad and fresh steamed broccoli!
The state of the art Communications Tent is set up, with a brand new radio base station to keep in touch with our teams as they move up the mountain, a carpeted Hang Out Tent with blow up couches perfect for movie nights on the projector. Each member has their own tent with a full mattress and pillow, insulation flooring and as many hot showers as they want! Not to mention a western style WC with a washroom to keep everything hygienic. So if they report home that they’re roughing it, you can give them a little grief!
We really believe that happy, well rested, healthy climbers have the best shot at the summit and sometimes the little luxuries of home, and the extra mile when it comes to hygiene, can make all the difference.
Today is a full rest day, with everyone showering, doing laundry, catching some sun and keeping up with the news from home. Meanwhile the leadership team has been busy consulting the forecasts, chatting to the Sherpa teams who have already been doing carrying loads, fine tuning the radio set up and planning out the schedule in more detail.
Catch up with you all soon, CTSS team.
…Time for Tents…
Well it’s our final night by the fire in the teahouse here at Pheriche where we’ve been tucked up in comfy beds and been fed like Kings and Queens. From here on in we’ll be in our sleeping bags and tents and the spirit of adventure will step up a notch.
Tomorrow we move to our Base Camp at Lobuche, and you’ll have to forgive the sporadic nature of our updates as we will be out of range of cell phones and have no access to wifi.
The plan is to reach Lobuche Base Camp tomorrow, take a rest day with an acclimatisation hike the following day before starting to move up to high camp and look at a summit bid. We choose to climb Lobuche instead of doing another rotation on Everest as it reduces our team’s exposure to the icefall whilst still giving the team a great opportunity to concrete down those technical skills and gain roughly the same acclimatization benefits as they would on a first Everest rotation. It also offers some variety & the joy climbing another great Himalayan peak.
Today we did a beautiful scenic hike above Pheriche to approximately 15,200ft with everyone feeling strong. It snowed lightly throughout the night so we walked through a fresh dusting to crisp blue skies and incredible views of our next goal Lobuche amongst other giants like Ama Dablam, Thamserku, Kangtenga & Kangteri. We even captured a glimpse of Makalu – the 5th highest mountain in the world.
Our Speed Ascent climber is doing amazingly well and is already ready to move up hill after feeling great on our acclimatization hike and sleeping soundly. She popped into the HRA who were super impressed with how well acclimated she is. The hypoxico tent and her training has certainly done its work. Our Lhotse climber flew safely into Lukla today and has already started moving up the valley, we’ll rendezvous at Everest Base Camp.
Everyone happy and well – sleeping soundly and their appetites are great which is a strong sign of solid acclimatization.
Photo by Casey Grom
...Almost All Here…
A super exciting day today for three reasons:
- We left Tengboche and arrived in Pheriche in time for lunch. Pheriche is roughly 14,000ft or 4,200m. We are now well above the tree line and won’t see any green trees for quite some time! Everyone is feeling fighting fit, happy and healthy. We popped over to the HRA (The Himalayan Rescue Association) this afternoon for their daily briefly about how our bodies react to altitude and how to respond to any signs and symptoms.The HRA is a voluntary non profit high altitude medical clinic. Major credit goes to Dr. John Skow, an American national, who in 1973 went up to the Khumbu and was distressed that many people were dying from Acute Mountain Sickness. He felt that something ought to be done about it. He called together a meeting of officials from the Ministry of Health, some doctors and few other individuals from trekking companies. Another meeting followed with more clear ideas about what to do. The persons from the trekking companies also realized that since it was their clients who were affected most should take the initiative. Finally in the third meeting it was decided to form Himalayan Rescue Association Nepal with most of the trekking agencies contributing generously in its early days. They set up some remote medical outposts, including here in Pheriche and there is also an HRA at Base Camp. The HRA have been an integral and critical part of Everest mountain life ever since. We can’t speak highly enough of them and the doctors who volunteer their time. The clinic runs on donations, small fees and merchandise sales.
http://www.himalayanrescue.org/ - Our Speed Ascent Climber has arrived into Pheriche all the way from London (she’s originally from Hungary) this afternoon. We thought that with the valley being socked in with cloud we would have to wait until tomorrow morning to welcome her, but a tiny weather window opened this afternoon to reveal glimpses of the mighty mountains all around us and then we heard the roar of chopper blades and there she was! She is has been acclimatizing at home in her hypoxico tent and is already acclimatized and ready to go! That means with the arrival of our last Lhotse climber in a few days our CTSS team will be complete. We can’t wait.
- We worked together as a team to figure out and solve Guide Casey’s riddles… we’re all feeling very smart – evidentially the altitude hasn’t affected our cognitive abilities. The reward – a block of Rittersport chocolate! Here’s food for thought for you too - but you have to promise not to Google the answers, no matter how tempted you may be and then if you figure them out you can give yourself a chocolate themed reward!- You are standing outside the door to a closed room, on the wall in front of you there are three light switches that correspond to three light bulbs inside the adjoining room. You can only enter the room with the light bulbs once, so how do you figure out which bulb corresponds to which switch?
- You have 9 eggs. They are identical in every way to the eye. They all feel exactly the same in your hand, except you know that one egg is slightly denser than the others. You can use a scale only twice to figure out which egg is the odd one out and the densest. How do you do it?
Tomorrow we’ll be doing an acclimatization hike above Pheriche before spending our final night in a teahouse and the next day we’ll go on to Lobuche base camp where we’ll spend our first night in our tents – may the adventure begin! There are definitely a few excited climbers ready to get their crampons out…
CTSS Team
...Everest 18 Team at Tengboche...
The Everest 18 Team were eager to hit the trail this morning up to Tengboche (3,867 metres | 12,687 ft) after a solid acclimatization period in Namche. We were rewarded with blue skies and beautiful vistas of Everest and Ama Dablam for most of the hike. Taking the old route the team smashed up the notorious Tengboche hill in fine form at record speed - these are some fit and healthy climbers indeed!
It was shorts and tshirt weather for most of the walk although as soon as we arrived up on the ridge at Tengboche there was a noticeable drop in temperature and down pants and jackets were being pulled quickly out of the depths of duffel bags.
After lunch at the teahouse, we were fortunate to visit the famous Tengboche Monastery on an auspicious day in the Tibetan Buddhist calendar to receive blessings from the High Monk for our journey ahead. The Monk chanted prayers for our team's safety and permission to climb the mountain while occasionally ringing a small bell. His prayers lasted around half an hour before each member of the team was presented with a Kata scarf and a Sungdi - which is a red cord that has been prayed over by the monks for a period of time and is then tied around the climbers neck as protection with a special knot.
No photos are allowed inside the Monastery so while we aren't able to share the special moment with you at home, it somehow made us more present and in the moment.
We will spend 2 nights here in Tengboche before moving further up towards Everest.
CTSS Team
Welcome to Tengboche - Have a quick look around!
...Everest18 Team Acclimatizing in Namche...
The team are well settled in at Namche Bazaar in a really comfortable teahouse to acclimatize for a few days.
Yesterday we went for a day hike, a little off the beaten path over to a village in Thamo were we visited a Tibetan Buddhist monastery run by nuns. It was great to have the trail to ourselves and see some of the less touristy parts of the Khumbu.
Following the earthquake a number of young female orphans were taken in at the Monastery which gives it an energetic, welcoming vibe. Over ginger tea, we asked one of the elders her story... She doesn't actually know how old she is, but remembers her mother carrying her across the glaciated Nangpa La pass at 5,806 m (19,049 ft) - as she was too young to walk herself. She's been at the Monastery ever since.
Today the valley is fogged in and unfortunately the views from the acclimatization hike of Everest from the Everest view hotel aren't visible but the team are stretching their legs in any case. Tomorrow everyone will move up to Tengboche - a solid 5 hour walk and another gain in altitude.
Namche from above
Tea at the Monastery
...Everest18 Team Up to Namche...
Up early and on the trail, we hit Namche Bazaar which sits at 3340m |11,268ft by lunch time. It was a great warm up for our legs with a big final climb up into town. Namche is the biggest town in the Khumbu so if you’ve forgotten any last minute gear, this is the place to seek it out before heading further into the more remote parts of the valley.
The trail is beautiful and while it was a bit cloudy today we caught glimpses of snow covered peaks and the last of the Rhododendrons are still flowering along with the odd cherry blossom and magnolia tree. Most of the day it was hot enough to be hiking in shorts and t-shirts but cool enough to be comfortable. We’ll acclimitize here for a few days with some hikes before continuing higher.
It seems Gummy Bears, Pringles & Peanut MMs are a strong snack favorite amongst the team – although Emily pulled out some Greens & Black organic chocolate today and it was like watching vultures descend. Boom. 1 second later. Gone. Needless to say we all made it up the hill in fine form! Although not as tough as the local porters!
This heroic porter is carrying more than 100kgs in a single load between Lukla and Namche
Emily at one of the less frequented Pemba Choling Monastery above Phakding
The team crossing the big suspension bridge over the river before hitting the hill up to Namche
Arrival in the Khumbu
The team flew safely into Lukla this morning, an early 5am start, a perfect flight, although a little cloudy so we didn't get to enjoy the views of the Himalaya but a safe and easy landing.
A mellow 3hour hike and we're settled in Phakding where we will stay the night before hiking up to Namache tomorrow. The first day in the valley is usually very relaxed as everyone gets into the groove. Guide Casey is already dropping the Dad jokes, not even an hour into the trail - the favorite so far... "What does the fish say when it swims into a wall? "DAM" Needless to say everyone is laughing and having fun already and the team is connecting and getting to know each other.
The team crossing the suspension bridge to Phakding