The talk around camp today is very much centred on the ‘Big House’ which has officially opened its doors to our team members as a place to unwind, watch movies, connect together as a team and drink endless cups of tea, coffee and hot chocolate. It’s deserving of its nickname too at a whopping 10m across and 6m high! (33ft across by 20ft high for our friends who work in feet) Complete with carpeted floors, lounges, tables and chairs and a spectacular view – it’s pretty plush. I think our biggest problem could be luring the climbers out of it to actually go climb? What do you think?

All jokes aside, many of you might ask, why? and it’s a fair question. Part of our philosophy at CTSS is the belief that (yes once the training is done, the necessary experience gained and you are actually on the mountain) well-rested, happy, healthy climbers are the climbers best set up for success.

We’re the first to admit it looks luxurious and indulgent, and it is, but if you are spending 2 months of your life somewhere (and really putting your body and mind to the test) don’t you want to be comfortable?? We think so. Patience is a major part of the Everest game and everyone knows how much time is spent at EBC to acclimate and recuperate so we wanted to heavily invest in that environment and our climbers. We want to help them maximize their downtime and feel as at home as possible while they tackle the challenge of a lifetime. Hence the ‘Big House’ was born.
(Don’t worry, there’s plenty of time for roughing it above Camp 2!)

Aside from the grand opening, it was all about continued training today, working to become extremely comfortable and familiar with ladder crossings in crampons etc with and some vertical ice work thrown in for good measure. Practice helps to concrete those skills into second nature.

Tomorrow (22nd April) Our first wave being the IFMGA Team & Personal Sherpa Groups will head out the door before dawn on their first 3 night rotation. They’ll climb to Camp 1 where they’ll sleep (22nd April), then the following day (23rd April) tag Camp 2 and return to Camp 1 to sleep for a second night, before moving up to Camp 2 (24th April) to sleep a final night and return to Base Camp on the 25th.

Following in their footsteps will be 2x of our private groups – being Ossy & Fahad, Big Tendi & Mark who will leave a day later on the 23rd but follow the same 3-night rotation schedule.

Finally, on the 24th, our Western Guided/International Team led by Casey will make their move up the hill for their rotation.

Everyone is in great spirits, especially as Kumar has been making his famous, super-sized, apple pies for dessert – however, pie isn’t on the menu tonight as we have a birthday to celebrate before everyone heads up the hill – Happy Birthday for tomorrow Peter Wilson -thank you for putting cake on the plate for all. Your family sent in special wishes to you too.

Speaking of good wishes, from all of us at CTSS – Happy Easter, we hope you and your families enjoy the holidays.

Cheers
Caroline