Just a quick update as we have been away for nigh on 10 days or so (I’ve lost count). Basically we went up for a weather window which closed so we dropped back down to C2 but then another window opened so we didn’t have time to drop down to BC so we sayed at 2 to then go to 3 and on to the South Col. That window promptly closed so we spent a night and a day at the South Col waiting (and hoping) and then set off in to the night.

It was a desperately cold night and, because of the foul weather the night before, there were a lot of people setting off for the summit. Even though we set off at 8.30p.m. we were still in a big long queue of very slow climbers. Anyway we trudged and waited and climbed and eventually, after an inordinate amount of time, we reached the top of the world. Giles arrived first, then Partha, then myself followed by Jen and Susan.

All now at Everest Base Camp and chilling. Trerkking out tomorrow and hope to be in KTM Weds morning.

I’ll expand on the story another day. In the meantime … some photos (which are sort of out of order I’m afraid and the connection is too slow for me to move them around).

Moonrise over Lhotse

Full moon over Lhotse from C2

Approaching the Yellow Band

Giles on The Geneva Spur

The top of the Geneva Spur

Relaxing at The South Col

Ultra relaxing at The South Col

The view from our tent looking towards the route for the summit bid.

Looking back down towards the Balcony

Kanchenjunga (far) and Makalu (near) around sunrise

Jen – all frozen up

Setting off in to the night

Looking down towards the Balcony

Makalu

The Khumbu

Looking back towards Lhotse

Jen on the summit

Tim on the summit

Strange ice formation

Sunset from Camp 3
Setting off from C2 for the summit bid

All now safe back at BC having summited on the 20th. Hurrah! Well done us! We’re on 00977 98131 65232 if you want to txt. KTM here we come!

[not in tweet but helpful advice] Please remember to start your txt with the name of the person(s) you are sending it to (where appropriate)

The world’s highest update from the summit of Everest! An amazing view. Off down to C2 soon once we’ve taken the obligatory photos. Tim

By Abi at Base Camp

Well, a few days later at Camp 2 and the waiting game is ongoing. The weather is being rather fickle at the moment and this is making robust forecasting for summit windows rather difficult. Its not that the weather is dreadful, but at this altitude, you only get one chance at summiting mainly because ascending from the South Col to summit is so demanding. So, climbers do not want to waste their reserves on a summit window that is not a definite bet, so to speak. There is a lot at stake……so its important to save physical and emotional reserves for a clear window that provides enough time to allow for a serious summit bid.

Everyone in the team is raring to go and awaiting starters orders eagerly………..

Unfortunately I am having to depart before the team has had a chance to summit. It has been a privilege to be able to help contribute to the team’s progress over the weeks of acclimatization and initial ascents up to Camp 3 on Everest. The team have been wonderful to travel with and get to know over our time here in Nepal. Tim, as ever, has been a superb leader of the highest caliber, and great friend to all team members. He has approached this expedition with the utmost professionalism, providing everyone with the tailored support they have required as the expedition has evolved.

So, my part in the story ends here, but the adventure is not yet over……….

(By Abi at base camp)

Well, there have been ups and downs (quite literally) over the last few days with Tim’s team on the mountain. The team ascended to camp 2 in excellent time and then rested for the following day…..building up the strength for the Lhotste Face and ascent to camp 3 the next day. So, next day was a pre-dawn Alpine start from camp 2 to avoid the searing midday heat and energy sapping effect of the sun while exposed on the Lhotse Face ascending to camp 3. The whole team reached the camp in good order, but understandably exhausted from the effort involved. Rest and rehydration was the order of the day, while weather forecasting information reaching base camp was indicating that wind speeds higher up the mountain appeared to be looking unfavorable for the following few days. Stay put or descend? That was the question……..

After much deliberation, the decision to descend to camp 2 next morning was taken. To stay poised on the mountain, but rest at a more tolerable altitude until a window of opportunity arises. The team have had an excellent night sleep and awake with the hope that today’s forecasting might indicate an easing of conditions sometime soon. Apart from some minor aches and pains from the efforts of ascending/descending Lhotse Face, everyone is in good health and clearly in the mood for a serious summit bid. We’re all watching and waiting………

Well sometime in the not too distant future we’ll be heading up the hill on our next foray. It may well be our summit attempt but I’m afraid I won’t be able to divulge dates to you just yet.

Abi (our illustrious trip doctor) will be able to update Twitter and FBook and in turn J’thong (our illustrious UK comms man) will be able to keep the Blog updated.

We have one piece of unfortunate news – Chris had to leave the expedition early and is now back in the UK. I won’t go in to the medical details but suffice to say he is fine – he just had an episode that we felt warranted further investigation in Kathmandu and returning to altitude was not an option. He was a very strong climber and a valued member of the team and it has been very sad that he has had to depart. We’d have all put money on him summiting.

It’s just as well that we have had a few rest days as the longevity of the trip, and the time spent at altitude, has had it’s impact with virtually everyone being ill or run down in one way or another. Thanks to Abi, and her extensive medical knowledge, we have managed to get everyone back to pretty much full strength, albeit that some of the team are now rattling with the number of pills they are taking.

So … as I said it may well go quiet from these here parts for a few days so please be patient and don’t fret.

Exciting times!

Wish us luck….

Tim & Co

Kenton & Seb have just returned to Base Camp after summiting Everest yesterday. Both looking very well considering. Congrats well deserved.

Well we are back at Base Camp and so it’s time for an update.

We set off back up the hill 4 days ago and went straight to Camp 2. Our previous journey had been broken by a couple of nights at C1 but we decided to miss that out this time and go straight to C2. What a big day. We set off in the early(ish) hours to avoid being in the heat of the day too much. But even just getting to C1 is a reasonable outing. So we stopped for a while there and had a brew and then set off again for C2.

Thankfully later in the afternoon it clouded over somewhat and made the trip in to the Western Cwm a bit more tolerable. But even so it’s the best part of 5 to 8 hours of walking at altitudes in excess of 6,000m and so is inevitably quite tiring.

After a rest day we then made our way over to The Lhotse Face to gain some more altitude and touch Camp 3. It’s quite a way and it’s a lot of effort to go and sleep there so generally people touch C3 (7,100m to 7,300m depending on where your tents are pitched) and then drop down again to C2, and then on down to EBC.

The Lhotse Face … another of those names steeped in the history of Everest and the pioneers of old. It’s amazing. From C2 we could clearly see the line of little dots making their way up the slopes to C3 and then on to the beginning of the diagonal traverse over to The Geneva Spur which leads onto The South Col. It took around 2 hours to even get to the bottom of the Face from C2 and then suddenly the angle changed quite dramatically and it was time for the jumar (a device with teeth which grips the rope) to be called in to action. By now it was quite warm and we were all in the intense light and heat of the day but there’s not a lot you can do about it. So … move the jumar, step up, jumar, step, jumar, pant, pant, cough, pant, breathe, don’t look down, jumar, step, jumar, step …. and so it went on for the best part of 2 hours. Relentless but absolutely exhilarating.

And that’s about it – we’ve done our rotations at altitude and are now ready for the green light. Obviously there are all the logistics to make sure are in place, and that everyone is still fit and healthy, the Climbing Sherpas are rested, there’s enough tents and oxygen in the right places on the hill, and the winds are low, the temperature is acceptable etc etc. But intrinsically the next time we go to C3 will be to sleep there, and then make our way on towards the South Col and so on to the summit. How exciting.

Clearly Tim has gone off his rocker I hear you say. But this is just one of the aspects of high altitude mountaineering that I thought I’d share with you.

What generally happens on the hill is that we are all tucked up in our down sleeping bags by around 8 because it is just too cold to sit around in the mess tent. So after a few minutes wrestling out of clothes and in to sleeping bags it’s time for a quick read and then slumber. And when sleep comes it can be really really deep. I generally have a fantastic deep sleep and then wake up bursting for a wee. But it’s cold out there and I’m all toasty in my bag. And, hey, I can hang on for a while until it’s time to be getting up. Or can I? I generally doze on and off for ages trying to get back to sleep but the feeling of discomfort is soooo overwhelming that returning to sleep is nigh on impossible. Best check the time to make sure I can make it until breakfast, and it’s then that I discover it’s around 11.30p.m. Aaarrrggghhh.

So clearly I’m not going to make it until getting up time, in which case it’s pee time. Now I used to always get up and go outside and admire the view of the stars whilst having a tinkle. But that was on lower peaks where the temperature is generally a few degrees warmer. But since being introduced to the pee bottle I have been converted. I won’t go in to the gory details but basically you pee in to a bottle and do the top up. Depending on the time of night depends on whether you are advised to empty it straight away. If you empty it straight away then this tends to send a shower of frost crystals over your unfortunate tent partner as you open the tent zipper and discharge the contents outside. But if you decide not to empty it then the risk is that it freezes, thereby rendering it unusable again that night – which could be a BIG problem if you decided you desperately needed to go again. And when you sometimes have to go three, four or even five times a night this could suddenly become a BIG problem.

Anyway, enough of that, I’ve had a pee in a bottle and emptied it. Back to sleep? Er, no. What happens next can only be described at H.A.T.A.T. (High Altitude Tossing And Turning). You try for all your worth to sleep but it just doesn’t happen. Every time you turn over you get showered with ice crystals. Your tent partner does the pee bottle thing and showers ice over you. You get bouts of sleep apnoea and feel that you are suffocating. You breath freezes on to the inside of your sleeping bag and forms an icy crust around your head and shoulders. And so it goes on. All the way through the night. Until about 5 in the morning when you eventually doze off only to be woken up at soon after 5 when the tent starts getting very light as the sun come sup. So another hour or so of tossing and turning until it’s time to get up.

And that just about sums up the average night on the hill.

Thankfully we are now down at Base Camp for a well earned rest. When we first arrived here and this was our highest altitude then all of the above was part and parcel of being at altitude. But now that we have been sleeping far higher, in actual fact Base Camp produces really deep long sleeps.

I’d write some more but I’m off to bed.

Night night.