More on base camp……

May 3 – 5

Rest days at base camp. Three days have now passed, and tomorrow morning at 3 am we’ll be back out for one more outing even higher up on the mountain. This endeavor will take 6 days with 5 nights up on the mountain; the highest will be camp 3, high up on the Lhotse Face. For me, this will not only be the highest elevation I ever reached, but at the same time also the highest place I will spend a night at. IMG’s camp 3 is the highest one up the face, almost at an elevation of 7,400 m. If all goes well, we should be back at base camp on May 12. 

The pictures include some of IMG’s section at Everest base camp. We have it here actually quite comfortable, within reason of course… The Sherpa cook tent is close to our dining tent, and our cooks make a great effort to feed us with food that we will eat at this elevation. We all have individual tents that are quite comfortable, and also allow for some privacy for this long time out on the mountain. Placing every tent, including the “blue tent” (toilet tent) level on the glacier here requires an enormous amount of work since there is really no level space available. In addition, even though base camp looks as if it is built on stones and gravel, there is glacier ice underneath, and at night one can hear the (and sometimes feel) the glacier moving. While the day time temperatures are quite reasonable, and sometimes above freezing, the nights can be pretty cold. I am comfortable here using a 0 F sleeping bag, and only wear a set of capilene (long) base layer, top and bottom. We do sleep with a cap or a hat on to avoid losing heat, a pair of thin gloves, and a buff to prevent breathing in the cold, dry air at night that will quickly irritate the upper airways. 

So much for this time, I’ll be in touch when I get back to base camp in a couple of days.