Pheriche
May 1, 2009
Namaste:
The weather forecast shows strong winds from Camp 3 to the summit for the next few days (up to 70 knots on the summit!), so no one is moving up the mountain. Bud wanted to take this opportunity to go lower in an attempt to recover from his Khumbu cough and his recurrent stomach problems. I decided to go with him because I didn’t want him to travel alone and this is a good opportunity for us to enjoy the thick air at lower altitudes, the comfort of a warm room, and the ability to order off a menu. So, yesterday we moved down from EBC to Pheriche. The trip took just over 5 hours. We plan to return to EBC on Sunday.
Typically, teams travel down to Pheriche, or even lower, just before their final move up the mountain to the summit. I have one more rotation to Camp 3 before my final push to the summit. I plan to make the trip to Camp 3 next Wednesday. Then, I will return to EBC to rest before I make my summit run. I have not yet decided whether I will travel back down to Pheriche after this next rotation. I may just stay at EBC because of this trip to Pheriche.
I feel absolutely great–better than I did when I stepped off the plane at Lukla.
Here are the photos I promised.
Mingma & Bill
Khumbu Icefall
Avalanche in the Icefall
Crossing a ladder
Camp 1
right: Everest, South Col, Lhotse. Lhotse Face. Western Cwm in the foreground.
Looking down into the crevasse while crossing a ladder
Bud and Puchhanga arriving at Camp 2
Ascending a ladder
Global, warming at Base Camp–the white line on the mountain in the background was the former level of the Khumbu glacier
Global warming at Base Camp–the rock area in the Icefall was formerly part of the glacier