News - Everest Expedition
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Diary entry - 22nd May Update Number 9 - Summit!
This is our final update to let you know that we were fortunate enough to make it to the summit of Everest at around 5am on Sunday morning, 20th May, just in time for sunrise over the Tibetan plateau. We have now made it safely back down to Base Camp, tired but very happy.
It has been a very long and exhausting week - we set off up the mountain last Wednesday, heading up to Camp 2. Even though we set off from Base Camp very early, we were still caught in the Western Cwm in the baking sun. It is surprising that, even at 21,000ft on the highest mountain in the world, one of the big issues can be heat and as a consequence we arrived in Camp 2 completely drained of energy. Fortunately, we had built in a rest day and this was much needed. On Friday, we moved up to Camp 3 which involved another journey up the precarious Lhotse Face. From there, at an altitude of around 7400m, we moved onto our supplemental oxygen system and ascended the higher part of the Face to get to Camp 4 at the South Col. We arrived at around 11am and then had to try to relax and rehydrate for 10 hours before our night time departure for the summit.
At 9pm, we donned our down suits, high altitude gloves, ice axe and head torch and set off for the Balcony (a smallish flat area which affords climbers some rest) about 4 hours above the South Col. We set off in total darkness which actually proved to be a blessing - we couldn't see how steep / difficult / never-ending the climb was! Despite all our concerns over the last two weeks about the weather, the conditions ultimately were very favourable. In previous years, strong winds, extremely low temperatures and storm conditions all led to drama and fatalities on the mount - we had no such issues and were able to climb all the way to the summit in thin fleece gloves.
From the Balcony, a steep two and a half hour climb through numerous rock bands with a thin covering of snow brought us to the South Summit, the second (but slightly lower) summit of Everest. We then left the South Summit and started to traverse across the summit ridge to the Hillary Step, a rocky outcrop which can prove very difficult at this altitude. Once up the Hillary Step, it was a 20 minute climb to the summit. We had to make sure of our step each way - the summit ridge is a "knife-edge" ridge with a drop of thousands of metres on either side. Our timing turned out to be near perfect - just as we passed the Hillary Step, the sun burst over the horizon, casting a huge pyramid shadow of Everest over the surrounding mountain range. Due to the extreme altitude, any minor medical problem could lead to significant problems - it would be impossible, for example, to carry someone down from the summit - we therefore spent only a few minutes on the summit and then began the ascent down to safety. This also afforded us the opportunity to see the route in daylight and it struck us how far we had managed to climb in a short space of time and how steep the route had been.
We are fortunate we have made it back in reasonable health although we both feel exhausted and drained at the moment. The cumulative effort needed to summit Everest has proved to be the hardest thing we've ever undertaken. We are now trying to recover some strength before our trek back out to Kathmandu - we hope that we will be back in the UK in early June.
All the best
Russ and Sam
view while descending between South Summit and Balcony
view of summit ridge and Hillary Step with Panuru Sherpa in foreground
Travers Smith conquers Everest with the aid of Russ and Sam (that is Russ on the left, honestly)
sunrise casting pyramid shadow of Everest
view of Everest from South Col camp 4
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Diary entry - 14th May
Hi All
A very quick update from us as there is very little to report! We are still here at BC and are still waiting for a break in the weather to try and make a summit bid. At the moment, the weather reports are not that encouraging; although there are no storms around at the moment and the jetstream is not over the summit, there have been reasonably high winds for the last few days and the forecasts predict this to continue for the next 4 or 5 days. One small group tried to summit on the night of the 10th/11th May, but got turned around at the Balcony due to high winds. There are also a couple of small groups who have headed up the mountain in the last two days, aiming to try and make a summit bid on the 16th or 17th. At the moment it looks a bit like wishful thinking, but they may get lucky and be able to sneak in. We all wish them the best of luck, and not just out of altruistic feelings for our fellow climbers: the route from the Balcony to the summit still needs to be fixed with rope, so if these groups can get to the top and also do all the fixing, that will open the door for all the groups following them. Our plan is now to start to head up to Camp 2 on 16 May and play it by ear. If we do decide to go from there, that would put us in for a summit attempt around 20/21 May. The problem is that the most recent forecast predicted that the jetstream would return around 22 / 23 May - if this happens then that would start to close the door for a summit attempt...
After our last trip up the mountain, we headed down valley for a couple of days to try and help us regain our strength. We trekked down to a village called Pheriche (at 4,200m, so a drop in elevation of over 1,000m) and stayed in a very comfortable teahouse which served very good food. Our attempt to gorge ourselves on vegetable momos, dal bhat, potato rostis and Mars bar pies (seriously...) to try and regain in two days all the weight we had lost since being at BC was, ultimately, futile but very enjoyable. The change of scenery was also welcome, as was sleeping in a bed for the first time in over six weeks!
Coming back to BC after our trip to Pheriche reinforced to us that spring is on the way in this part of the world. There are now many streams coming off the glacier and running through camp, and there is a strong river flowing down the valley. The glacier on which our camp is situated is beginning to move around with cracks appearing and rocks shifting. It is also noticeably warmer at night-times, which is good for keeping the toes toasty, but the sound of avalanches and rock-falls also seems more common as the snow and ice begins to melt on the faces of the mountains around us. In fact, there have been a number of recent collapses in the ice-fall (one happened this morning) although thankfully, no-one was en route at the time.
We trust all is well back in the UK.
Russ and Sam
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Diary entry - 6th May
Dear all
We are now back in Everest Base Camp after heading up the Lhotse Face as far as Camp 3. Camp 3, at 24,000 feet, is the highest that either of us have ever been. Our Camp 3 is situated the highest out of all the groups on the mountain, resulting in a longer day to get there but the route to camp 4 at the South Col should be a little easier.
Prior to setting off, we received instruction on how to use our oxygen equipment from the person who designed the "Top Out" oxygen delivery system (an RAF engineer) which we will be using for our summit bid. It was originally based on a Tornado pilot's face mask but has since been modified and improved for high-altitude climbing after 3 or 4 years of use on Everest. It is generally considered to be one of the best and most efficient systems as compared to other systems such as the rival Russian "Poisk". (Apparently, there have been no reported failures of the Top Out system.) The bottles (which we will carry in our packs) weigh around 9kg and use "ambient" air (ie. what air there is present within the atmosphere), combining that with the bottled oxygen to produce a continuous flow to the mask. The main issues seem to be with icing up - if a valve freezes over, or it becomes blocked by (say) a large down hood, then the oxygen flow will be reduced and you may have to turn round. We will therefore be checking not only our own valves and masks but also those of other climbers.
The Lhotse Face was an interesting experience. It is an uncompromising and unrelenting steep face, varying between 60 degrees and vertical with fixed ropes and is also the site of the only fatality so far this year. About 5 days prior to us starting to climb, we received the unfortunate news that a sherpa from another team had been found at the bottom of the face - the exact cause of death unknown, but likely to have been some kind of trauma from falling rock / ice.
This year, a lot of the face is "blue ice" (basically, hard, bare ice which is difficult to get a purchase on) rather than snow. The presence of blue ice meant that we had to front-point rather than using the full footprint of our crampons in snow. Front-pointing is a climbing technique where you kick in with the two sharp points on the front of your crampons so that you are balanced tenuously, perpendicular to the face, on two half mm points of steel. All the weight rests on your calves, meaning that it is very tiring, especially at this altitude. In all, it took us 5 hours to get from Camp 2 to Camp 3 and both of us crawled into Camp. Sam had double-vision in one eye (diagnosed as mild snow-blindness) and Russ slightly confused as to where he was (diagnosed as having hauled 15 stone of weight up the Lhotse face).
Both of us spent an uncomfortable night at Camp 3. At Camp 2, we had the benefit of our own -40C down sleeping bags but (due to the logistics of climbing Everest), we used the Group Expedition bags at Camp 3, rated down to -18C. This is normal procedure and it's possible to increase warmth by sleeping in your down gear. However, the fact is that, at this altitude, it is still very cold, there is little oxygen and, as the platforms for the tent had to be hacked out from the face, they are not the most comfortable. We did have the option of sleeping on oxygen but both of us felt that we could manage ok, and it would help with the acclimatisation process if we spent the night without. We did, however, get the opportunity to test our oxygen systems (for 15 minutes anyway!). It is amazing how much difference it makes, even on a (low) flow of 0.5l per minute. (To give you a frame of reference, we will aim to climb on a flow of 2-3 litres / minute when making our summit attempt.)
Originally, we had planned to make an attempt to climb towards Camp 4 (perhaps making it as far as the Geneva Spur or the Yellow Band) if we felt well enough. However, due to the weather and the poor night's sleep, we decided that descent would be the better option. Both of us were still feeling tired and getting ready to climb in the morning (in temperatures of around -20C) was more laboured than usual. Shortly after setting off, Russ slipped on one of the trickier traverses (above a 400m drop) - fortunately, the safety line held (which he had clipped into before starting the traverse) and he managed to front-point back up to the ledge with no harm done. This was a useful reminder of the importance of continuously checking safety back-up as if it hadn't held, Russ would have joined the collection of dropped water-bottles, gloves and other climbing paraphernalia at the bottom of the face...
Back in Base Camp, we are now waiting for our summit window. The weather reports are (at best) ambiguous as to when it might arrive - at present, people are concerned about a tropical storm in the Bay of Bengal which may head north and impact on the weather here. We are planning to descend to a small village called Pheriche which is at an altitude of 14,000 feet. The aim is to recover at a location with more oxygen, eating well to regain our strength (Russ is less prop-forward these days and more scrum-half...) possibly getting some yak steaks at the same time.
Hope all is well back home and we will be in touch prior to our next trip up the mountain, which will hopefully be our summit attempt.
All the best
Russ and Sam
Oxygen bottles, Camp 2
Russ testing oxygen system in Camp 3
Everest summit from Camp 3
Russ about to climb steep ice (approx 100m below Camp 3)
Sam front-pointing up Lhotse Face
Sam and Panuru (sherpa) climbing, Geneva Spur in background
Camp 3, Lhotse Face
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Diary entry - 29th April
Dear all
Just a short email to keep you updated on progress.
We are just about to complete our rest period at Base Camp before heading up for our third (and hopefully penultimate) rotation as far as Camp 3. The plan is to spend 5 or 6 nights on the mountain, and to spend at least one night sleeping at Camp 3, so we should return to BC around 4 May. Camp 3 is around 7,400m, so this will be the highest altitude we have ever climbed to; despite this, there still will be almost a vertical mile to go to the summit...
The last few days have consisted of hanging out at BC, resting and recovering and preparing for our next trip up the mountain. We have spent some time going on hikes to ensure our fitness doesn't deteriorate, including doing a bit of treasure-hunting around sites of camps from previous expeditions (the sum total of our discoveries consists of rusty cans full of old Australian Kraft soft cheese and the frames of a pair of spectacles found around the base camp from the 1963 expedition!). There has also been plenty of card-playing to stave off moments of boredom. Sadly for Russ, his luck at cards seems to have run out and he is now a few rupees down, mostly to our guide Ryan. Mind you, there is some sense in making sure Ryan stays happy... For those of you with a keen interest in our health and general well-being, you will be interested to know that this trip is causing us both to slim down - one of the effects of spending time at altitude is that your metabolism speeds up and you lose weight. During our time at BC, we have been trying to eat well to ensure that we do not weaken too much due to weight-loss - the Base Camp Bakery, set up by an entrepreneurial sherpa, is of some assistance for this... (When we say bakery, this is actually a tent with a small gas-powered oven, producing cookies and apple pie!)
Now that we are almost in May, all summit climbers are following the weather quite closely in BC! There are only a couple of times during the year when climbing Everest becomes a possibility. The problem is the jetstream, a 100mph+ system that circles the Earth at an altitude roughly the same as the summit of Everest. Essentially, the summit window (which historically has ranged between one day and one week and sometimes has not come at all) arises because of the warm monsoon winds pushing north from India into Tibet and hitting the Himalaya, which forces the jetstream fractionally upwards from the summit of Everest. Climbers try and aim to climb Everest when this gap appears as it means there is a relatively calm period of weather on the summit. There are still no firm details as yet on when (or indeed if) the summit window will come, and predicting it is never an exact science. Our team will be receiving daily weather updates from 5 May to help us work out the best time to start thinking about a summit bid.
We will be in touch again once we have returned to BC.
Best wishes.
Sam and Russ
ladder-crossing in the Khumbu ice-fall
ladder-climbing in the ice-fall beneath serac
Sam and Russ at the bottom of the Lhotse face
sherpas training in the ice-fall
Sam, Russ, Panuru in the Western Cwm
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Diary entry - 24th April
Dear all
We have just returned from a 5 day excursion which took us as far as the foot of the Lhotse Face. This turned out to be a trip of contrasts: the extreme cold of climbing in the early morning, compared to the oppressive heat of travelling in the Western Cwm during the day; sleeping at 6,500m (higher than we have camped before), but still having mountains towering above us; moving well through the lower parts of the mountain, but finding it very slow going above Camp 2; feeling fit and healthy as we head up the mountain, but suffering due to spending time at Camp 2.
We started by repeating our journey up to Camp 1. Whereas previously it had taken us over five hours to get through the Ice-fall, we are now stronger and more efficient in our travel and we managed to get up to Camp 1 in just under four hours. As we are also getting more familiar with the Ice-fall so we have found we can move quickly through it. However, there is a view amongst some of the experienced climbers here that the Ice-fall is possibly in the most dangerous condition of recent years. Each time you go through, you pass huge seracs, the size of cars / houses which can collapse at any moment. Already, there have been some collapses in the Ice-Fall although luckily no-one was passing through at the time. In some cases, these collapses can give rise to alternative (safer) routes. Fortunately, we feel that we are now pretty familiar with the dangers - we move quickly through the "popcorn" (an area where huge blocks of ice have been scattered as the Ice-Fall shifts and moves around) and rest in safe places. Despite this, it is common to see some climbers taking rest breaks beneath huge seracs, which is not that sensible!
After a quick night at Camp 1, we moved up to Camp 2. Even though we left early, the sun was up by 8am and it began to warm up very quickly. We were soon stripping off layers in a desperate attempt to avoid serious dehydration. Due to the altitude and the fact that the heat can be trapped in the high-sided valley, temperatures soon rise. But, as soon as the sun disappears, the temperature plummets. Once at Camp 2, we took shelter in our tents. The routine seems to be that morning is fine - then the clouds roll in every afternoon, and it often snows. At least it's reasonably predictable...
The ability to rest properly is essential on an expedition like this (to avoid your body deteriorating too much and to help the acclimitisation process) - we are normally in bed by 7pm each night, typically taking over 12 hours in our sleeping bags. Despite this, sleeping is nearly always difficult at altitude. As an additional distraction, the camps are situated on (constantly-moving) glaciers - at around 10pm one night at Camp 2, the glacier happened to shift position considerably, resulting in a huge crack which woke up most of our camp! (Luckily, we weren't swallowed up in a crevasse...) The "Khumbu Cough" (which has started to take effect on the expedition) can also add to the sleeplessness. This is a cough caused by constant inhalation of cold, dry air and can be pretty debilitating.
After being in camp 2 for two days, we headed out across a crevasse field to the bergshrund at the bottom of the Lhotse Face. Our intention was to climb as high as we could up the wall to aid acclimatisation. However, all groups who traversed that day experienced -35C windchill and very strong winds and the snow was forming into "wind-slabs", thin layers of frozen snow over the ice which can give way without warning. Even though we were wearing high altitude gloves, we soon found our hands were numb and realised that climbing the face in these conditions was not a realistic option! With retreat being the better part of valour, we returned to Camp 2 and the following day, headed back down to Base Camp for some much needed rest at a lower altitude.
We are now resting for 5 days at Base Camp and intend to head out for our third rotation at the end of April. This will involve a direct ascent to Camp 2, followed by us staying for one night or so at Camp 3 (c. 7500m). We may sleep on oxygen at this camp (depending on how fit we are feeling) but we'll take this decision in a week or so...
We will be in touch with Update number 6 shortly!
All the best
Russ and Sam
Cravasse travel in the Western Cwm - Ryan and Russ left of picture
Russ and Sam in front of the Lhotse Face (behind camera) looking down the Western Cwm
Panuru (Sherpa) at the top of the Ice-fall
Russ and Ryan traverse through the top part of the Khumbu Ice-fall
View of Lhotse Face from Camp 2. Camp 3 not yet established on Lhotse face but will be roughly parallel with the third rock from the bottom visible on the face
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Diary entry – 16th April
Namaste from Everest Base Camp!
We have just returned from our first "rotation" up the mountain, spending two nights at Camp One. The purpose is two-fold - first, to get used to travelling at speed through the Khumbu Ice-fall (with its crevasses and unstable ice) and second to try to acclimatise to the higher altitudes. We were (frustratingly) delayed for two days because of poor weather (with wind and snow at base camp and at altitude). However, patience is the key up here - last year's expedition team completed their acclimatisation programme by the beginning of May and then had to wait 18 (long) days at Base Camp, pending a break in the weather for a summit bid!
The trip through the ice-fall was long and tiring although we managed to complete the route in good time - this was encouraging as it shows we are acclimatising well and it's safer if you can climb quickly at altitude. As we arrived at Base Camp reasonably early, we were actually the first group up to Camp One.
Camp One is in a stunning location, in the middle of the Western Cwm at around 6000m. From there, it's possible to see the route to Camp 3 and the summit ridge. However, despite the setting, climbers must always be on their guard - everyone is focused on managing avalanche risk, as it has been snowing, but remains relatively warm. Camp One is situated effectively in a funnel between the bottom of Nuptse and the shoulder of the West Ridge of Everest and it's possible for avalanches to reach the camp. Two years ago, an avalanche hit Camp One and wiped away all the tents (fortunately, with no-one injured as no-one was in the tents!). The evidence of this is now in the ice-fall - as the glacier has shifted down the valley, so have the remains of the camp. You will be glad to know the site of Camp One has now been moved to reduce the possibility of avalanches reaching the camp.
The stay at Camp One was cold and windy and the storm winds buffeted our tent throughout the night. Things were not helped by territorial disputes breaking out when Sam carelessly and thoughtlessly ventured onto Russ' side of the tent. This was eventually solved by Russ placing his used, damp socks down the middle of the available space. We are hoping that it is this kind of problem-solving ingenuity which will see us to the top of Everest.
Whilst we were up at Camp 1, we also climbed to Camp Two, which is at a height of around 6500m. Camp Two is not yet established but it will form our Advance Base Camp within the next few days.
We are now taking four days rest here at base camp. However, four days rest at this altitude is roughly equivalent to one at sea-level, so we are not being that lazy! In fact, we have recently heard rumours of a "bakery" near to the heli-pad and we fully intend to locate and patronise the said establishment for as long as our rupees hold out. At the end of our rest period, we intend to do another rotation up the mountain, spending three nights at Camp Two and then trying to get our first experience of the Lhotse Face by tagging Camp Three.
More news when we get back!
Russ and Sam
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Diary entry - 9th April
Greetings from Everest Base Camp!
We have now been here a week and we are slowly acclimatising to this altitude. Two days ago, the sherpas held their "puja", meaning that they can start climbing on the mountain. We took this opportunity to make our first ascent into the precarious Khumbu "ice-fall" with our guide Ryan and sherpa Panuru. (It is sherpa custom to throw grains of rice into the air three times as an offering to the mountain before and after climbing on Everest in recognition of its sacred status.) We ascended just over 1000 feet before returning to Base Camp. In the ice-fall, some of the biggest hurdles to overcome are the huge bottomless crevasses that have to be crossed during the ascent. This is typically done using ladders roped together and laid horizontally across the gap, although if you are Panuru, you tend to hop across them, smiling, and not worrying too much about protection! For us mere mortals, it is a somewhat different experience; the main problem is that you are wearing crampons, which have a habit of getting stuck in the rungs... During our climb, we came across a helicopter rotor engine sticking out the ice - this was apparently from a crash at camp one 10 years ago that has been slowly pushed down, as the glacier has moved down the valley.
We are now waiting for Camp One and Camp Two to be established before climbing further. The sherpas who fix the route through the ice-fall have been facing some difficulty so it has taken longer than expected. We have filled some of the time in training. We have refreshed our skills at arm-wraps (used for descending steep slopes), jugging (where you use a device called an "ascender" or "jumar" to haul yourself up a rope) and rappeling (abseiling off protection down vertical drops). The jugging technique is apparently essential for the "Hillary Step", a tricky 40 foot vertical rock outcrop just below the summit (at around 8800m!). To aid acclimatisation, we also took a hike/climb up to the site of the Advance Base Camp of Pumo Ri. Pumo Ri is a 7000m+ mountain opposite Everest and behind our camp, from where we got an amazing view of the Western Cwm and the South Col.
We are now, in effect, playing the waiting game until we can continue up the mountain. The weather has also deteriorated somewhat - the temperature drops to -10C at night and it is, as we write this email, snowing. We are filling our time by trying to keep hydrated, sleeping a lot and eating as much as we can (which you can imagine is a lot). We are also playing games - for those of you who are anxious to know the current state of play, Russ is beating Sam at chess but refuses to play backgammon as he is too scared of losing. (The scrabble set may come out shortly.) Fortunately, one person has brought some DVDs so we have managed to watch the occasional film. This all may sound like a relaxing weekend break but, at 17,500 feet, just walking around camp is enough to get you out of breath!
Happy Easter and hope all is well back home
Sam and Russ
FYI, we have been having problems with satphone and email connections - we think we have now sorted this out but pls bear with us!
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Diary entry - 2nd April
Yesterday (aptly, on April Fool's Day), after 15 days of trekking from Jiri, we arrived at Everest Base Camp (EBC), which will be our home for the next two months.
EBC is a sprawling temporary settlement, situated on top of glacial moraine (basically, rock and debris left behind by the Khumbu glacier as it makes its way down through the valley). It is a relatively inhospitable environment with constantly moving areas of rock and ice - the ice melts in the afternoon, becoming more precarious and unsteady. The uneveness of the glacier means that the entire area is hilly (resembling a mogul field!) and everywhere is under constant reconstruction e.g. kitchen tents, storage space, platforms for tents etc. In addition, the helicopter space from last year has gone and there is, at present, no landingpad. The sherpas are clearing a space at the moment and anticipate this will be available within the next week. The thin air has difficulty in sustaining helicopter blades and base camp is currently the highest altitude at which medical evacs take place. Even so, crashes have occurred - about 100m from our location, we passed the wreckage of a burned out helicopter.
It has taken us 7 days to reach EBC from Namche (from where we sent our first update) - we are one of the first groups to arrive here, although sherpas have been here for the last month constructing a camp. The trek has involved a lot of elevation gain, so we have had to go slowly to allow our bodies time to adjust to the increased altitude (EBC is at 5400m - higher than anywhere in Europe). As we have been on the go for the last two weeks, we are in good condition and well-acclimatised - since starting the trek from Jiri, our overall elevation gain has been more than 10,000m (1000m more than the height of Everest!), with over 4000m of descent. Even so, we have met a number of trekkers and climbers who have been forced to turn back, due to altitude sickness.
On our journey, we have passed through some famous places - Tengboche (with its Buddhist monastery, reconstructed with help from Edmund Hillary), Deboche, Dingboche, Gorak Shep and Lobuche. These are all place names that you frequently hear in connection with expeditions to this region. Even so, all of these are still only basic settlements and, due to the harsh conditions, are only inhabited during the trekking season. There have been few creature comforts e.g. no sit-down toilets, limited electricity and our first experience of yak dung stoves! We have also passed some iconic mountains with historic connections, including Ama Dablam, Lhotse, Nuptse and Pumo Ri.
We have been told that there is no climbing until the "Puja" (which takes place in four days), which is a sherpa Buddhist ceremony to obtain the blessing of a lama prior to expeditions onto the mountain. After this, we will tackle the Khumbu ice-fall, which looks pretty daunting - this is a 1000m climb through a field of constantly-moving ice-blocks and crevasses. The common sound of rock-fall throughout the night is a reminder of the need for caution although, so far, the ice-fall seems stable. This time at Base Camp will give us further opportunity to acclimatise and we hope to be one of the first groups through the ice-fall.
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Diary entry - 26th March 2007
Dear all
This is our first update from Namche in Nepal, on the way to Everest Base Camp (Sunday 25 March 2007). We have just completed our trek from Jiri, following the old Everest Expedition Route used by Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. Most people now choose to fly into Lukla which is further along the trail route and allows a faster route into base camp. However, we have found it much more useful to complete this 6 day trek as we are now much more acclimatised than other climbers.
The road stops at Jiri so from there, everything has to be carried. The trek was very strenuous as we were traversing across a number of valleys carrying our own packs and equipment, often in high temperatures. However, the porters we saw on the route put us all to shame with the amount they carried - some carrying up to 60kg loads wearing only sandals! The route itself is pretty basic with not too many other trekkers although we stayed in guesthouses along the way which had limited electricity and running water. Ryan, our high altitude guide, completed this route about 8 years ago when there was no electricity and only limited resources, so the situation has improved somewhat. Now there is electricity in the evenings and water can be bought, although we have used water from pipes (which we have treated with iodine to lessen our impact).
It was a hard last day to Namche, lasting around 10 hours of arduous up and down climbing. Namche is synonymous with Everest expeditions and there is plenty of evidence of previous trips. We have also travelled past a number of schools which have been established by Edmund Hillary.
Today we had our first glimpse of Everest which was quite daunting! Tomorrow we will start our ascent to Base Camp and should be there within one week. We'll hopefully be able to set up our comms at Base Camp and report more regularly.
All the best.
Sam and Russ