Summit bid

Difficult choices for most team members

During the summit attempt we helped with a rescue and caught a Czech climber stealing red-handed

9 May - Camp 1, 6380m

Just missing Jamie's return to ABC (from going down with Warwick and Georgia), the team headed up to Camp 1 mid-morning. Clive returned having a tough time breathing; Jerry stayed at ABC.

10 May - Camp 1, 6380m

Clive, feeling better, set off again with Jerry. Jamie caught them up and persuaded Jerry to keep going, as although he was moving well, he wanted to turn back. Once at Depot camp, Jamie realised that Jerry had only come up with a day pack, no One Sport boots or sleeping bag etc. Jerry returned saying that he still didn't feel as strong at altitude as previously, although he seemed to be moving quite well all the same.

Patrick, having spent one night at Camp 1 returned to ABC. I (Jamie) was disappointed with this, but it seems that Patrick GI problems which compounded with his diabetes making it hard to manage sugar levels.

11 May - to Camp 1.5, 6785m

For two more members this was decision day. Mary's cough was worse, and debilitating, and seemed to get worse with altitude so she decided to return to ABC. Clive also had unexplained breathing problems and despite being an often very strong trekker, felt that he couldn't safely go higher. They watched and supported us from ABC.

There was still a minor wind blowing. Not enough to prevent us from comfortably climbing, but neither was it a perfect day, so we made a late start for Camp 1.5, or our Serac camp, named because it is just above the serac.

Catherine climbs the steep section of the serac, perhaps the trickiest bit of climbing on the mountain, and hard breathing at over 6700m!

We are the only expedition to use this spot as a camp. It is half way between Camp 1 and Camp 2 at 6785m, just above the ice serac.

An unfolding drama

The day before the sherpas had told me (Jamie) that one of the DAV Summit Club clients had taken a fall while their sherpa was talking on the radio. Today we knew that this client - Cedric - could not walk properly. They had lost radio contact.

We saw three (including Bernd, another team member) descending from Camp 3 late in the day and obviously painfully slow and in real difficulty. Myself and Namgyal went up to C2 to assist as none of the DAV group or sherpas were in a position to help.

We climbed to a little above C2 where Cedric was lying in the snow. Apparently he had taken a fall on the rock band using an old rope but had got up and walked to Camp 3. The next morning he wasn't able to pee, and then had real difficulty walking. Although obviously in real trouble, he was in good spirits and didn't want oxygen (which we had at C2; the only team that did).

We decided to get him down to our C1.5 camp and alternately walked him supported by Jamie, and lowered him; Namgyal belaying him down, Jamie guiding/supporting. We got to C1.5 at around 8pm where we had a spare tent and Dawa fed them. Both were very thankful, but I knew it was just the beginning of what would probably be a very long ordeal.

In the morning Catherine, a doctor, made a quick examination and thought that he had a stable vertebrate fracture and recommended that he not twist at all.

A Czech thief

As Namgyal and myself on our rescue mission approached our one storage tent at C2 a head poked out of the tent above. Not so much of a hello. We looked in our Mountain Hardwear tent, and sure enough there was a Czech climber in there, he didn't acknowledge he was in our tent until we pointed it out. We suggested that he pay some money but without saying anything he quickly packed. What he didn't realise was we didn't need that tent that night. Once out Namgyal checked the tent and our supplies, some gas and food was used, but he said it wasn't him. Sure, you #$%^.

Namgyal noticed our prayer flags were also missing. He shrugged feigning no comprehension, but his mate above helpfully translated and finally he pulled them out of his pack, right in front of us. A thief that if karma does exist, will deal with harshly I hope.

12 May - to Camp 2, 7000m

We were going up, setting off at a usual late time.

Cedric and Bernd were waiting for a rescue team to arrive. This was Temba from our team, Tarke from Thamserku, Chuldim from Amical and Lhakpa from DAV (although he only made it up to just above C1). When they eventually got moving, it was a very long day to ABC, arriving well after dark.

I (Jamie) have to point out that on our summit bid we were able to assist with this rescue, which we did willingly, and by having a strong team of sherpas, we didn't compromise our summit bid at all. Ours was the only team on the mountain capable of this.

13 May - to Camp 3, 7500m

The night was occasionally windy, snow blowing around. We awoke to all of our Mountain Hardwear tent vestibules with perhaps half a metre of snow in them!

The wind settled but the decision to go up to Camp 3 was made by the sherpas setting off, rather than a real discussion.

At Camp 3 we stayed in the DAV team's tents, the deal being we bring them down as they were not capable of it. They were strong Terra Nova tents, but small.

The tent spots at C3 are precarious and this shot shows just how steep C3 is,
and the route above

In conditions like this deciding on a summit bid is difficult. Our old and perhaps less than reliable forecast had suggested that 14 May was the least bad day, but the forecast was still for winds well above 10 metres a second, theoretically too high to climb an 8000m mountain safely.

From Camp 3: cold and clear but this cloud was ominous, what would it bring for our summit attempt early tomorrow morning?