Two climbers return

The wind forecast is wrong

The team decides to go for the summit

7 May - Jamie, Georgia and Warwick head down

There were leaving tears.

About 200m out of ABC Jamie realised that the barometer had made a 10% gain - a good sign of good weather and the mountain looked good too, although there seemed to be strong wind on the summit. The forecast according to Explorers Web didn't look good, with extreme summit winds and wind all over the mountain. Reality was definitely different.

Georgia and Warwick raced off with Karsang and Karsang carrying their bags, and Jamie in pursuit. We all made BC in less than 6 hours, including stops, a great effort. The Liaison Officer was great, almost immediately offering the duty jeep for this 'emergency", the only problem the duty jeep had to be back at BC the next day so Jamie rode to Tingri for some veg and fruit shopping, while Georgia and Warwick made Zhangmu this day!

8 May - Warwick and Georgia make Kathmandu

How did they go, we will find out by email. However Immigration opened an hour earlier and so it is possible but unlikely that Warwick made the Thai flight today? [He didn't but everything was arranged for the next day. He arrived back, he saw his father and 28 hours later his father died.]

Thomas headed up to Camp 1 today, without his normal tent partner Patrick. Jamie caught the same jeep back from Tingri to BC and then together with Karsang, both carrying fruit and veg, trekked up to Intermediate camp.

Cho Oyu from near intermediate camp, and not the time to be on the summit

9 May - Jamie arrives back to an almost empty camp

Another three hours walking and Jamie arrived at ABC at 11am to find that all the team bar Jerry had just left for Camp 1, a wise decision considering the fine weather.

Our plans?

If the weather holds, and it is gloriously fine now and looking good, then the majority of the team will head to C1 9 May, C1.5 on 10 May and then C2 on 11 May. Here we will carefully evaluate the weather and probably establish C3 (7500m) on 12 May with a view to summitting 13 or 14 May.

There will be no news until we return to ABC.

Conditions looking perfect, and several teams are indeed on the way to the summit