SNOW AT BASE CAMP MAKING IT TOUGH TENTING TONIGHT
Great nights sleep & Ive now a masters degree in how to successfully operate a pee bottle inside
a sleeping bag in pitch black, because its so cold outside “-10 approx” you’d not dare attempt in fear of frost bite ..Hahaha
Yes so good sleep up at 7.30 for breakfast “were 4.45hrs ahead of you guys in eire” hot porridge with sliced coconut & honey & pancakes with boiled eggs & of course hot black tea ,no milk up here only powered milk ..yuck
8.30 am really overcast ” & without sunshine dam its cold ” so pulled out of base camp at 8.30 to climb high to help the body cope with altitude ” you guys are going to be sick of hearing about altitude & acclimatisation” but that’s what you gotta do here daily as you move up in height or you really really with get sick and that’s the end of your attempt at Mt Everest.
So yes we climbed up to 5900 mts from 5100mts at base camp that’s a gain today of 800meters or 2640 ft & for the kids following “which is great ” that’s 3 and ahalf times Mt Errigal “my most favorite mountain in the world”, & get you mum or dad out to climb it with you sometime.
Anyway yes the gain was very significant , 800mts again doesn’t sound like Much but out here with very little oxygen the head gets pretty light & its tough tough going ,as hard a you can Imagine sucking air that’s light & not delivering enough to the lungs that are screaming for more & more ,not by choice we took our time and did the round trip in 6hours. The ground was made up of like a slate stone formation & in sections large boulders of granite very like Donegal.
Today I never recorded my heart rate or blood oxygen levels because I was nearly driving myself around the bend recording my levels so just went by feel “oh natural ” today. Back on the science end of things tomo ..lol
Back to base camp for a well earned lunch chicken for protein & veg & noodles for carbohydrates
“And for the kids you need your vegs for big mountains also ,so eat up if you want to climb Everest someday”
The views from up high to day were spectacular and I got great pictures for you all” when I get wifi in a months time” hehehe
Drinking loads of water out here, prob 4-6 liters a day again you need loads of fluids to assist acclimation.
And for the rest of the evening I spend it legs up resting and loads of hot fluids – took a re-hydration pack today “dolerite” to replace minerals & salts washed out with the climbing ,as I was experiencing abit of cramping. I was backing out of the tent this afternoon & boom cramp and I flew back in light a bolt of lighting ,sore as hell as I lay there wondering how an under Jesus I’m I gonna get out of here . I slowly shuffled out… To any spectators I prob looked a sight.. Lol
” lol to some of the older community is laugh out loud , don’t worry it took my two 13 & 14 year old daughters to inform me also”.
I’m reading a book at the moment called ” higher than the eagle soars “a path to Everest” by Stephen Venables .were it explains his summit bit of Everest in 1988 where we astonished the climbing world by being the first Briton to summit with out oxygen “a place in history reserved for the elite few”
Not only that but also to survive in the death zone “8000mts upwards” overnight ad stumbled into camp the following day when all fears of is life was lost.
Anyway it’s only when you read on and see names on the route I’ve closen to attempt that you feel privileged to follow on this secret route ,it’s sedimentary layers redolent with heroic names from another era – Bruce ,Mallory,Irvine ,finch,Odell,shipton,
Smythe,Tillman,
Somervell & teddy norton, these guys the true explorers in high altitude mountaineering. Nowadays we’ve got loads of support mechanisms & those gutsy guys didn’t.
Tonight it’s snowing heavy here with temp dipped with a wind chill -10 approx. one more night here at base camp & Nima thinks were ready to move to the next level of advance base camp 21.300ft high but it maybe we stop off at interim camp 17.500ft for a night to help altitude conditioning.
Both these camps are located on the Rombu glacier ,kids if you want to google earth and have a look it’s a pritty cool glacier as its am active glacier ” meaning its deep In solid ice with a layer of rock & stone on top and it moves a few meters a year , the ice is exposed & so beautifully formed & crystal blue white in colour ..fab looking.
So that it for tonight it’s 10.11 pm here now I’m tucked up in my tent , got speaking to sharon & kids earlier which was up lifting to hear there voice ,but billy my son informed me the teachers at school are supporting my expedition & sharing educational stuff , it that made my day “thanks teachers its great to pass on this magical journey to the next generation & id love to share all the photos & stories with the kids on my return”..
So good bye for now and thank you for all the messages of support means a lot laying out here.
Love 2 all
& to my sis Dervla just out of hospital .. Speedy recovery sis xx
Jason
