Mt. Everest Expedition: Resting and Watching the Weather Forecasts
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Today marks our fifth full day back at Base Camp since coming down from our third rotation on the mountain. The days have managed to slip by surprisingly quickly, filled with big meals, visits from friends, time spent reading, playing cards, throwing horseshoes, and most of all - resting. Tuck organized the 2011 Everest Base Camp Horseshoes Tournament a few days ago and filled our small camp with dozens of people from various teams bent on vying for the coveted crown. Besides a few errant throws - we lost a cooking pot to a high flying shoe and somehow managed to tangle a horseshoe in the prayer flags strung overhead - it was a really enjoyable afternoon.
Yesterday Dave, Sara, and I spent the morning exploring the lower reaches of the Khumbu Glacier surrounding Base Camp, making our way through the tongues of rock moraine and among the fins of vertical ice that jut up from the glacier. But the overarching focus of these days has been on resting, and it has been paying off. Dave, Sara, and I are all feeling the gains from our leisurely days down here. The solid nights of sleep have calmed any minor altitude coughs and strength is seeping back into the legs. Our Sherpa team descended a few days ago as well and the whole team is now down at Base Camp, enjoying the rest and preparing for the final push.
Every morning over the past few days we pull up the latest forecast and discuss the options for our summit bid. This season's weather has been unsettled to say the least and that trend has continued into the summit season. Several teams have made summit attempts over the past few days and the occasional eruption of cheering and clanging pots and oxygen bottles can be heard coming from camps as they celebrate the radio call from their climbers standing on the summit. But the summit season so far has been far from smooth and dozens of climbers have faced real challenges up there, battling high winds and cold temperatures in their attempts. While the temperatures and the snowfall are factors, our big concern is the wind. The jet stream is still playing around this part of the Himalayas, occasionally drawing close to Everest and then receding again, and causing nothing but confusion for the forecast models. The 60+mph winds reported yesterday are a sure indication the jets proximity. And so we are sitting down here, reading over the forecast every morning, hoping that these small snippets of good weather that lay scattered over the upcoming days materialize into a substantial window for us to feel confident to head up on our summit bid.
Thus begins the waiting game, a trial in its own right. To sit in Base Camp after so many weeks of hard work, feeling ready and prepared for the summit bid, but stalling over the unstable weather conditions, is a huge mental challenge. On occasion a helicopter lands in Base Camp, picking up climbers returning from the summit - both those who made it successfully and those who did not but battled the cold and wind nonetheless - and whisks them back to Kathmandu in dozens of minutes. It's easy to let the mind wander to all of the luxuries and comforts that await the passengers when they disembark, but not a very helpful exercise. Nevertheless, the focus around camp remains, the days of rest are paying off, and our excitement is building for the upcoming climb. A great number of unknowns lie ahead of us, but we are feeling ready. Tomorrow we will wake up, print out the forecast, sit down in the morning sun to look over what the forecast models predict for wind speeds, temperatures, and precipitation amounts. Hopefully that window we know is coming begins to materialize.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
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Comments (2)
Linden, there is a crew of us that you took up Rainier last summer that has been following your blog. We all wish we were with you now. Glad to hear that you are having fun and resting for the summit.
Posted by: Smith Cooley on
Bill, that’s a cool picture of you getting ready to throw the horseshoe. Watch out for the prayer flags and cooking pots. Thanks, Linden, for the description of the waiting game and life in Base Camp. So glad it’s all paying off. We’re praying for a good weather window for the team and a safe journey. Much love.
Posted by: Mom on