Post 5: Basecamp 2F 17,500 ft

Been in Basecamp for 4 days now we have had snow about every afternoon cold at night and not bad during the day when the suns out.  We have been doing a series of training for both our crossing of the ice falls and our new home at camp 1 19,500ft.  We trained on Ice climbing with crampons and Ice axes, climbing with a Jumar, and both self belay with figure 8 and hand descend we also worked on the aluminum ladders that we will use to get up vertical and span crevasse very tricky with 8000 meter boots and crampons on.  We climbed to Pumori abc at 19,000 to get use to the altitude at camp 1 it also has the best view of Everest we then descended back to Everest base camp.  Pumori abc was the camp that radioed Hall and Fischer teams in 96 telling them there were people still on the top.

We had our final Puja ceremony where a monk blessed our climbing gear.  The two hour ceremony was kind of like a food fight we would throw flower, rice, rice beer called Chang and rice whiskey on our gear and each other.  I just changed into new clothes and had a shower.  The Sherpa took it very serious just like the blessing in Pangboche.  The monk didn't offer us any guidance like the first one did he told us we would have a bad storm but go left and go right and we will be ok. I am learning the do's and don't s never walk over a prayer flag always walk around gupas or Stupas to the right the prayer wheels are spun up the mountain. Yangie would correct me if I were doing it wrong but she will not be going to higher camps.  She got altitude sickness on the climb up Pumori and the leader pulled her from going any higher she was looking forward to working with her dad in high camps.  Too bad she was strong she will continue to serve meals and work in the kitchen which she did on top of her guiding role.  The senior leadership of the Sherpas is very good lots of experience starting with Dan Mazure that's not a Sherpa but the leader and has more experience than anyone up here he plans to go to the summit with us.  The boss Sherpa is Jumba he has two lead Sherpa Mingma and Lockba the camp boss is Kenzie they have a group of younger Sherpas that we see very little because they are crossing the Ice flows every night carrying supplies to high camps and back early in the morning.

Our crossing will start at 1am and unlike Sherpas that do it in 3 hours our crossing will take 8. We have bags packed and will be in harness,helmets and ice gear.  We should arrive in camp 1 around 10 am and will be zombies have 2 rest days before going higher.   Dan respects the ice falls and once we get above them we will stay a week going all the way to camp 3 at 23,500ft. We then spent one night there and return to base camp to rest for the summit push.

I will not have much com and will be sharing a tent at high camps with a guy from Phenix that I have met and got along with well, he is stopping at camp 3 and not going for the summit he is a very strong climber and will hate to see him and 3 others leave after camp 3.  We have another team doing Lotse which is a sister peak to Everest only a few hundred  meters shorter.  There is still a lot to the climb and we are already taking on some illness George probably the strongest climber has fever and chills and has been in his tent for 2 days unable to go on he is hopping for recovery and seeing the doctor daily and will join us later. Lot of people with the Kumbu cough that you get from breathing cold dry air.  The key is to keep it from getting infected filtering the air when you sleep and covering it when you climb.  I can't do it I need all the air intake I can get so I sleep like a turtle in my bag with just my face exposed and walk slow so I don't breath deep thru my mouth exposing my lungs to cold air. Rodger from Australia fractured his rib from a bad cough on his last attempt having to stop short and has been giving me good tips.

There is a lot of excitement about this season because the last 2 have been disasters and mountain closed.  Climbers are down 60% but many of this team have returned for 2 and 3 try's many going deep in debt to chase a dream.  Every step I take is somewhere or something new and it's absolutely thrilling last night was a full moon wind calmed and the fresh snow glowed.  I got up at 1am and couldn't go back to sleep until after 2:30 even though it was -2 f.  I hate that my family and friends worry but if they could see the things that I have seen and will see they would understand better.  I am feeling good, and surrounded by good experienced people.  I will have dark days, Mountaineering is a miserable hobby and part of the beauty is overcoming those days to look for nights like last night. I think life is a lot like climbing a mountain it is overcoming fears, bad days, constant preparation, and dedication to a goal or a summit.

My next post will be a week to 10 days away and will be about the higher camps.  See you then

My college wrestling teammate. Fraternity brother, CMSU alum was diagnosed with MS a few years ago and a group of friends have reunited to help, the past year we have seen him push back the effects of MS in his words "without drugs but with a bike and friends"we created a fund raiser that raised over 40,000 dollars for the wrestling program and MS society, rode several trips on the Katy trail, and rekindled old friendships and even changed some people's lives. I am climbing these mountains everyone thinks is hard but it is easy compared to the mountain Les and people with MS have to climb every day . Every time I start listening to the pain or the cold I think to myself how blessed I am to be able to do this and how people with MS will trade me spots any day. Follow this link to go to the fundraising page at https://www.fundraise.com/everest2016#donate