Have you been to 6,000m? I have several times on different mountains. I can assure you, none were as difficult as the Khumbu Icefalls from EBC to C1.
Here are the stats on the two for me this season, taken from Michael TOMORDY’s Garmin watch (2018 Everest permit member).
EBC – C1: +800m elevation gain, 26km, 8h
EBC – Pumori ABC: +600 elevation gain, 3.36km, 3.5h
The Khumbu Icefall is not just the crevasses and ladders that you hear and read about.
This year we had some vertical sections that needed ascending and descending. Honestly the ladders were super easy.
For me, the most difficult part of the ascent to C1 was the mental strain.
I woke up at 1:30AM, got on the trail around 3:30AM, got to the crampon point around 4:30AM, and I walked into C1 at 11:30AM
The temperature ranged from below -15°C to above 30°C plus the reflection of the light from the snow surfaces all around you.
I had to ensure I carried what I needed until the end of my acclimatization rotation to C3.
1L of water weighs 1kg and that’s certainly not enough for C1. I decided to gulp down 1L prior to leaving and carrying 2L along the way.
That plus any dehydrated food, snacks, all your medication that may be required (2kg), sleeping bag, two Thermarest z-pads, ice axe, walking stick, down suit, down jacket (850 fill), spare underwear and base layers.
I wore socks, underwear, base layers, a fleece, a soft shell, a hard shell, a fleece lined pant, a hard shell pant, high altitude boots (1.5kg each), steel crampons, beanie, helmet, headlamp, harness, figure 8, 4 locking carabiners, an ascender, a pulley, a couple of other carabiners and cords to get yourself out of a crevasse (just in case).
I’m leaving all the tech stuff out (solar panel, battery, BGAN, etc.) because my good brother Sange Sherpa carried it on my behalf. He has already been to C1 and C2 several times this season so his pack was lighter on his 4th ascent.
That weight at altitude is only a piece of the effort. You are now faced with what seems like a never ending group of very large crevasses that you keep going up and down, over and over!
Your muscles are completely exhausted but you aren’t even near your destination. You are wearing your harness so you can’t close the pack waste belt, the entire pack weight is sitting on your shoulders!
Each breath you take reminds you that you are short on O2 and air in general.
The ΔT is horrendous. It is so cold with wind busting through the gulleys of the crevasses. As you think you are reaching C1, you realize you are hours away and the sun, which you were so happy to feel, is rapidly peeling away any bit of energy and resolve you may have left.
You think you can just stop and strip down but you can’t: it’s not safe in avalanche territory. Once you get past that, you’re completely wasted and you still can’t see your final destination. All you see are more crevasses.
Your mind is the only tool you have on your side. One step ahead of the other. A breath for each step. Safely clipping into the rope as you traverse a snow bridge or ladder over a crevasse.
Your training and experience are the only things that will carry you through the technical sections because your everything else is spent. If this is your first expedition traversing ladders, descending with your figure 8, or ascending with a jumar, you’re likely going to mess it up because you don’t have the energy to think or capacity to concentrate on multiple things. A simple mess up could mean injury or death.
The heat is burning you. You don’t even notice the amazing scenery. You step into C1 fully spent but now you need to get your tent in order before the weather changes to blowing snow. Which it did.
What got me through: turn your mind on and shut off all the stories it is feeding you. Stories like “it’s too hot”, “it’s too cold”, “it’s too hard”, or “you can’t do it” as some examples. Even if you want to quit, what’s your plan? Die where you give up? You won’t get a heli rescue from within the icefall.
This update is from April 28, 2018. I have since safely returned to base camp from camp 3. Cheers!
#impendo #bigclimbs #everest #lhotse #expedition2018 #lovemywife #lhotsefun #wegohigh #canadagoeshigh #firstascent #getdownwithdown #imdownwithdown #eddiebauer
