Hard Start

Woke at 2am bumped the tent wall and crystals of ice showered me.  We had decided the day before to get a 3am start.  We were at 17,800 feet.  The sky was star filled and the climb was a go.  I believe the crux of every climb is to get out of the warm sleeping bag at 2am on a 15 degree morning when you are breathing 30% less oxygen.  I yelled out to Gombu and Paul.  They must have been in a deep sleep or dreading getting out of the warm bag because there was no response.  I yelled 3 times before Paul answered, Gombu woke a few moments later.

By 3:15am we were on our way.  Its an intense feeling to be in a remote area at almost 18,000 feet heading to climb a peak.  We had decided to save as much energy as possible and try the climb from our Base Camp with no intermediate camp.  We knew it would be a 16 hour day or longer but doing it like this saved a lot of mileage and energy by not making carries and establishing a higher camp.  We also knew that we would have one shot as time was running out.  The weather in the Khumbu this season was unstable with clouds rolling in as early as 10am.

Headlamps bobbing and piercing the night we made good time to the base of the ice fall.  We changed into our climbing boots and donned our harnesses and hardware.  We started up the West side of the ice fall. We were traveling light but even the minimal added wait had us huffing and puffing.  We worked our way to the first rock band.  Big ice fall features loomed above and to our right.  The rock band and a short gully to our left.  To get to it there was a sloping polished slab with ice.  It was just 20 feet to the gully but the rock was rotten.  We searched and talked for 15 minutes on our options.  I down climbed and walked horizontally along the rock band.  There was another gully that would be easy to climb.  Paul jumped into the lead.  I had a bad feeling about the rock.  Not necessarily climbing the pitch and pitches above but wondered about getting down on such crud.  Paul started up and the hand hold in his right hand broke off.  He composed himself and moved his weight onto his left hand and foot.  The left hand hold broke off and he threw it aside.  At that point I said to Paul  "  We would have no problem climbing this, but I would worry about wrapping off gear with such shitty rock".  We both agreed.

I looked for another weakness in the rock band further left.  Nothing.  It was like a fortress.  By this time it was coming on 7 am.  We had spent from 4 to 7am trying to break the puzzle.  It was already late and we decided to call it.  We definitely are going back and realize that there was a good solid route up the ice fall.  I am hoping to make it back in April.  Email if you would like to join this climb.

base camp and advance base camp

We have made it to Base Camp.  It is the highest base camp I have ever had.  17,800 feet almost 500 feet higher than Everest Base Camp.  We are working toward getting the climbing gear to the base of the ice fall about 1 hour away.  The route looks good to the left of the ice fall.  A line that threads between the ice fall and a huge rock wall.  We will see and know more in a few days.  For now base camp is remote.  There is no one here but the yeti.  My friend Urkin Sherpa who keeps track of Snow Leopard in the area told me that this is the area where they raise their young cubs.   Paul Cho has been an outstanding climbing partner.

We are all fine but it is hard to recover at 17,800 feet.  We will try to finish this in the next day or 3. 

Base Camp and Sherpa crew

We are a day away from Base camp.  The trekking group just departed down into thicker air.  What an outstanding group and trip.  We were able to be flexible with sicknesses and schedule and had a fun time together.  I will miss them.  As I watched them head down there was a part of me that wanted to go down also.  The greenery, thick air, and warmer temperatures always pull on the mind. 

Tomorrow we head up to 17,600 feet to a base camp at a lake.  The area is remote there is no trail.  This trip would not be possible without the support of our Sherpa crew and porters.  Gombu Sherpa is the son of Chapa Sherpa who died in 2007.  Chapa was my head Sherpa for 13 years and now Gombu is following in his footsteps.  He is becoming an outstanding guide at age 23 and I could not run these trips without him.  There are hundreds of logistics and hundreds of pounds of gear to deal with and he takes them all in stride.

How does the gear get to Base Camp.  Thank you to our porter crew, noting would happen without them.  In fact no expedition would get off the ground if it were not for the porters.  We have been using some of the same porters for the past 5 years now.  Four Winds limits the amount of weight that is carried.  A practice that is absent amongst most other companies.

I will not be writing to you until after the climb.  Look for new blog entries on the climb in about 8 days.  Peace to all.  

first view

We have arrived at Gokyo 15600 feet.  Everyone is doing well after a bout of sicknesses.  The weather is very unsettled in the Khumbu with wind and clouds rolling in by 10 to 11am.  The climbers had their first view of the West peak and the route looks straight forward except for one small detail.  The summit ridge looks to be a mile and a half long.  This means that we will be traveling at or around 20,000 feet for several hours.  Well it will be  a beautiful view.  The East peak has a beautiful ice ramp that goes from col to summit.  Looks to be AI 2 or 3 with 70 degree ice.  The trekking group and I are very excited to hike to the summit of Gokyo Ri at 17,600 feet the pinnacle and half way point of the trek journey.  Peace to all. 

Light and fast Alpine Climbing

Our climbing hardware gear list for our Kangchung expedition:

6 Black Diamond Express ice screws
3 pitons
1 set nuts
1 50 meter 8 mm rope
1 50 meter 6 mm rope
2 link cams by Omega Pacific
12 slings by Camp
18 Camp carabiner ( Nano) the lightest on the market
2 Black Diamond Locking carabiner

old school

"I ski in these gloves" was his first response when I crinkled my brow. He held out his gloved covered hands.  These are not just any glove.  I have a client on the trekking portion of our trip who swears by his pig skin gloves, also known as gardening gloves.  He has taken the glove and sprayed them with some kind of waterproofing but other than that they are the everyday garden glove.  In fact I was using a pair in my garden before I left for the expedition.

What it comes down to is that the older generation is a hell of a lot tougher then I.  He probably has a tweed jacket for his high altitude coat.  I have secretly added an extra pair of gloves to my travel kit in case he does get cold. 

All is well

We have just reached Namche and finalized our climbing permit.  Everyone is doing well just the usual khumbu valley sicknesses, soar throat, cramped stomachs, emotional breakdowns, khumbu cough, sinus infections, and of coarse the runs.  We are all happy and excited to head north toward Tibet.  Love to all.  

Uncanny Elizabeth Holly

There has been one person who as kept track of every expedition since 1963 in the Nepal Himalaya.  Now in her 80s Elizabeth Holly has interviewed every expedition leader from Reinhold Messner to Jerzy Kukuchka.  She really is the gate keeper to the land of the high mountains and if you are on expedition you want to meet with her.  She is the encyclopedia of climbing routes and peaks.  I met with her yesterday to go over the details of the Kangchung Expedition.  I was delighted to find that the West Peak or Kangchung Nup has not seen an ascent since 1959 and has only seen 3 ascents.  The East Peak may be a first ascent but research is still being done.

 I am always excited to meet with Elizabeth as she has become a friend over the years. She has so many stories and she keeps us climbers in line.  After each expedition we have to meet with Elizabeth and she grills us as to what we saw from the summit.  She wants to know if we actually stood atop. She can tell you what you will see from the top of any peak.  She can tell you rock features, snow depressions, descriptions of gully's and probably what way the wind will be blowing.  I am exaggerating only a bit here.  One thing I am not exaggerating is Elizabeth's sixth sense. Other expedition leaders will tell you and we have talked about it amongst ourselves,  Elizabeth can tell when any leader has entered Nepal with out any information given as to arrival date or flight itineraries.  For our Kangchung expedition I had emailed her 3 weeks ago and told her of our plans.  I even told her I would be arriving on the 18th even though I was arriving on the 15th.  When I walk into the hotel lobby on the 15th two minutes later the lobby Manager called me over to the phone.  Two minutes after I entered the hotel!  On the other end of the line was Elizabeth wondering if we could meet.  This is not coincidence.  She has located me within 2 hours of arriving in Nepal for every expedition I have done for the last 18 years.  I never have given her any flight details or arrival times.

Thank You Elizabeth for all you do.  Keeping track of us dirt bag climbers.  Thank you for being the gate keeper for the high realm and knowing where I am going to be at before I even know.

Lighten your load

I am always astonished to see climbers on a 2 day climb of Mt Rainier carrying 50 pound packs. It is uncalled for and outdated.  For a 3 day climb on Rainier my pack weighs 29 pounds.  I have friends go much lighter than this.  It starts with your choice of gear.  Following are a few companies that have supported my expeditions who make high quality gear.  Quality that I trust at altitude in the Himalaya.

The Nalgene Canteen.  It is the lightest water bottle on the market.  It shaves at least 2 ounces off your load when using two 1 quart canteens.  It could shave as much as 5 ounces off your load if you are using other brands.  The canteen is durable and light, it is compressible when not in use.

I just received a 48 Litre pack.  Most packs on the market that are 48 liters are 3 pounds and up.  They have bells and whistles which only get confusing at altitude or are useless on steep technical terrain. Eliminate useless weight and stream line your pack with Figure Four Packs.  Take a look at the Tau 48 by Figure Four Packs.  48 liters expandable to 55 plus liters weighs in at just 2 pounds 2 ounces and can be stripped down to 1 pound 7 ounces in the field in one minute.  It is stream lined, it moves with you as you move, it feels like part of your body on vertical ground.  It has everything you need for serious alpine climbs without all the extra weight.

I have been using a Feathered Friends sleeping bag since 2001.  I just ordered a new bag from them and was very pleased to receive a custom bag that is a minus 10 degree bag and weighs only 2 pounds 14 ounces.  For that warmth factor it is the lightest on the market.  The quality is outstanding.  Compare other bags with the same warmth factor and your looking at 3 pounds 4 ounces and up.  I have never been cold in my Feathered Friends bag.

If you go through each piece of your gear you can find something that meets the demands of what you will be doing in the mountains but does not hold unneeded weight.  Over the years I have shaved 15 pounds off of my back for a 3 day alpine climb.

Thank You Nalgen, Figure Four, and Feathered Friends.