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Everest

Up, up, down, REPEAT!

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Up, up, down, REPEAT!

It's been a couple days but we are back at Base Camp. Yesterday we were at Camp 2. And the day before that, we were at Camp 1. The Ice Fall is HARD this year, wow. It changes every year and maybe I had an easy year in 2011 (flew through it in 3 hours), but this year took 5.5. Some of us even took up to 8 to 10 hours. Holy hell. What a challenge.

We had ventured into it a week or so ago and we thought we had made it to about 3/4 of the way up. Wrong. Apparently that was barely just half way. And after that was some major ups and downs. And to top it off, at the end was a huge wall that was insane to climb. I climbed it and spent 15 minutes sprawled out on top to catch my breath. Ouch. Not sure how some other people are gonna climb that thing...Then another hour of zig zagging and we were at Camp 1. I collapsed inside my tent but I had made it, and in decent time I guess. The rest of the day was pretty miserable, getting so bloody hot in the tent (I was practically naked), then the sun disappearing and a breeze coming through and it was suddenly freezing. I was tenting with Sangey Sherpa who was a rock star and boiled water for me because I was too wrecked.

We ate dinner at 5 (freeze dried chicken and rice FTW) and then it was lights out. My body was sore so it was tough to stay still in my sleeping bag. I didn't sleep very well. Not to mention we were at 6000m.

We woke up at 4am the following day and Sangey was already boiling water again. He's fucking awesome. Then out of nowhere we hear someone singing "Her name was Lola..." - it was Phil having just arrived at Camp 1 (he left Base Camp at midnight and was stopping by to say hi). He gave us a small pep talk and then was gone POOF up to Camp 2 already. We followed suit and packed up our things and made way. I lagged a little, leaving at 20 past 5 (I wanted more sunlight and hopefully more warmth, but it was windy as hell so no cigar).

Sangey and I made our way out of Camp 1 and it was 5 vertical ice wall sections back to back - what a way to start the morning. I was exhausted 10 minutes in and was seriously thinking to myself "well alright I guess I can't do this." But somehow I did, and at the top of that last wall you could actually see the slow ramp to Camp 2. That was semi-encouraging. That took another 1.5 hours slowly trodding along.  I at one point started counting my steps and got to 1500, but then got bored because 1500 steps didn't really get me very far in actual distance travelled. I caught up with Ben and Laura eventually and we entered Camp 2 together. Once you get to the start of it, there's actually another 75-100 meters to climb before getting to the actual Altitude Junkies tents. That was painful, and had us stopping every 30 steps or so to rest. OOFF. But eventually we got there. Exhausted, but with Phil merrily cheering us along and congratulating us.

Overall, it was a tough two days. 5.5 hours the first, then 2.5 the next. Our next rotation we will have to do that all in one go when we head for the summit. 8 hours straight. Yuck. But we will be better acclimatized. I felt surprisingly well at altitude but my main issue (and similarly in the past) was keeping my extremities warm. My toes were solid blocks of ice all that morning and it took me an hour to thaw them out. Not sure why that happens to me, I'm warm otherwise, my boots are warm, and I'm exercising. Why is it that my toes just freeze up (just the big toes). That worries me a bit, but I have feet warmers so I'll just have to use them earlier on...

Anyways, so there we were at Camp 2 and the question was how long do we stay here before heading back down. It's not comfortable and your body wastes away. The answer is, just a day. I went back down the next day with Phil, who was antsy to leave. Here's our reasoning: I've stayed up at Camp 2 elevation (6400m) for a week in past seasons and while it helped me acclimatize, it depleted my body. I felt REALLY acclimatized up at camp 2, which is amazing (probably because we spent a solid 2 weeks at base camp) so no need in letting my body wasting away!

Phil and I left at 5am the next morning and basically ran down in 3-4 hours. I twisted my ankle in the Ice Fall (bravo, Nelson), but I'll be fine. Just a small sprain. And here we are at Base Camp again just relaxing until summit push time!

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Into the Ice Fall

4am, go time. Daylight is just up and I'm freezing in my sleeping bag. But I need to crawl out of it. We're leaving for our first climb out of Base Camp into the deadly Khumbu Ice Fall.

The first objective: get out of my bag and into my climbing clothes with minimal heat loss. I'm freezing, yes, but not as freezing as I'll be if I fuck this up. First step, put my light puffy jacket on - that'll keep my core warm when I get out of my bag. Then my socks and boot liners. Then pants, which I've slept with next to me in my bag so they're already warm.

Okay, I'm good.

Now to brace for the cold outside. It's cold, but relatively warm for this time of year. Tolerable.

Now breakfast. I'm not particularly hungry, but I need the energy. I scarf down some eggs, baked beans, and toast.

Alright, let's go!

Out the door, it's 6am, cold, relatively light out, and I'm pumped. It's been 5 years since I climbed through this thing. The last season I was here, I loved it. One of the most dangerous parts of the mountain, the Ice Fall is a glacial labyrinth rising nearly 1000m above Base Camp. This thing is alive, moving 6 feet a day and avalanching constantly. For some reason though, the challenge this part of the mountain offers is like non other to me. It scares me shitless before I enter it and after when I think back on it, but while I'm in it I just lose myself. Nevermind the massive ice blocks that could crack and crush me instantly, nevermind the large seracs that could break off and cause a hellish avalanche situation. Climbing up, down, around, below, rappelling, jumaring, front-pointing, it's got everything. New York's hottest night club is....the Khumbu Ice Fall.

Maybe it's the danger that makes it so exciting, I don't exactly know. You need to move fast in it or you risk being in some seriously precarious situations. In 2011, the Ice Fall route (as best as I can remember it) was challenging but straight-forward and quick, with a generous amounts of ladders to join crevasses. It took me and my buddy Kevin (who now guides for Adventures Global) a short 3 hours to navigate. I remember there being a good amount of ladders to cross and climb (maybe 40-50?). This year, not so much. We crossed only 4 and there was a report of a 4-strung ladder higher up (we didn't climb all the way through the Ice Fall just yet but probably 70% of it to get a little taste). This year was HARD and challenging. All ice, real vertical. Lots of steep sections. I liked it, but it left me super tired.

We headed back down as soon as the sun hit (ITS SO UNSEASONABLY WARM HERE ALREADY!). You do not wanna be in the Ice Fall when it's hot and melting. I was fine with that. Down climbing is my jam, probably because I just throw myself down the slope and in my head I think I look real cool (but probably don't). There was one steep rappel option I took (you could take the slightly less steep option to the right), and man did that wake me up and get my adrenaline going. LOVED IT.

All in all, we all got back to Base Camp safe and relatively quickly. There were a few other teams in the Ice Fall, but we smoked them. Great sign. We're a strong team. I really felt in the moment and climbing in it really reminded me of why I'm here and why I love climbing on ice. Would I rather be chilling on a couch eating a pizza with my fiancé back home, definitely. That's the easy option. But being out here, putting myself in a calculated, somewhat safe, risk and pushing myself, there's nothing like it.

Now we're back here for a few days. Our Sherpas (only a few at a time) will continue carrying a couple loads to Camp 2 to continue setting it up. Once that's ready we will head up to do our first rotation. Word has it that most teams are going to do a one rotation approach this year, to avoid trips through the Ice Fall. That means we go through once, chill at Camp 2 for a while (5-7 days to acclimatize at 6400m) and then maybe tag Camp 3 if it's set up, then come back down. Then wait till the weather window opens and then we GO! Summit time. The weather is like May weather already so it could very well be an early summit window. Let's see.

One last tidbit. We had Russ over for dinner again last night but he had a special guest with him...Conrad Anker!! He was super humble and jam-packed with climbing history. I couldn't help asking him about whether he thought Mallory summitted Everest first (since he found the body in 1999). He thinks "no way." Interesting. He also had some serious interest in my team-mate Laura's Louis Vuitton high heel, bright pink, spiked stilettos (yes she actually brought them, no she isn't planning on wearing them on the mountain). He said he would post a picture of them on his Instagram, so keep an eye out. Wine was flowing, and emotions got high, but it was another memorable night. Super cool.

What next? Today was a rest day for all teams to pay respect to the Sherpas lost in the 2014 Avalanche. So Sherpas climb tomorrow, some teams will do their Puja, then I'm sure the Ice Fall will get slammed by numerous teams climbing up. We will probably go back up April 22-23 or so. Stay tuned!

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