#cfvs.everest

Thought I would skip straight to pic number 6! I will write more soon but our main internet link was destroyed in an electrical storm so please bear with me for a few days as we pack up and then descend to civilisation where I will have more access. It has been an amazing and exhausting experience the end of which was almost called off multiple times on Friday for reasons I will go into in my next blog! Thanks for so many supportive messages and sponsorship!

Heading up the mountain at 1am tomorrow for a week or so which may include an attempt depending on weather, health etc. Thanks for all of your support, be back in touch on my return...

Photo 4 of potential 6. This is me at Camp 3 at 7200m (around 24,000 feet). Forgive the non too smiley expression it was one of the hardest days of my life having had 5 hours of intensely hot sunshine followed by a few hours of snowstorm. Hot to cold when climbing the Lhotse face is not ideal as it is a long steep climb mainly over blue ice which tires the legs and feet constantly having to kick in to find grip on the ice before finally getting to camp on ledges dug into the side of the mountain. There is no place to rest and you need to remain well roped in or there would be no stopping your descent! It took me quite a number of breaths for each step and as anticipated I went from being one of the stronger team members to a very slow one. This seems to happen once over 6,000m as despite my deliberately high fitness level I can't overcome the increasingly thin oxygen levels forever. On the positive side Everest seemed more in reach than ever and it was quite incredible to see the views once the snowstorm subsided. I am now back down at base camp looking to sleep and eat as much as possible before preparing for a final ascent I don't know if I can do! If you would like to make a donation to the CF Trust to help support their research and support to help the many with CF who face a bleak future please go to www.virginmoneygiving.com/CFvs.Everest

This is a picture of the Lhotse face which I have to climb to get to Camp 3 at around 7,300m (24,000 feet). To get a sense of scale click on the photo and you can just make out 3 people in the bottom right as well as the large crevasse we have to get across before climbing (which collapsed 2 days ago). The reward for getting up is spectacular views of Everest and the chance to sleep on a tent sized slab of ice - sleep walking not recommended! We leave tomorrow 1am for 5 days so I will be out of contact for a while before returning to base camp before our planned final push. One of the questions I have been sent for this blog is from Chamali who is very concerned about how I wash my hair (or not). Fear not Chamali at base camp we can ask for a bucket of hot water, go to a small shower tent, put a small battery powered pipe in and a dribble of water will come out. Putting it on a barrel and kneeling helps get a better flow though I usually end up just pouring half over me. It feels like such a luxury and clears the head. Any other questions please email me at [email protected], tweet to @CF_vs_Everest or Facebook me.

Picture 3 of potential 6 - Camp 2 on Everest. We have many tents stored here from last year and so are lucky enough to have a tent each! Just arrived back from one night at Camp 1, and 3 nights at Camp 2 at around 6,400-6,500m. Despite the intention to slow down we actually reached Camp 1 in 5 hours 10 minutes so about an hour faster than previously. The route had deteriorated significantly in parts. We operated in two sets of three and when the route diverged my three took the old route. (It was 3 am, hard to know which would be better). We climbed the 5 ladders tied together then up a slab of ice to a flat ladder section. This was much more difficult than normal as there were regular blasts of wind threatening to unbalance you off the ladder so took a lot of concentration when to lean in or not! We then found the crevasses had opened up much more with one or two patches without rope that had previously been there to tie into. Imagine standing on a slab of ice and snow a couple of metres wide and 10 metres long and hearing part of the slab falling into the 100 metre abyss in the dark as well as the usual creaks and groans. Needless to say we didn’t hang around and jumped the crevasses to get to a safer position where we could at least tie in before moving on from the much expanded crevasse zone. It felt reminiscent of the scene in the first part of Lord of the Rings where the pathways start to collapse. It was a relief to reach Camp 1 and be able to relax in my sleeping bag and make a hot drink, I ate too but later as altitude really takes my appetite away. After a night at Camp 1 we went up to Camp 2. It is just a few hundred metre height gain and is easier terrain but it took a few hours and whilst I stayed with the team i felt like I couldn't go faster from a breathing point of view. It is hard to know whether I will acclimatise past this or whether it is having a bit lower lung capacity coming into play, much as I tried to compensate from an exercise point of view beforehand to be very fit. I have to accept any limitations I have and try and figure out a way around them which I am already using past experience for. At Camp 2 I had a couple of sleepless nights partly due to stormy weather but ate enough. Whilst up there we held a minute's silence for those lost on Everest and across Nepal in the earthquake last year. At Camp 2 when calm you constantly hear either a distant wind going around the summit of Everest or water deep within the glacier. Looking to rest down here in base camp a couple of days. All in all I am happy with where I am and the progress but some tough parts ahead which I will cover before I leave again.

This is how the icefall looks at night on the occasions you get a good moon. We leave at 1am tonight to go to Camp 1 again. All being well we will then go and spend 3 nights at Camp 2 at around 6500m (around 21000 feet) and begin acclimatising and exploring the route to Camp 3 from there. It's exciting as it will be a first for me to get to Camp 2 here. As I have been to 8200m (almost 27,000ft) elsewhere I hope this should be possible though I am getting older now :) On Monday we will hold a minute's silence for the thousands lost in Nepal in last year's earthquake including those at base camp and Dan who was on my team. It is something I think about everyday as small physical scars remind me how lucky I was to escape with temporary injuries. I am used to the sound of avalanches in base camp again as they just crash down in the periphery, it generally takes an earthquake to create something dangerous to base camp. That said there has been the occasional night when I have woken to the sound of a large avalanche and thrown myself over my makeshift barrier of two heavy 100 litre kitbags full of equipment as shelter should my tent be hit... Happy weekends all and Internet permitting I will be in touch in 5 days!

Picture 2 of the potential 6 landmarks - this is Camp 1 where we slept at 6,100m (around 20,000 feet). For context whereas base camp is higher than any European mountain, Camp 1 is higher than Kilimanjaro the highest point in Africa. 6 of us set off at 1 am including David the team leader and Pem our Sherpa leader. The icefall is both beautiful but also has a lurking sense of danger with crevasses opening up, avalanches and towers of ice collapsing. You almost didn't need a headtorch with the clear moonlit sky. I don't know if it was having to get up at midnight or just an off day but I found it hard going climbing up through the icefall breathing hard on the and pushing yourself over the next cliff of ice on the horizon wondering when the last would come before Camp 1. It took us 6 hours 10 minutes when i was expecting 8 hours until we acclimatise better so it felt hugely satisfying to get there and finally rest. Temperatures in my tent varied from around +30 degrees C at midday down to around -25 degrees C at night with a small gale at one point trying to take our tents away. Camp 1 looks flat but whilst it's roughly a similar level over a kilometre or so it is formed of many very large slow moving pieces of ice which we camp on top of and which move towards the icefall where it becomes steeper. Once there because of the altitude you feel tired and don't want to drink or eat so have to force yourself to drink a lot and eat what you can so you stay in as good a shape as possible to have a chance of doing the next step of the expedition. We left some equipment up there (second sleeping bag, extra karrimat etc.) so we don't have to carry it up and down again and returned down to base camp starting out at 5.30am this morning when the Sun rose. Looking forward to some good food and sleep!

Not sure if this will come through twice as download problems. This is my home for my immediate future at Everest base camp 5360m. Seems very tranquil and calm though have taken a careful look around with ideas what to do if anything happens. Hopeful of a natural disaster free year this year though. Great food, bangers and mash for lunch, fresh fruit and veg all locally sourced, thankful to have Anthony along who's in charge of that sort of thing and does in places as far flung as Antarctica.