Aside from a brief visit into the recesses of a crevasse, today went quite well. We descended to Base Camp in the middle of the day, which is not good if you’re trying to avoid the sun. Back at Base Camp, I discovered small blisters on my nose as well as a sunburn on my tongue, which doesn’t feel entirely dissimilar to a tongue burned by food that is too hot. A so-called buff scarf would have prevented most of the damage, but mine was frozen solid in the morning, so I didn’t wear it. Shortly after arriving at Base Camp, we were given a strange fish cake to eat and although quite palatable, it cannot be compared to the meals on Thai Airways or the excellent lunch menu at the Kathmandu Hyatt Regency. In fact, Ran and I spent much time day-dreaming of the Hyatt’s tandoori chicken tikka and their most delectable fresh watermelon juice. At night, there’s not much dreaming at all, especially not if you’re sharing a tent with Ran…sleep is elusive at the higher altitudes and Ran’s oxygen machine makes noises like Darth Vader. In this state of insomnia the best remedy to complete boredom is the nocturnal consumption of Reese’s Pieces - with a twist! First, take a handful of Reese’s Pieces out of the wrapper, so that they don’t disturb your snorting tent mate. Second, carefully chew off half a piece of Reese’s and while eating it guess the color of the piece you just bit into. You must then place all the halves on top of your sleeping bag, carefully and in order, remembering the coloring sequence you guessed. Then, very quickly, turn on your head torch -which you’ve pre-positioned in anticipation of all this- and “voilla” you will be amazed how many times you correctly guessed the right color of Reese’s Pieces in the darkness. This and other ridiculously elementary games keep the oxygen-deprived mind active up here.

He'll fight you even in his sleep!

Today we left Camp 2 for Camp 3, which is half way up the Lhotse Face at 3,200 m. The 2 1/2-hour hike up the valley to the bottom of the Face was difficult and strenuous enough. Climbing up the steep Lhotse Face was both terrifying and exhausting. Egg-size chunks of ice come crashing down the Face and pose a constant threat, as do rocks of all shapes and sizes. When one of the people above you yell “ro-ck”, there is not much you can do but hope that the rock will not meet your helmet and if it does that the helmet wins. Of course, that’s if you didn’t forget your helmet at Base Camp, like Ran. After a few hundred meters, half way between the bottom and Camp 3, I called it quits. I was both extremely tired and very scared and I felt the combination did nothing to improve our climbing team’s safety. Kenton, who led our ascent, agreed with me and told us to turn around. This was even more terrifying, as we were now staring directly down a 700-foot-deep drop. My crampons acted more like ice skates and despite a strong grip on the rope, I felt that I might fall to my death at any moment. After a few steps, I stopped altogether in protest, sensing far too much danger to continue on the steep, icy slope. We were now all stuck on Lhotse Face, not a particularly enticing spot on which to be stuck. In the end, with the help of Kenton -who’s been up and down the Lhotse Face an astonishing 15 times in order to summit Everest 6 times- we made it down to safety in more time than it took to get up.

The Lhotse Face as seen from Camp 2

There is no way to describe the feeling of exhaustion going from Base Camp through the Khumbu Ice Fall to Camp 1 and then on to Camp 2. The going from C1 to C2 is extremely tiring and slow, crossing deep crevasses, some which have opened up very recently and which must therefore be jumped across, since no ladders have been placed across them yet. Try jumping over a 100-foot-deep crevasse with 40 extra pounds on your back (camera kit, etc.), after climbing through an ice fall for over six hours. The real sign of exhaustion is that one’s heart doesn’t even skip a beat but instead continues in the same rhythm as if to say “just get me to the part where I can sleep”. Camp 2 is reached after a painstaking trek in the baking sun, with the surrounding ice and snow acting as a sort of convection oven. Below is a picture a very red-headed MK with Ang Namgel Sherpa (”Namgel”), appropriately seated over MK’s right shoulder, just like the guardian angel he is.

Namgel and I taking a rest on our way to Camp 2

We had a memorable moment today. I was eating a bar of Hershey’s milk chocolate and offered some to my Sherpa, Namgel. “That piece has your name written all over it,” I said to the politely hesitant Sherpa. Namgel looked at me, then took a small square of Hershey’s and started looking it over on all sides. After a brief moment, he read out aloud “Hershey”. It dawned on me that he thought the chocolate square would literally have his name on it. Tomorrow, we depart Base Camp for Camp 2, at 6,400 meters. From there, we will try to reach Camp 3 (7,200 m.) and acclimatize at high altitude without oxygen. We’ll be back in Base Camp on Friday, so no updates until then.

Ran made us get up at 4 AM last night to go through the ice fall in search of suitable locations for him to film his documentary. No amount of complaining or pleading with him helped me convince him to let me sleep a little longer. Why would anyone go location scouting in the middle of the night? Well, the Khumbu ice fall is kind of like a huge tray of ice cubes (the kind made by your fridge). If sunlight hits them, the ice cubes melt and can fall or shift. Same principle in the Khumbu, which separates Base Camp from Camp 1. It’s safer to traverse the giant blocks of broken up (”pop corn ice”) ice at night or very early in the morning. Anyway, I had a miserable time because I’d just returned to Base Camp from Camps 1 and 2 a day earlier. Ran, who of course tried to summit Everest himself last year, was much faster in the ice fall than I and so he was happy not only about the scouting work but also because at more than twice my age, he is still far stronger and more fit.

Ran in the ice fall at 6:00 AM, temperatures -10 C.

After a solid week of acclimatization at Base Camp, we departed for Camp 1 and then Camp 2 early Saturday morning. We reached the ice fall at 5:30 AM and 6 1/2 hours later reached Camp 1 at 6,100 meters. The going was not easy but Namgyal, my personal Sherpa, made sure we made steady progress through the treacherous “popcorn ice”, the most dangerous part of the route. The next day, the ice fall partially collapsed and therefore was closed to other climbers, so we were essentially stuck. The next day was extremely difficult, as we made our way from Camp 1 to Camp 2 (6,400 m.). I felt all of my strength and energy leave my body as soon as I put on my boots. The going was extremely slow and difficult, despite a clear day and no winds. By the time we reached Camp 2, Namgyal had to hold me up as I was losing my balance. The return to Camp 1 and the later trip back to Base Camp were equally strenuous and I constantly thought about how incredibly tired I felt. Still, back in Base Camp, which we reached yesterday, Ran remarked on how this feeling of tiredness was normal for unacclimatized folks. We are heading back to Camp 1 tomorrow morning for some filming for the BBC documentary Ran is producing/narrating about our expedition.