Dispatch 10 -Going back up with high hopes:
May 10th
After spending 10 days in BC, it is time to go back up the mountain
with our sights set on the summit. With all the equipment in place,
the acclimatization runs out of the way, and encouraging weather
forecasts for the upcoming week (thanks Harris), we decided it was
time to start walking uphill again.
Fixed ropes that climbers can clip into on summit day are a necessary safety measure that can make a major difference on summit day. On the 9th, Mark Tucker and I visited 8 different camps and talked to a couple other groups on the radio, trying to rally support for sending a multi-team sherpa group up a day or two ahead of the rest of the climbers to fix rope high on the mountain. Surprisingly, many groups claimed to "not need" fixed rope and declined to help. At the end of the day we had pieced together a coalition comprised of the Discovery Channel, Himalayan Guides, and International Mountain Guides. The plan is for each team to send 2 Sherpas up to fix rope up to at least the Balcony.
The first of two waves of climbers form our expedition are headed to Camp Two tomorrow, then at least one day of rest, then up to Camp Three, Camp Four, and hopefully the top!
The Numbers . . .
7-9 hours is an average time for climbing from the South Col to the summit (one way).
850 meters of rope needed to "fix" the difficult sections from the South Col to the summit.
3600 liters of oxygen allocated to each climber on summit day (2 bottles).
Day By Day . . .
6 May - Rest at BC
7 May - Short hike behind BC
8 May - Rest at BC
9 May - "Politicking" around BC trying
to coordinate rope fixing above the South Col.
10 May - Rest at BC
11 May - Climb to Camp Two
