We are all safely back at base camp after a good 1st rotation.

Day 24: Getting through the icefall the first time through to Camp 1 was definitely challenging. Although it seemed to take forever, my time of 6:20 was apparently within the expected range. Teams tend to separate a little in the icefall so we ended up breaking up into two-ish groups. Going through the icefall you are constantly going up and down, clipping in and out of fixed lines, crossing ladders and having to maneuver around various ice structures. As I came into Camp 1, the guys on my team cheered which is always a good feeling. I have to say that hanging around this group of guys on this trip is like having a bunch of big brothers all looking out for me. You really get to know each other and see each other at our best and worst. Farting, burping, peeing, poohing, blowing so much snot out of your nose you have no idea where it all comes from…nothing is off limits when it comes to this kind of intimacy.

Camp 1 is not like base camp where we have a chef and a waiter and all kinds of other support staff and amenities. Our guides had to melt all the snow (for water) and do all the cooking in their tent vestibule. They did a great job with making soups, grilled cheese sandwiches, pasta, bacon, etc. We all wore our full body down suits (our summit outfits) for dinner since we were standing outside in the cold. Jangbu has a great picture of all of us in our suits. I’ll have to see if I can get it from him.

After arriving at Camp 1, we were all pretty tired and just wanted to take a nap in our warm tents, but the guides advised us to stay awake until the evening to prevent us from getting headaches. We all struggled to stay awake…it’s like when you are on a long road trip and you start to get sleepy and fight to stay awake.

Day 25: We took a short hike out to the approximately 50-60ft ice wall we would have to ascend on our way to Camp 2 the following day. We practiced ascending and descending to become somewhat proficient. It was good to be able to try it out before the big move.

Day 26: The original plan was to move up to Camp 2, but there was a collapse in the icefall near an area they call the “football field” which prevented our Sherpa from reaching us at Camp 1. They had to turn back. None of our Sherpa were hurt so that was good news. Our Sherpa were coming up to help us move gear from Camp 1 to Camp 2. The icefall doctors had to assess the issue and fix the route before any teams could ascend or descend. Without knowing how long it would take to get fixed, our guides decided to just have us stay another night at Camp 1.

Day 27: The icefall was back in business and our Sherpa arrived at approximately 7am to collect gear to carry to Camp 2. They are such a great group of hardworking guys. Really, they are amazing. After breakfast, we departed for Camp 2. The ice wall wasn’t too bad and we all got through it in good style. We had three ladder crossings and then after that just a nice, gradual ascent into Camp 2. I felt great going into Camp 2 until the last 30 minutes or so. I think everyone was excited as we started entering Camp 2 and passed other team’s tents, but then snow turned into loose, rocky terrain and it became this painful, neverending grind to reach our camp.

Camp 2 is nice with an enormous meal tent. We were back to some of the ameneties we had grown accustomed to like a chef, waiter and hot towels to wipe your face and hands. I know, I know…we’re spoiled.

Sleeping at 21,500ft can be a challenge but I made it through the night okay. It was the first time I started feeling like I might get a headache, but I just did some pressure breathing and it went away. Pressure breathing is a breathing technique very useful at high altitudes.

Day 28: We had another short acclimatization hike out a little ways towards Camp 3 (on Lhotse). The spectacular views continued and we could see more and more of the route towards the South Col (the final camp on summit night).

Day 29: Today we left Camp 2 at approximately 4:30am and descended to base camp. We saw the differences in the icefall due to the collapse and there were some new sections with ladders and others that required an ascender. I think overall we were pretty efficient in our descent. It is nice to be back at lower altitudes. The purpose of the rotations is to allow our bodies to acclimatize. It would be very difficult to continue straight up to camps 3 and 4 in one shot because your body is slowly deteriorating at the higher altitudes. Recovery is good. So now it is time for our bodies to rest and recover from this rotation. We have all had our well-deserved showers and a good lunch and dinner.

We are estimated to have 5-6 rest days here at base camp before our second rotation, but as usual, that is subject to change based on various factors.

On the agenda tomorrow? A horseshoe tournament and poker tourament.