Besides bad weather, the purpose of going down to BC was also to gain energy. I managed to take advantage of two days in BC for energy building and clothes washing. The third day I just wasted in doing nothing – I was so lazy, hahaha!
Music inspires me and after the visit in BC I brought my big headset with noice control which provides me the opportunity to isolate from the camp life and mountain at times.
We needed one overnight at Interim Camp in order to get back to ABC. We were lucky to arrive to IC before the snowstorm arrived again and things got really cold and nasty. I believe we couldn’t have done a better planning than we did since we were one of the first teams to step back to Base Camp (BC). The question is if we should have stayed longer.
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In Interim we met with the new kitchen boy Tsiring from Tibet. We noticed that he ate something called Pak. It’s a flour and sugar mix that he mixes in a bowl with some water into a dough that he eats for beakfast, lunch and dinner. None of us could understand that this diet would satisfy your body. But, it’s a tradition and Tsiring seemed very happy with his cotton bag with flour.
Next morning we set off to ABC. The first three hours I decided to trekk by myself. I control speed, steplength, my thoughts and my focus much better when I stay by myself. The rhythm may sometimes be interrupted by other often slower climbers on the same trekk. The Sherpas are in a special speed group! The speed was high and I was in ABC within 4,55 hours. Arriving to ABC a second time felt good and the Sherpa team was happy. During our stay in BC they had been preparing the higher camps with tents, food and oxygen. It’s a tough job and I could see traces of hard work in their faces.
Last week I had an interview over satellite with Swedish Radio P4 and the interview will be broadcasted on Tuesday 8th of May next week (sorry late news, check recorded) Check the web for more details. This is the first program in a series following all my way towards the summit. Pär Fontander is the priject leadset at P4. This is a fun and challenging project since satellite communication is so dependent on weather conditions.
Now – rest day in ABC and weather standby for the overnight at North Col and perhaps. The weather isn’t perfect yet. During night we still have terrible storms and wind and very clear air during daytime. Yesterday we had an avalanche at rope point at North Col. Afternoons usually get pretty messed up so the weather is far from stable yet. If weather doesn’t improve we could be so unlucky to make one more turn down to BC and that’s not on my wishlist. My body is ready for the higher camps now, it’s something I just feel.
Three nights ago at 6:30PM I decided to do something unusual in this camp (ABC). I wanted to find out the best possible sound track to the visual effects from the storm up at North Col. I climbed up 100m in altitude and perhaps some 400m on the track to Crampon point. I found the perfect spot on a stone where I could sit down and watch the cloud performance at North Col. I ended up sitting there unexpectedly for an hour with my headset and playlist in Spotify. It was like the worlds largest theater in front of me. In the end a guide descending from North Col passed by wondering what was going on. I explained and then he continued a bit confused. I guess I wasn’t a mainstream climber and with the wrong focus. What about the sound track? Difficult this time but I think Mountains Crave by Anna von Hausswolff. Shadows In Silence by Enigma fitted also very well into this special moment. There will be a video when I have better speed.
We ascended North Col on Sunday, with great weather for an overnight stay. This is exciting since we are right into the face of the weather system we want to see dissolved. It’s also the door to the higher camps that we want to experience. North Col is such a little place – perhaps 75m*35m and the tents are really close on the shelf. If you don’t watch your step you can slide down the North Col ice and snow wall. The purpose was both to test sleeping conditions during night and if we possibly could have a chance to climb up, despite weather conditions, to 7500m on Monday morning.
North Col gave as an evening that was so nice and we were protected against the winds from the Nepali side. One thing I wanted to understand was how these fantastic clouds at North Col appear so beautiful that I saw some days ago above ABC. I prepared my camera for 6:30PM. Now I could see what happened with the clouds from only 100m which is so unusual. The clouds hit the Nepal side of North Col and were pushed right up into the sky over North Col and after the ridge turbulence appeared. It’s a cool phenomena and I am so happy to have seen this both from distance and close. I didn’t have the music this time….
My night at North Col wasn’t the best due to the weather. We were at the most ten climbers that challenged the night there. We were equipped with almost full summit equipment in the morning since the weather still was a bit rough. We started ascending but already after 200m we realized that this for sure was not a good idea. We could hardly stay upwards along the fixed rope. I have never experienced such a strong wind. We cancelled. Back to ABC Camp again.
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