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  Everest 2006: Fi and Paul: Back to Base camp...


Location: Everest Base Camp
Altitude: 5350m
Local Time: 5:30pm, Sun 30th April
Weather: Fine but very windy -17C in our tent at night.

Hi everyone - Fiona here, very pleased to be reporting to you safe and well at base camp.

The Trip Down
We left just after 6am this morning so that we could get through the icefall before the heat of the day. It was very cold when we left, around -18C, and not long afterwards, the wind started blowing pretty hard as well. We were well rugged up when we left, wearing down jackets, warm hats, neck warmers, big gloves, and gortex overpants. We also used chemical heat warmers in our gloves and socks to keep our hands and feet warm.

We got down to camp 1 pretty quickly and then started tackling the icefall, just as the sun came up. The last part of the icefall seemed to take forever as we grew more weary. All up we probably crossed around 25 ladder crossings, heaps of snow bridges and hundreds of places where the terrain was so steep or dangerous that we clipped into fixed lines.

We got back to base camp at around 11am with the only casualties being some blisters on my toes and a black toenail. I'll live.

Luxuries of Base Camp
Upon our arrival here we were greeted with a bottle of Sprite each - a treat reserved only for times like this! After a bit of a rest we had lunch (chips, baked beans, a small salad, tuna and chapati bread). Then finally, we both had a shower. Even though the pressure is pretty woeful compared to anything back home, after 6 days up high, it was wonderful.

We're now sitting around, clean, tired and anticipating a nice dinner. We plan to take it easy for at least 4 days before we head up again for our next acclimatisation rotation.

Mary's Trek
We heard from Mary today that she is now in Tengboche after her rest day in Namche. The altitude of Tengboche is 3800m, so she is getting up there. At Tengboche there is a lovely monastery and hopefully she will be able to visit.

Toilet Talk
I am using the "pee like a bloke" device, yes, I have a couple of different devices. The She-Wee (which Sam kindly gave me to try out) and the Freshette. I'm only using them at night so that I can avoid going outside (requiring copious amounts of clothes) and pee into a bottle (like all the guys do). It's the first trip that I've tried out these devices and so far, I'm a convert (although I'm not yet using them for normal outdoor peeing like I know some women do - I'll still take the squat position!). Michelle - I hope you're proud of me.

It made me laugh to hear about some of your other toilet horror stories. Chris and Bridge - years ago we had the same thing happen with a rat in the toilet in our rented house in Carlton - so I guess it can happen anywhere.

Bye for now, Fiona

Updates

 

Built to handle a myriad of different climbing pursuits, the Ultralight Universal is our best selling crampon. This crampon lives for trekking, glacier travel, or steep couloirs and snowfields. Totally adjustable Zytel straps make this crampon durable and easy to use. Fits everything from moon boots to flip-flops, our lightest crampon available. Weight: 590g Points: 10. See more here.

 






 

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