The Sleeping Bag Situation

The Sleeping Bag Situation

Well, let me tell you this my sleeping bag is not only my sleeping bag, it’s also my wardrobe, changing room, and sometimes toilet!

As its gets colder that -25c while we sleep everything outside the sleeping bag freezes. So toothpaste, water bottle, wet wipes, socks, layers I will wear in the morning, even my shoes in my sleeping bag as if it’s cold in the morning my feet will freeze in the morning.

Batteries drain in cold weather so anything with batteries also sleep with me. That means, iPod, iphone, sat phone, iPad……..

When I wake up in the morning all the clothes I wear is in my sleeping bag so it’s also my wardrobe. I change in it as I am sharing a tent.

As for the toilet I will leave it for your imagination, let’s say it’s the most privacy you can ask for in the mountain

So imagine with all these things plus the cold weather and sleeping on a mattress on the floor. Can’t wait to sleep on a bed again!

Still in Camp 3

I lost count how many days we spent here, been over two weeks with the same clothes, no shower, limited food.
Looks like the weather will be bad for another two days before it gets better.

As of weather reports by Friday the winds will slow down. Yesterday there were people who attempted the summit. I am not sure if any reached but all of them are stuck in camp 4 with frostbite. Pushing for the summit at the wrong time is no joke and there are consequences.

We are still put in camp 3 waiting for a window, all we need is 36hrs to make it to the summit and back here.
We are trying to make the most of our time here, so we spent it playing cards, talking about food and mostly how we miss our families and children.

When the weather hits there is nothing we can really do but stay in our sleeping bags and try not to think much on matters that are not in our hands.

The Toilet Situation

The Toilet Situation is a tricky one, where number 1 and number 2 can’t be mixed. Each one has a designated area. All human waste must be carried off the mountain, that means we carry our own shit. There are also certain locations to dump number 1.

Doing number one: the best discovery is the pee bottle. where you do not have to sneak out of your warm sleeping bag in the middle of the night when the temperature is -30c. Sharing a tent makes everything tricky where you have to tell your tent mate to turn around.
After doing your business you have a warm bottle in your sleeping bag, if you leave it out of your sleeping bag you will wake up with a frozen pee bottle which is not so much fun to melt. In the morning we have to empty the pee bottle in designated areas in each camp.

Doing number 2: let’s say it’s a toilet with a view and very well ventilated. It’s a bucket with a plastic bag inside that is shared by the whole camp. If you are not the lucky first one then you are up for a smelly surprise when lifting the seat cover. When the weather is cold then everything is frozen, when the sun comes up so does the smells. We operate at the 30s rule, do your business in 10s and clean up in 20s you don’t want frostbites on your cheeks.