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Camp 3 to the Drawback

Our day started off with a 2:30am wakeup call by shaking our tent and the frozen ice particles falling on me. I wore my down suit for the first time, had breakfast, geared up in the freezing cold and left Camp 2. We started off with the same route to the Lhotse face that we went on our 1st rotation, however we took a right to take a different route that the lines were not all fixed. We had 2 choices, either go with the fixed line route, where there is a high risk or rock fall, and falling objects like gas tanks, water bottles which is deadly when falling from 300m. The second choice was to the right of the Lhotse face, close to the route taken in 2012 and then collides with the original route for the last few 100m where there is a risk of crevasses and icefall. Our lead guide Michael Horst decided to go with the second option. He went the day before with Kami Rita (Tapke) our Serdar, a guide from IMG, and an IMG Sherpa went on and fixed the new line most of the way. We had to rope up to walk across crevasses. Where some of the team slipped half way into them, luckily they were fine. After hours of crossing crevasses, we joined the main line to Camp 3. We went on the main line for about 2.5hrs before reaching Camp 3 or Downtown camp 3 as they call it here. By that time I was exhausted for some reason I crashed there, maybe for being at 7,000m has something to do with it. We spent some time there eating, drinking, and resting then headed back down to Camp 2. It was quick going down from the Lhotse face, an arm wrap and off we went. It was a 12hr day, at camp I was tired after such a long day, we had a snack (tuna pizza) and I drack at least a liter of juice to have some sugar in my system. We burnt more than 10,000 calories that day so we needed to have as much food as we can and also hydrate. Dinner was at 5:30pm because we had to leave for basecamp the next day. We left Camp 2 an hour late 6am instead of 5am, for some reason everyone was tired an took that extra hour, even the cook had it slow that day. I guess we all deserved that few minutes in our sleeping bags.

The way down was straightforward; we were racing down not only scared of the Kumbu icefall but for the hot showers waiting at basecamp. Home what I call it now, was great to reach home. We had a welcoming basket of delicious fruits, muffins and chocolates waiting for us. Quickly after jumping into all of them I heard my favorite 3 words “Hot Shower Ready” by one of the base camp Sherpas. Running to my tent to grab some clean clothes and taking the amazing shower.

Rest of the evening at basecamp was spent, resting after the second rotation. We had to gain some of the energy lost during the second rotation. The best way to do that is a draw back.

We decided to take a chopper to Namche where the air is so much thicker at 3,400m. So the whole team flew in 3 helicopters to Namche, where we will spend here 3 nights or so of eating, resting, and concentrating of our summit push. Here our appetite just goes BOOM!!! We are also looking at weather reports to find a good weather window for our summit.

So what’s next, now we wait, we are all well acclimatized and ready for the summit. All we are waiting for is the summit window. It will take us 6 days from basecamp to the summit. We go from Basecamp-Camp 2 skipping camp 1, take a rest a day in Camp 2. We will then head to Camp 3 for a night, before heading to Camp 4. Then take a rest day at Camp 4 this rest day is depending on weather, if the weather was bad in the forecast we will go ahead and head for the Summit that evening.

Let me know if there is something you would like to know, or show you from basecamp. I am more than happy to share part of my life here in the Himalayas.

Note: all pictures taken by Elia Saikaly