Getting ready for the higher camps

We have spent now seven days at Everest Base Camp, at 5,200m/17,160ft, mostly getting used to the high altitude. It is not always easy to adapt to this kind of altitude so several rest days as well as acclimatization hikes up to 6,000m/19,800ft are necessary before the body is ready to move up higher. Headaches, colds, coughs and other aches are often part of this process. And this is still at relatively low altitude…

The packing and repacking has now been finished and as you can see on the pictures the Yaks have already been loaded for the long trip. Every tent, all heavy material, all the food and some of the personal equipment is moved up from Base Camp (BC) to Advanced Base Camp (ABC).

On April 23 we also will move from Base Camp at 5,200m/17,160ft to Advanced Base Camp at 6,400m/21,120ft. It will take us two days to move up the 24km/15 miles to this high camp. It is not the distance, but the altitude that is usually quite challenging the first time around. We will walk this distance in the coming weeks several times up and down and we will try to reach ABC from BC most probably in one day, which is always a challenge. In the next two weeks will do some acclimatization exercise at 6,400m/ and possibly climb a 7,000m/23,100ft peak as well as sleep at North Col, which is also at 7,000m/23,100ft. Once all this is done and our bodies are more or less acclimatized at the high altitude, we will come down to base camp to recover and get ready for the actual climb. More about this in a few weeks from now.

Having said all this, my next update will probably only be in two weeks or so (after May 7) since we don’t have access to the Internet at ABC. However, sometimes it is possible to send short messages via the satellite phone. Meanwhile, I can only say, enjoy the Spring, or Summer (where every you are) and especially the warm weather, its only getting colder over here and the weather forecast mentions snow…

The Yaks are getting loaded – It is time to move up…