Our Virtual Everest Trek Day Fourteen

Yesterday on the Icefall!

Brigantes Everest Expedition Day 14

Oh my goodness, what a day we had yesterday! I can’t believe where we’ve been. I had nightmares about the Khumbu Glacier and all those crevasses. Dreamed I was falling into one and never landed – just kept falling through the ice. I was cold in my sleeping bag but I still woke up in a sweat.

When Dowting saw us this morning he said we needed an acclimatisation day. Nobody argued. We certainly got very breathless yesterday and my throat was really dry. You do a lot of coughing at this altitude and it all means you have to keep stopping. I think Dowting got a bit impatient with us but we were doing our best. He’s a very demanding man. I expect he was a bit nervous about getting us safely to Camp 1.

So here we are. Camp 1 is on a plain above the Icefall. Well, they call it a plain but it’s really just a flat expanse of snow. The wind picked up when we got here and it made putting the tents up a difficult job. Today it’s still blowing, creating a lot of spindrift. But it’s really odd because in the middle of all this wind and snow it became quite warm – even hot in the afternoon. When the wind dropped we could open the tent doors for a few minutes to cool down but then inevitably it blew again and we had to shut up shop. That all stopped when the sun set and it got very cold very quickly. Suddenly we were putting on more and more layers to keep warm. As I’m writing it feels like the tent could take off at any moment. You don’t sleep very much up here.

I think we’re all in reasonable shape but we’ve been thankful for a rest day. This evening the wind got even stronger and it began to snow. Dowting fears that if it’s still snowing in the morning we won’t be able to move on so that’ll mean another day stuck in tents. I’ve got a book to read and the others have magazines. We shout jokes to each other. I think Dowting was disgusted with some of them. At times we wonder what on earth we’re doing here but then we remember the hard work we’ve put in and the people back home who are sponsoring us. It makes it worthwhile – but I’d still rather be in my own bed.

Luke N Brightside

Communications Officer

I think we might have a bit of a crisis on our hands. Our party actually did quite well over the Icefield yesterday but I’m worried about the weather. I think it might still be snowing in the morning, which would mean another day in the tents. Generally I think morale is good. They were all relieved to get over the Icefield in one piece and they want to press on. Brightside wasn’t quite so bright today. I hope he sticks it out. There’s worse to come yet.

Sherpa Dowting

Head Porter