Very soon we’ll be starting out on our Everest summit push. All our preparations have been done, and from now on it’s just one foot in front of the other; the rest is in the hands of the mountain gods.
Read moreWith a little help from my friends
Year: 2012
The Everest weather window
The waiting, the resting and the acclimatisation is over. Tomorrow we move up to Advanced Base Camp (ABC) to get ourselves in position for our summit push. Our exact schedule is not yet confirmed as there still remain a few
Read moreMallory and Somervell, 13 May 1922
Here on the north side of Everest ropes have been fixed as high as 8300m, and the remainder will likely be fixed when the winds drop on 18th and 19th. If all goes to plan then teams will begin summiting
Read moreThe Tibetan Village
Climbers on the south side of Everest have plenty of options if they want to descend for a few days to a place where the air is thicker. As snow falls in the Western Cwm many have decided to descend
Read moreThe North Col and the Ladder of Death
The route up from Advanced Base Camp (ABC) to the North Col of Everest, up the North Col Wall, differs from year to year. It’s been scene of some famous accidents. The end of George Mallory’s 1922 expedition came abruptly
Read moreThe mountain gods are mellowing
Yesterday afternoon Everest wore the biggest plume of cloud I’ve ever seen, extending the entire length of the Northeast Ridge and beyond. I don’t know what the mountain gods were doing up there, but it was obvious they didn’t want
Read moreThe Junkies’ shower
We have a very comfortable setup here at Everest Base Camp, with all sorts of luxuries people camping for a couple of months beside a glacier have no right to expect. Take our hot shower, for example. The blue barrel
Read morePrayer flags – what are they?
Distinctive and colourful, you’ll find them swinging from any high point or windy place across the Himalayas, but why? Tibetan Buddhist in origin, the 5 colours represent nature’s elements: earth (green), fire (red), water (blue), sky (white) and space (yellow).
Read moreRoar of a thousand tigers; the North Col Wall
Apart from the occasional brief hour of silence, I can’t remember the last time I didn’t have to listen to the roar of the wind. Here at Base Camp it manifests itself in the form tent canvas bashing against our
Read moreIn memory of George Leigh Mallory
He may not have the grandest memorial at Everest Base Camp North, but of all the mountaineers who have died trying to climb Everest from the north side, George Mallory made the most significant contribution to future climbs. In three
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