Acclimatisation Camp 1 13 - 15 Sept 13

With the team officially blessed to step foot on the mountain we decided to waste no time and go up to Camp 1 for a couple of nights. An epic lunch of fried spam and chips set the team up for a sluggish start. The team is camped at the lower end of base camp and it takes about 30 minutes of weaving around tents, guide ropes and Puja monuments before we are out on the moraine (loose rock ridge created by a glacier) and climbing up towards the glacier.  After around 2hrs we reached Crampon Point which is the end of the Moraine and the point where we have to put on crampons and a harness before setting off up the Glacier.

At the moment glacier is dry (no fresh snow) which enables the team to travel fast and spot the crevasses. Where there is a real danger of falling into a big hole or a steep slope negotiated, a fixed rope is in place to clip yourself to and keep safe. The glacier is fairly gentle until the final 300m of ascent into Camp 1 which is really handy at the end of a tiring day with a fairly heavy pack. Ben got to within 100m of Camp 1 before suffering from a headache and nausea and returning to base camp to fight another day. Having a lovely day he suffered with his heavy pack for 4hrs up before turning around and returning to Base Camp in 2hrs. The remainder of the group arrived in tact but with headaches and loss of appetite which is to be expected with the jump in altitude.

The majority of the group opted to rest at Camp 1 and spent the next 24hrs rehydrating and eating. Rob and Geordie feeling better than the rest opted to recce the route to Camp 2 through the ice fall, they both came back reporting a hard yet exciting route.

The team is now back a Base Camp for a couple of days rest before heading back up to sleep at Camp 2. Ben is now getting stick for being out performed by people almost twice his age.  Jon and Geordie are contemplating a small continental larger with our steak dinner, gratefully provided by Russell Brice.