Everest Team Poised and Ready for Summit Attempt!

The last time we checked in we had just returned from spending a few nights up high.  Since returning to Base Camp we have spent this time preparing ourselves physically and mentally for an attempt at reaching the summit.  For the last several days we have been hydrating, eating a lot of food, and taking a few day hikes to keep our legs fresh.  One of our hikes was to Kala Patar, which is a popular destination for trekkers because it offers a nice view of Mt Everest.  Another hike we have done is to the last town below Everest Base Camp, Gorak Shep.

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While up high we were faced with very challenging route conditions.  A dry winter had left very little snow on the ground.  As a result the route has a lot of hard ice showing.  We have also seen sections of the Lhotse Face get bombarded by rockfall.  We needed this portion of the route be moved.  We also needed some snow to fall to harden up the loose sections of the route so the rockfall would stop.  Thankfully over the past few days we have had some good snowfall.  The rockfall has stopped and there is now much more snow covering many of the previously icy sections of the route.

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Expeditions are all about teamwork.  In addition to needing route conditions to improve we have also needed to establish Camps 3 & 4 plus a route to the summit.  Over the past few days we have had a team of Sherpa’s take care of establishing Camp 3 at 7406m/24,300′ and Camp 4 at the South Col at 7955m/26,100′.

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Establishing the route to the summit mainly entails anchoring fixed rope on steep sections to protect climbers from bad fall potential.  With increasing winds at high elevations “fixing” a route to the summit is currently on hold.  We have a team in place and ready to go once weather improves.  In the meantime we are taking care of final preparations before we embark on our summit attempt.  We have packed several days worth of food, reviewed our oxygen equipment, and taken care of any fine tuning of equipment that has needed to get done.

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We plan to post a update once we know our exact time table.  It is anybody’s guess now as to when we embark but we are hoping it will be sometime within he next week.

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Below are a few pictures from the last few days.  As always you can view a sampling of photos taken since the start of our expedition at the SMI Photo Gallery site here:

http://www.kurtwedbergphotography.com/International-Expeditions/Everest-2012/22141785_sRN2QC