This is the recount of the summit day. I apologize as there are descriptions of corpses and some foul language here. I hope that you will understand that it is my intention to recount what was going through my mind at the time, and in no way whatsoever do I mean to disrespect those that still remain on Everest.
I have done my best to recall everything, though from time to time I remember key details, which cause me to update this piece. For that I also apologize. In general, this story is complete, though I intend to write one more blog about the return and what I have learned.
I would like to remind everyone, that this blog was created to support Global H2O. Orginally it was meant to be a closed blog with a $20 subscription fee. If you have enjoyed the story and writing, I would kindly ask that you consider making this donation to the charity here:
http://www.globalh2o.org/donate
All the best to you all…
Jamie
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The call came at 19:00. Noel was talking to Mingma explaining that we should leave at 21:30. Mingma understood 21:30 Nepali time, though Noel was speaking about Chinese time. We wanted to get a good head start on the crowd that had gathered at 8300 meters, and the confusion between Chinese and Nepali time was becoming a problem.
Typically expeditions on the north side run on Chinese time, but Nepali sherpas rarely switch over to the Chinese time zone. Understandably, they are reluctant because the time zone in China is based on business hours in Beijing, over 5000 kilometers away!
Mingma came back with a proposal for 10:00 Chinese time, which Noel agreed to. Our tactic would be to get out ahead of the crowds and then move slower than planned to the summit on a flow rate of 3 Liters; good news and bad in the same sentence. The news was good because we would be ahead of any bottlenecks. The bad news was that we would consciously move slower, hoping to summit at sunrise with a long climb to the top of the world.
When 21:30 came, the chatter on the radio began, Mingma and his Sherpa team were in motion. I was already packed and ready to go. The only thing left to do was to switch out my O2 cylinder with a fresh one, put on my crampons and go.
At 22:00, the Russians in our team were not ready. Noel was livid and the tones were elevated as the element of surprise and first movement was lost. My cylinder was changed out first.
When you connect your regulator to the cylinder, the regulator most be open to 4 liters to keep the seals from being damaged. The first oxygen is released from the tank until the regulator is screwed tight and the flow is closed. The noise is loud and easy to recognize.
The entire camp knew that someone was getting ready to move. The rest of the camp would soon be in a rush to prepare to leave as well. Almost immediately a symphony of oxygen bottles went off, every one of our team was changing to the new O2 and the entire camp seemed to jump to life.
I was waiting outside the tent at least 15 minutes while we waited for the 3 Russians to leave their tents. Noel was yelling over the radio to get Andre moving. In the mean time, two people and the entire German team had jumped in front of the 7 Summits team. The first two were well out of camp already and the Germans, recognizable by their Gronell boots, were standing on the fixed ropes, putting on their crampons and blocked the route out of the high camp.
This was frustrating Noel, as we were looking to be late out of camp. I said to Noel, “I am outta here, OK?” He responded, “Three liters and go fast! We will catch up.” I moved up behind the Germans, who were still working to get ready, and said politely, “Get the fuck off the ropes!” and pushed through with Nima right behind me.
Almost immediately I heard Noel’s wonderful Irish accent, “What the fuck are youse boys doin’? Put your fuckin crampons on next to the fuckin fixed lines!” I knew he was right behind me, and would overtake me quickly.
We moved ahead at an uncomfortable pace. I remember feeling really uncertain as we were moving so fast thanks to our late start. When we arrived at the exit cracks (elevation 8500 meters), I was feeling good again, though the first obstacle was a bit startling.
I had heard about five points along the way, which were the key challenges; The Exit Cracks, The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Steps, and The Dihedral. The Exit Cracks are the gateway to the ridge at 8500 meters. They are nothing more than a rocky scramble up 20 meters of fairly steep terrain. At sea level, they would not cause any issues, but at 8500 meters with all the equipment, it was quite difficult and made me wonder what was yet to come.
Noel settled into a good easy pace when we hit the ridge above the exit cracks. The moon was ¾ full and the stars were bright. It was a beautifully clear night, with a serious breeze out of the North. The wind was blowing right to left and was chilling when we stopped moving.
Every so often the way along the ridge would open up on the south side given us great views of a blue/ purple Makalu and a grey Lohtse. The majority of the way along the ridge was a couple of meters below the top of the ridge on the north side. We had clear views to Cho Oyu, Pumori, Kala Pattar and Chiang Tse. It was the first time the I realized that we could see over Chiang Tse (7500 meters) down to Base Camp, 28 kilometers away. Although it was evident that this was my altitude record, I did not worry as I was feeling in great form and everything was comfortable.
It was just before the 1st step when my headlamp went out. The new batteries lasted maybe 90 minutes. I let it go for a while, climbing the 1st step with nothing more than the light of the moon illuminating my way up the steep rocks. This made the second obstacle of the climb extremely difficult, and my language reflected my frustration with the situation.
In my pack, I had extra batteries (2 sets), extra mittens, a balaclava, my glacier glasses and an extra pair of dark goggles, 1 liter of water, 2 energy gel packs, 2 snickers bars, and most importantly the oxygen which was fueling my ascent and keeping me from frostbite. The worry I had before the climb was that 1 liter of water would not be enough, not that the headlamp would go out.
At the top of the 1st step Nima and I worked together to change batteries, as his lamp went out as well. In order to do this, I had to remove my mittens. I realized that my idiot loops were not on my wrists, so I corrected that first to avoid losing them in the wind. It was cold! My fingers went numb quickly, although I had light gloves on underneath my mittens. Within 5 minutes, they were changed out.
Everyone behind me had caught up and Noel had made 100 meters of progress. We moved quickly along the ridge and eventually caught Noel, who had slowed to allow us to catch up without actually stopping.
The first body appeared on the left side of the trail. Green Boots, as he is called, was a climber from India who died the killer storm which hit in 1996. His body lay inside a nook in the ridge, where he probably stopped to get out of the wind. Positioned as if he were asleep, his face is covered with snow and his green boots are visible. This was the spot where David Sharp died in 2006, when a group of climbers stepped over him on their way to the summit. We were there now, and it was clearly the death zone.
Shortly after Green Boots, comes the Mushroom Rock, where place for 10-15 climbers can take a break and change oxygen before the key to the summit, The 2nd Step. This is a common turn around point for people moving too slowly or people who don’t feel so well. It is a point during the climb which every climber should take a few minutes to gain composure and to contemplate whether to continue on.
We were in the area on the south side of the Mushroom Rock, and people were moving furiously to eat quickly, drink and stay warm. Mingma called out to the sherpas to change out the oxygen. I still had 120 bar in my bottle, which meant 3 hours at the 3 liter rate we were climbing at.
Noel disagreed with the move, but the bottles were changed out before his objection. It meant we would leave bottles 40% full at the mushroom rock, which we would pick up on descent. We had two full bottles for the ascent and descent to the summit (12 hours at the 3 Liter flow rate). This was clearly enough for us, but Noel, arguably, wanted to be 100% sure.
We sat at Mushroom Rock for what seemed to be an eternity. It was one of only three times when I felt cold. My feet were numb and I had to urinate. I turned away from the wind, toward the Kangshung Face. I was unroped about to pee over the side of a 2000 meter drop. There was no way to tell if we were on solid ground or standing on a cornice.
I started to unzip my down pants and realized how much I hate having to pee through down. It is impossible to keep from peeing on yourself because the down is simply too thick. The only good thing was that it was below minus 20 celcius, which caused the drops to freeze almost instantly against my suit. I don’t know why I concerned myself with this…I mean we were about to cross onto the highest piece of terrain in the world, and I was worried about little bit of urine on my down suit.
I finished my business quickly leaving a permanent yellow stain in the ice just behind the Mushroom Rock. I found myself just behind Noel traversing the mountain, still thinking about how cold my extremities were. The path narrowed dramatically and the drop off the north side became evident to me.
Within a few minutes, I noticed the ladders of the 2nd step. I looked back and the team was on my heels. The path was too narrow to turn around now, and I knew that I had to go up the 2nd Step now. I had promised myself that I would evaluate my condition before climbing up above the gateway to the summit, but all the excitement at Mushroom Rock kept me from thinking about any of my fears.
Just below the first bit of rock on the 2nd Step lay the corpse of Thomas Weber, a team member of the 2006 7 summits expedition. He had raised funds to climb Everest, with a genetic eye dysfunction. At altitude or in lowered atmospheric pressure, Thomas was sure to lose sight, which he did and eventually died. There was a lot of controversy around his death, which led to the restructuring of the 7 Summits programs. Alex Abramov did not want any more death in his teams on Everest. Thomas was still there though, a reminder again that we were in the death zone.
Although Green Boots was the first body we saw, Thomas’ body was in a strange position at the bottom of the step. It did not look like a body really. The down suit and ropes looked like 3 pillows tied together hanging on the precipice.
When I started up the second step, my headlamp faded again. Noel could hear me swearing, and once we reached the bottom of the big ladder I said, “How the fuck am I going to descend this? I will be shitting myself when we come down!”
I began up the ladder, step by step to the very top. I don’t remember any fear at that point as I was very focused on foot placement and moving the jumar up the lines. At the top of the ladder, there is still a half-meter to go, where you are pulling on the fixed lines and still stepping up over the top of the ladder. I felt light-headed and almost peed in my pants. Apparently this is a common feeling when your oxygen consumption exceeds your intake. I had overexerted myself and felt the lack of O2 to my core.
It is strange to think back about the ladder. The material felt very malleable and weak. Some of the rungs were bent. I had never climbed over the top of a ladder before. My fear of heights kept me off of wobbly structures.
It reminded me of the days at Kappa Alpha Order at NC State. As non-initiates, we were forced to climb a tree behind the house to the very top, before we were initiated. I avoided climbing until the absolute last day, and reluctantly went up the tree. As I got higher up, the boys kept yelling, “Higher, higher.” I would have come down, but proof that you had climbed it came from the message on the “plaque” at the top of this giant tree, which read “Fuck ‘em if they can’t take a joke!” I couldn’t believe it, but well it was like everything else I had learned at KA.
