April 23, camp 2 21,300 feet 

The wind roared all night at camp 1, when it whipped the nylon sides of the tent, a flurry of ice crystals fell on my face.  Finding enough motivation to unzip my warm sleeping bag in the morning was challenging, and when I finally did the bottom of it was covered in a thin layer of snow that must have blown I through the vented tent door.  Even though it is easy to forgo things like teeth brushing and deodorant, I think k it's important to keep up these rituals in order to feel just a little bit human.  So, I forced myself through the motions and tried to ignore the wind and the upcoming project of going to the bathroom.

By 9:30 the team was geared up, fed, and ready to move up the glacier to camp 2. The first part of the route is a series of giant undulating crevasses that vary in depth from 10 to 25 feet, I'd guess.  Multiple times we walked down one side, into the flat bottom, and jumared up the other side.  The jumaring left me breathless for several minutes and I was thankful when the crevasses were skinnier and could be scaled by walking across a ladder.   After this the terrain gave way to a mellow incline as we walked through the western cwm, boardered by Nuptse to the right, Everest's windy summit to the left, and the glistening blue ice of the Lhotse face in front of us. I tried not to think about ascending the steep face.  

 

Climbing from camp 1 to camp 2
Photo:  Stuart Erskine

Thank goodness I practiced crossing ladders in the garage!
Photo:  Stuart Erskine

After about 3 hours we made it to the lateral moraine of Everest's west shoulder, which is home to camp 2.  The 30 minute walk to camp was the hardest for me, my lungs screaming and struggling to function at 21,300 feet.  I found an unfortunate distraction in the debris littering camp 2 - jars of peanut butter, tattered down clothing, kitchen strainers, nylon pieces of tents, entire kitchen kits.  After last year's earthquake, camp 2 was evacuated very quickly, its inhabitants leaving behind most of their gear in an effort to quickly return to safety. 

Camp 2 serves as Madison Mountaineering's advance base camp (ABC) we will stay here for three nights, and acclimatize by taking short walks on the glacier and moraine.