Fi Ramsden

Hi everyone,

Just spoke with Fi who is back down at base camp after an epic climb up to camp 3.  They had to make two attempts after the first was abandoned due to the severe cold.  She is about to head down to Pangboche for a few days of recovery in preparation for hopefully an early Summit bid.  She sounded great and sends her love to all, although is extremely jealous that I’m off to see Temper Trap tonight!  With any luck she will have internet access at some stage in next few days and she can provide a full update then.

Cheers,

Charlie

Fi’s Blog – Wednesday 21^st April 2010

Well, huge apologies those who have been trying to follow my blog. Problems with our satellite internet connection have prevented me from keeping you all up to date with progress.

We got to base camp on 10^th April after a long walk from Pheriche. This was a killer, but worth it to avoid the overcrowded tea-houses on the way. After a couple of days of resting and nesting, Rob, Brandon, Kristine, James and I ventured in to the icefall for out first taste of things to come. Here we got to grips with walking over crevasses over ladders in our crampons and trying to spot the potential hazards. You’ll all be pleased to hear that, according to the experts, the icefall is in comparatively good nick this year. The route seems to bypass most of the overhanging ice.

April 16^th had to be one of the toughest days I’ve ever had getting from base camp through the Khumbu icefall to camp 1. I’d not had a great night’s sleep (which was down to nerves I think) and, by my own admission, I am not as fit as some of my team-mates. However, thanks to Rob’s encouragement I managed to dig deep enough to haul myself up the last few ladders and drag my sorry self in to camp 1 well behind the others. However I recovered quickly and coped well with the altitude, and after a reasonable night’s sleep at C1, I felt full of beans the next day and made it to camp 2 in very good time and with no problems. We stopped here for a while to make the most of the altitude gain before heading back down to base camp in a one-er in time for a late lunch on 17^th.

Four days on and I am packed and ready for an early start tomorrow as we make our way up the hill for 2-3 nights at camp 2 and possibly a further night at camp 3. Unfortunately I’ve been troubled with an annoying cough since I got down from Camp 2 and this is almost certainly from the cold dry air. I seem t be on the mend. Nevertheless I’ve decided to go as light as possible tomorrow and just see how I go. We are well ahead of schedule in terms of when we are likely as a team to be ready for a summit push. If the next few days go well and we get to camp 3 in good shape, then theoretically we could be ready for a summit push any time after this. It is likely that we would need at least 5-7days rest at base camp before this though. We are all crossing our fingers for an early weather window, and planning which beach to go and lie on when all this is over!

It was lovely to speak to my big sister and Lydia and Charlie (xx) on the sat phone. Unfortunately I didn’t get to wish big brother Ali Happy Birthday on 18^th but pleased to hear the sun was out in the UK and he was enjoying a birthday surf in Cornwall. Also yet to get hold of my Mum or Dad, no doubt due to their hectic social lives but thinking of you all lots.

I will do my best to beg, borrow or steal internet access again when I get back down in 3 days’ time.

Bye for now xxx

Pangboche, Ama Dablam towers in the background

Well most of the team is now together in Pangboche with the exception of the “Two Riches” (father and son from US)

It was great to finally see Rob who has been trekking and has already been up to base camp. We are planning an acclimatisation trek to Ama Dablam base camp today, then onwards tomorrow to Pheriche and then Everest Base Camp on 10th April.

Despite a considerable breeze down the valley, so far the summit of Everest has been looking quite clear, as if it’s below the jet-stream, in the mornings. The general feeling is that it might be an early summit if the weather continues.

Bakery in Tengboche

Plumes of cloud from the summit of Everest and Lhotse taken on an acclimatisation trek abouve Orsho (near Pangboche)

Our rest day turned in to a restless day so we decided to go on a bit of an acclimatisation trek up the hill from Namche.  From here we got a great view of Ama Dablam, Everest and Nuptse.  I couldn’t believe how bare Everest and the Nuptse wall looked compared to the last two times I was here.  There’s hardly any snow on the summit ridge from what we can see!  I haven’t spoken to any of the pros yet, but I think this is going to make it technically more difficult than we’d anticipated but perhaps the risk of major avalanche will be reduced.

Taken on acclimatisation trek above Namche

South face of Nuptse with Summit of Everest looming behind, looking bare

From left ro right, Nuptse, Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam (far right)

After a frantic night packing I managed and hour and a half’s sleep before our 5:15 pick-up to catch our white-knuckle flight to Lukla. Even this and the noise from the turbo prop wasn’t enough to stop me from dozing (complete with drool).

As we began our trek I felt the same way I usually feel after a marathon night shift. I knew this day was not going to go well without some meticulously timed coffee stops. We made it to Monjo by about 4:30pm, having bumped in to a few old faces along the way. I was passed out in bed before sun down at Monjo and woke up bright and early yesterday, ready to attack the steep hill up to Namche Bazaar

James and Fi still looking reasonably healthy at the end of Day 1

James and I are enjoying a rest day in the market town of Namche Bazaar.  Set in a natural amphitheatre, it’s a fairly steep climb to get here, but worth it for the views, sit down loo and hot shower

Local traffic on the way to Namche

View from my window in Namche

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