Altitude: 4850m
Atmospheric Pressure: 590mbar
Trek: 0km
Another rest day, and it’s surprising to see the effect on
people.
Some think too much, finding it hard mentally to do nothing
and can’t occupy themselves without going negative. They’re here to do
something, and sitting around doesn’t add up with climbing up a mountain. This
is the trick of high altitude climbing, waiting for the body to adapt is hard
on the mind.
Fortunately I don’t have this problem, and I can switch my
mind off very easily….
Some people think about going home, they want to be here to
climb but they don’t want to be here doing nothing. They want to climb Everest
as quickly as possible but forget to enjoy the mountain.
The other extreme, is the army guys who see the trip as a job
and use the spare time to discuss and plan their holidays after the
climb……….what a contrast.
I use the day to debate how to take tomorrow, going up to
Lobuche summit.
I’m planning to go as light as possible, but I’m in 2 minds
on whether I should go as fast as possible, which is good for the mind as you
convince yourself that “you’re all OK” or to take it easy, go through the day
without stressing the body and give it some more time to recover, especially
when considering that sleeping at 6000m will also add stress on the body.
I’m also thinking about a comment I’ve heard from one of the
guide about the fact that the last 600m steep slope of Lobuche is actually a
third of what’s waiting for us on the Lhotsee face, so I’m thinking about using
this opportunity to take it slowly and develop a pace I can keep for a long
time.
Laying in bed tonight, I’m actually quite excited to go back
up, and it takes me a long time to go to sleep, hoping that I am “fixed” and
that things will go well.
I’m also thinking about the hardship to get up there, the
constant gasping for breath and the probable head ache at the top, part of the
acclimatizing process. As Adrian
said before, everybody hurts, and we all have to pay our “duty” to the God of
altitude.
It will be worse still when we sleep at Camp 3 on the Lotsee
face, at 7300m.
For now we’re only at 6000m!!
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