April 14, 2007

"I've climbed with some of the best climbers in the world, more importantly, to me, they are some of the best people in the world. That's another reason why I climb." — Jim Wickwire

In response to a post I recieved from my eldest brother I cannot post any photos until I return home on Wednesday as the internet connection here is too slow to post any.

We started early this morning which was fine by me as I was wide awake at 5 30. Today we were headed for Zatrawa La, 4600m which would be the highest altitude we will reach for a week or so.The climbing felt a bit slow and on several occassions Kaji actually told me too slow down, I m not sure if this is because he thinks I ll get AMS or we just don t have very far to hike. I guess the rate of ascent wasn t to bad as we managed a pace of about 1000 ft per hr which is on par with the typical pace we manage in the dacks, although there that 1000ft also includes a lot of horizontal distance as well. My altimeter was quite a bit off which meant I reached the pass some 450m sooner then expected. The views from the pass were quite incredible, but unfortunately I was forced to spend 2 hours at this high point waiting for Kaji as he had to set up and take down fixed lines used to help the porters ascend to the pass. While at the La I built an Inukshuk as I occasionallzy do on myjourneys in the mountains. I got mz first glimpse of an 8000m peak today, Cho Oyu (8201m), it looked huge in terms of volume but given the distance between us not so much in height. I started to suffer a bit from AMS on the way down as I got bored waiting and so ran around up top exploring and exerting myself more than I should have during those 2 hours of waiting. In oredr to combat the AMS I have been consuming copious amounts of water which has had the effect of turning me into a human sprinkler, thank god for the pee bottle, never leave home without it!
I have been appointed a tent all to my own which I rather enjoy as I can lounge about and have all my gear lying around, speaking of which I brought several pieces of gear that I didnt need to (sleeping mats, bowl, spoon, and cup (other items such as sleeping over bag, vapour barrier, down jacket... would be added to this list by the end of the journey)). While I dont carry these items anyways, the porters carry everything that doesnt fit in my daypack, it would have simplified packing. The one piece of gear I am most glad to have brought along is my MP3 player, its great to be able to listen to bit of music before drifting off to sleep.
I have a bit of a feeling that some people are underestimating my abilities and fitness, especiallz when in Lukla when man seemed to imply that Mera would prove to difficult to me. I know that I can accomplish what I ve set out to do otherwise I would have set my sights lower.