Expedition Day 14: another hike touching a mid-point on Lhotse face to C3.
It was -16C in the tent this morning, 6:15am breakfast – appetite still holds strong though my clothes are getting noticeably looser, march on in the cold morning shadow, getting to the forbidding Lhotse face in an hour and then jumaring up ice and soft fresh snow.
Heart rate jumps and you need to make an effort to quieten it down. Two steps at a time with a rest stop. The body adjusts. Need to maintain vigilance of always staying clipped to the rope as the consequences of slipping down are deadly. Good tempo. Time for a few dramatic shots and a run down back to the comforts of now searing C2.
Tent’s temperature inside is +35C.
Tomorrow we will head up to touch high C3 at 7500m that will bring this rotation to a close. We may spend another 2 nights at C2 to bag more acclimatisation mileage.
Then back down to the comforts of the base camp: friends, Wi-Fi with Facetime with kids and shower!
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