Camp 2!

(Picture: Lihui jumaring the second ice cliff)

We finally spent a night at Camp 2!!! Camp 2 (7000m, the height of a number of mountain summits) was extremely deserted with only 3 IMG tents, one Spanish tent (set up in the middle of our campsite) and 2 Mountain Madness tents (compared to Camp 1 where there are easily 20 tents in the vicinity). We reached there between 4 to 5pm after a gruelling 10 hour climb. In fact, the weather was near perfect throughout the first 3/4 of the climb. The sky was clear and the wind was almost non-existent. However, as we approached mid-day, the sky was so clear that the heat from the sun was getting unbearably hot, especially as we were travelling in a basin.

This time round, another way was set up at the first ice cliff by Russel Brice’s team of Sherpas. It was a long traverse to the left of the ice cliff followed by a shorter climb up the ice cliff. Although the traverse was rather intimidating with narrow foot paths and a near vertical drop down on our left, it was indeed less tiring than a vertical ascent up the initial fixed line.

After the first ice cliff, we travessed along a small ridge, and trudged on flat ground for about an hour before arriving at the base of the second ice cliff. The second ice cliff was about 70 degrees and comprised a mix of soft snow and ice. The fixed rope ran for about 30m and this took us about another hour to clear it. Upon clearing the 2nd ice cliff, we still had to clear a long snow slope before reaching Camp 2, completely drained out.

We did the usual of boiling water, cooking and preparing for the next day at Camp 2. Almost everybody had a fitful sleep at 7,000m.

The next morning, we set off with our downsuits towards Camp 3. The downsuits were extremely cumbersome and the only comfort was that we did not need our harnesses for the day’s climb as there were no fixed ropes set up for Camp 2 to Camp 3. The way up to camp 3 was completely straightforward. It was a vertical ascent up to the rock a little below the rock band.

It is amazing how the summit of Chooyu actually looks so deceivingly near when you are standing at camp 2. We ascended about 150m in about one hour before deciding to turn back and head back to Camp 1 for a night’s rest.

Yihui had the unfortunate experience of a classic AMS syndrome, HAPE. She is usually one of the faster climbers in the team but this morning, she was actually taking 20 breaths for merely 2-3 steps. This occurred to her out of the blue as she was still feeling fine and actively walking around the campsite just that morning. This is a classic display of how AMS strikes individuals suddenly and relentlessly.

We then descended down all the way back to Camp 1 on the same day and back to ABC the day after.