I had a good night’s sleep. By the time I poked my head out of the tent, I discovered twelve inches of fresh snow on the ground. The wind died down, and the temperature was 16 degrees (all references to temperature will be in degrees Fahrenheit).
The Mountain Travel group packed up and left for Nido, the next higher camp. Mike and John, the two Canadians, spent a long while preparing a load. I decided that I wouldn’t go, that I would stay and rest instead.
Just after Mike and John left, a fellow named Matt arrived. It turned out that he had no tent, but was just seeing how high up the mountain he could get. He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse – he would carry half of my gear to Nido the next day if he could share my tent for the night. This was a lucky break for me – I could get a good rest here and yet tomorrow all my gear would be up at Nido. The day was spent eating and drinking, and the weather was cooperating. Later, Mike and John returned from their carry.
The dawn broke very windy, and we didn’t get up until the sun hit the tent. It didn’t take long to pack everything up. Matt left before me. The trail through the snow was well-broken, but it still took me almost five hours to reach Nido de Cóndores at 18,270 feet elevation. All of the good tent sites had been taken, so I had to stomp out a platform in the snow before I could put mine up. The ground was frozen solid, so tent pegs didn’t work. Instead, I used big rocks to guy the tent. It was snowing early in the evening but trying to clear up. No signs of altitude sickness, so I was pretty happy about that. The wind was calm as night fell. The next picture shows a few of the Mountain Travel group getting ready to move on up to Berlin. The man on the left is Ricardo Torres, the first Latin American to summit Mount Everest. The man on the right is Sergio Fitch, the group’s leader.
The next morning, it was only +6 degrees in my tent at 9:00 a.m. in the sunshine. The Mountain Travel group moved on up to Berlin, the next camp up the mountain. As for me, I moved my tent to a better spot, relaxed and ate sardines for lunch. The next photo shows the large flat expanse of Nido de Cóndores, situated at 18,270 feet elevation. There is so much room here, it is an ideal spot to camp before moving on up to make a summit bid.
Clouds formed by mid-day and it snowed again in the afternoon. Several cups of hot soup for supper. I melted a lot of snow to fill my water bottles, four litres worth, and sorted my gear for Berlin.
It was so cold during the night that I even kept putting off using my pee bottle. Once the sun hit the tent in the morning, I hurried to pack up. The weather was nice and clear, but I didn’t leave until noon.
All my gear was now in my big pack, and it didn’t feel too terribly heavy. Yesterday’s snow had filled in all tracks, so I plodded along breaking trail. It took me a full 4 1/2 hours to climb up to Berlin, and I was beat by the time I got there. Folks, I gotta tell you, this camp is quite the place. It sits at an elevation of 19,490 feet, virtually as high as the highest peak in Canada. There is a small flattish area, just big enough for three tiny wooden huts and a few tents.
One of the huts has no roof and is therefore unusable.
Another is intact and was being used by the cooks from the Mountain Travel group. It can sleep three comfortably – any more than that is a misery.
The third hut is a tiny A-frame structure, 6 feet by 8 1/2 feet – nobody was using it when I arrived, so I commandeered it right away, determined I would use it during my stay at Berlin. It even had a tiny window, 6 inches by 12 inches! It would suffice to keep out the wind and snow, so as long as I used it I wouldn’t have to set up my tent. Man, I felt like I had really lucked out! This hut is comfortable for one person – two would be no fun, as the sloping roof is so low.
The 14-strong Mountain Travel group did not attempt the summit today, due to poor weather, and tomorrow will be absolutely their last day to go for it. It has now been snowing on and off for almost a week, making conditions pretty bad for all summit attempts. If no more snow were to fall, and what was already on the ground could consolidate, that would help a lot. The MT group is going to leave for the summit at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow, but I don’t feel ready to attempt it yet – I was pretty beat by the time I arrived here today, and I ate and drank very little all day.
Sunday, February 11th – I heard the MT group leave early, but by 10:00 a.m. they were back. One of them said “Gosh, it’s only ten o’clock and look how much fun we’ve had already!” I don’t know how far they went – certainly not to the Independencia hut, but they said they had a temperature reading of minus 30 degrees where they turned back. They had given it their best shot in the time they had, but they were all out of time. They packed everything up, and very generously gave me a lot of food and bottle of fuel. I wished them well, and they headed down the mountain. The food they had given me was better than what I had, so I fixed myself a big hot meal.
A group of five Argentinians who had been camping higher up the mountain passed through – they had not made the summit. Later, two Hungarians came through – they had summitted two days earlier, and said the snow conditions were awful. I had the place to myself once they left. It had been cloudy all day, and another snowstorm hit late in the afternoon. No sign of Mike and John, the two Canadians, yet – I hope they come up. Food wouldn’t be a problem now, I have enough for several days. I feel really good – my resting pulse is 72. Hot soup and crackers for supper. Still taking the Diamox. I know that I’m still dehydrated, though, as my urine is really dark. Outside my hut, conditions are terrible, snowing and windy. Nobody came up to Berlin today, only people descending. I turned in by 7:15 – nothing else to do, nobody to talk to.
I slept in late, the day dawned nice and clear. Going for the summit with this much snow is not something I will attempt. When I was outside, much to my surprise I saw a party of four crossing the top of the Gran Acarreo at the base of the Canaleta. They were 2,500 feet above me, and I was thinking that maybe they came around from the Polish Glacier side of the mountain. That seemed encouraging, though – maybe they would descend through Berlin and tell me of their exploits. I climbed a few hundred feet above camp on the trail through the deep snow, just for the heck of it. It seemed that a strong party, spelling each other off with breaking trail, might be able to make the summit in a long day. I felt that if I were in the company of a large, strong party I could make it to the top.
Later in the afternoon, I looked down the mountain and saw a party of five ascending from Nido, so I fired up my stove, deciding I would have a hot brew waiting for them when they arrived. By the time they reached camp, a full-blown snowstorm was in progress. The group consisted of Peter, an Englishman, and four Chileans (two men, one of whom was a doctor, and two women, one of whom was physically handicapped and walked with difficulty). It was great to have some company, and we spent the next five hours preparing food and drink. No sign of the Canucks – maybe they will pass through here tomorrow, making a summit attempt from Nido.
I slept in late, and awoke to the usual clear skies. However, the pattern has been one of increasing cloudiness as the day progresses and then a snowstorm in the afternoon and evening.
The others all slept poorly in the other hut last night, and the two women descended. In the afternoon, Mike and John finally arrived, and have sworn not to leave Berlin until they have summitted. They are young, strong and very well-equipped and if anybody could pull it off, they could. They say they will try it tonight, leaving at midnight. I will always remember their fun-loving spirit as they danced out in the snow, singing “Love Shack” by the B-52s. Later, a group led by Laurie Skreslit dropped loads here, which they had carried all the way from Plaza Canada. Laurie was the first Canadian to summit Everest. They wore flashy matching outfits, and were full of vim and vigor – they seemed to energize the whole camp. Leaving their loads, they left to return to PC, vowing to return in two days. Their plan is to break trail to the Canaleta the day before their actual summit bid. Laurie felt the weather is about to change for the better, because of a change in the moon phase. I sure hope he’s right. Also, a group of Spaniards is waiting at Nido to move up, so things are beginning to happen again.
By 9:00 p.m., though, the weather was bloody awful outside – cold, windy, swirling and drifting snow. It looked like the bloody Arctic!
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