Contrary to what’s traditionally done, we use a longer rotation instead of multiple rotations to avoid going through the ice fall multiple times. Our rotation structure looks like this: sleep at camp 1, sleep at camp 2, touch camp 3, sleep at camp 2, then head straight down to base camp. For many other mountains, many will try to split this process up into two to three rotations.
Pre-rotation ladder review session. These aren’t that common on North America alpine climbs so one often needs some quick reviews before heading across Khumbu icefall.
To support such a long rotation, you would want to ensure you have a solid plan to fuel beforehand and recover afterward. Elite Exped offers us chances to fly down to Namche or Kathmandu to recover. Of course, this may not be how you’d like to climb mountains. Regardless, this should be something you research and decide beforehand.
This rotation would be my first time crossing the formidable Khumbu Ice Fall and gradually tearing apart Western Cwm. The Ice Fall has already claimed three lives this year. It certainly weighs on everyone’s mind as we labor our breaths. Pasang Dorjee, who was part of Kristin Harila’s team, will lead me through this rotation. Truly a great honor, Pasang’s experience and temperament make him a great guide in the Himalayas.
This year’s route is relatively safer but longer than previous years. For me, it will be a test of patience, endurance, and technical skills I have picked up in recent years. The icefall and the Western Cwm are dangerous because they constantly move downward at high speeds. The entire structure is best described by my teammate Remy as a “crumbled up paper,” fragile and delicate that is further complicated by the seracs hanging above the ice fall.
Where ice fall connecting with Western Cwm, consists of the most amount of physical work. One often needs to go all the way down and then all the way back up the other side of the “cut-up chocolate cake” in order to move further inward.
Once you pass camp 1, things get a lot easier regarding pacing. The Western Cwm turns into a gradual upward snow slope all the way pass camp 2 to the bottom of the Lhotse face. As harmless as this snow slope looked, there are crevasses everywhere! Every time one passes someone on the trail that requires a quick side step, one has to carefully probe for potential hazards.
Depending on what you are going for, one’s rotation program differs from here. In modern days, many teams found sleeping at camp 3 unnecessarily draining for people who plan to summit with oxygen; therefore will stop right below the Lhotse face. But acclimatization is crucial for folks who are summiting without oxygen. For me, I am summiting with oxygen, but I wanted to test myself against the Lhotse face just a bit, so I went up for 100-200 meters more. With the strong winds, rocks were hurling down towards us. Pasang and I decided to turn around at around 7150m before the blue ice just below camp 3, ending our rotation. We descended down to camp 2 to rest for the day.
Due to the flatter slope, we descended from camp 2 straight down to base camp. The weather God finally smiled upon us and granted us a very sunny day. (Or bad luck because the ice fall will melt faster ?) We descended straight down to the base camp for a well-deserved lunch.
