Tagging the North Col

[Click on the pictures to see larger versions with captions.]

After an early start and a hike across the frozen flatlands leading to the foot of Everest, the whole crew arrived at the ropes leading to the North Col. We weren't the only ones there. By the time I clipped my ascender to the rope, about 60 people were above me, and when I descended four hours later, I scooted past at least that many people, maybe more.

This was our first major climbing foray to altitude — North Col lies at about 23,100 feet. The plan was to tag it and then head back to ABC, using the logic of acclimatizing that says you should climb high and sleep low. By the end of the day, everyone was pleased with their performance.

It was a dramatic day for weather, with high winds raking the summit and ghostly cloud shadows scudding fast across the gray-white glacier. Mogens and David sprinted up the face in two hours and 20 minutes; Josette made it in about three hours; most others took about four to four and a half hours. Betsy climbed with guide Dean Staples; she reached a point near the North Col and went down with a lot more knowledge about climbing than she had a couple of days earlier.

It's been 12 years since I've been to the North Col and it's much different than I remember. The glacier has sunk into itself, causing the ice wall we scaled to collapse into a more jumbled face. It's still pretty easy to climb: The face has an average angle of 25 degrees and every inch is lined with ropes, one for up and one for down, but global warming has clearly taken a toll on the ice.

As I headed up, I caught up to Rod, whose head was banging away with a dehydration headache. Perhaps he should have gone down, but he wanted to press on as he'd never been so high on a peak before. He swallowed two liters of water then kept plodding on.

"I don't recall this thing," I said to Rod a little later, pointing to a 200-foot-tall ice cliff right above us. It was fractured into a fragile pile of blocks that everyone had to pass under. It was one of those things that might sit tight for a year, or might collapse on our heads at any minute — kind of a mountaineering Russian roulette moment.

"If this thing goes, we're dead," I said, so we sped up the pace and five minutes later were back in the clear, moving up the rope, while others slid down another rope a few feet away. Rod's head pounded all the more for the effort, but he got to the Col in pretty good time.

The campsite on the North Col (Camp 1) is now so crowded that there are two levels separated by a few vertical feet and a crevasse spanned by a standard, hardware store-bought, household ladder. In total, about 50 tents are dug in up there and more are soon to sprout.

Old ropes dangle from an ice cliff above camp, frozen in place and swaying in the wind. They appear out of the most unlikely spots, like vines growing out of a cliff, and they show the way that the snow and ice cover everything in time, foot by foot and year by year, burying and compressing anything the climbers leave behind.

Filmmakers Ed Wardle and Mark Whetu had lugged their cameras all the way up to catch the traffic on the way up and down. Tim's arrival at Camp 1 was all but an autograph event, as his reputation from last season's Discovery Channel series ensures he's recognized by most anyone with an Everest dream. "Get it on!" he yelled to the mountains.

After tagging the campsite, we all slid down the ropes in about 20 minutes enveloped in a white fog of swirling snow and cloud. Climbers were still dragging themselves up and down, some pinch-cheeked, stumbling and absolutely hammered by the altitude, others (mainly Sherpas), skipping up or down with a smile and a "Namaste."

Today as I write this — the morning after our climb — we've all just emerged from snow-covered tents and a well-earned sleep. Tim's back is bugging him (remember, this guy has a metal cage around his spine from a motorbike crash), but some medication from our doctor and a rest will set him straight.

Weather on the mountain is still not the best for the Sherpas to push on with rope-fixing. Nevertheless, weather permitting, everyone returns to North Col tomorrow to sleep and keep the acclimatization training on schedule.

Signing off,
Greg Child

More pics from the North Col trek:

 

Comments

[Pontus Kjällman]

After the somewhat heated discussion in response to your previous report I would just like to take the opportunity to say how much I appreciate your well-written and illustrative postings Greg. It is certainly a joy and a pleasure to be able to follow the daily life of the expedition in this way and I find myself waiting impatiently for each new report! Thank you very very much to both you and Discovery channel for letting us all "take part" thanks to this blog.

[matt hardy]

good going guys thats more like it i love readin thease blogs that you do greg because its like im there with you all wich is wat i want to be hope ypu all of the best of luck with your north col traning

[sasha]

Greg:
Bravo on your excellent Everest blogs! Tell Betsy her wind sister, Sasha, misses her! God bless you all! xo

[Jonathan]

Hey Greg, I have been following your dispatches from the very beginning and consider them the most enjoyable out of this season. The one thing I would be interested in reading about is the difference in makes and models of gear for everyone on HimEx. i.e. glacier glasses, packs, axes, crampons, etc. As an amateur climber myself, I like to see the difference in everyone's personal preference. Good luck, stay safe, and keep the interesting dispatches coming.
Thanks,
Jonathan

[Claudia]

Greg: Yr pix and prose are great. Keep it coming. Thinking of you all up there in purgatory--can't believe I ever dared it. B brave, B strong, B safe, B successful. Keep writing and making pictures. Say hi to Betsy for me. C

[matt montoney]

Great blog Greg. I keep up with things as often as I can. Let Big Tim know that his family back in Jersey is rooting for him and wishing him well. Thanks for keeping us posted!

Stay Safe!
-Matt Montoney

[Henry H McNatt III]

Mogens Power!
Good Work - 2:20 - a good warm up for you.
Strong and Steady my Friend!

Henry from Florida

[Armchair Mountaineer]

This is the best blog I've found so far on Everest expeditions. It's well-written and the photos are striking. Keep up the great work, Greg.

[Elizabeth RN "the nurse"]

Exceptional blog,great information and super pictures.Thanks Greg and discovery...and Tim..you can do this!!Hope your back is feeling better. Elizabeth "the nurse" at sea level.

[Leo]

Hi all,
This blog warms me up for the day !
Good luck to everyone from the Netherlands and have a nice climb !