As easy as ABC

Jo, leader of the North Col team writes:

It’s blowing a hoolie, there are dirt devils in the air and a windchill factor to freeze the glorious essentials off a polar bear..... but in the swaying blue light of Jamie’s double skin mess tent, all is warm , cosy and yak shaped here at Base Camp, North Side. For the heat I’m told we should give thanks to the Russians and their toasty undertable super calor (gas) fragolistic heating device. Ancient but functioning technology which is all that matters after a chill-searing excursion to the ‘other’ blue tent.

Although being here at Base Camp acclimatizing and preparing to go higher up the mountain feels like a starting point its actually the middle of a long and fascinating journey so far.

The group – 3 ABC-ers, 3 North Col-ers and me – came together a short lifetime ago in the sunny chaos of Kathmandu. It was all fairly frenetic unpacking / packing, scrambling for last minute gear grabs, sorting out paperwork etc but rectified by a few gentle hours soaking up the karma and finding some inner calm at Bhoudhanath (and a few cheeky beers of course).

Then to Tibet: yes sir / no sir; no speaking in line; visa order only; Americans to the side – the breathless cold of airport immigration where guidebooks are searched and some are confiscated ("you have a wrong history!") then finally out into the wide blue skies and smooth new tarmac of the Lhasa highway.

Since then we’ve experienced numerous WOW moments all jiggling for attention amongst the check-posts and the charms of numerous government hotels with their showers of a maybe hot, maybe cold nature and often challenging menus (chicken paws anyone?). So the WOW moments.... the Jokhang temple at lunch time emptied of lens-hugging, jostling Chinese tourists; bright beaming grins and giggles from the broad handsome faces of local Tibetan traders as we fumbled and blustered for bargains in the Barkhor; the peace and beauty of Shegar monastery’s colourful temples perched high above the dirty, ragged town and the warm humor of the monks; the heart-stopping panorama of what seemed like the entire Himal stretched out across the shimmering blue horizon from the Pang La; blue sheep scattering across the high plains and the poignancy of the memorials dotted here and there to fallen mountaineers........... it’s been a trip of many parts so far and yet it feels like we’re only just beginning. Tomorrow we set out up the trail to Interim Camp at 5750m – a plod up alongside the Rongbuk glacier before turning off steeply left to the E Rongbuk and new vistas. If the weather is kind there’ll be less wind, not so much snow and  enough breaks in the cloud to spy the huge peaks that guard this valley. We rest and recover there for a second day to prepare mentally and physically for the final day’s hike alongside the icy spikes and spires up to ABC. Not easy, but we’re learning quickly......

Jo Chaffer – leader