Stage 4 – Summit Attempt

Bristling with anticipation, we strapped our headlamps and left EBC at 2 am. Climbing through the icefall maze in complete darkness was fun, shining our headlamps into the murky depths of the crevasses I felt looking at zillion stars sparkling beneath my feet. At the first ray of dawn we crossed C1 and soon thereafter arrived at C2. We intended to rest at C2 for two nights and then head up.

Mountains teach us patience; we can’t fight the weather and must wait till we get the nod from the higher forces; Satya had cautioned me long ago, knowing my impulsive and restless nature. During my pre-Everest training phase I had already climbed many summits in Europe and Andes and had my fair share of ‘patience’ in the mountains. Yet the waiting days on Everest were at a completely different level.

The base camp is at around 5365m and it took few days of rest and recuperation to get our bodies used to the rarefied air. Meanwhile the icefall doctors from SPCC team, who open the route and fix ropes and ladders from EBC to C2 were hard at work. I did some practice on ice seracs with my full climbing gear. The weather was more or less stable. Soon the route to C2 was declared open. And one fine morning we set off for our first acclimatization climb.