UP WE GO AGAIN

Apologies for the delay in the last posting but we have again been having IT problems at 5,300m!

It's now Sunday afternoon and at 4am tomorrow we will begin our final acclimatisation climb before the summit push. Due to illness and other factors, the group is now running on three different programmes, but for me the plan is that I will go straight through to C2 tomorrow, spend a couple of rest days there and then go up the Lhotse Face to 'touch' C3 at 7,300m before retuning to C2 to sleep. During this climb up to C3 I will break my own personal altitude record of 6,962m, although I don't think I will be in the mood for much celebrating!

After another couple of days rest at C2, I will again go up to C3, this time to sleep, on oxygen. The following day I will return to C2, and then the day after that, all the way back to basecamp. All being well, I should be back at basecamp on 4th May. This will then be the end of the acclimatisation phase and the team as a whole will then move right down the valley, dropping some 1,300m to rest up and feed up at Pheriche and wait for the weather window which begins the great rush for the summit.

The mountain is already 'fixed' as far as the South Col, and the rumour around BC is that the first summit attempts, from some of the smallet teams, will be on or around 3rd May. This is very early, but the weather this year, so far, has been very benign and it has been possible to get the mountain 'in condition' much quicker than usual. Jagged Globe and the other large teams try to reach agreements as to when they will go for the summit in order to avoid long queues at the Hillary Step, and my guess (not backed by any information!) is that we will summit between 15th and 20th May.

As for myself, I'm feeling good and ready for the off. I'll be incommunicado obviously until 4th May, but you can follow progress at www.jagged-globe.com