| |
April
18
Hi kids,
When I went to bed last night, I could hear the patter of snow against
the tent. I tossed and turned, wondering if we would have to get up or not. It’s
hard not knowing for sure. At 3am, there was the usual knock
on the tent. I put on my jacket and
went down to the mess tent to Clare, Pat
and Pemba. There was a lot of snow on the ground and I figured we wouldn't be
heading up. The tent was quiet as the others just sat there drinking tea. 'We're
going to wait another day, Freddy', Pat said, breaking the silence. Although
I was tired on the one hand, I was disappointed on the other. It’s not
easy, not really knowing what’s going on. I said I was going to head back
to bed and turned to leave. Pat gave me a clap on the back – ‘sleep
in in the morning, Freddy; we're going to have a quiet day.’
I snuggled back into my sleeping bag. I dreamt of ladder crossings and serac
falls for the next 5 hours. By 9 am it had got so warm in my tent that I had
to get up. The door of my tent was weighed down by heavy snow, which was melting
slowly and creating a slippery mess outside. I wondered if there was anywhere
I could go sledding! It would be a change from wandering around Base Camp! I
looked around – no old tyre tubes at Base Camp! The other problem would
be finding a safe spot..again not much luck here. I stopped dreaming and headed
to the mess tent to see what our plans would now be.
After having a chat with Pat and Pemba, we decided that we should rest today
and go for it again tomorrow. It would be important for us to make it to Camp
2 in the next few days and spend some time there, giving our bodies a chance
to get used to the new altitude there. I felt much better after the sleep in
and began to feel excited about our trip again. I took a walk around Base Camp
with Pat and Clare in the afternoon and met up with some of the other climbers.
Everyone seems really impressed with how I am doing so far and that has put me
in a great mood again!
Freddy looking out over Base Camp
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 17
Hi kids,
I tossed around last night, feeling excited but nervous at the same time.
I could barely sleep. At around 2.30 am, I heard the sherpas getting up and lay
quietly in bed, waiting to be called. I got up immediately and did my best to
eat some breakfast; I forced down some rice pudding, but couldn't manage my boiled
egg. I did my best to drink a little hot tea.
By 4am we were ready to leave. I was glad we were on the move. We
set off, Pemba, Clare, myself and Pat. As usual, we stopped at the bottom of
the icefall to put on our crampons. We began to make our way upwards and had
been walking for about an hour when Pemba got a call on his radio. The news was
that at the top section of the ice fall, there had been a big serac fall, creating
a huge crevasse 150m wide. Nobody could cross this section and everyone was being
forced to turn back.
We must have passed at least 50 sherpas making their way back down. They had
left their heavy packs above and were almost running downhill, delighted at the
prospect of having a day off! We decided to continue upward a little way. It
was still only 6am and we thought we might as well make use of our day. We spent
about 3 hours training and then headed back to camp. We had a lovely relaxing
day and even got to watch a DVD with the sherpas on the computer!
By evening, it had begun to snow quiet heavily. We were keen to get a move on
and so decided we would get up at 3am again; if there was too much snow, we would
just have to wait another day; if we were lucky,
we would be able to move on.
Freddy rushes through the snow to watch a DVD
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 16
Hi kids,
I got up at 8am today. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day outside.
I knew we had a big day ahead tomorrow - we would be going to Camp 2 and Pat
reckoned this would take 8-9 hours. We had to pack our personal belongings and
would also have to carry our sleeping bags, therma rests (inflatable mattresses)
etc from Camp 1 to 2.
I carefully got my pack ready and before long it was bursting! Clare
came and checked it with me; 'You will have to leave some stuff behind, Freddy
or you'll be exhausted tomorrow.’ She went through my pack - she picked
out a jar of honey, a reading book, my diary, my walkman and Sooty's bells (!). ‘Freddy
these will be safe at Base Camp, they're too heavy for any of us to carry up
high. You can only bring essentials - like clean socks and a change of clothes.’ I
was disappointed; I remembered Camp 2 as being a bleak, desolate spot and wasn't
looking forward to going there; now that I would have nothing to do there either,
I was looking forward to it even less. I carefully put away my personal items
and repacked my bags. I decided to go for a nap in the afternoon because I knew
we'd be up at 3am.
Freddy and Sooty with jar of honey
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 15
Hi Kids,
I woke at 7am this morning and quietly got dressed. I went to the mess tent to
get a cup of tea for John and then went to his tent. He was sitting up with his
bags packed. He looked tired and uncomfortable. I gave him the cup of tea and
as we sat there, he sipped slowly and told me that he was going to go home. He
didn't feel well and his body had had enough.
I went to find Pat and together with Clare and Pemba, we all went over to the
HRA (medical) clinic. There, the doctors examined John and gave him some fluids
to make him stronger. The plan was that John would walk to a close-by village
(Lobuche) with Pemba and that he would get a helicopter back to Kathmandu from
there in the morning. We gave each other hugs and kisses before he left. It was
sad seeing him leave and I couldnít help crying. When we got back to our
own camp site, Pat tried to cheer me up. He told me that it's more important
that John is safe and well; that he can come back another time if he wants to
climb again. He sat me on his knee and sang one of my favourite songs, called
'Neidin'.
I felt a bit better and went and had a chat with and fed Sooty.
Freddy being cheered
up by Pat
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 14
Hi kids,
I was really exhausted today; I guess the climb to Camp 1 must have taken a lot
of energy out of m
e. I got up around 8.30am and relaxed as I ate my breakfast
in the sunshine. I thought about the jobs I had to do for the day and left my
mind wander.
After about an hour, I got up to wash my clothes. I asked Dawa for a big basin
of hot water and went to get all my dirty clothes. It was hard work washing and
then rinsing everything, but I managed. I made a clothesline with some spare
cord and proudly hung up my clean clothes. I later called back to see if they
were dry and couldn't understand what was wrong. My nice clean clothes were all
hard like boards! I tried to bend them into shape but they looked all funny.
With huge disappointment, I gathered my clothes and went to show them to Dawa.
My voice was shaking and I was close to tears; I thought I had ruined them. Pat
started to laugh when he saw me. 'What's wrong with my jumpers?' I asked. 'Don't
worry Freddy', he laughed, 'itís just the cold, your clothes will thaw
out in the sun tomorrow morning.' What a relief! I sat down and chatted with
him for a while. Pat told me that John was in trouble, that he was exhausted
and that his body couldn't take altitude for much longer. I got a fright. I felt
bad for John; I left to get him a can of coke and took it to his tent. When I
got there, he was sleeping. I called his name twice but he didn't wake up. I
left the coke by his sleeping bag and snuck out. I would chat to him in the morning
instead.
Freddy washing his
clothes
Freddy hanging his clothes out to dry
|
