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April
13th
Hi
kids,
We were up at 6.30 am this morning. It had snowed a little more during the night.
All of a sudden, I heard a huge cracking sound; I tho
ught it was an earthquake!
I looked out and Pemba said 'Hey Freddy, you just missed a huge serac fall!'
A huge chunk of hard ice had just fallen in big boulders across part of the route
through the ice fall. A wave of terror struck me. What if that had happened 2
hours later, while we were on the way through?? I looked at the cup of black
tea I was trying to drink and put it down without touching it.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, there was a huge blast of wind behind me. I looked
around and there was a big puff of what looked like smoke with swirling snow.
I didn't like this. I wasn't sure what was wrong but it felt like we were haunted.
The winds picked up again and I hid in the tent. I had just seen an avalanche
- but I didn't care. I wanted to go down to Base Camp where at least it was safe.
I got my gear packed up and ready to go. By 9am we were all set to leave; the
wind was still blasting snow in my face - the snow was hard and the pelting snow
was painful. The weather stayed bad for about an hour; we could barely see where
the track was and I felt scared.
When it finally cleared, the sun came out and it got really warm again.
It was like a different world. Base Camp came into view and I knew everything
was going to be alright. I relaxed and began to hum to
myself as we climbed steadily downwards.
When we eventually arrived at our own campsite, Dawa was out to
greet us with cans of Coca Cola! I couldn't believe it - it was like
coming home.
Freddy struggles through the storm
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April 12
Hi kids,
What a long, cold night I had last night. I had forgotten how tough it can be
up here at 6,100m. I had snuggled in to my sleeping bag, but the cold from the
snow beneath me snuck through my air mattress and sent a constant chill through
my bones. I waited and waited for it to become bright because I knew that at
least this would bring some sunshine and heat. This really is a place of extremes
- either really, really warm or intensely cold.
As soon as the sun came up, I went to see if Tenzing was awake. He had promised
me that he would show me how to cook porridge on the little stove in his tent
if I was up early enough. First, I had to go and collect a saucepan of snow to
melt. It was hard work digging the snow
at this altitude and I got out of breath really quickly. I tried to speed things
up by using my paws, but they nearly froze solid! Eventually the saucepan was
full; I proudly took it back to Tenzing and he let me light the little stove.
He then asked me to get some more snow to melt for drinking water! My heart sank,
but I couldn't say no. I wearily took the saucepan and headed off. At least this
time the snow was a little softer which made it easier.
I squeezed in alongside of Tenzing and together we measured out the oats. It
was funny watching all the little bits of snow gradually melt into water, then
waiting for the water to bubble boil. Everything was such a big deal compared
to at home; it took us almost an hour to get breakfast ready!
The six of us - Pat, Pemba, John, Clare, Tenzing and I huddled into one tent
for breakfast. We could hear the other teams starting to move. We chatted about
what we would do and decided to head towards Camp 2. We walked for about 2 hours
and could just see the tops of the tents on the moraine.
When we got back, there was a sudden change in the weather; the clouds came in
and soon it began to snow heavily. We all huddled in
our tents, waiting and waiting for it to stop. After about 4hours it eventually
did. We had to shake the snow off the tents by thumping the insides. I thought
that was great fun. I could hardly believe the difference when I peeked outside.
Everything was covered in a blanket of fresh white snow. It was absolutely beautiful.
We had a light dinner and made plans to head back to Base Camp in
the morning if the weather was good. I was looking forward to that.
Freddy gets cooking tips from Tenzing
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April 11
Hi kids,
I struggled out of bed this morning at 4am. I could barely open my eyes and for
a minute wasn't sure where I was. Soon the clanking of climbing gear brought
me back to reality. We had an hour to get ready and then we would be on our way
to Camp 1! I was excited; this time we would be staying there for 2 nights. I
looked at the heavy packs the sherpas and the team were carrying and thanked
my lucky stars I didn't have to do the same.
By 5am we were ready to move. It was bright by 5.15am and as we stopped at the
foot of the icefall to put on our crampons, I stared in
awe at all the sherpas heading up in front of us. They were colorful, smiley
and happy and moved along with pals, enjoying every minute
of it. It was easy to pick out the foreign climbersÖ although friendly,
they were quieter and had to concentrate more on what they were
doing; they moved slower too and seemed more out of breath.
We made slow steady progress for about 4hours. Each time we came
to a ladder, I jumped into the side pocket of Clare's bag. I walked and climbed
most of the rest of the way myself, although my little legs felt like they were
going to fall off!
I knew we should be getting closer at this stage and kept looking out
for the yellow tops of the tents at Camp 1. The journey seemed never-ending.
I felt like crying I was so tired and thirsty and hungry. Although
it had been cold starting out, it was now really, really warm. The reflection
of the sun off the snow was making this place like an oven.
Pat, Clare and John were ahead. Pemba had waited for me. He turned and said softly
'5 minutes more, Freddy'. I looked ahead and there were the tents. What a relief!
Tenzing had already made hot juice for us and we relaxed in the sun taking it
all in.
We spent the remainder of the day resting, eating and drinking. Up here, we have
to melt snow to even make a drink, so everything takes much longer than you might
imagine.
We nearly forgot it was Easter at home, but when Pat remembered, he allowed me
make a call to some of my friends on the satellite phone
- I was thrilled and told them all about my adventures so far.
Freddy on the satellite phone at
Camp 1
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April 10
Hi kids,
I woke this morning at 8am. I had a big secret, which I was dying to share with
someone! Clare had told me it was her birthday, but said she didn't want the
others to know because she is getting really old now! I know that secrets should
never be broken, but I also knew that Pat, John and Niall would go mad if they
missed her birthday. Down at the mess tent, Niall was the only person up. I knew
this was his last day at Base Camp and that we would all be lonely without him.
I sat up beside him and began to chat.
After a while, I decided he would be a good person to tell and I could make him
promise not to say I told him! I told him I had a secret that he could tell people
as long as he didn't say it came from me! He looked at me with a questioning
face. I told him about the birthday. No sooner had I him told than Pat and John
walked in. Niall told them out straight! Next thing Clare walked in and they
began to sing 'Happy Birthday'. I could feel her eyes glare at me and at the
same time my fur felt like it was getting redder and redder! I ignored her look
and joined in the singing and soon she was laughing too.
After breakfast, Pat, Clare and John went to pack up their gear for Camp 1. I
stayed in the mess tent with Niall and he showed me how to make posters on the
computer. Dawa called in to see what we were at and got really bothered when
he realized there was a birthday - for him it meant the afternoon slaving by
the cooker!
Niall wanted to go and say goodbye to some friends he had made at Base Camp after
lunch so I went along with him. By the time we returned it was dinner time! We
put up the poster
s and sat huddled in the freezing cold mess tent. There were
no presents, but we had a lovely dinner and then Dawa brought in a beautiful
chocolate cake with candles. We all ate our fill and saved half the cake for
the sherpas. We sang 'For he's a jolly good fella' for Niall and then got ready
for bed. We will have an early start in the morning (4am) and so won't be seeing
Niall again until June.Photo
Freddy and Pat saying goodbye to Niall
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April
09
Hi Kids,
I woke at 4.15am this morning. Although I knew we wouldn't be getting up until
5.30am, I could hear the sherpas getting ready outside and could feel the excitement
building up inside me. I lay there curled up in my sleeping bag, listening to
the clanking of climbing tools, the laughs at
the early morning jokes and the zipping and unzipping of tents as last minute
bits and pieces were collected.
All too soon, it was 5.30am and Rinjee, one of the cooks was outside my tent
shaking it to wake me. 'Thanks, Rinjee', I moaned - wishing I could lounge in
bed for another couple of hours. There was nothing for it but to get up. I pulled
on my warm clothes and harness, packed my bags and went to eat some breakfast.
Pemba was ready to go; as the main climbing sherpa (sirdar) it was his responsibility
to make sure that we were all safe climbers before allowing us go on the mountain.
By 7am we were ready to leave and made our way, Pat first, then me, Clare, John
and Pemba. We wound our way through the other Camp sites until we reached the
bottom of the ice fall. It was bright at this stage and we stopped to strap on
our crampons (spiky soles), so that we would be safe walking in the snow. We
took
our axes out of our bags and began to head into the heart of the mountain.
Our aim was to go about half way up, then turn and come back to Base Camp. As
I plodded along, following Pat's footsteps, I felt really happy and kept thinking
- 'Yes, I'm doing it!' Suddenly, just ahead, I saw a ladder. I froze. All the
fears of
crossing one of these came flooding back to me. I watched as Pemba clipped
on to the safety rope, lifted his boot onto the first rung and then steadily
crossed.
I was next. I could feel everyone's eyes turn to look at me. I couldn't
admit how scared I was. My little legs shook as I walked towards the ladder.
I peered over the mouth of the huge crevasse and could see it stretch for hundreds
of feet below. My stomach felt sick and I backed off a little. Clare must have
seen what was wrong. 'I'll go next Freddy you stick right behind me and do everything
I do.' I did my best, but my feet were just too short to stretch between the
rungs. Clare scooped me up with one hand and tucked me in the side pocket of
her
rucksack.
Although I had practised and could do this at home, it was pointless trying on
these ladders, I was just too small. I was disappointed (but secretly relieved
at the same time).
We carried on for about 4 hours or so and then turned to be back in Base Camp
for lunch. What a morning. I think the ice fall is my favourite
fairyland, although it can be cold, scary and dangerous.
Freddy watches closely as Pemba crosses a ladder
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April 08
Hi Kids,
Today was a big day for the sherpas, Every year, before they go on the
mountain, they have a special blessing called the 'Puja'. This helps to keep
them and the rest of the team safe. Along with blessing the climbers, any equipment
that will be used is also blessed. This includes ice axes, crampons, harnesses
and oxygen. A lama (Holy Buddhist Monk) from the nearby monastery at Pangboche
comes to Base Camp to do the blessing. The blessing is done around a specially
built altar - the sherpas carry huge rocks on their backs and assemble them into
an altar over 3-4 days before the lama arrives.
The ceremony part of the Puja, which includes chanting of prayers, takes
about two hours. At the end of the ceremony, the sherpas raise beautiful
prayer flags and national flags. All over Base camp, similar ceremonies take
place, so that it begins to look like a festival at home. Then follows a big
party, during which everyone eats and drinks the blessed food and chats, sings
and dances for the rest of the day.
It's amazing to see all the preparation that the sherpas put into this. I
know that Dawa spent about 8-10 hours hand making specially designed foods and
ornaments. He made an extra special effort with the monkey because this is the
year of the monkey!
Freddy
at Puja altar
Freddy watches as tricolour is hoisted
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April 07
Hi Kids,
I was last up this morning. I slept badly last night again and was cold and uncomfortable.
After breakfast, Pat suggested taking a walk around Base Camp just to meet the
other teams who are here. I thought I might as well go along and see if there
were any other bears there or any teams with nice goodies! We started with the
Discovery team; this team are making a documentary film about climbing Everest.
We then moved on to the Mexican Canadian team, the Greeks, the Malaysians, the
Chilean team and the German team. We met a group called 'Working Title Productions'
who are making a big screen movie about a disaster
on Everest in 1996, during which there were 11 climbers killed.
Finally, we met an American who is trying to summit Everest with a Sherpa who
lost a limb in a motorcycle accident a few years back. He
will be climbing using a special metal attachment to his (injured) leg
called a prosthesis.
Overall, it is a very interesting group and everyone seems to be very
friendly. Some of the same faces are here as last year and its nice catching
up with friends to see what they have been up to.
Freddy looks out over Base Camp before going visiting
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April 05 and 06
Hi
Kids,
I woke up in the middle of the night last night with a really bad headache.
I didn't know what was wrong and lay there in my sleeping bag for what
seemed like ages thinking about all sorts of serious things. My headache got
worse and worse and it felt like my head was going to burst. I tried to be strong,
but eventually I got scared and began to sob.
This made my head even sorer. I decided to get up and go and wake Sooty and tell
him what was wrong.
I put on my warmest clothes, grabbed my head torch and headed down to the kitchen
tent to get some feed for him. Poor Sooty never woke up until I retuned. He stood
up suddenly knowing there must be something wrong. I put the bowl of food down
in front of him and he hungrily lapped it up. He stared up at my face with questioning
eyes. I sat down and began to tell him what was wrong.
It was cold, lonely and scary sitting outside my tent. It was still dark and
I wasn't sure what time it was. Suddenly I heard a zip opening. I looked in the
direction of John's tent and saw him coming towards me. 'What's up, Freddy?'
He sat me on his knee and gave me a hug. I told him how sore my head was and
that I couldn't sleep with the pain. I began to sob again and couldn't stop.
I hardly remember what happened after that, but when I woke, I was lying in John's
tent, curled up in my sleeping bag. Pat, John and Clare were standing around
me looking concerned. My head felt much better, but I was weak and tired. Clare
told me to rest for the day, stay out of the sun and drink plenty fluids. She
gave me a tablet to take and said she'd call back in a little while to see how
I was.
They figured it was probably altitude and that I had exercised too much too soon
with the ice climbing. I got a really bad fright and decided to do
everything they advised me to for the next couple of months.
By the following morning, I was almost back to myself, but decided to take it
easy in bed for the day. I wanted to be full sure I would be right when the time
came to move up the mountain!
Freddy gets up to feed Sooty
Freddy rests in bed with a headache
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