We will the coming days move up to ABC at 6400 meters. From there we will explore the area, climbing to the North Col and beyond, in our continuos research of the North Face and the possibility of a first ski descent.

Other objectives of our stay at the upper end of the East Rongbuk Glacier will be to acclimatise high on the North Ridge, we will aim for an altitude of + 7500 meters, hopefully towards the 8000-meter mark.

As computer (and MP3-player) hard drives can't cope well with altitude, we've already (hopefully temporarily) lost one out of three computers to the thin air, we won't risk taking our functioning computers another 1200 meters above sea level. That might just jeopardise our means of communications for the duration of the expedition. Not to mention coping with the never-ending flow of digital images that needs to get off the memory cards that fill up on a daily basis.

We'll report again as soon as possible, for the mean time it's hard work and good fun at the same time from the Vikings on Everest.

Regards,
Tormod

Posted by Tormod Granheim at 05:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (18) | TrackBacks (0)

Sunday and Monday was devoted to a very interesting task. We hiked in on the Rongbuk glacier to have a close look on the north face of Everest.

And on the way we also got to meet a big group of climbing friends from the Royal British Army. We started off from base camp at 5200 metres at Sunday and after a some long hours of walking we reach the very impressive camp of the Royal British Army. The very competent and well organized group is here to climb the French spur up to the Hornbein couloir and then up to the top of Everest. A very impressive project! But then again, something even more impressive was the hospitality of the team. We quickly got invited to spend the night, eat dinner and take part of all the information they had on the north face. Thank you for this invaluable help!

Read more about them on:
www.armyoneverest.com

I think we got a bit of extra hospitality since we were the first visitors to the camp, even though they had been there for weeks. That tells you how rarely there are visitors on the mid Rongbuk glacier, and it´s a big shame since it´s such an impressive valley.

We left the British camp early Monday morning and hiked in towards the north face. We were going at high speed since it was very cold and we were travelling according to the "light is right" concept. It took us two cold hours to get to the end of the moraine and it was time to cross the glacier to get a better view of the north face. All the old tracks from the British Army climbers had been swept by the wind so we had to make our way through knee deep snow to get to the British camp one. Which of course wouldn´t have been a problem if it was not for that our "light is right" concept excluded our skiing boots, crossing that glacier in running shoes still not hit by the morning sun was a very cold experience...

But once we got to the British camp one everything was fine, the sun was shining and the British hospitality got us a cup of the before we headed a bit further on to have a better look on the north face. It´s an incredibly spectacular spot for a camp, you got the huge north face just towering up next to you. This about three kilometre high wall with vertical rock bands, enormous ice fields and hanging glaciers sure makes you feel small!

We got the binoculars out and had a good look of our options for a ski descent, which are not that many. This winter has been very dry in the Everest region so there is not much snow on the north face. When we first got to base camp a couple of weeks ago it really looked liked mission impossible due to a almost completly black north face, but then there was quite a big snow fall about a week ago which changed things a bit.

Standing in front of the north face it was quite clear that we need a snow fall or two to get some interesting skiing done on the north face, that could with a bit of chance make it possible to ski the Norton (Great) couloir and then cut out to the north col and then ski down to ABC. We were hoping to find solutions that would make a descent down to the Rongbuk glacier possible and we saw one possible alternative that for the moment looked a bit to icy though. But maybe a snow fall or two can change that as well, we will see.

Anyways, it was an incredible experience to get to stand in front of this massive and mythic face, and the hours passed by quickly before we turned around and headed down the valley.

We both got really sore feet today, and I guess that it´s not that surprising taking in count the seven hour walk through rocky and snowy terrain in runner shoes...

Posted by Tomas Olsson at 04:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

I made a short hike up the hill next to base camp to keep moving and was meet by both good and bad news once I arrived back in base camp.

I´ll start with the bad news, we once again have troubles with our cargo from Bergans of Norway. Our helpers from Arun Treks & Expedition has picked up the cargo from the airport in Kathmandu and sent all the equipment with a lorry together with the equipment from a Russian expedition. We were yesterday very happy to hear that the equipment actually cleared the customs and made it in to Tibet, but that was the end of our luck. Apparently the snow storm we have up here in BC has also hit the road between the Tibetan villages between Nyalam and Tingri. And of course, the lorry with our high altitudes tents, sleeping bags and so on are on the wrong side of the snow. They are still in Nyalam and we were today informed by the main representative from the Chinese mountaineering association, Mr Lee, that the lorry will stay in Nyalam until the snow melts...

So that was the bad news, now to the good news. Our film and photo team, Tsering and Lambabu, that arrived to BC a couple of days ahead of us did a tremendous effort this Monday. The attacked up the mountain and made it all the way up to the north col, it´s now very evident that they are quite far ahead of us regarding acclimatization to high altitude. And they are not just ahead of us, they are ahead of everyone, that actually pitched the first tent in the north col so far this season! That was our only high altitude tent, the rest being down in Nyalam.

So, I think it´s fair to say that we are both first and last in the hunt for the summit of Everest for the moment...

Posted by Tomas Olsson at 04:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBacks (0)

Yesterday we climbed one of the surrounding mountains not so far from BC, a fore summit to the 6622 meter high Shuguang Feng. The aim was a glacial heaven near the sky. A place for year-round snow and ice.

Starting out from BC after a late breakfast we where about to learn a lesson. Although we only planned to climb some 1000 meters of vert, time flies by in the Everest-region.

No path took us through the rolling boulders of the never-ending scree-slopes. A constant fight against gravity. We wanted all rocks to stay in place, not roll over and crush our feet.

One has to breathe a little deeper. Take some more breaks, and drink more. Much more. As we finally approached the snow, it turned out to be mostly glacial ice. The snow left where rather hard. Ice-like. And the sun was about to sink behind the high horizon. We where late:(

Nevertheless we found the skiing to our liking. The gear works fine, just as it is supposed to. Skiing under such demanding conditions built our confidence, an with sharp edges was good fun.

Then came the hellish descent. If you have any idea of the term kinetic energy, you will have no problem understanding the nature of our concerns, negotiating our way through the scree-slope.

Rocks kept on thundering down below us, as we carefully took notice of the others positions at all times. Avoiding the other boys fall-line was the name of the game.

- I think there is a reason why snow should cover mountains, Tormod "Thor" Granheim sums up the day.

Posted by Tomas Olsson at 05:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

The wind has been hammering us in the base camp on the northern side of Everest for five days. A strong and cold wind coming down from Everest make lifes in BC at bit tougher than I'm used to from previous expeditions.

But last night it stopped and we finally got a silent night! Instead of listening to the tents getting beaten by the wind all night there was almost complete silence. It was a great relief to get a solid night sleep!

The wind is starting to pick up as I am writing this so I am not sure there will be a another silent night, but we are happy that we at least got one!!!

Regards, Tomas Olsson in Everest BC - 5200 metres

Posted by Tomas Olsson at 07:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

We today did a hike up around 200 meters above base camp to play around on some boulders I found yesterday. The boulders are of very varied quality but the settings are extraordinary. You feel quite small when you have the north face of Everest towering up behind you!

But it was good fun and it was very good to get to use the upper body a bit after weeks of sitting around in air planes and buses as well as a lot of hiking. Our favorite was a huge boulder about 8 meters high & consisting mostly of gneiss. We established four five different problems and it is remarkable how I felt the lowered work capacity due to the altitude. I have been in base camp for about a week and feel quite comfortable at 5400 meters but as I push myself a bit on the boulder I directly feel that my body is not really functioning as normal. I totally loose my breath just doing two three hard moves...

We still have an equipment issue that we are hoping to be resolved the coming week. Some of our expedition sent from Bergans of Norway got lost in Bangkok and did not arrive to Kathmandu as expected. We were not able to wait for the cargo due to a pre set schedule, which was good in the end since the cargo did not arrive until yesterday to Kathmandu airport, about two weeks later then expected. Thank you Thai Air Cargo... And it also got a bit extra complicated due to the chaotic situation in Kathmandu due to the conflict between the Maoist rebells and the king of Nepal. Curfews and violent demonstrations meaning a very unstable situation. But our heroic helpers at Arun Treks & Expedition now somehow has gotten their hands on the cargo, thank you Chwang and Dawang! So, if things go as planned, which is hard to believe after weeks of cargo problems, the equipment should leave Kathmandu with an expedition heading our way tomorrow and reach base camp in about a week. Which would be very helpful as we would like to go high in about a week, and then having our high altitude tents, down jackets and sleeping bags would be very helpful... We are for the moment using old sleeping bags borrowed from Arun Treks & Expedition as well as old down jackets borrowed from Himalayan Experiences. Thank you "Big" Dawa at Arun Treks & Expedition and Russell Brice at Himalayan Experience!

Posted by Tomas Olsson at 05:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Today we sent most of the food, and some climbing- and camping gear off to Advanced Base Camp.

Meeting up with the yaks and their Tibetan drivers straight after breakfast was, to no surprise, like a circus. The Tibetans weighted in the cargo, and then the show started. Every one wants the lightest load, so the locals start dragging the stuff around, securing their part of the lot.

I felt a great sense of joy, seeing the yaks take of out of BC. But the crew plans to spend some more time in BC before heading up to ABC. From BC we want to do some acclimatisation hikes before heading to ABC at 6400 meters.

Posted by Tormod Granheim at 04:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

We made our first ski tracks yesterday! Everest in the background.

Picture by Fredrik Schenholm - www.schenholm.se

Posted by Tomas Olsson at 09:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (49) | TrackBacks (0)

We had our Puja ceremony early this morning. According to the Buddhist the Puja ceremony tells you how the expedition will develop. If something goes wrong on an expedition it's because something was wrong with the Puja, and if things go right, then it's because the Puja was correct.

The Sherpas had spent a lot of time building a stone alter and decorated it with offerings like rice, candy, cakes, wine, whiskey and a lot of prayer flags.

As the ceremony begins all Sherpas and climbers get together around the alter and sing prayers and clap hands. This goes on for a good moment until some Sherpas climb atop the altar and erect a mast strung with multicolored prayer flags. It's an impressive arrangement with flags swinging in the wind all over the place.

The ceremony ends as everyone throws rice and some kind of powder in the air for good luck.

One thing about our ceremony, that I really don't hope is a sign, was that it was really cold and windy. When you see photos from these kinds of ceremonies you always find that it's sunshine and warm but this was not the case for us. A cold wind was pounding down on us and I think all participants had cold feet towards the end...

But the Sherpas leading the ceremony seemed very happy so I take that as a sign of a successful ceremony!

Posted by Tomas Olsson at 09:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Yesterday our Land Cruiser rolled into Base camp after about a week of driving through the Tibetan High Plateau, while we adapted to the increasingly thinner air.

A drive worthy of The Dakar rally, or a suitable location for the next Camel Trophy, getting from the last resort, Tingri, to BC proved a challenge. The 75 kilometres took us 5 hours to complete, and led to no less than five car breakdowns, including engine trouble, a door that fell apart and as we reached the famous Rongbuk Monastery we broke our right front rim.

The landscape seemed a never-ending rock desert, a beautiful and desolate mix of rolling sand-dunes, moraines and rock gardens. Occasionally we crossed iced-up rivers, that would later in the day become thundering creeks on their long way towards the Pacific Ocean.

The monks of Rongbuk hid in religious contemplation as Tomas and Tormod helped the Tibetan driver find and put on our last spare tire. 15 minutes later we arrived in BC, a rock-garden the size of ten football-fields.

We pitched out tens facing Everest, so that every morning in BC we shall be reminded of our dream - The first ski descent of Everest North Face.

Posted by Tomas Olsson at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

We left Zhangmu at about 10 after some hassle with our jeep license, because when you are in Tibet everything has a Chinese license...

Small Tibetan roads took us up to the Tibetan high plateau, some sections had a lot of of snow. There were about five meter high snow walls on both sides of the road at one passage. The dug out corridor was not quite dug out for the tibetan trolleys driving through the snow corridor so they kept hitting the snow walls on both sides!

Once in Nyalam we did a bit of hiking and bouldering on some blocks just above the village. We will stay in Nyalam tomorrow and go for a longer acclimatization hike.

Posted by Tomas Olsson at 01:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We spent most of the day in a jeep driving from Kathmandu in Nepal up to Zhangmu in Tibet. The roads are narrow and some sections in a very bad state so it's was a bumpy ride. But it's an incredible scenery and we passed through a lot of Nepalese villages filled up with smiling children.

Of course getting through the Chinese customs was a bit of a hassle but it worked better then two years ago when they all of sudden decided to close the border as we arrived and we had to stay a extra night in Kodari on the Nepalese side of the border to wait for them to reopen.

And we are slowly getting higher, Zhangmu where we are sleeping tonight is at around 2000 metres.

We have now been joined by Tschering Palde Bute and Lambabu Sherpa who will be our film and support crew during the expedition. Two very nice men who have a lot of Himalaya experience.

We will head up to Nyalam at around 3700 metres tomorrow.

Posted by Tomas Olsson at 01:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)