Himalayan update

If you've been following Domhnall's Himalayan adventures, here's the latest since he summited Manaslu a week last Friday. Lucille's just posted some fantastic pictures from Manaslu, of which my favourite is this one - now that is what the summit of a Himalayan peak should look like! Only room for one at a time up here, guys!

So after heading down from the summit and getting a couple of nights sleep at Camp 3 and then base camp, he rushed down the valley, hitched a ride in a helicopter to Kathmandu, spent 3 days eating (aka 'getting your strength up'), flew to Lukla (one of the scariest airports in the world!), went halfers on another helicopter ride up to Everest Base Camp, and got himself set up at Camp 2 for his attempt on a second ascent of Lhotse. He first climbed it in 2009 - his first 8000 m and Himalayan summit - when he was part of a guided group. Now he wants to try it solo and without supplementary oxygen. Yes, he is a little bit crazy.

The detailed stuff: Lhotse is 8516 m high and the 4th highest mountain in the world. To get there, you basically follow the south route up Everest, but when you get to the South Col turn right instead of left. Apparently Lhotse is often considered a more difficult climb than Everest, because of particularly steep ice and rock sections, especially in the Lhotse couloir, which is somewhere around 8000 m, and the summit block just above this.
 
So, last Friday Domhnall set off up to Camp 3, where he was sharing tent space and food with Damian of the Patagonia Brothers, in return for carrying a tripod up the hill for them (what it is to make friends in the mountains!). They rested at Camp 3 for a few hours, then about 2am set off for the summit. Lots of people from different teams can set off at the same time, but each individual or team climbs at their own pace. By about midday on Saturday (I think), Domhnall had made it up to the base of the couloir somewhere above 8000 m, where the serious climbing is meant to start. He was really feeling the effects of the lack of oxygen and possibly the Manaslu climb the week before, and wasn't convinced of his safety in climbing at that point given the conditions. He made the decision to turn round, and descended - first to Camp 2 to sleep last night, and this morning back to Base Camp. When I spoke to him briefly this morning he was preparing to rest and recuperate for a few days, and waiting to decide whether to make another summit attempt when the next weather window comes through later this week.

So, another hair-raising night/day for the home team, and potentially another one to come! I'll let you know...