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It's the post we've all been waiting for. Click the button to find out how my expedition to Everest actually went...
One of the things that concerns me most about the trip is having to brave the Khumbu Icefall on each rotation on the mountain above Base Camp. The Icefall is a huge glacier between Base Camp (5,364m) and Camp 1 (6,000m), with ice blocks the size of skyscrapers and plunging crevasses that are so wide, the only way to get across them is by walking on ladders tied together (in your crampons)! This takes balance, poise and skill and is not something that I wanted to be doing for the first time on Everest, so I have been practising at home... See below for more details:
Photo of the 2015 route through the Icefall
(copyright Garret Maddison, www.gripped.com)
A great video on YouTube by the BBC showing the amazing, brave and selfless work that the Sherpa "Ice Doctors" do each season, setting the ladders through the Khumbu Icefall.
Practice makes perfect...
Practice makes perfect...
Setting up the ladders
Based on a standard UK ladder (which I'm hoping matches the gauge of the Everest ladders), I can balance on my crampons' front points with the rear points covering the rear rung. As you can see, we're talking about small margins here.
IMG_1541.TRIM.MOV2019 practice - 2 ladders and a wheelie bin!
Practising in 2017
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