I’m back in BC for a few days. I have a number of things to post, so I’ll arrange it so those of you getting email alerts will only get one per day.
I just suffered a major computer scare. I’d been having trouble charging the battery for some reason. Then, this morning, the computer passed the electronic version of a kidney stone and started charging properly! But then, I started it up and after a couple of minutes it would freeze up, the screen would go crazy, or it would just shut down. Oh, shit, it looked like a mother board crash. After a bit, I took the back off and found a piece of something stuck to the mother board. Since then, It’s working fine. Electronics suck on expeditions (but not my computer. You are a very, very nice computer and I’m glad to have you).
Synopsis: as of yesterday, all of my gear save for big boots and helmet is in Camp 2 (6400m/21,300 ft). I’m resting for a few days, then I’ll go up and move it higher.
Riddle: If I’m not a client, guide, Sherpa, talent, film team, or support staff, what am I? Answer: I’m a climber. And I’m a damn rare breed around here. I haven’t counted, but there are only a handful at most like me. The whole economy around here is driven by the client, who pays almost everyone else. The film teams and other media types are hoping to make a buck off of the clients (who are much more entertaining than climbers).
Back to freight. I’m hauling my own freight (there are others doing the same, I think). That means no Sherpas to lug my extra undies up the hill (so I don’t have any). The trip from BC (5400m) to C1(6000m) involves the passage of the Khumbu Icefall. This is merely a spot where the glacier drops steeply down, fractures, and becomes a mass of towers and blocks that are unstable (the glacier keeps moving down, slowly).
So the ascent of the icefall involves some risk. It’s not a major risk like similar spots on K2 or Kangchenjunga, but a real risk. The ascent from C1 to C2 is overall very safe overall, but you can’t get to C2 (6400m) without going through the Icefall.
Now when you get to Camp 2, you’ll find that almost all teams install what they call Advanced Base Camp. This means a dining tent, kitchen, cooks, and simpler but still Western food. I’m using the ABC supplied by my BC provider. I the fdon’t have to cook, wash up, or melt ice for water. I don’t have to carry the food up I’d eat at C2/ABC, or the fuel I’d need (I estimate that this saves me about 15 lbs, or less than half a load of freight).
Also note that before commercial trips started, an ABC would be installed here by most teams.
But with the advent of commercial teams, some who charge $35,000 and some who charge $70,000, there is considerable pressure to have a very nice ABC. This means bringing up extra stuff (say chairs) that are frivolous from a climber’s perspective but which make high-paying clients feel like they’ve gotten something for their money.
So what’s the big deal, it’s just capitalism in action, right? Except that the extra and fancy stuff has to be carried up through the Icefall on the backs of Sherpas. Few clients will make more than three trips through the Icefall; most Sherpas will make over a dozen. Is this extra risk borne by the Sherpas worth the luxuries at ABC? I doubt that few if any clients have considered this ethical issue. I’m not immune from this either, as I’m using an ABC. However, our ABC is adequate without being luxurious. And I’ve carried every bit of my own gear above BC, so I’m exposing myself to the risks rather than asking somebody else to do so.
This one example is part of the overall perception among clients that Everest=Space Mountain at Disneyland. More on that later.
A traffic jam in the Khumbu Icefall.