The winds we were expecting did indeed hit the mountain. Thankfully we keep full time staff at Camp 2 to keep an eye on things and make sure tents are collapsed when high wind moves in. All our tents are fine but word has it that some other teams tents didn't fair that well.
The wind has completely backed off for now. We will take one more rest day giving the Sherpas more time to work on fixing the ropes up the Lhotse face. We worked on beacon practice today and will start our Camp 3 climb the day after tomorrow. We also have a bit of wind in the reports that we will monitor. Everything looks normal for weather patterns, nothing exceptional or different from what we've worked with in the past.
Serious climbing will begin here. The adjacent photo shows the route taken above Camp 2 up the Lhoste face to Camp 3. This is when we will take extreme caution in avalanche evaluation. If ice forms on the face and it snows on top of that, it will be too dangerous to climb until the new snow bonds to the ice or sheds off. Temperature and wind will be the factors in making the magic mix for safe travel. If it's not safe, we'll hold tight till it is.
Marty took a walk around the base area today and said he could hear coughing coming from all over the base camp areas tents. So far so good here with Peak Freaks, fingers are crossed that we can all remain healthy... Over and out.. Tim
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