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[Romke]

Young Sergey, who had not been feeling good since arriving at ABC is going down today to recover at basecamp. Nickolay took him down and was back within a few hours. 'Cherny' is a famous climber and coach in Russia and will kick many young (wo)man's behind at age 66!

Today we need to get more exercise. I had planned to take Lynne and Noel to the start of the fixed ropes and maybe do some exercises with the jumars and crampons. But Lynne tells me she rather does something at the current altitude and I decide to do a little glacier hike instead.

The weather is still great and we walk through a pile of rubbish up the giant Rongbuk glacier. The first section is like a maze but it is easy to find our way and we soon emerge onto a giant ice plateau stretching from the ant-trails up North Col towards Lakpa Ri, a 7000m peak with no climbers at all. Lorenzo has joined us and the four of us are the only people on the several square kilometer wide gently sloping icefield. Even in high season on this crowded mountain it only takes half an hour to be totally peaceful and alone with no other persons in sight, just the giant east face of mighty Everest watching us when we lunch at her feet, sitting on some thin sections of white snow separating the rock-hard and ancient patches of blue ice slowly flowing down the Rongbuk valleys...

Lorenzo takes the long way home and nearly gets in trouble as he did not take enough water with him and it will take him all evening and the night to feel reasonably well again.

The two slovenians Victor and Marco, who are always the fastest of the team go up the fixed ropes with Russian basejumper Sascha to spend the night at the North col, while the rest of the team rather has their headaches at a slightly more comfortable place called ABC..

In the evening Noel discovers a serious problem: his right eye suddenly does not focus anymore and everything seems blurred when looking with it. He has no pain and had been wearing good glacier glasses, so it is clearly no snowblindness. It does not improve during the evening and we go to sleep a little worried.

Due to some technical problems and still difficult communication between the Russian climbers and the rest of the team here is the Song of the day:
Tom Waits - Tom Trauberts Blues
"Everything's broken and no-one speaks English.."

[mike.a]

Hope I can get through to Lorenzo this way.

Lorenzo. I know the side streets and stairways here in Istanbul are exceptionally steep, but aren't you going to extremes to get fit before you come here and attempt our summits? G & J told me you were up there again - isn't Liguria enough?

Hope you are getting enough to eat  :lol)

Paka
Mike

[MournesMan]

Harry

Sounds like a nice gentle trek on the glacier to solitude and silence - that would suit me just fine.  I'm sure you all enjoyed the trek and lunch would have been great in the silence and majesty of Everest.

Lorenzo

I hope you are feeling better by now as it is just gone 28th April as I write.  As the Doc would say, "you must remember to take your medicine" (in your case, plenty of water to avoid dehyration) - gosh, if you become ill, what will we all do on here without your excellent blogs?).  Heard your blog of 25th and was worried that everyone had left you alone at ABC - to get yourself back down to BC.  I think the team should at least ensure that no one has to come down on their own - just in case problems arise.  Maybe I'm mistaken, maybe you had a Russian or sherpa guide back down to BC?  Anyway, take care my friend!!

Noel

Hope the eye is OK - maybe someone can let us know how you are doing!!

Best wishes to everyone,
Colin