2013 Everest. RSS 2.0 feed.
The time has gone and everything is coming to an end. We have done our job, and have had some setbacks, but the die is cast. We have studied the weather with great attention and have decided on the date for the final battle. The 22nd of May. With any luck, that early morning we will come face to face with Everest’s upper slopes, the peak of Mount Everest. Our breathing will be agonising, we will move slowly and it will be incredibly cold. Our objective will seem unobtainable but, we won’t give up on reaching the highest point. Step by step, we will fight to win this unique battle, and if all goes well and our bodies can stand it, we will reach the peak of Mount Everest.
Our job will begin much sooner. We will leave for Camp 2 early in the morning on the 19th. We will confront the crevices and steps that are waiting for us with their hidden traps once again. On the 20th, we will climb Lhotse’s frozen wall in order to reach our site at Camp 3. From there, on the following day, the 21st, we will enter what is called the “death zone”. There, the yellow bands, a very inclined rocky wall, and the long road to the southern mountain pass at 8,000 m, where we will set up our last camp, Camp 4, await us. We will spend the night at this place where life seems to leave you breath by breath, and at 2 o’clock in the morning, on the 22nd, we will begin our climb towards the sky.
In a few days everything will be said and done. My only hope is that we will all be healthy, with minor injuries, and most importantly, that all our dreams will have come true and we will be able to share them with all of you upon our return.
Carlos Pauner