"The Balcony"

On his way back to Base Camp, Chip pauses on "the Balcony" — a small platform at 27,600 feet. The peaks of the Himalayan mountains can be seen in the background. Because the air at this altitude is very thin, he breathes from his oxygen tank. It is a calm and sunny day and he has unzipped his down suit. Following his successful summit, Chip begins his descent and his journey home. (Learn more)

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For many climbers, the descent is just as difficult as the ascent. In fact, the highest number of deaths on Mount Everest have occurred on the way down. On their descent, Chip’s team was followed down the Lhotse Face by a snow storm, forcing them to rappel most of the way down the face.

From Chip’s journal:

The way down was long or it seemed so. First we had to go pass the crowd which was slowly moving up the hill. Second… it was just long! We crawled back to our tents at 8:45am to warm up and rest for a few hours. At 1:30pm we packed all our gear and headed for Camp II. We just wanted to sleep well. A snow storm covered the spur and the band and accompanied us along the way. We made a brief stop in Camp III for some hot tea and to collect some equipment we left there. The snow storm and loaded packs made the Lhotse Face more challenging. We had to rappel most of our way down. This was the safest way but it came at a price — getting cold while waiting at anchor points for the person ahead to get down.

The hot soup in Camp II was so appealing. After a quick dinner, we crawled into the tent and Vance said, “I need to get warm!” He changes some clothes, gets in the sleeping bag and he is out, fast asleep with his head-lamp still on his head and still turned on. It must have been some sort of speed record! I don’t think it took me that much longer because I woke up with my head-lamp on, too.

We woke up late. The snow storm stayed with us through our twelfth trip to the ever-changing Icefalls. As we unclipped the last rope, a huge collapse boomed in the falls. It was as if the mountain was not too happy we were leaving. Sagarmatha was very kind and good to us! In the Base Camp we finally felt we had completed our goal. Tonight we are packing, tomorrow we are heading HOME! I cannot wait to see you team when I get to Raleigh… cannot wait to THANK YOU for all your support, for believing WE can do this! Til then, Namaste Martin!

Learn more about Himalaya Mountains, Mount Everest, and oxygen.

Definitions

rappel v.
To descend a steep surface, such as a cliff, using a double rope secured above and placed around the body.

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