Unlimited Potential, Up to 8000m

This morning, after a very well deserved rest, our Expedition Leader Phil suggested we go into the glacier for some practicing on hand rappelling, a technique that allow climbers to go down the fix ropes quickly without the need for using abseiling devices like the figure of eight. Phil and and Dorje were disappointed yesterday with how we all handle the descent on the lines fixed at the North Col, and so they suggested we invest the morning practicing a few things. All the team members were very happy about the idea of training before our second rotation, which really surprised me, since few of them were making fun of other teams practicing both at BC and ABC. I remember three days back seeing a western team practicing different techniques, while few of my team mates were doing comments about them. Apparently if you have to train on the field you should not be climbing Everest… And here we are, training and having fun the whole of us on the field 🙂 We all in my team have different backgrounds and skills. A couple of my team mates demonstrated excellence moving on the icy boulders of the East Rongbuk Glacier, but the majority of us were not better than the western team practicing the oder day… I haven’t commented on this with anybody, and I guess one day they’ll read this. I personally train every day of the week and I train on the field on every expedition, I’ll keep training for the rest of my life in spite of the comments from other climbers observing me from the comfort of their tents. And I’ll do that because I’ve learnt something in the last two years: The harder I train the luckier I get…

I felt very comfortable with the technique, but I was incredibly extenuated with very little exercise. My lungs were burning like never before, and I’ve had cramping on my calves, for the first time in my life! I could not understand what was going on, it felt like my lungs were failing to function! And after feeling strong burning on my chest I started coughing with non stop. Now I can feel fluids moving from deep on my chest on every cough.

We wrapped up on the glacier and went for lunch. I felt so frustrated that I wanted to cry. I covered my face with sunglasses and a buff in the dining tent and I feel very sad today. I’ve been training so hard for so long. I know my weak points, but one of my strengths was my cardio. With a rest pulse of 48bmp, maximum heart rate of 178, I was so strong back home, and today my lungs do not function properly and I feel like there’s no place for me in this giant peak 😦

We are preparing our second rotation, tagging the North Col again, but next time all the way up to Camp 1 at the top of the Col and back to ABC again. I just hope whatever is wrong with my breathing gets fixed before that. I also want to do some improvements on my gear. I wan’t to go lighter and simpler with my harness and backpack. Once we finish this second rotation we’ll head back to BC for a week of rest. Then I hope my lungs get back to a normal condition…