Day 4 Lava Camp - Arrow Glacier Camp 4800m

 

I have to be honest here - i don't remember much about walking from Lava Camp here. I do remember that it was a short & we got to camp before lunch. Anna and Barney are not feeling very well. Barney was apparently feeling constantly nauseous. Steve was working on holding back his cold. When didn't stop long at camp and walked on to "acclimatize" I say this because we didn't go very far - probably another hour or so up to about 5000m. If you refer to the 2 pictures above, the route is about straight up the center of the picture. It is also going to be our summit route. I get a bit frustrated here because there seems to be a reluctance on Daniel's part to walk up any further. (read on & this will be clear) I get a bit anxious that tomorrow, we will go from 4800 - almost 6000m. Daniel didn't explain why we could not go any further & i just assume that (1) he didn't think it was necessary (2) he was concerned that we were going to make ourselves tired. We all decided to walk on for about another half an hour & at this point Anna leans over her walking pole and says she doesn't feel well.....the conversation goes like this:

Daniel : "you ok?"

Anna : " i don't feel good"

Me: "you feel sick?"

Daniel: "you have a headache?"

Anna: "my legs ache"

Me, Daniel: "your legs????"

"ahh, lets go"

hahahahaha it did make it all a bit lighter in that moment

We walked for another half an hour and descended back to camp. On the way down, we notice some stick structure. Apparently it marks the grave of a Norwegian climber who had died on the route and had requested to be left there. I've not been able to find any news about him on google. the details of his death is unclear. Daniel explains that he took an overdose of medicine and combined with altitude sickness died.

We get back to camp & wait for lunch. Conversation now is limited to the climb. I can't even begin to explain how cold it is here. The porters let us use one of their tents to have our lunch in. It's a bit of a squeeze but it beats sitting out in the open cold. Even in the sun it feels cold. Very sweetly, they have placed 4 stones in the tent for us to sit on. Lunch is interesting - pancakes and fried cabbage. Barney has a pancake with fried cabbage & sugar........ & enjoys it..... note to self: i promised to make this for him when we get back. He is not feeling good and has thrown up several times from Lava Camp. Anna has also thrown up. Steve..... i have to say..... he amazes me. In Nepal, he was very sick with fever and cold & still made it all the way up to Kala Patar. So i think he is being quietly resilient.  

Anyway, we also notice that some of our porters have no gloves and are using socks to cover their hands. Should have collected some unwanted warm stuff from home. Next time.... 

We also notice that they have a single skin tent - & here I was complaining about our tent - but... hang on..... ok so we didn't pay anything like some of the other clients had paid - something like US$3000-5000 per person. We paid US$1490 and i think for that, they could have provided a better tent. Our tent was drafty & the zips hardly worked so going in & out for a wee was a right pain in the...... This was going to be especially frustrating at this camp. But to be honest, if i had been better equipped myself, it would not have been that big a deal. So anyway, i think they key to sleeping in a single tent is.... numbers! I believe 4 of them slept in this tent.

 <---lunch

After lunch we all went back into our tents to rest. I feel ok today. No more headaches. Phew! The sun is beating down on the tent & it actually warms up in the tent. So much that we actually have to open it! Nice!!! We enjoy this for a bit. 

Yesterday, we also discovered that if you put some carbohydrate powder into the drink, the water taste much better. Everyone prepares water for the summit in this way. The guides take it a bit further and add the Vitamin C tablets we brought along as well. 

Not long after, the sun sets and temperatures dip once again, this time, it feels arctic! The guides and porters were very kind and noticed that it was a bit tight in the lunch tent, so dinner was served in the kitchen tent instead. I am not allowed coffee today, or milk. I think dinner was some fried chicken and pancakes and french toast. I think most of us could have eaten more. It's something like 5pm and we have to try to get some sleep to wake up at 3.30am for a 4am start.

As the sun sets, my struggle starts. I had everything on, including a hot bottle of water in my sleeping bag. I just felt a constant draft on my neck and my face and i could not do anything about it. It could have been in my head. I decided not to take any diamox unless i feel sick. I actually decided to do this at the start of the trek because i wanted to know if my body could do without. I had them in my pocket just in case. I did think that i would take some before we start our summit attempt. So far, i had taken 1/2 on day 2 and 1 1/2 at Lava Camp. 

Steve is also struggling to sleep so that is nice for me. It's not that we are talking much but there's some talking and laughing. Steve had given up going outside for a pee (last night) and has resorted to using my naglene water bottle ;-) That was the laughing. I tried once and i was rubbish at it & it worked out easier for me to just go outside. When i did step out this night, again, i was presented with the most spectacular sight in an almost full moon. It is beautiful. I also take a moment to enjoy this as i know that tomorrow, we start our descend. I don't think i have seen quite so many stars packed into a night sky. 

 <---- kitchen tent. This tent was also single skin and 4 porters slept here too.

 sunset? sunrise?