Acclimatized and Ready

Julio is at ABC after spending the night at the North Col. They all slept in one tent because that was all they had. Julio and Lhakpa Gelu walked to Camp 2- not to stay, but to check out the route. At Camp 2 they already have the supplies needed for the summit bid. They feel they are acclimatized and ready to ascend when the weather allows and the ropes are fixed.

One interesting note about weather predictions is all the politics and deception that goes on on the mountain. Only a few teams are privy to reliable weather forecasts, and they have to pay for such information. Other teams rely on friends and/or word-of-mouth to plan for the summit day. According to Julio, some teams lie about the weather in order to send teams up the mountain and force them to give up their attempts when confronted with bad weather. This tactic accomplishes one important thing- which is to get rid of crowding and queues while going up or coming down on summit day. In my opinion, it could also cause some people to brazen out weather conditions that could harm them. That said, I rely on Bill Burke from 8 Summits to have an idea when the guys will be able to resume their journey. He paints a vivid picture of what climbers are dealing with when it comes to weather and other conditions. You may listen to him at Eight Summits.

Julio has lost a lot of weight. He is hoping he will be strong enough on summit day. For now he is looking forward to suitable weather conditions sometime after his birthday on Sunday.