Altitude: from 4900 to 5200

This section is difficult. Ridge is not wide, crampons hit some uncovered rocks and become slippery, some sections have fixed ropes that are hard to clip into with very heavy packs, altitude is rising. All 3 of us are now quiet and fully focused no joking now, it’s a 2-3 hours ridge crossing to camp 4 and even if beautiful, we all measure the stakes of this crossing, 1 of us falls and we could all be in for a very bad moment.

Kai leads the way, i close it. It is tough to close the way as all obstacles seem to take forever to cross. Kai has to reach the obstacle, then Pat, then Xav, then only I get to cross that obstacle but by then, they are 30-40 meters ahead due to the distance of the rope, it’s harder for them to hear me and I might need to speed up the obstacle crossing if they are now in a flatter section. We don’t always see each other on the ridge as there are tall rocks (the Washburn thumb for example that we have to climb around).

It’s beautiful but I dare not look around, the idea of a fall down a cliff send shivers through my spine.

(Photo: view from Camp 4)

It’s 530pm and we arrive at camp 4 after. a very nice flat stretch of flat & hard snow. By now, I am exhausted, I am barely able to know where I am, I walk simply following the rope, my toes are frozen, I am a bit concerned as I had frostbite in Nepal in November 2015 and I am therefore more prone to getting cold again.

As soon as we drop the packs we need to put on layers, drink, eat and care for ourselves. For now the sun is shining but it still -30 outside and will be -40 soon as the sun goes down. It’s going to be a race against time to get the camp ready.

(Photo: Xavier, Pat and I, just after arriving at Camp 4)

(Photo: Its cold, everything freezes instantly)

Patch and his rope team arrive about 10-20 minutes after us. All seem exhausted as well.

(Photo: second team arriving at Camp 4)

But before anything, I wish to take a minute to share my feelings with Xav and Pat. We gather and I offer a word of recommendation to the 3 of us:

“Guys, we had a tough day, we are all exhausted, we made it to camp 4 and can be proud of ourselves, this place is beautiful and extreme altitude and we are giving ourselves a shot at the summit. But for now, I want to share that I am exhausted, my toes are numb from the cold and I gave every ounce of energy I had left and I am quite sure you guys did as well. So I want to reach out to you guys and caution each of us against expressing our feelings or ideas on how to set up camp. I know I might not have the patience to take any remarks, so I want to caution all 3 of us against tension; let’s be mindful and considerate and not overthink things. Let’s keep focused, let’s move efficiently to setup camp quickly, we are exhausted and need to rest soon to recover from today’s feat.”

Both Pat and Xavier fully agree. We get started, the group comes first after we have tended to our basic care. We need to build snow walls with snow blocks to protect tents from the winds, then setup tents, then stoves and water need to get going quickly so we can eat and re-hydrate, the key to recovery in high mountain terrain.

I get in the tent a little before Pat and Xav to care for my numb and frozen toes. Kai asks how I am doing Anne provides advice on how to warn them again.

(Photo: time to build the walls to protect the tents against wind and extreme Arctic cold)

The night will be brutal, we setup the inside of the tent with mattresses and sleeping bags. It’s miserable here, we force down some food and water, we look at each other with compassion. Pat is dead, Xav still has some energy and amazes both of us, he finishes the camp, vestibule of the tent and the final touches to guarantee a good night & finally comes in for a well deserved rest. We crawl in our bags, only way to warm up. The hot water thermos moves from tent to tent for our dehydrated food bags.

It’s around 10pm now. Kai tells us we will not move until the sun hits no matter what the plan is, up for the push or down for folding back, as it would be too cold and risky.

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