Just to give you an idea of what it takes to stay warm in some of the coldest temperatures on Earth, here are some pictures of some very important pieces of equipment I'll be using. My sleeping bag is absolutely enormous and is rated to -40 degrees. As long as I'm in there I won't need to worry about how cold it is. With such a warm bag comes the downside of its weight at around 5lbs but I'll gladly carry that 5lbs knowing that it means I'll be warm every night.
(All the pictures on this blog enlarge if you click on them)
One of my biggest supporters, my Uncle Tom and I. This suit is filled to the seams with down feathers and it's what I'll be wearing on my summit day. For the lower parts of the mountain it will be overkill and too warm, but above 8000 meters it is a necessity. My boots are super insulated and I can't imagine how cold it would have to be for my feet to get cold inside those boots. There is an inner boot that fits inside the outer boot and an integrated gaiter to keep snow and ice from getting inside the boot. My ice axe is my life line in the case of a fall. Using a technique called "self arrest", a climber who has fallen and is sliding down a snowy or icy slope can use the ice axe to stop or at least slow their fall.
Keeping Contact:
I will be able to update my blog while I am at basecamp. I will try to post at least 2 messages per week about my experiences and life on the mountain. I encourage anyone who has any questions to post them as comments under my latest blog posts. I personally will not be able to answer them due to the high cost of using the internet but my friend and Everest veteran Walid Abuhaidar will be checking the blog and answering any questions that are asked. He has climbed the same route I am attempting and has a ton of mountaineering experience. Ex. How cold is it at High Camp?, Where is the North Col?, What are some tricks used to stay warm? Whatever you can think of.
Please check out this link for the story of Walid's climb-
Here is Walid (right) and his climbing partner Conan Harrod at the North Col on Everest in 2003.
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