Camp II

Just below the Lhotse face on a tortured jumbled moraine, at around 21,500 feet, sits a collection of tents that climbers in the Western Cwm refer to as Camp II.  To get there you march up the valley of silence 2000 feet from Camp I, crossing several crevasses bridged by narrow aluminum ladders. If you do not leave early in the morning by 9:00 am you are marching through a reflector oven of high altitude rays.  To combat the sun we slathered on SPF 110, but my nose still burnt.   Our team is on the front end of the climb so we had the Western Cwm to ourselves.  The entire morning we saw no Western Climbers and only two groups of Sherpa’s coming down after carrying to Camp II. We were carrying as well.  My 50 liter pack has never been so abused.  The...