The North Col

The view from the North Col at around 23,000 ft



The tents at the North Col are partly shielded by a precarious wall of ice that you can see on the right side of the photo. At its highest point it rises 60-70 feet and the reality of it collapsing is always in the back of your mind while inside your tent.

To reach camp 2 from the North Col, Kyle will follow the snow slope on the left side of the picture. Where that snow slope ends is where camp 2 sits and the terrain becomes very rocky because the high winds at that altitude blow most of the snow off the mountain. Despite the short distance between the two camps, it isn't uncommon for climbers to take 6-7 hours to make it up the snow slope. The snow slope sits on a ridge that is completely exposed and if the wind is blowing theres no shelter from viscous cross-winds. After arriving at Camp 2, there is one more camp, Camp 3 where Kyle will start summit day from.

It sounds like Kyle is feeling good and now that his acclimation is complete he will be at base camp resting until a stable weather window opens up. This can be very frustrating because you can be at base camp for a long time before getting that chance to attempt the summit. Last year I spent almost 2 full weeks waiting for a weather window. When we get news that Kyle is heading for the top I will give a day by day analysis of movement between camps, challenges that each part of the climb presents and what it's like to push your body to the limits at 29,000 ft.