Feeling quite positive today. Everyone looking forward to 1st May and the psychological impact that will have. My plan is as follows;
BC till Monday
Drop down to Dingboche on Monday and stay 3 nights in a lodge.
Thursday back up to Deboche
Friday 6th back at BC.
BC to summit needs 5 days so Naga will call us back early if 10th is a likely date.
If the weather is not ready we will wait at BC or in my case maybe ABC for weather window.
I think time will pass faster and eventually at lightning speed as we approach our summit bid.
Originally I was not convinced about the benefit of going down but now I'm more sure. It will allow me to exercise fairly hard in an environment which will support body building not decline, it will pass time for sure and it will allow the repair of all of those minor ailments like the Khumbu Cough, split fingers ends and chapped lips which simply don't heal at BC altitude.
Also our Liaison officer has turned up!! This is like having a spy in the camp and we are having to be very careful with the use of the phone.
Dirk kindly left me his radio so I can just about get BBC world service on SW. See we are having a General Election next week!
Last night we had chicken, unbelievable it was a real one because I recognised the leg bit. Amazing how quickly things that you take for granted have new values in this environment! Hopefully I will be able to get some better and more interesting food in Dingboche. Food at ABC was not too bad given the circumstances so maybe things will improve overall and I will start to look forward to meal times!!
Pic is of me just about to decend first ladder at top of Ice Fall. l'm not a nervous person but this is outrageous and it's not a matter of will this collapse but when!!!

Finally back at BC. The trip to C3 really takes it out of you!!
Decided on a steady trip down looking for photo opportunities but weather had other ideas and it dumped a good 6 inches of snow. Added to that my camelbak burst in the rucksack and soaked everything. Still now in dry clothes and tucked up in my sleeping bag!
Met about 4 guided groups on the way down! they look sad!! Not even if I had the money would I do it that way!!
Formal training and acclimatisation is now over but I'm mentally prepared to repeat last trip if I really have to. We are looking at the first reasonable weather window after 10th May which may work out as there is a Singapore team itching at the bit who are planning for an earlier date. That would suit us perfectly. I now need to focus on building up my strength by dropping down to Dingotche 4350m. I do feel quite strong so not a big issue I hope!
Hope I can shake off the Khumbu cough, very irritating but only triggers when I talk so easy solution really.
Picture is taken on decent side of Lhotse face.

Still in shock from Dirk's decision to leave. He left yesterday for Namche and today Lukla. It's tough to make these decisions but once your confidence goes its really hard to come back. God speed Dirk, hope we can meet soon! Last night at C3 was not too bad. No headaches but fierce wind and intense cold. Shared with Luda but it wasn't too bad she is a very competent mountaineer. This morning everything was wet from the snow and ice that had formed on the inside of the tent. The Lhotse face has come as a bit of a shock to me although after last snow it was definitely easier coming down today. A number of Sherpa teams have combined to fix a second rope up to the South Col which will help a lot. Whatever the Lhotse face it is no place to hang around. The rest of the team bar Luda have gone down to BC. Luda is exhausted so I'm not sure what she will do! I plan to stay another night at ABC but on Oxygen to try it out for real but at only 1tr a min. If the test goes well I'll definitely be using it from C3 on the summit attempt!

Feeling pretty down!! Spoke to Dirk and he's had enough! All sorts of mixed emotions from me, some selfish, some wishing I'd seen the signs earlier. I should be elated I'm at C3, got here exhausted in 5 hours, but I'm not! I'm going to really miss Dirk's down to earth attitude and humour. Weather here is mixed with occasional snow showers. We have three tents literally hewn out from the Lhotse face. The climb up to here was much harder than I expected and frankly much more exposed and technical than I had thought. Its basically blue ice all the way. Very difficult to get an ice axe in, as it just splinters and because we are one of the first groups up here, no obvious foot holds. Therefore much of the climb was on front points which is Very tiring. I expect it will improve over time!
According to the GPS we are at 7230m a new record for me. Only Serge, me and Godmilla are sleeping here. Klaus and Manuel have opted to go back to C2. Staying over at C3 is only recommended once, prior to the summit attempt.

Please note due to battery power I will not be picking up emails until I'm back in BC on the 28th.

Day started out as expected. 5.30 call for breakfast. Left BC at exactly 6.30, last as usual. Felt very strong and positive. I soon caught up with the rest and continued past. This issue is not fast or slow, its about efficiency, controlled breathing and not stopping! 5.45 hours later I was in C2 feeling tired but not excessively so!! I can see C3 high up on the Lhotse face, tomorrow's milestone and a major one in terms of licking this hill!! If I can get to C3 in reasonable shape and spend the night there without problems it will bode very well for the summit attemp,t as on that occasion I will be going onto Oxygen at this point. In general terms this will effectively lower the altitude by 1500m.
However, I have a more immediate worry as there is no sign of Dirk or Godmilla and it's now 2.5 hours since I arrived!!. I'm now fed and watered and feeling pretty normal so I really hope there is nothing seriously wrong. The sun was particularly hot in the Cym so it may be that they simply took shelter!!
Turns out Dirk has got sickness and diarrhoea and has returned to BC where we have confirmation he is ok. Godmilla says it's classic AMS but Klaus is not convinced. We will know more once we have spoken with him. Fingers crossed it's not dented his confidence too much!!
As for me I think I will stick to plan a and try to go to C3 tomorrow and sleep over if ok. Pictures of the camp perched on the Lhotse wall are breathtaking!!!!

Tomorrow we will set of early for C2 with a plan to move directly upto C3 on Tuesday. I think we are a week early and may have to repeat this before we get a crack at the summit but I think it can only help acclimatisation overall. This will be difficult and I'm expecting a very very rough night at C3.
The last 24 hours has had its moments. We visited the Alpine Accents Camp. They pay $65000 for each place but they get luxury. Double skin dining tent, carpeted floor, easy chairs and good food. Not sure how strong they will be though despite their 5 US guides and 30 Sherpa's.
We met with Naga last night and had a big argument over our Oxygen. He wants us to use Poisk. He finally backed down and our Summit Oxygen is now on its way to C2.
I bought some trekking boots in Kathmandu, I knew they were good because they were 'Kashimir' made by 'England' Anyway comfortable as they have been, the front part of the toe has become detached from the leather upper. Today I spotted a little old man from Ankh Morpork I think (sorry for those of you who don't read Terry Pratchett) who has two jobs. One job is to carry the Poo barrels back down the valley to keep basecamp clean. 80 Rupees a kilo if you're interested. His other job is mending boots. For 200 Rupees he expertly stitched each boot and polished them ready for a party. Fantastic craftsmanship and such a diverse profession!!!
General team mood is tense but ok. Food is getting on everyone's nerves but the boredom of BC is the worst!!
There may not be any updates for a few days depending on access to a phone!

I have a plan that we might use which would give us a summit day of around the 9 or10th May. Rumour is that there may be a short weather window around the 5th but this is unsubstantiated. So we will have to play our hand soon. Weather permitting we will make the hard slog back to C2 on Monday