Down here in Dewoche weather is low cloud, misty and drab. Getting two forecasts now from Explorersweb. One European, the other from Seattle. Both forecasts show low pressure areas passing over Mt Everest during this week and into weekend. Heavy snows low and mid mountain during this time. Around the 9th a high pressure system associated with a southern jet stream settles on the ME area and the snows will cease, unfortunately the winds pick up significantly making an early summit attempt unlikely.
All this is probably very normal but gets on your nerves.
Once the weather window looks possible I expect all hell to break out with a mad dash for the summit!!
So for the time being it's eat like a pig and sleep like a dog! Above all try and ignore the many frustrations that can build a negative outlook. This I think is a time to steady the nerves and stay focused.
I did meet a very nice British group with Jagged Globe yesterday on their way to basecamp. Its was great to have some normal conversation with like minded people. They invited me to dinner but unfortunately I had already ordered at my lodge. I will maybe see them again on the trail or at BC.

First wash with water for 5 weeks. Hot shower with soap and shampoo, luxury beyond words. Until now personal hygiene has been courtesy of baby wipes and alcohol based hand wash. How good it feels to be clean!! Also new found experiences such as been able to get dressed standing up and really warm from wood burning stove. Arrived late afternoon after an 8 hour walk down the mountain. In early updates I said I was going down to Dingboche but in fact I am even lower at a lovely lodge at Dewoche just below the Monastery at Tenboche. a few days ago I was not sure of the benefits of dropping back down the valley but today after 12 hours solid sleep and the site of greenery flowers and wild horses I'm convinced!
Also there has been a spate of accidents in the ice fall, the latest being a 40 year old American from the International Mountain Guide group who died following a broken leg. Having climbed and descended the icefall half a dozen times it's easy to get over confident! a fatal mistake I do not intend to let happen. Next time I cross it, it will be for real. Apart from the veggie menu, food here is great! appetising and fulfilling! Eating from a table in a warm environment without the rush to get it down before it goes cold is a real pleasure. There is a bakery at Tenboche so I plan to wander up there for lunch.
Following my shower I realised I have lost weight and muscle loss, but I feel very strong and can climb like a mountain goat so I'm not too worried. Also the few days down here is bound to build up my strength even further.
All in all I'm very positive despite the poor weather conditions higher up. I feel that once these lows pass over Nepal/Tibet we will get the weather we are looking for!

I was hoping the 1st May would bring a new optimism, but not so far.
I desperately miss sensible conversation at less than 100 dB which is the only volume Russians can communicate!!!
Tomorrow I will be heading down the valley on my own as more Russians have turned up at BC and there will be some sort of reunion. I'm happy about this and the solitude is not an issue. I may even find some British trekkers to talk with.
I will be back in BC for Friday 6th which be the earliest trigger date for an ascent between the 10th and 15th which we are hoping for.
This will be my first and last attempt at Everest, the preparation is more than I could bear again!!!
Despite all this my resolve and determination is high, I'm not going through this for nothing!!!!
Weather is warmer but wetter and it snowed all night preventing Klaus and Manuel from going back up to C3 to finish their acclimatisation. I have an additional 2 nights at ABC and 1 at C3 above them.
Not a lot more to say today, time ticks by slowly but surely and I know my time will come soon enough!!!
Whilst on my last visit to C2 I had a full dress rehearsal for the summit attempt. I can't overstate how important this is. Getting your clothes harness, rucksack, oxygen and hydration systems to work effectively with big mitts and headgear is no mean feat. Picture is of me in final garb!!!

A sort of depressive gloom has descended over BC. This is in part due to the Scottish weather, wet snow and generally sneaky cold, punctuated with loud avalanches. Higher up at C2 and 3 it has also been windy, forcing climbers back down to BC. In addition one Canadian has died of what sounded like Acute Mountain Sickness and another Sherpa had to be escorted off the Khumbu. As a result there are increasing numbers of climbers throwing in the towel.
The forecast is not good for a week so looks like I'll just have to get used to it. I'm sure spirits will pick up again when we start to see the beginning of a weather window.
On reflection I think climbing Everest is not so different from what it was like when Sir Edmund Hillary climbed it with Sherpa Norgay Tensing. On the one hand it's a massive personal effort, but frankly it would be impossible without the army of porters supplying food via Yak from the valley and the phenomenal climbing Sherpa who should be classed amongst the worlds best athletes. Working as part of their individual teams and then co-operatively across the different teams they slowly but deliberately fix ropes and ladders up this complex and very dangerous mountain. No less than 62 ladders have been fixed this year, all transported from Gorak Shep. The Khumbu is maintained on a daily basis by the government SPC and there is an $800 fee payable by each client to cover the cost. Above that it's a negotiation between individual teams. It's a master piece of organisation and co-operation driven by a common goal.
In a recent dispatch I mentioned I had trouble with my Camelbak. The fine folks at Camelbak have offered to send to BC their latest high mountain product for me to try out. That's customer service for you!!! Thanks guys!!
Today's pic is one I took looking down Lhotse face, just below C3