As reported before, Edita and her team were planning to reach the North Col on Thursday and then head back to the Advanced Base Camp as part of their acclimatization programme. Sherpas accompanying the expedition had hiked up 60 oxygen tanks the day before.
The climbers, however, could not achieve their goal last week. According to Edita, as they left the camp for the North Col, strong winds and extreme cold made the climbing very dangerous. It was soon decided to head back to the Advanced Base Camp.
"Most of the team members made the wise decision to descend just 100-meters below the Col to avoid any cold injuries," team leader Phil Crampton posted later.
He also informs that, despite bad weather, the team's Tibetan guides have already fixed ropes needed to reach the high camp at 8,300 metres.
"Our Sherpas have over 100 bottles of oxygen already at the North Col so after a few days rest they will start to ferry the necessary oxygen to camp two and three respectively," Crampton informs.
He adds that the Sherpas are well-cared for, too: "We are very pleased to state the fact that all of our Sherpas use oxygen for load carrying above 7,000-meters and we think we are one of the few companies that give their Sherpa staff members the same amount of oxygen as the western team members."
Back in the Advanced Base Camp, the climbers closely followed weather forecast, planning to have a second try to reach the North Col once the weather improved. The wind, however, did not abate, so the team decided to descend to the Base Camp. It is still unclear weather the mountaineers will venture up again.
There was one piece of good news on Sunday, though. Edita got over her cold.
Wind often greets Everest climbers
Edita Nichols has already climbed two 8,000-metre plus summits and is now reaching for the 8,848-metre Everest peak with a ten-member international team. It includes two more female climbers.
Edita is trying to climb Mount Everest on the northern slope from the Tibetan side. It is more complicated and therefore "less crowded", according to Edita.
Experienced mountaineer Alan Arnette, who closely watches the situation on Everest, informs that teams climbing on the southern slope are successfully moving forward with acclimatization. Some have already reached camp two and may soon depart towards camp three.
"The North, year after year, hits climbers almost continuously with strong winds," Arnette notes on his blog.
