Trekking Distance: 6km
Trekking Time: 12hrs 45mins
Timing:
0215hrs - Left Island Peak Base Camp (4970m)
0415hrs - Arrived close to High Camp (5600m)
0630hrs - Arrived at Crampon-Point
0700hrs - Left Crampon-Point
0900hrs - Started climbing the ice-wall
1030hrs - Lester arrived on Island Peak summit (6189m)
1038hrs - Yew Hoong arrived on Island Peak summit
1054hrs - Kin Peng arrived on Island Peak summit
1100hrs - Yew Choon arrived on Island Peak summit
1130hrs - Left summit
1400hrs - Arrive at Crampon-point
1600hrs - Arrive at Island Peak Base Camp
We tried very hard to sleep at such high altitude. It wasn't easy because breathing was difficult given the low oxygen rate of about 53% at 5000m. Also, our hearts were pumping faster to get more oxygen around our bodies. I woke several times and so did Yew Choon. The worst hit was Agnes who did not sleep at all (maybe just for a very short moment in between).
We woke at around 1.00am and at about 1.15am hot tea was served into our tents followed by oatmeal breakfast. Yew Choon had 2 servings while I tried hard to gobble down one bowl. I had prepared an oreo-flavoured PowerBar (energy bar) as part of my breakfast, only to find that it had hardened from the cold.
After we asked for "tatopani", which was hot water in Nepali, we geared up for the climb. The temperature was low but still bearable for the moment.
At 2.15am, ND signaled for the start of the climb. Sonam was coming along with us to help carry all our plastic boots (we were sooo glad we did not have to carry them on our own otherwise our speed would have dropped drastically).
From base camp to the summit, the ascent is approximately 1200m. That was way beyond the recommended increase in altitude, making us very susceptible to AMS. We did not have a choice. With our headlamps pointing on the ground, we "blindly" followed the person in front, struggling to put our feet ahead of the other while regulating our breathing. We were climbing on loose gravel and sand making it slippery and dangerous. Any carelessness would send us sliding down. There were trails of lights above us and we knew that there were people ahead of us. We weren't thinking of chasing up with them.
Agnes was trailing behind very badly and at some point we had to wait for more than 15-20mins for her to catch up. That was a long waiting time especially when it was cold. Kin Peng had wanted to continue to climb alone to keep warm. But the terrain was steep and the trail was confusing so ND did not let Kin Peng go unsupervised. While waiting, she started shivering and Sonam came along to help rubbed her hands and hugged her to keep her warm till Agnes arrived. Kamel, the Israeli climber offered a heatpad that Kin Peng willingly accepted. I was also feeling very cold and could not feel my numbed toes. Afraid that I would have frostbite, I added on another pair of merino wool socks but it did not help much. There was nothing else I could do.
When we were near the High Camp, Yew Hoong and ND had a small chat. They wanted to ask Agnes to turn around and head back to Base Camp. Based on their assessment, Agnes was far too slow and would not have made it to the summit. Waiting for her would only slow the team down and jeopardize everybody's chances. Yew Hoong made the call.
From how I looked at it, ND and PK had to be with the main team because they were each going to lead a sub-group on the ice after the crampon-point. Hence, they could not accompany Agnes on the slow climb. Sonam, on the other hand, was our porter carrying our plastic boots and crampons. So there was also no way he could be lagging behind. The only one left was the yak-man. But I guess ND wasn't confident with his experience on the trail to the crampon-point and so did not suggest that he continue to climb slowly with Agnes.
So in the end, Agnes quietly accepted the order. All I heard was "Orh okay...ni men jia you!" (loosely translated as "keep it up!"). It was sad that Agnes could not be with us to the summit. After asking her to take care on the way down, we re-focused and continued our way up the steep mountain hoping to reach crampon-point by first-light.
According to Agnes, she knew her chances of reaching the summit was slim right from the moment she stepped out of her tent in the morning. She did not have the much needed rest the night before. While she was feeling well without any signs or symptoms of AMS, she just couldn't get her feet to move fast enough. I knew she was disappointed but the mountain will always be there. There will be future opportunities. Of all people, me and Yew Hoong knew that best. In 2005, we trekked up BP Peak too slowly and ran into the turn-around time. We did not summit then.
Just above the High Camp area the terrain changed, becoming very rocky and steep to a point our walking sticks weren't very useful. Then, the terrain changed again and we found ourselves trod perilously on the edge of gentle up slopes that had sandy slippery trails.
Morning view
By 6.30am, we arrived at the crampon-point. In front of us was a German team who already had their crampons on and taking their first bite into the ice and snow. We strapped on our harness, checked our carabiners and jumars, wore our plastic boots, gaiters, and finally our crampons. Once we were ready, we picked up our ice-axe and we ready for some action.
ND was the leading climber for my team, followed by Kamel the Israeli climber, Yew Hoong and lastly myself. PK led Kin Peng and Yew Choon. Once roped on to each other, we headed into the ice. It was tough walking when roped on together because we sort of had different pace. Kamel was super fast while me and Yew Hoong were slower. ND and Kamel had to compromise to our speed.
After a walking on ice for while, we arrived at the 2 infamous crevasses (about 1.2m wide each) that we had heard much about when we were at Namche Bazar. A Taiwanese climber told us that his team failed to make it to the summit as they could not cross the crevasses. However, it wasn't clear if they had attempted Island Peak from the same side as us. According to ND, there weren't much snow last year and hence the crevasses opened this season - something uncommon.
Yew Hoong preparing to jump the crevasse ... Yew Choon touching down on the first jump
At sea level, leaping across 1.2m would have been effortless. But strapped with our heavy equipment and boots, we wondered if we would end up jumping into the crevasse instead of across it. ND leaped twice and crossed the 2 crevasses easily. He secured himself to the anchor and signaled for Kamel to jump. Once over, Kamel was also anchored on and then Yew Hoong was made to leap. In perfect hand-axe position, Yew Hoong made the first leap. Then a big shock came along. His ice-axe slipped out of his hand and dropped into the 2nd crevasse. I screamed angrily at him asking why he did not secure it to his hand. He said he did not it wasn't tight enough. He thought his summit attempt ended when ND gave indications that there wasn't any spare ice-axe. A climber without an ice-axe is as good as a handicap (in some cases as good as dead).
After I leaped over, ND went into some discussions with the German's team climbing sherpa. One of the German's team sherpa was heading down to recover 2 sets of fixed ropes that they had accidentally dropped into the crevasse. ND asked him to help retrieve Yew Hoong's ice-axe. For 45mins, we waited for the sherpa to descend down and back up. Meanwhile, Kin Peng and Yew Choon cleared the crevasses and proceeded on.
After the crevasses, we continued trekking on the glacier. At some point, Yew Hoong was calling for ND to slow down. But it wasn't clear why ND continued to move on each time Yew Hoong called for a stop. Since we were roped on, Yew Hoong had to drag his feet along. We finally reached a flat area that led up to the infamous ice-wall of Island Peak. The ice-wall is the most difficult part of the climb up Island Peak. It stood approximately 100m high with some parts close to 75 degrees steep.
Our team approaching to the 100m ice-wall
Yew Hoong was visibly exhausted from the climb and decided to leave his bag, helmet and ice-axe just before the ice-wall. We continued on towards the ice-wall and roped off shortly. By then, Kin Peng and Yew Choon had reached the ice-wall and had also left their belongings there.
In the order - me, Yew Hoong, Kin Peng and Yew Choon - we jumared our way up on the fixed rope. It was a @#$%^* long way up and we were tired. Yew Hoong was screaming irritatingly, "Who is the one who asked me to climb this mountain one!!!...All Lester's fault!!". I felt like removing my crampons and dropping it on him! He was the one who got us into climbing..not the other way round! After a while, I reckoned that he was trying to distract himself from the exhaustion and so I mentally blocked out his screams.
The heat from the sun was getting into us. We kept our sunglasses on to prevent snow blindness. Every now and then, I had to rub some ice on my neck to keep myself cool.
Reaching the top of the ice wall. The little dots at the top right region are people below the ice wall.
After 45mins of climbing the ice-wall, I finally saw PK smiling broadly at me. At the top of the ice wall, I took some photos and proceeded on to the next anchor point. All these while, we had our safety line on the fixed rope in case we get blown off the mountain. Yew Hoong wasn't far behind me and so I decided to eat one sneaker bar and swallowed down one pack of PowerGel to give myself the last boost of energy needed to climb up the last slope. When Yew Hoong came along, I threw him a pack of PowerGel and headed up the final slope.
Yew Hoong happily receive the PowerGel from me
I asked PK if jumaring was required. He said that it was not necessary and a safety line was sufficient. I looked at the slope again and concluded that I was not PK and jumaring up was the safer way. Once up the slope, I had to traverse on the edge of the snowy slope towards the summit. I have seen this view in photos many times and if there was anything that scared me, this was it. Thankfully I had my ice-axe with me and I slowly progressed on a very narrow ice path leading to the summit.
I was finally standing on Island Peak! 6189m high. ND had caught up with me to set up more anchor points in anticipation of the large crowd ascending. Yew Hoong followed closely behind and summitted at 10.38am. After admiring the view, Yew Hoong happily told me that Kin Peng was coming up soon. She stepped on the summit at 10.54am. The more pleasant surprise came when Yew Choon's head popped up above the summit snow-cap at 11.00am. Everyone made it!!!!
Summit photo
Now that we were on the summit, we were only half-way. The other half was to make sure that we survived the journey back down to Base Camp. Climbing up was tough, climbing down was equally tough! Each step down the summit slope was treated with much care. Any mistake will send us sliding all the way down.
Steep descend on a narrow path. Thankfully there weren't any strong wind
After the long abseil down the ice-wall, we slowly headed towards the crevasses and routinely leaped over them. The snow was already becoming soft and new small crevasses were starting to show signs of opening after being exposed to the morning and afternoon sun. Luckily, the ice was still decently hard enough for us to trek out.
At the crampon-point, Sonam was there to greet us. A familiar face. We swapped back into our tracking boots and headed down to Base Camp. Once out of the ice area, Yew Hoong started regaining his energy and was "flying" down the mountain at great speed. On the other hand, I ran out of steam, no longer feeling any adrenaline racing through me. I proceeded down very slowly and carefully, making sure I did not slip down the sandy path.
Finally, after over 12 hrs of trekking and climbing, we reached safely into the arms of Base Camp with Agnes there to hug and welcome us with our PowerBar Recovery Drink. We decided not to head back to Chhukhung given that everyone had tired out and stayed one more night at Base Camp. That night was particularly cold. My bag, which was inside the tent (touching the side of the tent) had frost over it the next morning.
Index Page / Day 14: Island Peak Base Camp to Chhukhung to Pangboche
At the crampon-point, Sonam was there to greet us. A familiar face. We swapped back into our tracking boots and headed down to Base Camp. Once out of the ice area, Yew Hoong started regaining his energy and was "flying" down the mountain at great speed. On the other hand, I ran out of steam, no longer feeling any adrenaline racing through me. I proceeded down very slowly and carefully, making sure I did not slip down the sandy path.
Finally, after over 12 hrs of trekking and climbing, we reached safely into the arms of Base Camp with Agnes there to hug and welcome us with our PowerBar Recovery Drink. We decided not to head back to Chhukhung given that everyone had tired out and stayed one more night at Base Camp. That night was particularly cold. My bag, which was inside the tent (touching the side of the tent) had frost over it the next morning.
Index Page / Day 14: Island Peak Base Camp to Chhukhung to Pangboche
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