Jacob checked in from Everest Base Camp, as the members of the Mountain Trip/Mountain Madness 2017 Everest Expedition tucked into a huge meal prepared by our amazing Base Camp chef, Sarki.

As they descended the Khumbu Icefall, it was very apparent that the Icefall is ever-changing.  There were a few gaps that had not been there a few days ago, requiring each climber to take a literal “leap of faith” to cross (roped of course!).  There is a new ladder bridge across a crevasse that consists of five ladders strapped together to span the gap.  Exciting!!!

The team will descend down to Dingboche, a village situated at about 14,000′ (4270 m) for four nights, enabling everyone to rest in the relatively thick air and build up some reserves that had been depleted during their stay up high.  They will stage their ascent back to Base Camp with another night at the village of Lobuche at 16,200′ 4937 m) before returning to Base Camp to prepare for their summit bid.

Sherpa climbers and guides will start fixing lines on sections of the route up to the summit next week, and to help in that effort, a number of our Sherpa team will head up to Camp 3 and then to Camp 4 this weekend.