Sept 17th - trying out the skis

17 Sept - It is amazing, the number of times you can pack and repack and still not know where everything is. I spent a good couple of hours this morning just trying to figure out some sort of system for all my kit. I'm sure I'll only use about half of what I brought but there's not really anywhere to buy anything up here. I think the theory of expanding to fit one's space is true for me, especially in this case as I've exploded three kit bags into my tent. In the end, my system was worthless.



Rumours of a Canadian Expedition are false, it turns out that the cousin of Anseng at the trekking agency is working for another Expedition. On this, there are two Canadian women, one is Helen from Canmore, the other I haven't met. Helen had just returned from fixing ropes up around 6000 m with the Sherpas.



We left early afternoon for a bit of exercise and to try out the skis. My plan is to use regular climbing boots, just a very stiff hiking boot, on the lower sections, and then move to the full summit boot when we're up higher. The main reason is the heat. When the sun is out at BC in the morning, I could be in shorts. Not sure they are proper summit attire though. So after about a 15 min walk up the moraine, we jump onto the glacier with the skis. It's amazing the difference between skiing and walking, even with the extra weight, it's almost effortless going up hill. We reached the Himex C1 in about 3 hrs. Getting back down was another thing. Because we were on the glacier, we roped together, this means managing the skiing in climbing boots while occasionally getting a good yank on the rope as the other guy goes too fast or too slow. The main problem skiing in anything other than ski boots is that you have nothing stopping you from falling straight back. I managed a spectacular wipeout as we were coming back to the bottom. Given that the skis with wipeout turned a 2 hour walk into a 20 min slide, I'll sacrifice my pride any day. Round trip with nothing was 3 1/2 hours.



The others made the trek up from Samagaon today, haven't said much about them but a really good group. Michel, the other guide, Laurence his girlfriend. Phillipe and David, father/son. Guillaume and Alain, two more bankers from Paris. Seeing as we have to spend a good amount of time together, seems like a great mix.