By Alissa Levy,
CBC News Online
"Our tents were situated in what people referred to as Upper Camp III as our tents were another 40 minutes higher than the lower tents. We were in four two-man tents which were perched on a cut-out ledge. One slip would put you sliding down a sheer drop of a few thousand feet."
- Byron Smith, 1998 diaries
Camp III, a precarious tent site on the side of the Lhotse face, is pitched somewhere around 7,200 m. The various expeditions on the mountain will set up at different elevations, wherever they can get a toehold in the side of the frozen mountain. The camp is really just a resting place so climbers won't have to climb from Camp II (6,500 m) to Camp IV (8,000 m) all in one go. At these altitudes, every movement takes extraordinary effort and it's important to rest to protect the body from altitude sickness.
Remains of tents at Lower Camp III
Sherpas rarely stay overnight at this camp, pressing on instead to Camp IV, about 800 m higher on the South Col. There simply is not enough room. There could be more than 30 tents clinging to the face of Lhotse this year, one for each of the more than two dozen teams climbing from the south side. Erecting the tents is another laborious, time-consuming job. There are few level outcrops for a tent, so Sherpas have to chip out tent-sized platforms from the rock-solid ice. With the large number of expeditions this year, space will be at a premium. Sherpas are more comfortable than their western companions at the higher altitudes, so they are more likely to make the climb to Camp IV to bunk.
"The Sherpas are going to have their work cut out for them this year ... literally they have to cut the place for the tents in the ice and they're going to have to make places for all these tents up there."
- George Martin, EverestNews.com
There are mixed feelings about the necessity of sleeping over at Camp III during the acclimatization process -- the period of time climbers spend ascending from camp to camp, allowing their bodies to adjust to the change in altitude. If they do spend one night at Camp III -- as Byron Smith and Tim Rippel are doing - climbers will often sleep on bottled oxygen in order to shield their lungs from the full effect of the altitude. Whatever the decision, climbers will not usually spend more than one night here. The freezing high winds blowing straight across the face and the risk of avalanches on this unprotected ledge are great. Climbers may ascend the fixed ropes on Lhotse with boulders and chunks of ice whizzing by. "Two thousand feet above the floor of the Western Cwm, just below Camp Three, a boulder the size of a small television came rocketing down from the cliffs above and smashed into Andy Harris's chest. It knocked him off his feet, slammed the wind out of him, and left him dangling from the fixed line in a state of shock for several minutes."
- Jon Krakauer, Into Thin Air
Climbers are also exposed to the same risks at Camp III as they are elsewhere on the mountain. Hypothermia, frostbite, hypoxia (lack of oxygen to the brain) and other forms of altitude sickness threaten anybody who makes it to this height. But there is another risk as well: slipping off the side of the wind-polished Lhotse face.
"...the incline on the Lhotse Face is such that if a climber is not roped in or loses his/her balance while at Camp III, he/she can fall and quickly lose control of their fall."
- Liesl Clark, NOVA Online report
The meagre shelter provided by the tents does not completely protect climbers from the dangers. Most of the tired climber's energy and attention has to be spent keeping warm, keeping fed and keeping watered. The hard climb up the Lhotse face from Camp II takes a lot out of a climber and the exertion at this altitude can quickly lead to dehydration. To get enough liquid into their systems, climbers have to chip away ice from the slope and melt it down on small gas stoves - repeating this process until they get enough to quench their thirst. As climbers climb up at different paces it's standard mountaineering protocol for the first person who arrives to melt water for other members on the team.
"As the first person to reach the tents on May 8, I inherited the job of ice chopper. For three hours, as my companions trickled in to [Camp III] and settled into their sleeping bags, I remained outside hacking at the slope with the adze of my ice ax, filling plastic garbage bags with frozen shards and distributing the ice to the tents for melting. At 24,000 feet it was fatiguing work."
- Jon Krakauer, Into Thin Air
On the summit push, climbers ascend about 3,500 metres over four or five days. They reach Camp III after climbing about 1,850 m, which puts this camp close to the halfway point to the top. It may also be the last chance for sleep for climbers who are attempting the summit of Everest. The ravages of altitude higher on the South Col and the nearly deafening winds at Camp IV can rob climbers of a well-needed sleep the night before they head for the summit. Byron wears earplugs to reduce some of the windy din but sleep at Camp III is still more likely than at 800 metres higher in Camp IV.
Everest climbers may not be the only ones perched on the ledges of Camp III. The face could also be a temporary home to climbers attempting the 8,501 m summit of Lhotse itself.
"In places the slope slants 55 degrees, with some tough bulges to get around. From Camp III, teams can either head for the summit of Lhotse, or take a hard left and ascend through the famous yellow band to the summit of Mount Everest."
- Outside Online, Everest expedition slideshow
Questions Kids Ask
What's the most difficult part of the climb and how do you face it?
Answer: The second very difficult part is above Camp III where the altitude makes it difficult to breathe and it's extremely cold. It is a mental challenge which few people are ready to face. More ...
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