Hustle and only 45 min late

May 13. We plan to leave mid morning but I am running late. I’m annoyed at myself. I have not been late before. Where did the time go? With a bit of hustle we are only 45 min late on departure from camp 2. Tick, tock, tick, tock. The sun is warm from early on but we know there is wind on the Lhotse face and before climbing we will need to prepare for the cold and endure the heat. The other way around is the fast road to disaster. My pack feels a bit awkward but I am carrying my down suit and a few summit pieces on top of the usual gear. By the time we reach the base of the Lhotse face I feel the sun, a little fatigue and the wind has increased. As gracefully as humanly possible I put on my down suit while wearing 12 point crampons. Before anyone asks, yes everyone’s butt looks big in a down suit, as do your thighs, cankles, gut and love handles. But hey WTF on the Lhotse face they are awesome. We began, the familiar crackle and pop of ice under crampons punctuated by the zip of the Jumar moving up the rope feeling comfortable and secure. But in the flick of a switch the rhythm turned from being instructive, meditative, setting the pace, to taunting me as I began to lag behind. This is tough today, I feel a bit off and oops! a bit sick (3 times). I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to all those below me on that day. Being a bit off is obvious not just to me but also Lama Tenjee. We talk and agree to persevere, after all it’s not meant to be easy! I changed my perspective and thought awesome here is my bad day let’s get it over with and move on. It’s amazing how your frame of reference impacts your physical state. Onward and upward at a steady albeit slow pace. I have a long way to go in maintaining control and focus of my mind. With another 350 vertical meters to go before camp 3 Lama Tenjee pulls an oxygen cylinder and mask out if his bottomless back pack. Where did that come from? I think Tenjee’s backpack is the Nepalese version of Mary Popplins’ carpet bag!! I fall in love with the thick flow of cool air and rubbery aftertaste. I can only imagine that this is how a turbo charger works on a combustion engine. Run Forest run! We eventually make it into camp 3 approx 7500m. We discuss the events of the day, eat noodle soup, witness the most amazing sunset and for me, with the help of those magic O’s I fall into a deep sleep insulated from sub zero temperatures by my down suit inside my -30c sleeping bag. While I was comfortable I certainly was not hot. Tic, Toc feels so good to have the bad day done.