Update from camp 3 (just shy of 7,200m)

Via Kim.. 

I took a call from Jan around 2:30 PM on Friday via satellite phone and he was up at Camp 3 which is about 2/3 up the sheer ice wall which is the Lhotse face. He was exhausted but in really good spirits and even rather chirpy! Not a single health niggle (not even a headache at this altitude is truly amazing and means that he will probably sleep well tonight), but tired ....which I thought was a-ok...this is, after all, E.v.e.r.e.s.t and he'd been going up up up for 7 hours.

The plan is to head further up at 6 AM on Saturday morning to Camp 4/ South Col which lies just above 8000m and from where he will be on oxygen. He is expecting to be at Camp 4 no later than 11 AM - noon and will then rest for the afternoon/ early evening and get in some calories (at this altitude proper cooking is a bit over the top - the effort expended in heating water and organising a noodle soup is hardly worth it if you can get far more valuable calories by just scoffing a whole cake which is what they will most likely do...). Some strong winds are expected in the afternoon, but to the extent the wind calms down the plan is still to leave for the summit (a "mere" 848m up from there) around 9pm and aim to arrive on the roof of the world between 4am and 6am on Sunday morning (= 11pm-1am London time). 

The reason they walk through the night is because generally in the mountains the weather is more stable early in the morning. It also allows them more time to get back (to Camp 4 and energy levels permitting even Camp 2) during day light, but main reason is for weather stability. 

So please keep him in your thoughts, send some good weather vibes and appreciate your warm warm beds (it is about -40*c up there at the moment and they are 3 to a tent...) as he embarks on the final push of this incredible adventure.