Breaking 6,000m – On Imja Tse
My first photo on summit day - until then it had been way too cold - crampon binding shattering cold, probably minus 10 to 20 celcius. This is the 200m headwall giving access to the summit ridge, which is another 90 or so vertical metres
This is looking back towards the 100m icefall we climbed to access the plateau beneath the headwall
My high point - 6,100m on the summit ridge. Beyond this point is a very exposed ice traverse to the summit 90m above. The freezing cold and strong winds aggessively whipping the fixed line made it a staight forward decision to turn around at this point
Looking south along the lower section of the summit ridge, towards Ama Dablam
You didn't need to take a photo to freeze my smile at this point
Looking back down the fixed line on the headwall, just before we began our descent to relative warmth
Kami, back down at the top of the icefall
Looking down the icefall, with Ama Dablam top right
A view back up towards the summit, from about 5,800m at the bottom of the icefall
Finally getting some fluid, on the rock just beneath the icefall
No summit, but 6,100m took me above 6,000m for the first time; and I survived it - reasons to smile
On the craggy descent below the ice
This view is looking east from about 5,750m. It spans the head of the Lhotse Shar Glacier down to the top of Imja Tsho. Imja and Amphulapcha glaciers are also in view, as is Amphulapcha Peak (5,663m) and Ama Dablam
At about 5,500m on the descent. It was nice to see this terrain, which we had climbed in the glow of our headlamps before dawn > Return to Lukla
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