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"Of Milo poachers and Bridge Clubs"
Jane Lee -  Tested the oxygen masks today. I look like an alien. It's really important to test these masks to make sure they're not leaking. That would be really disastrous. The orange thingy is the oxygen cylinder (it weighs 7.5kg!) and the green thing on top of it is the regulator that controls the flow rate of the oxygen into the mask. Fortunately, I dive so I'm pretty comfy with the mask on my face and things like regulators and tanks are not foreign to me, just a different version. I'll be using oxygen after Camp 3 (7400m). On an interesting note, climbing oxygen doesn't work like diving oxygen. The air in a diving tank is actually compressed "normal" air, and obviously, you're completely dependent on it. The air in a climbing cylinder is pure oxygen, but there's a valve on the mask that lets in the ambient air, so that's mixed with the pure oxygen, and you can remove the mask for short periods of time, so one isn't completely dependent on it.  We get loads of visitors at Base Camp (it's also something to do with being a women's team that people are apparently rather intrigued by us) and it's great to talk to other climbers as well. Everest is really a great place to meet the kooks. This is Louie, a South African climber who comes around to poach our milo, on the pretext of enjoying our company.  Spent the rest of the afternoon playing Bridge. Again. That's the "Bridge Club". From left, it's me, Mike, Paul (Paul and Louie are actually guided by Mike) and Lihui, who is very happily showing her hand to the camera. We're in my team's communal dining tent. Mike has the most incredible case of Beginner's Luck I've ever seen, while Paul gets the lousiest hands, which is hilarious. For pure silliness, we played "Dare Bridge", one round of which Paul lost and had to sing a song that went, "My boyfriend's back and I'm in trouble". And then there was "Speed Bridge", in which one is only allowed a quick two counts to place a card, or get hit. Mike really got whacked on that one. Anyhow, it's really funny to let your hair down, cuz when everyone's climbing, it's all seriousness and focus, as befits the mountain, but back in Base Camp, it's a different story. Alrighty, more updates next time! And my craving for sashimi is getting out of hand. |
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