Team EVEREST 2019: Base Camp Life..

The team have now settled in to life at Base Camp where Rich, Joe, Brendan, Scott and Tom will spend a lot of time resting, acclimatising and waiting in-between their rotations to Camp 2 and, eventually their summit bid to the top of the World's highest mountain.

The day usually starts with the sun gently warming the icy tents just after 7am as it peeps from behind the mountain.

The team gather in the dining tent for a hearty breakfast of muesli with yoghurt followed by egg, bacon and beans on toast, or similar.

After breakfast everyone airs their tents, pulling out sleeping bags, mattresses, kit and equipment to dry in the sunshine.

Showers, personal grooming, and washing clothes takes up the remainder of the morning with just enough time to hang everything out to dry before lunch is ready!

The Sherpas work incredibly hard around the camp, which requires constant maintenance as the ice moves and melts, creating craters, holes and uneven surfaces under tents.

It can be quite unnerving hearing the huge cracks and booms below the surface at night, wondering if a huge hole is going to open up and swallow your tent at any moment!

After lunch there is time to explore, take in the breathtaking views, write journals and put away the contents of our tents!

The clouds tend to close in around us by mid-afternoon and the temperature drops significantly. This is the perfect time to crawl into our little yellow homes for an afternoon nap as a cold wind begins to blow and the snow starts to fall.

The sun reappears briefly sometime after 4pm, and by 5pm everyone has changed into thermals and down jackets and trousers in anticipation for the cold night that lies ahead.

Dinner is served at 6pm and always starts with a delicious hot soup which warms us up from the inside out. After dinner there is time for card games, catching up with social media and loved ones back home thanks to the Comms Package that Inmarsat have provided, and listening to incredible stories of adventure that our team of Sherpas have dedicated their lives to.

Life at 18000 feet is exhilarating, but can be exhausting too.

Sleep is often disturbed, either by the thunderous rumblings of distant avalanches which are surprisingly regular occurrences throughout the day and night, or by the constant flow of people making their way to, and from, the Khumbu Icefall in the early hours.

Even though our bodies are slowly acclimatising, it is perfectly normal to wake up in the middle of the night struggling to breathe and wanting more oxygen than the thin air can provide!

It has now been 4 weeks since we said goodbye to our loved ones and left the UK. In many ways it seems longer, but at the same time it seems like no time at all!

The next couple of weeks will be crucial for the Team Everest...

They are all completely focused on the task ahead of them, and their reasons for taking on this epic challenge, and everyone is extremely grateful for the constant messages of support!