Didrik arrives at the edge of the base camp and enjoys a cup of fresh, cold, tato pani (water).
Photo by Kim Johnson.
 

PV, Erik, and Sherm (lt. to rt.) relax a minute before heading up the Lhotse Face..
Photo by Didrik Johnck
 

Ladder crossings are serious business.
Photo by Didrik Johnck
 

Erik cresting an ice bulge on the Lhotse face at 23,000 feet.
Photo by Didrik Johnck

Erik has climbed many peaks around the world, but Mt. Everest presents challenges unlike any that he has ever confronted.  The Khumbu Icefall is terrain that Everest veterans never get thoroughly comfortable climbing through.  Its massive snow and ice formations latticed with seemingly bottomless crevasses are simultaneously awe-inspiring and awful.  For all climbers on the mountain, this amazingly dynamic landscape is navigated with extreme caution to get through as quickly and safely as possible.

We take turns climbing with Erik in either daily or twice daily rotations.  This typically entails a person in front ringing a bear bell and giving verbal descriptions of the physical forms to be negotiated.  Erik travels undaunted by what he can not see, as he powers his way upward.  A third person often climbs directly behind Erik, giving course corrections and additional direction.

This relationship redefines the typical climber trust, for while I can never imagine what exactly goes through Erik's head as we climb, I know that I feel  the importance of our connection with every step.  We are not and will not be roped together from Basecamp to the summit.  There are lengths of fixed lines to the mountain that we tie into individually, but for me, the bond between climbers is far stronger.  It is this trust and mutual dependency that has already made this a hugely rewarding excursion for me.

By reaching Camp III, we think that Erik has unofficially set a new altitude record for a blind climber and we have every reason to believe that he will be the first blind climber to stand on the world's highest summit.  While the challenges he faces are greater than those of the rest of the team, I am convinced that if Erik does not reach the summit, it will not be due to his blindness, but due to the myriad of reasons that have prevented the thousands of climbers before him from standing at 29,035 feet.

Most of all, I have an incredible appreciation for the intangible connection of trust that is being forged between the members of this expedition and I expect this will manifest itself in life-long friendships.