Everest Tester - with Sidebar

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(font:"Kdam Thmor Pro")[(align:"=><=")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[#The Ascent ###[By Suzy Rigdon]]] (align:"=><=")[<img src="https://elit377.neocities.org/Everest/Everest%20Story%20%20(700%20%C3%97%20458%20px)%20YES%20(700%20%C3%97%20200%20px)%20(1).png">] (align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[###[[Climb->Part 1]] ]

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 1 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)] Base Camp is a moonscape - slate boulders and rocks tumbled together defying time. You and Penny set up your tent with a great deal of trouble, pushing and piling rocks until the base of the tent is sitting lower on one side than another. "Liza, lift that one higher." Penny's voice is strained from the effort. [[You pull the stones out and adjust the pegs.->tent1]]

{(if:$Lhotse is true)[<img src="https://elit377.neocities.org/Everest/LhotseFace.png">](if:$Cwm is true)[<img src="https://elit377.neocities.org/Everest/Cwm.png">](if:$P3 is true)[<img src="https://elit377.neocities.org/Everest/everest.png">](if:$P2 is true)[<img src="https://elit377.neocities.org/Everest/icefall.png">](if:$P1 is true)[<img src="https://elit377.neocities.org/Everest/BCsqre.png">]} (b4r:"ridge","none")+(b4r-size:1.2,1)+(b4r-colour:white)[(font:"Kdam Thmor Pro")[####Vitals] (text-size:0.8)[//Hydration:// $Hydration //Energy:// $Energy //Decision Making:// $DecisionMaking //Technical Skills: $Skills // [[Check Inventory->Inventory]]]]

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 1 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)] "Shit - too far," you say. "Pen, lift that side a bit more, then we can peg it in." Penny does, and you're both heaving from the effort. What should have taken you ten minutes - what //did// take you ten minutes back home in the mud, took your an hour and a half. (set: $Energy to $Energy -10) (set: $Hydration to $Hydration -7) (live: 2s)[You breathe - at 17,600 feet, it's not hard to get air exactly, but you're slower than you expected. Acclimitization can't come fast enough.] (live: 3s)["I'm starved," Penny says.] (live: 4s)[[["Let's grab some chow."->Mess1]]]

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 1 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)] Tashi Sherpa is frying up cheese omlets - the fresh supplies came by yak along with you and Penny, and the rest of the US Team. Grab an omlet and say hi.(click-replace:"Grab an omlet and say hi.")[ (set: $Hydration to $Hydration +2)Damn, that's the best bite you've had since Kathmandu.] It's time to [[meet up with the team.->team]] (set: $Energy to $Energy + 5)

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 1 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)] You've climbed with them all at different times; have seen them on high ranges - Kilimanjaro, Denali, Choy Oyu last spring. The push was different between Kili - which topped out just a few hundred meters higher than you are right now, and Choy Oyu - the 6th highest mountain in the world - and one of the 8,000m peaks. Drew - (mouseover-replace: "Drew -")[Drew - your fearless team leader. At only 47, he's summited Everest three times. Once, without O(text-style:"subscript")[2].] Rachelle - (mouseover-replace:"Rachelle -")[Rachelle - six years older than you, but totally chill. She's the party's medic. In addition to Choy Oyu, she summitted Annapurna two years ago, and tackled K2 last spring. She had to turn around due to some vicious weather, but she's still totally badass in your eyes. ] Frank -(mouseover-replace:"Frank -")[Frank - he's a purist, loving that 8,000m+ slog without oxygen. He's summitted four of the tallest peaks, and now he's here to conquer Everest. He and Drew had it out about the oxygen, but Frank made his case.] Then of course there's the folks on the UK Team, Japanese team, and the South Korean team. You'll get to know everyone in time. There's not that much to down here anyway. Penny heads off to meet the UK folks. She recognizes Gemma from Cho Oyu. Time to chat too - talk to the [[Drew,->Drew1]] or [[Rachelle->Rachelle1]], or [[Frank?->Frank1]].

Everest Summit - Start Page: https://s3-images.stol.it/_images/fit/1000x563/img/2020/12/er-ist-faszination-und-mythos-zugleich-und-nun-offiziell-86-zentimeter-hoeher-der-mount-everest-im-himalaya-gebirge.jpg Base Camp Tents: https://highlightstourism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/MG_0520.jpg Icefall ladder crossing - P2 Sidebar: http://worldwest.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/photos/2013/06/20/062113_Outdoors5_ladder_t990.jpg?30f31baef1afd0a91aba8e74ec76c5214cc818ca Western Cwm - P2 pt. 2 Sidebar: https://www.dougscottmountaineering.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/0300-nep.jpg Lhotse Face - P4 Sidebar: https://andyoneverest.weebly.com/uploads/2/1/9/9/21999260/2450278_orig.jpg

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 1 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)] Drew has his laptop open, screen pulsing with weather reports and complicated charts of wind speeds and more. Part of your hefty fees to climb go to paying someone in the US to send daily detailed information so you know exactly what will happen and when. It's the only way Drew will know when the superpowered jet stream winds will lift from the [summit.]<text|(click:?text)[ //If the winds didn't lift, you'd get blown from the ridges near the top like a fly in a hurricane wind.//] He shows you the curves of the weather bands and you talk for a while, and then settle into silence. Finally, as you're getting up to leave, he says, "We're going to be waiting around alot. Use your time wisely. Practice your knots - or your oxygen cannisters. Don't mess around. You know how tough it gets up in the Death Zone - so get your skills down." That you know well. "Thanks, El Cap," you say, before departing with Penny for the [[tent.->tent2]] (set: $Drew1 to true)

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 1 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)] "Whatup, girl? You and Penny made it, finally." Rachelle is so laid back. Not that there are a bunch of tight wads up here, but if she wasn't climbing mountains, you know she'd be surfing big waves or something equally rad. "Yeah, I got a bit laid out at Dingboche so we had to wait for a while." She tosses you a packet of hot chocolate. "Drink up. Hydration is key, and don't forget it." (set: $Hydration to $Hydration +2) She doesn't have to tell you. Not drinking enough on Cho Oyu nearly cost you the summit. Sometimes it feels like you can't be bothered to spend the thirty minutes or an hour to melt a single pot of water, but the more you drink, the better chance you have of your body holding up. "Cheers, Rachelle." You chat for a while longer, the warmth from the sun starting to fade as the sun slips from the zenith. Finally, the sun starts to really dip and you meet up with Penny, heading for [[the tent.->tent2]] (set: $Rachelle1 to true)

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 1 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)] (if: $HAPE is false)["Mornin', Liza. It's gorgeous here, isn't it?" Frank sweeps his leather-tanned arms over the vista of cracked rock and tumbled ice. He's got a ring of white in the middle of his forehead from wearing his hat, and it's a wonder he doesn't have raccoon eyes. He's climbed a lot of peaks, and has some good advice. You want to ask him for his tips, but he intimidates you - that drive to climb without O(text-style:"subscript")[2]. It's not something you're prepared to ever do. [[HAPE & HACE->HAPE]] are two scary beasts. Yeah, you can still get 'em with O(text-style:"subscript")[2], but somehow it seems safer. Instead you talk about the weather, the anticipation of the week wait until tackling the Khumbu Icefall, then you say your goodbyes, grab Penny, and head to the [[tent.->tent2]]] (if: $HAPE is true)[It's a chilling reminder of what can happen to the human body when you push it to the extremes. You say your goodbyes and head to the [[tent.->tent2]]]

(font:"Courier New")[''HAPE or High-altitude pulmonary edema'' is a life-threatening form of non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema. Symptoms include: coughing, wheezing, lung crackling, exhaustion and more. In otherwords, your lungs start to fill with fluid and blood, and you can drown. //If you start to see the symptoms, decend as soon as possible.// ''HACE or High-altitude cerebral edema'', which means the brain is swelling with fluid. Symptoms include: disorientation, lethargy, headache, and nausea. //Left untreated, you could die in 48 hours. Decend as soon as possible.// (set: $HAPE to true)] [[You'll remember that... ->Frank1]]

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 1 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)] Inside, the tent is loud with the wind. You pick up (link: "an onyx stone")[ (set: $totem to "onyx stone") (goto:"tent3")] (link: "a periwinkle shell")[ (set: $totem to "periwinkle shell")(goto:"tent3")] (link: "a red ceramic Buddha")[ (set: $totem to "red ceramic Buddha")(goto:"tent3")] or just lay back and [[read.->tent3]]

(font:"Kdam Thmor Pro")[(align:"=><=")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[#Part 1 ##[[The Beginning->climb Mount Everest]]]] {(set:$side to true)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 1 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)] (if: $totem is 0)[You open your book, but can't read much. Home is invading your brain. You think about] (else:)[You finger the $totem and think about home. About] Mom and how she doesn't want you here in the first place, but still sent you a [[letter of support.->MomLetter.]] How Dad put a big bottle of champagne in the cool damp of the basement for when you come home from the top of the world. You want to taste it. To see the bubbles flow down the bottle as you pop the cap into the grassy back yard. For now, you [wait,]<text| (click:?text)[ [wait..] ]<text2|(click:?text) [ [[wait...]] ] (set: $inv to $inv + (a: " $totem "))

(font:"Lucida Handwriting")[Dear Liza, Here's my letter I will write more of later [[Love, Mom->tent3]]]

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 2 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)] At night, the great boulders of the Khumbu Ice Fall (text-style:"rumble")[rumble and roar as the ice cracks and shifts under thousands of pounds of weight.] You know that when you cross through, the ping and deep crack of ice could be it. It scares you. The first night, you don't get much sleep. (set: $Energy to $Energy - 6) [[Close your eyes.->wait2]]

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 2 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)] Bright sun, cold breeze. What to do while you wait to acclimitize enough to trek through the Ice Falls towards Camp 1. (link: "Tie some knots.")[(set:$Skills to $Skills + 0.5) (goto: "wait3")] (link: "Drink up.")[(set:$Hydration to $Hydration +2) (goto: "wait3")] [[Read.->wait3]]

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 3 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)] BOREDOM TEXT - WRITE SOMETHING what do you do? (if: $Drew1 is true)[//Remember what Drew said...//](link: "Maybe you should tie some knots.")[(set:$Skills to $Skills + 0.5)You practice the Clove Hitch, Bowline Knot...(click-append: "knots.")[You practice the Clove Hitch, Bowline Knot...] ] (if: $Rachelle1 is true)[//Remember what Rachelle said...//](link: "Time to drink up.")[(set:$Hydration to $Hydration +2)Lukewarm water goes down easy at Base Camp. You know it won't be the same up high.(click-append:"high.")[ You're not looking forward to that.] ] [[Wander through Base Camp talking to your teammates.->wait4]]

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 4 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)] The Buddhist Lama should be arriving for the Puja any time. You picture him walking from the nearest monastary - a hell of a walk for a prayer and hopefully a celebration. But you're excited. You've never seen a Puja before - and this one promises to be special. You've read about it on all your favorite climbing blogs. But there are still hours to go, and without something to do, you're going to go crazy. You joke with Penny, listen to some music and zone out, and think through the route to the top for the 10,000th time. "Dude," Penny says, "you are driving me crazy with that tapping. //Do something// or I'll kick your ass out of this tent." You realize your foot has been shaking and tapping for what must have been a while. It's the //thing// you do that Penny hates. (live: 5s)["Sorry, Pen."] (live: 7s)["Idle hands," she says, and you finish in your head with //are the Devil's playthings.// Time to get to work.] (live: 10s)[(if:$HAPE is true)[You could practice with the Oxygen Cannisters." (click-append:"You could practice with the Oxygen Cannisters.")[(set:$Skills to $Skills + 0.5)[ Reactions are slow in the Death Zone. You need all the help you can get.]]]] (link: "You could read and sleep.")[(set:$Energy to $Energy +2)(goto: "Puja1")] [[Or kill time by sitting with Drew and learn more->Puja1]] about the weather systems of Everest, enjoying the swooping of the jet stream you can't quite see from Base Camp.]

{(set:$DecisionMaking to $DecisionMaking -7)(set:$Energy to $Energy + 10)(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 5 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)]} You sleep fitfully, but it doesn't bother you at all, knowing the Lama arrived. Today marks the beginning of everything.(click-append:"everything")[ Drew calls us out of our tents and invites us to bring our ice axes, crampons, harnesses, and anything else sharp we might be using on the mountain. The Buddhist Lama is set up by the "shrine", pungent juniper burning on the brisk morning breeze. He's already chanting and praying, to //Chomolungma// - the mountain for safe passage and forgiveness.](click-append:"safe passage and forgiveness.")[ You know that if the mountain rejects the Puja, the Sherpas won't climb. You won't climb.](click-append:"You won't climb.")[ You close your eyes, listen to the melodic chanting, the banging of drums. Partake in the milk tea and the rice wine that burns your throat. Your head spins from the potency as the chants go on and on - hours until the prayer flags are raised over the altar. You're dusted with a white cloud of barley powder then drink more and more.](click-append:"and more.")[ Chomolungma has accepted the Puja. The Sherpas are elated. You are elated, floating in the stratosphere thinking of the jet-streamed summit, thinking of the curvature of the earth that will be visible beneath your feet. You don't think of any danger. Not now.](click-append:"Not now.")[ Tomorrow, the Icefall Doctors [[get to work.->IcefallDoc]]] (set:$Hydration to $Hydration - 10)

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 6 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)] You wake before dawn, $totem in hand, listening to the books grinding over rocks outside. Nima Sherpa and Pasang Sherpa are headed out to the Khumbu Icefall. You can [[lay and Read->inside]] or [[watch them off.->icefallwatch]] {(set: $Decisionmaking to $DecisionMaking +5)}

{(set: $Energy to $Energy +2)(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 6 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)]} Penny heads out to watch them off, but your sleeping bag is comfortable. You read [[Mom's Letter->MomLetter]] and contemplate the $totem. You can picture the Sherpas heading out into the giant icefall with seracs the size of houses and cars leaning over them. They're fixing the route - laying the ladders that you'll be walking over starting tomorrow. Otherwise you'd be like Mallory and Irving - like Tenzing and Hillary - navigating crevasses with a prayer and careful steps. You shudder. You'll take the ladders any day. The icefall is one of the things that scares the shit out of you, but it's a [[necessary risk]].

{(set: $Energy to $Energy -2)(set:$DecisionMaking to $DecisionMaking +4)(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 6 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)]} You crawl out of the tent with Penny. Drew, Frank, and Rachelle are there as well. Same with the UK crew and the Japanese team. Nima Sherpa and Pasang Sherpa are piled high with ladders and materials to keep them as safe as possible in the icefalls. Everywhere on Everest is deadly - but the everchanging icefall is one of the biggest death traps out there. Seracs (mouseover-replace:"Seracs")[Seracs - giant overhangs of ice the size of boulders or cars or houses] are constantly on the move. By the middle of the day, the strong sun starts to melt the ice and those chunks can break or crumble, falling to the ground. That rumble you heard the other night was a major shifting of the Khumbu Glacier. It can be so significant that the route Pasang and Nima are setting now might be gone tomorrow, or in a week. (click-append:"week.")[ But that's normal. You don't want to think about the danger, but [[you do.]]] (set: $icefallwatch to true)

Dear Liza, Here's my letter I will write more of later. Love Mom. (link-goto: "Back to reality.", (history:)'s last)

(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[''Death by:'' (live: 1s)[//being crushed by a 12-story slab of ice,//] (live: 2s)[//falling through a hidden crevasse,//] (live:2.75s)[//falling off a ladder after not roping in,//] (live:3.25s)[//traversing too late in the day//] (live:4s)[//avalanche...//]] (live:7s)[You know the stats: 30+ climbers killed in this stretch up to about 6,000m. 13 Sherpas in one avalanche in 2014 alone. But it's a [[necessary risk]] to climbing here.]

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 6 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)] (if:$icefallwatch is true)[In the dim light, you watch Nima and Pasang disappear, knowing they've put on their crampons right at the edge of the fall and head out. You aren't religious, but you say a silent prayer for them, conjuring the sense of the earth and being you felt at the Puja yesterday.] You'll be heading through the falls tomorrow, early morning if everything goes well for the Doctors. Drew, Penny, and you will head out in the freezing darkness to make the 5ish hour climb to Camp 1. It's your first real step in the acclimitization process. You're already up, so you head to the Mess Tent to grab a cup of tea and an omlette. Then it's off to [[wait some more.->wait5]] (set: $Hydration to $Hydration + 3)

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 6 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)] (if:$Energy >=80)[You play hackey sack for a while with Gemma from the UK team, her bubbly personality infectious. A few others join in, and it feels good to do something - to use your body.](else:)[You elect to sit with Drew in the Command tent looking at weather reports, thinking about conditions in the icefall tomorrow.] Finally, when the sun is hot in the sky and you know the ice must be melting under every crampon prick, you hear a murmuring go up from the Japanese team as the Icefall Doctors reappear, smiles wide on their faces. You're excited, but a bolt of fear shunts through your gut. This means tomorrow is a go. This means in the morning, you begin the [[real work.->Part 2]](set:$side to false)

(font:"Kdam Thmor Pro")[(align:"=><=")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[#Part 2 ##[[Acclimitization]]]] {(set:$side to true)(set:$P2 to true)(set:$P1 to false)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 7 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)] Ice crystals have formed on the inside of the tent during the night. Your watch went off at four in the morning, so you had time to take a piss, gear up, shove some food down your face and get outside by five. Penny, Frank and Rachelle are all climbing through the Icefall this morning. They key is to head out before the sun gets high enough so you can make the 5-6 hour trek before things start melting. You pack your bag with crampons, an ice axe, a camp stove, and a night of rations - soup, chocolate, tea, and more. Then you [[head out-> edge icefall1]] into the cold morning air, headlamp shining on the rocks and boulders ahead of you. (set: $inv to $inv + (a: " crampons", " an ice axe " , " a camp stove", " one night's rations ", " headlamp " , " your cellphone" , " a water bottle")) (set:$footer to false)

(font:"Kdam Thmor Pro")[##''Inventory''] Your inventory contains: (print: $inv). (link-goto: "Exit Inventory.", (history:)'s last) (stop:)

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 7 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)] In the dark, you can't see the giant seracs of the icefall until you're practically underneath them. You put on your crampons and test them on the ice. They hold fast as you take step after step onto the boulders and rolling broken pieces of [[ice.->icefall1]]

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 7 | In the Khumbu Icefall] Your first set of ladders is a harrowing experience. Nima and Pasang - the Icefall Doctors - have tied them together - four ladders like you'd paint your house with stretched over a bottomless crevasse. You know that if you fell, they'd never find your body. Or if they did, the glacier would have to cough it up years down the line. (click-append: "down the line.")[ You clip your carabeaner onto the thin white ropes stretched on either side of the ladders and take one step.] (click-append: "one step.")[ Another step. The metal of your crampons grinds against the metal rungs of the ladder.] (click-append: "rungs of the ladder.")[ You don't want to look down but you do. Dark blue and then black. You only breathe when you make it [[across and feel the solid packed snow and ice.->icefall2]]] {(set: $Energy to $Energy -5)(set: $Hydration to $Hydration -3)(set: $DecisionMaking to $DecisionMaking -3) (set: $Skills to $Skills +1)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 7 | In the Khumbu Icefall] Next is Popcorn Alley - the kernals of ice the size of cars or bigger, falling and moving at a pace you can't see, but you know is happening beneath you as you walk. Your chest is getting tight, the dry air and the increasing altitude digging their picks into your brain as you dig your own into the falls. You wear your sunglasses to keep out the morning glare off the blinding white. You can [[stop and let Penny by->icefall3a]] so you can breathe a minute, or [[just keep going.->icefall3b]] {(set: $Energy to $Energy -2)(set: $Hydration to $Hydration -2)(set: $DecisionMaking to $DecisionMaking -1)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 7 | In the Khumbu Icefall] Penny moves ahead while you rake in the thinner air, chest heaving, throat dry. Your pack is lighter today than it will be when you make a serious push for the summit, so you've brought along a water bottle full of hot water. Now it's lukewarm, but you take a drink. (click-append: "take a drink.")[ The water soothes your throat. You had felt a tickle, but it fades to the background. After five minutes of watching Penny move higher up the falls, you put the bottle back in your pack and [[keep moving.->icefall4a]]] {(set: $Energy to $Energy -2)(set: $Hydration to $Hydration +2 )(set: $DecisionMaking to $DecisionMaking +3)(set:$KnowThyself to true)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 7 | In the Khumbu Icefall] You need a drink, but the Icefall freaks you out. You stay a few paces in front of Penny, raking in the thinner air, chest heaving, throat dry. Your pack is lighter today than it will be when you make a serious push for the summit, but it still feels heavy. (click-append: "feels heavy.")[ You keep moving, crampons crunching the snow and ice and your chest dries out, throat chafing just a hair. The cough starts within thirty minutes - wracking your body every few steps. Penny joins in. You think of the first climbers who ascended the mountain who coughed up the lining of their own throat on the upper slopes. You shudder and [[keep walking.->icefall4b]]] {(set: $Energy to $Energy -4)(set: $Hydration to $Hydration -2)(set: $DecisionMaking to $DecisionMaking -2)(set:$PushThyself to true)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 7 | In the Khumbu Icefall] The first crevasse you had to cross on ladders was the scariest thing you'd done since reaching the Mountain, but it's quicky surpassed by a 50-ton cracked ice bridge called The Hammer. It hangs over you with a shadow that makes your skin crawl. You recall the stats as you move quickly and quietly beneath the bohemouth. Penny's too far ahead to help if anything were to go wrong, and Rachelle dwarfed your progress long ago. You grit yoru teeth and move. You know there's still [[hours to go.->icefall5a]] {(set: $Energy to $Energy -4)(set: $DecisionMaking to $DecisionMaking -0.5)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 7 | In the Khumbu Icefall] You want to call out to Penny - but she slows on her own so you catch up for Happy Valley. Here the silence is deafening, and you catch yourself straining to hear any sudden shift or crack or pop. You think of the rumble you heard two nights ago and shudder. You take the lead once again, but Penny isn't stopping. It's too dangerous to stop here as the sun climbs higher and higher. You push yourself harder than you have all morning to just get through. [[Just make it out.->icefall6]] {(set: $Energy to $Energy -5)(set: $Hydration to $Hydration -3)(set: $DecisionMaking to $DecisionMaking -0.5) (set: $Skills to $Skills +1)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 7 | In the Khumbu Icefall] The rest of the icefall is a blur, but you push, (if:$KnowThyself is true)[glad you slicked your throat with a drink. Penny has started to cough and it isn't letting up. You're worried that if it keeps going, she'll end up with the Khumbu Cough - a dry, painful existance that will level her.](if:$PushThyself is true)[coughing hard with every other step.] You can't wait for the warmth of the Western Cwm. Can't wait to put this accursed ice minefield behind you for the night. Finally you see the top of the icefall - the Great Slices. Ascend. (click-replace:"Ascend.")[Over the top and then you walk. Walk into the wide open - the stagnant heat of the [[Western Cwm.]]] {(if:$PushThyself is true)[(set:$Energy to $Energy -5)(set: $Hydration to $Hydration -3)(set: $DecisionMaking to $DecisionMaking -0.5)](if:$KnowThyself is true)[(set:$Energy to $Energy -4)(set: $Hydration to $Hydration -2)(set: $DecisionMaking to $DecisionMaking -0.5)](set: $P2 to false)(set:$Cwm to true) }

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 7 | Elevation: 6,035m (19,500 ft)] After the claustrophobic traverse through the Icefall, the Western Cwm opens in a shocking expance before you - the Lhotse face of Everest and with Nuptse looming over you. The tightness of your chest loosens as you stop onto solid ground and continue your trek to Camp 1. Tents of the other teams are already set up, so in some ways it feels familiar - feels like the world of Base Camp, but much flatter and far snowier. "Holy shit, man," Penny says, wiping her forehead. "I need a freakin' bikini up here." The temp in the valley felt like Mid-Atlantic summers. You don't have a thermometer but you bet if you did, it'd be pushing seventy-five, with more heat to come. [[Have a drink then head over to Camp 1.->Camp1.1]] Your legs deserve a rest. {(set: $Energy to $Energy -1)(set: $Hydration to $Hydration +3)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 7 | In the Khumbu Icefall] The first crevasse you had to cross on ladders was the scariest thing you'd done since reaching the Mountain, but it's quicky surpassed by a 50-ton cracked ice bridge called The Hammer. It hangs over you with a shadow that makes your skin crawl. You recall the stats as you move quickly and quietly beneath the bohemouth. Rachelle dwarfed your progress long ago, but Penny is close if anything were to go wrong. You grit yoru teeth and move. You know there's still [[hours to go.->icefall5b]] {(set: $Energy to $Energy -4)(set: $DecisionMaking to $DecisionMaking -0.5)(set: $Hydration to $Hydration -1)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 7 | In the Khumbu Icefall] You spent hours reading about every inch of the mountain you could before arriving, but you couldn't have prepared yourself for Happy Valley - the unstable chaos of ice unlike any other place on the ice. Here the silence is deafening, and you catch yourself straining to hear any sudden shift or crack or pop. Another cough rips from your chest and you wince, expecting to hear that same rumble of an avalanche or the shifting of a serac. You and Penny fight on, trying to stifle things as best you can. You're tired, but it's too dangerous to stop here as the sun climbs higher and higher. You push yourself harder than you have all morning to just get through. [[Just make it out.->icefall6]] {(set: $Energy to $Energy -5)(set: $Hydration to $Hydration -3)(set: $DecisionMaking to $DecisionMaking -0.5) (set: $Skills to $Skills +1)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 7 | Elevation: 6,035m (19,500 ft)] The sun bears down on the crew as you get set up in your tent, stripped down to your bra to get a breath of air that's hard to come by. You try to drink as much as you can, and at least here the snow doesn't take an hour to melt like it will further up. (if:$PushTheyself is true)[Despite the slow rehydration and the slicking of your worn throat, you still crack the oppressive air with a hacking cough matched only by Penny. It's going to be a hard enough night without the Khumbu Cough...](else:)[You rehydrate slowly, but know the high UV is stealing more moisture from you as it threatens to burn your skin.] You slather on the sunscreen and rest your weary legs. It's peaceful - dead quiet in the heavy air of the valley. Most climbers are chillin' out when you start to hear something. (mouseover-replace:"something.")[a low grumble that grows and grows. A white cloud emerges as an avalanche tears down the steep rock faces of Nuptse.](click-append:"Nuptse.")[ You aren't in danger, but it reminds you - all of you - about the very real dangers you thought you'd escaped when emerging from the icefall.](click-append:"icefall.")[ As night falls and the heat - which reached nearly 90 degrees- starts to fade, you crawl into your tent, sweat drying as a chill sets in. You [[try to sleep.->Camp1.1b]]] {(if:$PushThyself is true)[(set:$Energy to $Energy -1)(set: $Hydration to $Hydration +3)(set: $DecisionMaking to $DecisionMaking -0.5)](if:$KnowThyself is true)[(set: $Hydration to $Hydration +4)(set: $DecisionMaking to $DecisionMaking -0.5)]}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 7-8 | Elevation: 6,035m (19,500 ft)] (text-style:"strike")[Sleep...] (live:1s)[(text-style:"strike")[Sleep...]] (live:2s)[(text-style:"strike")[Sleep...]] (live:3s)[(text-style:"strike")[Sleep...]] (live:5s)[(text-style:"subscript")[Your head is pounding...]] (live:7s)[(text-style:"double-strike")[YOU WANT SLEEP]] (live:9s)[(text-style:"subscript")[Your head won't stop pounding...]] (live:11s)[The air is dead calm and your head hurts from altitude and hydration and the ground is hard - lumps beneath your bedroll and subzero sleeping bag. It's cold. (mouseover-append: "cold.")[ Too cold to sleep like this. You mutter as you toss and turn, aware Penny is doing the same thing. You need to acclimitize but all you feel like doing is falling asleep. Tomorrow is [[another day.->Camp1.1c]]]] {(set: $Energy to $Energy -8)(set: $Hydration to $Hydration -3)(set: $DecisionMaking to $DecisionMaking -4) (set: $Skills to $Skills +1)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 8 | Elevation: 6,035m (19,500 ft)] Everyone feels equally shitty and tired after that debacle of a first night at Camp 1. You're still low - 2,000m lower than the summit and your head wouldn't stop pounding. You know it's supposed to hurt. Supposed to feel like crap until your body acclimitizes. That's why you climb and sleep and climb back. You've done it before. Thank God it's time to [[decend.->decend1]] {(set:$Cwm to false)(set:$P2 to true)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 8 | In the Khumbu Icefall] The Icefall is no less scary in reverse. In some ways it's comforting to know you've been here before, but that doesn't change each of the moments of danger you face skirting beneath leaning towers of ice, or traversing roped ladders. (click-append:"roped ladders.")[ But at least as you descend, the breathing gets a bit easier. (if: $PushThyself is true)[Your cough remains, but the spaces between the pain are more and more oxygen rich, making you notice it a bit less.] Your persistent headache lessens as you go from 6,035m...](click-append:"6,035m...")[ to 5,900m...](click-append:"5,900m...")[ to 5,500m...](click-append:"5,500m...")[ to the gorgeous site of [[Base Camp->Part 3]] at 5,270m. Your lungs expand with ease. ''Acclimitization Round 1 is Complete!''] {(set: $Energy to $Energy -1)(set: $Hydration to $Hydration -3)(set: $Skills to $Skills +3)(set:$side to false)}

(font:"Kdam Thmor Pro")[(align:"=><=")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[#Part 3 ##[[Going Higher]]]] {(set: $footer to true)(set:$KnowThyself to false)(set: $PushThyself to false)(set: $Energy to $Energy +16)(set: $Hydration to $Hydration +7)(set: $DecisionMaking to $DecisionMaking +8) (set: $Skills to $Skills +1)(set:$side to true)(set:$P2 to false)(set:$P1 to false)(set:$P3 to true)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 10 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)] The week blurred by, full of rest - (click-append:"full of rest - ")[ relaxation -](click-append: "relaxation -")[ eating and drinking -](click-append:"eating and drinking -")[ and staring up at the sheer black rock, thinking of [[what was to come.->P3 Plan]]] {(set:$footer to false)(set: $Hydration to $Hydration + 2)}

{(set: $Energy to 85) (set: $Hydration to 85) (set: $DecisionMaking to 100) (set: $Skills to 85) (set: $HAPE to false) (set: $footer to true) (set: $inv to (a:"a letter from Mom"," a woolen hat", " lots of warm clothes", " the book //The Tsar of Love and Techno//" )) (set:$side to false)(set:$P1 to true)}

(if:$side is true)[<div class="inventory">(display: "inventory")</div>](else:)[]

(align:"=><=")+(box:"X")[(text-style:"underline","expand")[''The Plan''] (live: 1s)[Back through the icefall to Camp I] (live: 3s)[Pass through the Western Cwm without rest] (live:5s)[Climb the sheer face towards Camp II] (live:7s)[Spend two nights at 6,474m - //head pounding, you know it//] (live:9s)[Plod back down, exhausted but more acclimitized than ever]] (live:10s)[Rest, rinse, and repeat until it's time to hit Camp III...] (live:11s)[You're excited, and nervous, and are ready to [[go]]]

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 11 | In the Khumbu Icefall] You know it's moved in the last week, creeping and tumbling like a slow motion ice waterfall. But it looks the same. The ladders span the same crevasses, the giant blocks of ice hang in the same threatening ways. You save your voice as Penny climbs beside you and as Frank powers ahead. You want to get through and you [[push to do it in time.->Cwm2]] {(set: $Energy to it -2)(set: $Hydration to it -2)(set: $DecisionMaking to it -2)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 11 | Elevation: 6, 035m (19,500 feet)] It's not so hot yet as you emerge from the icefall into the vast Western Cwm. The valley feels just as heavy and oppressive as before and you're grateful for the brief respite that Camp 1 offers, although you won't be staying the night. [[Collapse on the ground near your old tent->collapse]] or [[take a piss first.->pee]] {(set: $Energy to it -2)(set: $Hydration to it -3)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 11 | Elevation: 6, 035m (19,500 feet)] It feels good to rest with the sun hot on your face, forgetting the fear of the icefall. You sip on some water, but you're feeling lazy. Out of breath. When Penny and Frank call to get walking again, you drag yourself to your feet and [[keep walking.->toCamp2]] {(set: $Hydration to it -1)(set: $Energy to it +2)(set:$PushThyself to true)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 11 | Elevation: 6, 035m (19,500 feet)] The ground just off the far end of the tents has become a latrine already and the season is only mid-launch. In the heat, the smell of human waste makes you wrinkle your nose, but at least your ass doesn't freeze as you do your thing. (click-append:"do your thing.")[ Across the way you see Frank. You head over to [[see him.->FrankCwm]]] {(set: $Energy to it -2)(set: $Hydration to it -2)(set: $DecisionMaking to it +1)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 11 | Elevation: 6, 035m (19,500 feet)] (if: (history:) contains "Frank1")[Frank's looking good. You haven't had much time to chat since you talked in Base Camp all those days ago.](else:)[Frank's looking good.] His breathing is labored, but yours is too. You're way too low for O(text-style:"subscript")[2] so you're on equal footing. You can't imagine what it will be like for him higher up the hill. He offers you a Mars bar, a treat which you wolf down, along with a giant cup of tea. "Take another for the road," he says, in an act that is seriously generous. You add it to your pack, stretch, and [[head out again.->toCamp2]] {(set: $Hydration to it + 4)(set: $Energy to it + 4)(set: $DecisionMaking to it +1)(set: $inv to $inv + (a: " a Mars bar"))}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 11 | In the Western Cwm] There's not much time to rest before you, Penny, and Frank don your packs and keep trekking up the Western Cwm to Camp II. It's not an easy hike - the sun beats down making you think of Penny's call for a [[bikini.]] (live: 3s)[//''Keep focused!''// This isn't the time to daydream in the blazing sun. It's the time to watch for hidden crevasses. [[Clip->ClipInCwm]] [[In->ClipInCwm2]]]

//White sandy beaches - sun crisping your skin. You can taste that frozen daquiri, feel the sweat from the glass drip down your bronzing skin. My god, [[the things you would do for that drink.//->toCamp2]] {(set:$Hydration to it -1)(set: $DecisionMaking to it -1)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 11 | In the Western Cwm] You're second in line, behind Frank, who's walked this route before. You've clipped in to the fixed line the Sherpa's set ages ago and take step after step. It's less than a two mile walk - something that would take you 20 minutes on sea level. But you trudge for what you know will be a few hours through the [[Valley of Silence.]] {(set:$lead to true)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 11 | In the Western Cwm] You dallied, chugged some water, and now you're last in line. Frank has walked this route before, so he's up front, stepping strongly. You've clipped in to the fixed line the Sherpa's set ages ago and take step after step. It's less than a two mile walk - something that would take you 20 minutes on sea level if you were taking your time. But you trudge for what you know will be a few hours through the [[Valley of Silence.]] {(set:$Hydration to it +2)(set:$follow to true)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 11 | In the Western Cwm] Silence except the crunching of crampons on ice. The sun is so hot - //hot// and your mind wants to wander instead of (if: $lead is true)[looking at Frank's back getting further and further away.](else:)[looking at the swing of Penny's braid, and the bright red of her outfit.] (text-style:"expand","rumble")[(live:5s)[(if:$lead is true)[[[//Crack//->CrackFall]]](if:$follow is true)[[[//Crack//]]]]] {(set:$Hydration to it -2)(set:$Energy to it -1)(set:$DecisionMaking to it -1)}

~~(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 11 | In the Western Cwm]~~ (text-style:"blur","upside-down")[Where are you - //shit// where are you?!] (live: 3s)[Your breath hits your chest in a rush as you realize you're //in the crevasse// waist cinched up - dangling, crampons outstretched touching the side.] (live: 7.5s)["Hold on!" you hear above you, feel the line tug, your chest pumping as the blackness decends beneath you.] (live: 10s)[//Wait - dangling, dangling, is this --//] (live: 11s)[the rope jangles] (live: 12s)["Can you get your crampons in?" It's Penny's voice or maybe Frank - (text-style:"buoy")[[[panic wells up in you.->OutCrevasse]]]]

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 11 | In the Western Cwm] You hear it a moment before Penny shouts - her voice bounding off Lhotse and Nuptse - off the terrible silence of the Valley. Your turn to see Penny, wide eyed but safe on the side of a crevasse that had opened beneath her feet. She'd heard it and jumped, stepped out of danger. "Are you okay?!" Frank has paused too. She shakes her head in disbelief and then smiles a little too wild. "Fricken hell, man. Yeah, yeah," she says. In the Icefall, you'd strained your ear with every step, expecting the world to fall out beneath your boots or crumble on top of your head. But here - in the wide open of the valley you'd felt safe. Complacent. //Never again,// you vow as you set your jaw and [[walk.->C2.1]]

~~(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 11 | In the Western Cwm]~~ You rock back (align:"==>")+(box:"X=")[(live: 2s)[and forth...]] (align:"<==")+(box:"X=")[(live: 4s)[back..]] (align:"==>")+(box:"X=")[(live: 6s)[and forth...]] (align:"=><=")[(live: 8s)[[[You catch hold!->OutCrevasse2]]]] {(set:$Energy to it -5)(set: $Skills to it +1)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 11 | In the Western Cwm] Penny's eyes are huge and they're what anchor you back in reality as she and Frank pull you from the crevasse, your crampons hitching one step at a time in the side of the ice. //That was close. So fucking close--// You thank the Sherpas, thank the god of fixed lines, thank Frank and Penny. Your hands shake as they get you settled on the snow. As you catch your breath. (if: $Drew1 is true)[Thank Drew for his advice on knots. Holy hell, the power of a rope. //The power of a rope...//] You want to bask in the sun, feel the snow against your hands and face, not think about the darkness below, but you have to walk. All to soon, you have to [[walk.->C2.1]]

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 11 | Elevation: 6400 m (21,000 ft)] Sheer rock and ice loom around you as you enter into Camp II. The yellow turtleshell tents look like gumdrops against the white and you've never been so damn glad to see them in your life. (if:$lead is true)[You tried to shake the specter of the dark depths of the crevasse from your mind, but you know they'll haunt you for the rest of the climb - the great, //what if//. It might haunt you the rest of your life.](if:$follow is true)[You're still shaken from how close Penny came earlier to falling. You don't want to think about it. Don't want that dose of reality.] The air is noticeably thinner here than Base Camp and even Camp 1. It's only an elevation difference of 1,500 feet - just 450m but your lungs can tell the difference - your muscles. You're ready to set up the tent, boil up some water, and lay down for the rest of the night. You and Penny set about the [[laborious task]] of prepping for sleep. It takes one hell of a while. {(set: $Energy to it -4)(set:$Hydration to it -2)(set: $Skills to it +0.5)(set: $DecisionMaking to it -0.5)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 11 | Elevation: 6400 m (21,000 ft)] Darkness falls early and you and Penny lay in your tent, cold as a wind whips up outside, causing the tent to flap fiercly. You've sipped on your hot tea and a cup of noodles and soup - both so welcome after the day's labors. It hasn't helped your headache, but like when you overnighted in Camp 1, you don't expect it will. You read your [[letter->MomLetter]] and run your finger over your $totem to pass the time, think about reading the book in your pack. You're exhausted and as the wind howls you try to sleep. (click-append:"try to sleep.")[ //Try// being the operative word. [[Sleep?]]] {(set:$Energy to it -4)(set:$Hydration to it -1)(set:$DecisionMaking to it -2)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 12 | Elevation: 6400 m (21,000 ft)] (align:"=><=")[''//Funny joke.//''] (live:3s)[Last night was garbage - Penny snored even though she's never done that before in her life, and you got maybe a few moments of rough sleep. Your head pounded the whole time and you had a cramp in your gut that didn't feel right at all. Thankfully it didn't progress, but it sure as hell didn't help.] (live: 6s)[You're ready to get out of here, to go back down, but Drew has ordered two nights at Camp II to acclimitize, so you [[wait.->C2.1night]]]

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 13 | Elevation: 6400 m (21,000 ft)] Two nights at elevation dragged more than you thought they would, but by the time the sun is up, you're packed, and out, following Penny and Frank and now Gemma from the UK team down the way you came. You try to be hypervigilent for creaks or crevasses as you [[pass through the Valley,->DecendP3]] (if: $lead is true)[ever aware of what happened two days ago. Of the bottomless depths of the glacier that have swallowed bodies, sometimes reguritating them years later.](if:$follow is true)[ever aware of how close your friend came to those dark depths.]

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 13 | Elevation: Below Camp I] Camp 1 flew by (in the way that things fly by when you're slowing gaining O(text-style:"subscript")[2] as you take each decending step. You feel strong, even with the headache that still pounds. You think it's lessening as the altitude melts away, but you can't be sure. (if:$icefallwatch is true)[(set:$DecisionMaking to it +4)(set:$Energy to it +1) You see Pasang Sherpa ahead and stop to chat as you meet in the middle. His smile is broad as he greets you. (if: $lead is true)[It fades when you tell him about the crevasse, but he squeezes your shoulder in a way that dispels some of the spirits from the night before.] It's always a comfort to see this man - so at home on the mountain, and the only reason you could even dream of the summit in the first place. You bid farewell as Pasang heads up to Camp I] [[You keep walking.->toBCp3]] {(set: $Hydration to it -3}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 13 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)] "Base Camp, you beautiful devil," you say, flopping into your tent, $totem rolling to the floor. You are spent, exhausted, and ready to actually eat and sleep in comfort. You have a few days until the next push. //Relax.// Soon it will be [[time to go.->Part 4]] {(set: $Energy to it + 13) (set: $Hydration to it + 8)(set:$Skills to it+2)}

(font:"Kdam Thmor Pro")[(align:"=><=")+(box:"===XXXXXXXXXXXXXX===")[#Part 4 ##[[Not Quite to the Top, But Damn Close->P4Start]]]] {(set: $footer to true)(set:$lead to false)(set: $follow to false)(set:$side to true)(set:$P2 to false)(set:$P1 to false)(set:$P3 to false)(set:$Cwm to false)(set:$Lhotse to true)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 14-16 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)] INSERT TIME PASSING GIF [[Days pass, and then...]] {(set:$footer to false)}

(align:"==>")+(box:"==XXX")[April 13 | Elevation: 5,270m (17,600 ft)] It's time to go. Once more to the top before the final push in two weeks. The landmarks are familiar now but they still dwarf you - crevasses the size of the Buick your mom drove for years, a Valley prehistoric in its grandeur, the depths of the crevasses.