Thursday 13/09
After a second rest day on Saturday, on Sunday we walked through the morraine field above ABC to the 'lake' half way to Camp One. The route meanders and careful attention to the waymarking wands is required. Whilst not expecting an inland ocean, the 'lake' turned out to be more of a glacial puddle than a sizeable water feature. Saturday night was spent at the 'tea house' across the ABC campsite - probably the highest pub in the world!
The following day, we retraced our steps to the spectacular water feature and then continued up the steep scree slope to Camp One (6446m). Depositing our loads, we rested gratefully before sliding back down the scree and across the morraine in deteriorating weather.

Tuesday was a planned as a rest day, with Wednesday scheduled for a return to Camp One to stay overnight. Heavy precipitation pushed this back 24 hours, and we now plan to leave midday Thursday.

Breakfast on Wednesday was spent huddled over Simon's SW radio, as we took in the terrible news from New York & Washington. We must be in a very small minority not to be able to watch the devastation on TV. Cho Oyo ABC seems a very safe place to be.

There are too many variables for there to be a plan as such, but the outline from now is:
* today's sortie to Camp One, whilst the sherpas work on the fixed lines up to Camp Two.
* after a return to ABC, we then go again to Camp One and then onto Camp Two.
* with that acclimatisation behind us, we return to ABC to recuperate, and wait for the weather and the summit attempt. Meanwhile, to keep all this in perspective, we tune in regularly to BBC World Service.