How It All Goes Down
Lhotse Face, April 29, 1996, 23,400 Feet
- On the 29th, Hall's team (minus Hansen) makes another attempt at Camp Three. Though the going is agonizingly painful, Krakauer successfully makes it.
- Along the way, he finds himself impressed by his inexperienced colleagues, namely Beck Weathers. Although the two men's political differences drove a wedge between them at first, Krakauer finds himself respecting Weather's fearless pursuit of his goals.
- Unlike Camps One and Two, Camp Three is precariously perched on the side of the mountain. In other words, "the vista was primarily sky rather than earth" (10.18).
- Despite his pride, Krakauer is a little freaked out—he worries that he has High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE), which is when one's brain is deprived of oxygen and begins swelling painfully.
- Hall's posse descends back to Base Camp over the next several days. This is a momentous occasion, as it marks the final acclimatization trip—they'll be heading for the summit on May 10.
- Fischer's team will be attempting the summit the same day, and the other teams are supposed to make their own attempts on the days before and after.