After the highs come the lows. With the Brazilian team resting overnight at C4 following their summit day yesterday, the expectation was for an early start this morning as Carlos, Carlito and Rodrigo would descend from C4 to C2. The journey back down is a strength sapping endurance test, the earlier the start the cooler the conditions and reduced stress on the already tired climbers.

However, with the best laid plans and all that. Without any warning, earlier this morning a sudden and destructive storm hit the mountain; it gusted through the upper camps delivering chaos wherever it touched. The Western Cwm and The South Col were hit hard, first reports from Brian at C3 confirmed that winds had gusted to around 100kmh, tents were shredded and blown away, luckily the Asian Trekking site received some protection and Brian made it safely through the night.

Final oxygen checks

Down at C2 the winds tore apart the mess tent and kitchen tent. Pemba Tenzing Sherpa radioed down to say that the clients had a sleepless night but were otherwise well. The C2 staff will be busy making repairs throughout the day and getting the kitchen back on line. Meanwhile we await any further updates on the weather, as mentioned last nights storm appeared without any warning

During the early morning we waited for contact from the South Col, the storm was still hitting hard up there and it made sense that the Brazilian team would be sheltering in their tents; in radio silence we awaited news. Finally a team of Sherpa’s, high up on the mountain, radioed down. At C2 they could see the outline of six climbers slowly making their way down from C4. A collective sigh went out, shortly after this Kami Sherpa radioed down to say that “all was well” and “get the kettle on” ·Roger that…

So bad wind stops play? As the day unfolded it quickly became obvious that those heading up (Chris, Deke and Bruno) should hold fire at C2. Apa Sherpa was very clear that a forced rest day would not adversely affect the summit bid.· By slipping a day to the right, the team will now summit on the 11 May.

As planned the Indian team of Sunita, Premlata, Narinder, Arjun, Vikas and Sushma will leave BC tomorrow morning. Today they busied themselves completing final checks on equipment and making sure nothing was overlooked.

During the afternoon Vikas appeared at the communications tent looking slightly pensive. He explained how he had bought his down suit in Kathmandu at the last minute, in mitigation he never fully checked it out, in fact he never even unwrapped it? He now owns a second hand down suit from the PAKISTAN K2 expedition in 2008, complete with national badges, and wondered if he could borrow some tape to cover up all those badges – good luck! We can’t wait for the summit pictures J