A beautiful morning allowed the Sherpas to move up past Camp 3 and begin fixing the section of ridge above. From the shelter of the camp, this section of ridge leads up at an angle of about 45 degrees for several hundred metres. This will be the gateway to the narrow section of ridge prior to the Gendarme. We watched their progress eagerly from Base Camp through binoculars whilst pointing out the sections of the route to Gen Sam and Lady Anne. Later in the morning our visitors went for a walk further up the valley to get better views of the South Face of Makalu and further beyond to Lhotse and Everest.

Alec and Dave T began their descent from Camp 2 this morning and shortly after lunch a team of three departed up the hill to replace them. Ven, Boycie and Ady will move up through the camps over the next three days to stand by behind Dave B and Uisdean - ready to work on the route above Camp 3. They will move tomorrow to intermediate camp covering ground which has changed character significantly over the last week. Temperatures have risen at all levels now since we arrived and many changes in our environment have taken place. At Basecamp now we have green shoots poking through the hard earth, and many types of flowers appearing around the tents. Just round the corner from camp the herds of yaks have now made their way up the valley to graze. In addition the climbing ground is now far thinner of ice and snow - meaning we must constantly check the anchors for our fixed rope.

The weather deteriorated during the afternoon, laying a few centimetres of fresh snow on the mountain at all levels above Camp 1. Rain fell at Base Camp for 3 hours, although the weather did clear early evening to provide excellent views of Makalu.

Tomorrow, Dave B and Uisdean will move up to occupy Camp 3, ready to climb the next day. As this part of the ridge is the international border between Nepal and Tibet it may actually mean that tomorrow, although both in the same tent, they may be in different countries and 2 hours 15 minutes apart! The Sherpas will also go to Camp 3 tomorrow with loads for Camp 4, following this they will return to BC for an extremely well deserved rest.