After nearly a month here, I still have yet to get used to my surroundings. Each morning I crawl out of my Sierra Designs tent and am amazed at the surrounding peaks and valleys. I am not sure what words to use to describe the scene, but stunning and majestic just don't pass muster anymore.

Our base camp is placed in close proximity to the main thrust of the ice fall - the Khumbu Glacier. While I can walk on rocks from tent to tent, it is important to note that we are perched somewhat precariously on top of a moving glacier. Only 100 feet from my tent there is a small lake where large chunks of ice calve, fall and splash. Each day I check the wall of ice for changes. At night, I hear groans and chugs of moving ice and feel the reverberations radiate up through my ThermaRest sleeping pad. The sounds remind me of the Arctic Ocean and I am comforted by the fact that these sounds are more familiar than foreign.

Whatever ill spirit that attacked my back iis now nearly gone. Not only do I feel better physically, but my stress level has eased considerably as well. I am not 100% but I soon will be - I have lived inside this sack of skin for over 39 years and I seem to have developed a fairly decent understanding of its subtle nuances. If nothing else, I have once again come to terms with my own mortality.

'The boys' are now above the rock band and should have the route fixed to the South Col by the end of the day. I am jealous of their efforts and wish I could be somewhere near, but being part of a team doesn't necessarily mean doing everything all the time. Once finished, they will come back to base camp for a rest.

I did a bit of spring cleaning and organized my tent. It had been slowly devolving for a while and was in dire need of some organization. I am very greatful for all the tent pockets that SD's Phil Mesdag added to the Mountain Meteor which help greatly.

Part of a body was found in the ice fall and folks from Nepal's SPCC were working to recover what was left of the remains. Goraks (ravens) had eaten most of the flesh.

'A Turkish climber from 15 years ago or so,' Tshering told me. How did they know, I wondered. Sensing my confusion Tshering added, they found his passport.'

Image: Redefining home office.