The way to reach the summit was therefore now getting very much clearer. The North-East Ridge could be reached by the edge of the North Face from theNorth Col. From theNorth Col to the summit the way was clear.
Once I'd established a balance and rhythm to skiing and breathing, I switched off the headlamp. Suddenly my world expanded from a small swath of lit snow to the immense darkness of the place. The tongue of the glacier I was climbing led up toward theNorth Col, 3,000 feet above me. To my right the great wall of the North Face rose 9,000 feet. On the left, Changtse loomed 5,000 feet high.
With the help of yaks, the team set up an advanced base camp at twenty-one thousand feet, below theNorth Col, a saddle between Everest and Changtse, its satellite peak to the north.
During the course of the reconnaissance, the East Rongbuk Glacier and theNorth Col were discovered, which seemed to offer a promising route to Everest’s North East Ridge and thence the summit itself.
Norton knew the cruel face of the mountain. From theNorth Col, the route to the summit follows the North Ridge, which rises dramatically in several thousand feet to fuse with the Northeast Ridge, which, in turn, leads to the peak.
