Two hours later they were climbing the escarpment up to the ridge that would take them to Lobuche. Frank had put Da-wa in the lead so he could hang back with Sarah, Greg, and Aldan. To his surprise, Sarah was doing great and Aldan seemed to be getting on as well, but there was still a good slog ahead until they reached the top. The rest of the team had traveled on ahead of them and were nearing the crest of the ridge.
“Clouds are moving in,” Greg said.
“Getting colder, too,” Sarah added.
Frank checked his hand-held altimeter. They were about 4,700 meters above sea level and halfway up the slope. By the time they made the Lobuche outpost the temps would drop another twenty degrees Celsius.
Sarah stabbed her pole into the unforgiving ground and searched for a place to put her foot on the
