May 20 South Col 7900m Summit Col. Time: 2:00pm.
We have made it to the South Col. One of the most, if not the most famous camp in the world.
Last night at camp 3 was a very good night. It was quite warn in our tent with the three of us. I did not even zip my sleeping bag all the way. I slept pretty well, but woke frequently. We were up at 4:30am to start to pack and get hot water for breakfast. Everything always takes longer than we think. We did not set off at 5am as planned, but were on the trail just after 6am.
We all had our down suits on, but it was not that cold. I could have gone with my standard climbing suit. We were also wearing oxygen for the first time.
Right out of camp is a 10m vertical ice wall. After I got to the top of that I thought the oxygen was a load of hooey. But that was not a fair test. I had not warmed up yet. I gasped for air and tore the mask off my face feeling I was suffocating. This is, of course, the wrong thing to do. I put the mask back one and took several deep breaths. That did the trick and I kept climbing.
I found that the oxygen was amazing, I was running at a flow of 1L per minute and it was like magic. Not only did it give me the oxygen my body was craving, but it also helped to reduce my cough. As I breathed into my mask it would warm and moisten the air I breathed in. This soothed my throat. Without the constant coughing, I was much stronger and faster.
The route up the remainder of the Lhotse face was unrelenting. Up, up, up, at a constant angle of 45-60 degrees. Near the top of the face we made a big traverse to the left. Looking across the face it did not look
too bad. At the end of this traverse is the yellow band; a prominent band of limestone that bisects the face.
The yellow band looked daunting, but turned out to be not too bad. About 45 feet of crampons scrapping on rock and I was on top.
After some more upward gain we had another traverse. This one much longer than the last. Over an hour later I was still crossing it. Distances are deceiving when you are moving so slow. At the end of this traverse I came to the Geneva Spur. This is a large band of black rock that is the final barrier to the South Col.
I took a long rest at the bottom of the spur and let Ryan, Angus, and Al catch up. I had been in the lead most of the day and had not seen them for hours. By the time they got there I was getting cold. I did a quick check in and hit the trail. Angus did not break for long and was soon behind me.
The Geneva Spur was pretty straight forward and we were on the top in about 40 minutes.
At the top of the Geneva Spur I lifted my head and was struck with the sight of Everest's upper pyramid. It almost knocked me off balance it was such a powerful sight. Somewhere up there there is a Sherpa team fixing line to the South Summit. I was just told by Kala that they are continuing to fix all the way to the summit if possible.
From here it was just a long traverse on broken rock to the South Col and Camp 4
Camp 4 is situated on a large sort of flat expanse of broken rock. The first thing you notice as you walk into camp is the vast amount of garbage left over from past expeditions. Most of the garbage consists of ruined tents, broken tent poles, fuel canisters, batteries, and food packages. There are no used oxygen bottles as the retrieve a deposit when brought down.
We located our tent and moved in. My Sherpa Kala is in the tent with us and has been feeding us drinks. I am a little tired from the climb, but feel surprising good. I have been off oxygen since I got here with no ill affects.
Ryan, Al, Angus, and Alan also seem to be doing well.
Overall it was a beautiful day. The views were amazing and the temperatures were pretty good.
The next several hours will be spent getting ready for the summit. We will try to sleep, but will not get much. We will depart around 9:00pm. It should take us around 12 hours to get to the summit. After my performance today I feel pretty positive, but would not guarantee the top. I will do my best and that is all I can do. It will be brutally though that I know.
I want to thank everyone who has supported my along t is journey. I know I already said it, but I will gain much of my strength from Susan, Amy, and Colin.
There may or may not be an update before I send. If not, the next time you will hear from me will be some time on the morning of the 21st (20th night EST time). I will have news then.

Message from Angus:
Dear All
What a great day! Incredible views as we climbed up 850 vertical meters from C3 to the South Col, it took us 7 hours. I’m sucking O's (oxygen) as I write this. We are drinking and eating as we prepare to leave at 9 pm tonight for the summit.
Mum, I’ve got your Christmas cake for dessert.
Sarah, I've got a chocolate bar you sent me to keep me warm.
Feeling good,
All my love,
Angus
(Thanks to all those who are following my climb)

Messages:

Susan, Amy, and Colin, I will be thinking of you as I walk towards the top of the world. I will make it for you.
Love, Daddy Scott.

Barbara , John, and Lachlan
Thanks for continuing to follow along. I know what it is like. I have been a junkie of other peoples Everest blogs in the past. I do it for myself, my family and the others who follow along. I know what it meant to me to follow along with others and I wanted to do tnat as well. That is why I go into the detail and personal thoughts as I do.

Scott, I look forward to sharing photos and stories this summer. Send me an email when I get home with your travel plans.

Janicke, Paul, and the girls
Thanks for your continued support. I look forward to seeing you when I get home.

Karen, Phil, Nathan, and Maggie
Thanks for your continued support. SPAM is a part of many, many meals up here. Our camp 2 cook is much better at preparing it than our base camp cook. The trick is to slice it thin and fry it until it is crispy. Yummm.
We have all started to feel some food stress. The cooking is excellent, but I (we) have almost had enough. There are only so many ways (and days) you can have Spam, spaghetti, rice, and potatoes.

MC, Thanks for your continued support. Alan liked your song. You may be able to send it direct to him when he gets home. We will give it our all over the next few days.

Dave and the Dofasco gang, Thanks for all your support. I'll show you photos in the fall.

Rod, Alison and crew, thanks for your message. We will all be giving it everything we have over the next couple days. Everyone is strong and doing well.

QE, thanks again. I'll do my best to get a summit shot for you.

Paula, I know how hard you work and how determined you are. We will both dig deep and meet our goals.