There's nothing quite so isolated as a track that is not especially popular at the best of times, and especially so during the week. Such was the Tirohanga Track at Pirongia Forest Park today. It's a pretty steep climb to the Ruapane trig at 723m and this added 350-odd metres to my total which is now 6206m.
There are definite advantages and disadvantages of a virtual climb of Everest. The disadvantage previously mentioned is that you have to start from sea-level, while real climbers fly a lot of the way. However real climbers cannot simply walk to the top of Everest from Base Camp. The requirements of acclimatisation to the altitude means that they actually have to climb and descend several times before making the final push for the summit, which has to be done with a clear weather window.
My elevation is now about 100 metres above Camp 1 on Everest, and heading for Camp 2. If I was actually there, I would be moving very slowly and gasping for breath. My muscles would be atrophying as the combintaion of low pressure and low oxygen levels messes with my physiology.
So even though I've still got over 2000m to go, I'm actually glad I'm not doing the actual climb.
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