Time to go. Our race is against the dawn. As the Icefall heats up with the rising sun, the likelihood of a collapse increases. Our goal is to try and get through the Icefall before the sun hits the ice and weakens the bond of one block to another. The Icefall is a frozen river.
Gravity drags the ice downward.
The pull is constant. The slow, steady flow of ice is imperceptible, but not all of the Icefall's movements are slow, some are sudden. Before entering the Icefall, Eric and I stop at the Lhapsung, a stone altar built by the Sherpas as a place of worship. Chungba feeds kerosene to the burning juniper. His face glows in the darkness, reflecting the bursting flames.