Bud called at 7:30 this morning to let me know his progress.  They climbed for 9-1/2 hours yesterday all the way to Camp 2.  He said they were pretty tired.  In fact, bed sounded better than food!  I think the word he used was that he was “toasted.”  It is actually hot during the afternoon if there is no cloud cover.  The sun reflects up off the snow and literally toasts them.  Then the sun goes down or is obscured in some way and you begin to get cold. 

The will spend the night and have a day to rest and recuperate from the long day they had getting to Camp 2.  Then they will proceed to Camp 3, etc.
He reiterated that he had only one more trip through the icefall.  I remember before we travelled in 2006 for Bud’s first attempt at Everest. He expressed several times that he was concerned that he might get to the icefall and be so intimidated by it that he just turned around and came home.  Some folks have had that response.  It still is not a part of the trip that he enjoys.  Hmmmm, ladders tied together spanning a crevace, risk of avalanche, just can’t understand the big deal.
As Bud calls and updates me on their progress, I will try to convey as closely as possible the physical, mental and emotional state he is in.