Lhotse is itself another of the true Himalayan giants and at 8,516 metres (27,940 feet) it is the forth highest mountain on the planet. Its western side, a 3,700 foot wall of glacial blue ice, known as the Lhotse Face, forms an unavoidable section of the Everest summit route.
From its base, the Lhotse face rises at a constant 40 to 50 degree incline with the occasional 80 degree, near vertical, bulge. The entire route is fixed with ropes and climbers must get into a rhythmic movement of pulling themselves up on the rope and stepping up, kicking the front points of their crampons in the hard blue ice as they go. The climb is relentless and saps the energy of even the fittest of mountaineers. Camp 3 sits about half way up the face perched on carved out ledges in the ice and providing the climbers with some much needed respite.
Above Camp 3 lies the Yellow Band, a distinctive layer of sedimentary sandstone which is traversed using over 100 metres of rope. It quickly becomes obvious when a climber reaches the Yellow Band as the points in their crampons no longer sink into the ice, instead they hit solid rock.
After defeating the Yellow Band the climbers then come up against a massive anvil-shaped rib of black rock known as the Geneva Spur. This is again fixed with ropes to assist the climbers to scramble up its snow covered uneven rock surface towards the South Col. This is the final major hurdle the climbers face before reaching the final camp, Camp 4.