The 23km climg up to advanced base camp is due to take place later this week, reports Grania Willis.
Everest base camp, whether on the north side in Tibet or the south side in Nepal, is never the most welcoming place in the world. The north side has been particularly inclement this week.
We arrived here last Friday having been treated to sensational views of the mountain as we wound our way down from the 5,200m pass at Pang La.
There is a photograph of George Mallory viewing Everest through a telescope before embarking on his ill-fated 1920s expedition. He couldn't have had a better view than we did, with the clear conditions affording us an uninterrupted sighting of Everest. It is awe-inspiring and, to be honest, gut-clenching beauty.
But by the time we settled into our "Himalayan experience" camp and feasted on Lacchu's amazing cooking, all created in the most basic of tented kitchens, the window to Everest had closed and the mountain disappeared behind clouds that were to remain for the next two days.
In this region, clouds rarely come unaccompanied. Winds gusting at 140 km/h and intermittent squalls of snow have kept the temperatures down in the seriously uncomfortable zone.
Nights are long here as the cold usually means everyone has sought the relative comfort of their sleeping bag by 9pm at the very latest. The 10 often sleepless hours waiting for morning are particularly character-forming.
The wind picks up speed after dark, howling down the Rongbuk glacier uninterrupted, attempting to shred our tents and send the remnants scurrying down towards the shanty town that has sprung up farther down the valley.
Tea at 7am is a welcome break from the lengthy vigil waiting for the wind to do its worst.
And it has already done its worst as our interim camp has been flattened and the sherpas have been unable to start work on advanced base camp.
With instructions from expedition leader Russell Brice not to overexert ourselves after a 1,000m change in altitude, Saturday was passed visiting neighbouring camps and playing cards.
Ranulph Fiennes, who is temporarily breaking away from his usual flatland exploration in favour of mountaineering, was nowhere to be seen at the Jagged Globe base camp.
And neither of the large Chinese or Indian teams has arrived, although a row of individual toilet tents has already been erected as part of the Chinese medical experiment to measure personal intake and output during the expedition.
The Norwegians had already left for advanced base camp (ABC), but the Koreans are still in residence, acclimatising before embarking on their search, not for the summit, but for the bodies of three of their compatriots killed on the mountain last year.
The skies finally cleared on Sunday, and the mountain returned to her throne at the head of the valley. But the plume from her summit told of the winds up high and they certainly hadn't abated at base camp.
We did manage to find some respite with an acclimatisation walk up the frozen river, where the valley walls provided some welcome shelter.
While we have been getting used to our 5,200m temporary home, the Hinex sherpas have been hard at work trying to restore interim camp and set up ABC. Two of them have already succumbed to altitude sickness, and team doctor Terry O'Connor has been called in to treat them for mild pulmonary oedema.
A couple of climbers have also been hit by the altitude, with headaches and stomach upsets becoming an accepted part of everyday life.
Three caravans of 82 yaks each have already transported the bulk of the expedition gear up to the 6,400m site for advanced base camp. A further three waves of 21 yaks are due to take more gear, including our personal belongings, up today.
The expedition members will be embarking on the 22km climb up the Rongbuk glacier to ABC towards the end of this week, although the trip will be split over two days with an overnight at interim camp, once it has been restored.
Russell Brice doesn't believe in accelerating the acclimatisation process, and his success on the mountain proves the value of his experience.
Last year despite desperate weather conditions that prevented acclimatisation climbs above the 7,000m North Col, Brice put 15 of his 20 clients on the summit of Everest, with a further 18 guides and sherpas also making it to the top of the world.
Provided we get the weather window we need, I can only live in hope at this early stage that I will be another of the Himalayan experience success stories towards the end of next month.
The Grania Willis Everest Challenge 2005, supported by The North Face, SORD Data Systems, Peak Centre Ireland and Great Outdoors, is in aid of the Irish Hospice Foundation and the Friends of St Luke's Hospital.
Donations can be made to the Grania Willis Everest Challenge, Permanent TSB, Blackrock, Co Dublin, acct number 86877341, sort code 99-06-44. Visa card donations to 01-2303009.