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Everest and Himalaya daily wrap-up: Ice fall docs at work!
Apr 6, 2005 11: 19 EST
Live dispatches are pouring in from the 50+ expeditions on Everest: 20 on the South side, and 30 on the North. Read their full reports in the links sections, and check ExWeb's wrap-ups of the main events:
Sherpas are busy on both sides, Icefall docs are already fixing ladders and rope in the Khumbu Icefall. Climbers have done some training trips but serious climbing is expected after the puja ceremonies are taken care off, probably on April, 7th.
It's not all sunshine either. Maoists are back in the game (check separate stories today) blocking the North side, and on the South side Keith reports on tension mounting in the team.
Team Abramov have problems of their own: How to get the world's first expedition Mahogany toilet past the maoists!
Everest North
Climbers are approaching and some teams are already in BC, but the biggest news today are of course the Maoists. This is the latest from Abramov:
"The departure of the advanved group, planned for today (Nikolay Cherny, Andrey Selivanov and 11 sherpas), was postponed because of the maoists' strike. Traffic in Kathmandu is blocked. Two expedition members from Slovenia who left to trek in Laktang - couldn't get a car back to Kathmandu."
"They called and said they would be walking all night - which is 140km! Everything was ready for the start to Tibet: 4 trucks, 15 tons of expedition loads and the first in the history of Everest expeditions - a mahogany toilet!"
05.04.2005 Afternoon.
"Andrey Selivanov (expedition doctor) reports from Kathmandu:
"Today Lihteneker Marko and Mlinar joined us in the hotel. They had got stuck in Laktang, 140km from Katmandu, because of the strike. They walked the whole night and day and today they reached the hotel."
"Tomorrow we are making Tibet visas and possibly are leaving Katmandu the day after tomorrow. Today also the last group is leaving Moscow for Katmandu - Moskalev Dmitry, Iakovenko Alexander, and Kaimachnikov Sergey."
"A couple of weeks ago Moskalev broke his arm. He is supposed to remove the plaster in a week. But his friend Iakovenko Alexander promised to help him to do it earlier - during the flight to Katmandu."
Everest South
Dirk Stephan and Keith Woodhouse
Keith is confident after testing his climbing skills in the Khumbu icefall. However, he has a different opinion on some of his climbing mates. Some bad vibes seem to be breeding in the expedition. Check out Keith's latest dispatches:
“Some tension is building in the team. Ludmila, the Russian guide, is complaining about the food. She had a point but the way in which she addressed the Sherpa cook was unacceptable. Still she seems ok with me now. Dirk and I are on the same page and get on great."
"Sergei the other Russian just wants to get on with it but he is both inexperienced and nowhere near ready - Ludmila worries about this. Quan is still struggling and I'll be surprised if he gets up the icefall. His knowledge of mountaineering and self sufficiency is woefully inadequate."
"Dr Claus is starting to fit in and although he has the arrogance you would expect of a German medical consultant he knows what this is all about. Climbing Everest is a long game and I am pleased with my mental preparation; all the issues so far I expected and I'm just glad that Dirk and I can rely on each other without the rest if push comes to shove.”
“Today there’s been more acclimatization in the Khumbu icefall. I saw the whole team in action today and I am not impressed. Although many of the guys have an impressive list of mountains to their names many lack basic mountaineering skills."
"Claus lost his ice axe down a crevasse, which gave me the opportunity to try and retrieve it. I was the only person with the knowledge and ability to both abseil down and then prussic back up the rope. As it turned out my 15m rescue rope was too short and we had to radio for a longer rope. His axe was actually 35metres down. This was a basic error and I hope everyone has learned the lesson."
"Quan made it across two ladder bridges but had to turn back exhausted. There are no less than 60 of these to cross before camp 1. My guess is that it will be another 2 to 3days before we are strong enough to attempt to go to C1 and back in the same day.”
Singapore Mountaineers without O2
The team reached BC by the Khumbu glacier on April, 3rd. This is their last:
“Today is the first day with warm sunshine and little wind. We took advantage of the weather to take lots of photos with sponsors flags and clothing. A puja has been planned for April 7, an auspicious day, according to the Sherpas. Meanwhile, the ice doctors have been laying the ladders across crevasses on the icefall.”
University of Singapore’s Centennial Expedition
“Everest BC sits on the Khumbu Glacier - literally. Dig just centimeters below the sandy ground and you see solid ice. Our camp is on high ground, with the dining and kitchen tents a few meters below. All around us are large boulders, loose rocks and slippery sandy slopes. The Sherpas however have managed to make it quite comfortable, even using flat rocks to create steps to the dining tent for ease of movement.”
“The team has been busy sorting out gear and high-altitude food, organizing the dining tent, and setting up the communications equipment. The meals from our chief cook Pemba has been a marked improvement over the fare served in the last two weeks. That, plus all the morale food we brought with us, has given the guys a tremendous appetite.”
“The weather has been quite erratic, high winds alternating with warm sunshine. Overnight temperature in the tent can drop to as low as -10C. We have begun tracking the weather reports, hoping to see a pattern that will allow us to make fairly certain predictions of the days ahead.”
Shaunna and Ben
Mike Swarbrick, part of Shaunna and Ben’s BC staff, reported yesterday from Tyengboche
“We walked into the courtyard of the Tyengboche Monastery at 3,840 m. two days ago. The view includes one of the most beautiful, monolithic mountains in the World, Ama Dablam. Our campsite this night was at the end of a stunning downhill walk through a rocky Rhododendron forest."
"The subtle, soft sunlight, weaving its way through the branches and lush greenery reminded me of the bush in North Toronto my friends and I used to play in as children. It was a cold , clear night, freezing half the water in my bottle. Our five hour walk today brought us up and over huge, ragged glacial moraine that rises steep over the Dudh Koshi River and into Dingboche, one of the last permanent settlements enroute to Mount Everest.”
Annapurna
North side: Silvio Mondinelli´s team
Silvio Mondinelli has sent a dispatch from BC paying a tribute to the Pope John Paul the II, recently deceased. Silvio met the Pope last fall.
Mario Merelli has reported on a dust-filled wind blowing over BC for the past hours. “We had to work hard to repair the tents, collect our gear and clean the inside of the tents. Even though, all we ate today tasted like dust.”
The team is currently resting in BC. They will resume their climb, weather permitting, on Thursday.”
Adventure Consultants | Gabriel Filippi’s reports through Peak Freak | 7 Summits/Harry Kikstra’s dispatches | Esplugues al Everest | Singapore Mountaineers w/o O2 | Singapore NUS Centennial expedition´s reports | Ed Viesturs' website | Alpine Ascents Cybercasts| Shaunna Burke and Ben Webster’s dispatches| Jim Williams’ Exploradus dispatches| Dirk Stephan and Keith Woodhouse’s reports| Jean Pavilliard and Monica Kalodzi’s dispatches| International Mountain Guides dispatches| Sigrid Hammer’s website| Everest Vitesse 2005| Inaki Ochoa| Ivan Vallejo| Leipzig expedition´s news | Silvio ‘Gnaro’ Mondinelli Mountain Madness dispatches | Jagged Globe dispatches | Climbing for a Cure’s dispatches | Japanese Team Honda’s website | Canadian Kanatek expedition’s diary
Live image over Contact 3.0 of Keith looking down a crevasse while crossing a ladder on the Khumbu icefall, courtesy of Keith Woodhouse/Everest2005.co.uk
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