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Everest, Shisha and Cho Oyu daily wrap-up: Double header sky skiers arrive BC
Sep 22, 2004 11: 09 EST
After 6 weeks of silence, Swede Thomas Olsson is back reporting about the Bergans Big Mountain Ski expedition he leads to Cho Oyu and Shisha Pangma.
Weather:
Heavy activity of southwest monsoon over eastern parts of India during the period. Some upper troughs will pass mainly north of ME but will affect the mountain area at times with showers.
Winds will blow West-southwest 5-10 m/s at summit level, at end of the period turning to north or northwest. At 7500 m, they’ll blow mainly west-southwest about 5 m/s, at times 10. From Sunday variable or north.
No jet in the area. The trough of Monsoon runs from Karnataka to West Bengal, resulting in heavy activity in eastern states of India.
Everest North:
Probably frustrated and sad, team members are on their way back home (read yesterday's story). Team leader Werner is sending final chronicle next Saturday from a Cyber-cafe in Kathmandu.
Cho Oyu:
Alpine Ascents Summit report. The whole team reached the summit yesterday "We are now down to Camp II. Everyone is in their tent, snuggled up. Everyone is safe and sound after a spectacular day today.
It started out a little bit marginal, not much visibility, some high winds and then luckily we were treated to a few glimpses of Everest off to the east. When you get to the true summit of Cho Oyu you can see Everest off to the east and the clouds parted a few times, long enough to see Everest, Lhotse and Pumori but very briefly, I don’t even know if we got any good photos. It was a quite a bit of wind up top but certainly do-able summit day and we ended up having a beautiful one.
Everybody did great and looking forward to a good night sleep here at Camp II. We are really looking forward to getting down to ABC and getting there in the early afternoon time tomorrow (today) and having a nice, good meal from Gopal and some wine and some spirits. So that’s all from Camp II and when we get back down to ABC, assuming everything is working, we will send over some photos from our summit bid.”
Bergans Big Mountain Ski Expedition: The Swedish-Norwegian climbers/skiers are back in cyberspace with a new dispatch:
Last in Tibet! Today the climbers Tomas Olsson and his crew, arrived BC almost two weeks after schedule. September 6 Tomas contracted a virus infection and had to remain at 4900 meters to get well. Already before that, the expedition was delayed due to the unrest in Kathmandu. Tomas objective is to make a world first double header ski descent from Cho Oyu and Shisha in one expedition. Although it started out bad, he is positive:
"Clearly the bad start has decreased my chances. The margins for weather and mistakes are smaller but I still feel good about it. I have recovered from my infection and can't wait to begin the climb. I will rest for a few days in BC and then start the ascent routine. Being last in BC doesn't mean arriving last at the summit!" Tomas shares his BC with the film maker Peter Frick, photographer Jonas Tufvesson and the Norwegian adventurer Tormod Granheim.
Reus8000 team Came back yesterday to ABC from an exhausting trip to Camp 2 (7100m), over the serac barriers. They were loaded with gear and food to stock Camp 3. Climbers will recover for a couple of days, while the storm hits the mountain. According to forecasts, an improvement is expected for September 23/24, and that's when they’ll go up on their summit push. If the plans work, they could reach the top on the 26th or 27th.
Jamie McGuinness and Project Himalaya team are in Advance Base Camp. His latest word in the current true summit debate: "There is only one true summit, and that is the very highest point. On Cho Oyu on a fine day there is no mistaking where this is, although it is a slog to get there. Be true to yourself!"
Shisha Pangma: :
Osona-Maresme team patiently awaits for a new sunny day in ABC. So does the other Catalan team on the mountain Viladecans expedition having set Intermediate Camp at 5800m and Camp 1 at 6300m.
Italian Silvio Mondinelli along with three Andorran climbers-Oriol Rivas, Ramon rossel and Xavi Bonati- have established ABC at the foot of Shisha Pangma south side. Despite bad weather, they planned to go up and scout the route today.
Seven Summits Everest North | Dutch team on Everest North | Alpine Ascents on Cho Oyu | Cho Oyu Jean Pavilliard’s dispatches | Catalonian Reus 8000 team on Cho Oyu | Bergans Big Mountain Ski Expedition | Fredrik Ericsson on Shisha Pangma | Osona-Maresme Catalonians to Shisha Pangma | Catalan Viladecams team to Shisha Pangma | Iñaki Ochoa | Jamie McGuinness
Image of Tomas Olsson in BC, at 5700m, courtesy of the team
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