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ExplorersWeb Week in Review
Dec 18, 2004 15: 14 EST
A Himalayan winter controversy, a Siberian odyssey heading from bad to worse, an Antarctic thriller coming up and skippers battling angry oceans; it's anything but a serene Christmas in the world of high adventure.
Shisha Pangma controversy Jean Christophe arrived Shisha mid November and established camps. Stuck in bad weather in ABC for a week, Jean Christophe finally summited last Saturday. He kept his climb a secret to the day of the summit push and claimed Shisha’s first winter ascent.
Simone Moro & the Polish winter Shisha climbers instead were very public with their intention to attempt a first Shisha winter summit – a repeat of their very close try last year. The guys are not on the mountain yet, as Moro has always stated that the ‘official’ winter is no other than that marked by calendar dates: from December 21 to March 21. Out of that period no summit can be considered done in the ‘winter’.
”And it’s our line too..." “With a huge surprise and a big laugh we saw the photo of the 'new line' of JC, because we discovered that 50% of that route is our route of last winter,” wrote the Shisha winter guys Tuesday. “We didn't consider that part as new - our line had been simply a natural variant in response to the ice and weather conditions. JC must even have found some pieces of fixed rope still left there, if the snow was not too deep.”
World's first solo winter climber: "Lafaille is great - but a winter it was not" The Shisha winter guys have it right, according to the first 8000+ solo winter climber in the world, Spanish climber Fernando Garrido: “I don’t want to steal merits from Lafaille, who has proved to be a first-class Himalayan climber. But, there is no doubt that what he did is not a winter climb,” he told ExWeb in an interview. “Winter begins on December 21 all over the world.”
ExWeb series - Winter climbing: The BAD chart So what does the reality look like? Let's put calendars and permits aside for a while, and examine the weather only, in order to find the worst time to climb. Check the first two parts in the ExWeb/AdventureWeather 4-part series.
A winter Everest/8000+ expedition has to be lucky to stand even a slim chance of making the summit. To open new routes on 8000ers in such conditions - like the Polish have - is simply outstanding, the series reveal. Constant hurricane winds and possibly the coldest spot on earth to humans await those who dare.
Good news for the Shisha winter guys were that the new route Simone, Bruno Tassi, Boris Korshunov and Denis Urubko climbed on Kali-Himal (7066 m) up the north-west face on May 4 won the URSS championship in the category Hi-Altitude Technical last week.
Murallon: Retreat from Hell"Es war die Hölle!" - It was Hell! - was the first thing Robert Jasper managed to say once back and safe in Calafate (Patagonia). The German team had to retreat from the wall after a last attempt to climb the remaining 150 meters of the new route they’ve been opening on Cerro Murallon’s North Face: “The rope twisted like wild in the wind. It stretched as guitar cords and pulled furiously from the fixing points. Exposed to the storm for weeks, the rope had frozen and slashed against the rock continuously, until the surface hag gone and there was only the core left"
Aconcagua: Annabelle! Annabelle summited Vinson last week, and now she is...on Aconcagua! "Hamish's mule had ears that were so long and permanently rotating I thought perhaps he might fly to camp 2! Luis did whatever his mule wanted, and was often spotted grazing or taking a leisurely drink!! Thankfully we did manage to pass a few groups all of whom gave us strange glances as to why we were riding in! I'm now in my tent, I actually can't believe I'm already on another climb!"
ExWeb series: Mallory and Irvine - a few more words In a recent 5 part ExWeb series, researchers Pete Poston and Jochen Hemmleb (author of several books on the subject) offered an interesting insight in the battle to find the true fate of Mallory and Irvine. This week, Jochen added another part to the series, about an interview with Chinese veteran climber, Xu Jing – and two important questions.
Juan Oiarzabal: "I hate BS and my left foot!" Juan Oiarzabal is going through a tough time. After an entire life dealing with mountains, he is now facing an enemy he had managed to avoid until last summer: Terrible frostbites refusing to heal. From his bed, he gave ExWeb his usual very frank point of view.
K2: Magic Line awarded Spanish Golden Ice-Axe In the interview, Juanito pointed to the Magic Line team as champs of K2 in 2004. The Spanish Federation of Climbing and Mountaineering agree. Raising controversy over the past 2 years in refusing to give out their annual award due to “lack of good enough climbing” - this year, the federation decided, was different: There was one expedition worthy to receive its annual award – the Spanish version of the Golden Ice-Axe. You guessed it: The K2 Magic Line!
Ellen: Serious technical problems Ellen's roller coaster ride continues. Major technical problems threatened Ellen's attempt altogether in some bad sea: "If we lose the air-cooled generator, it's all over... In addition one of two watermakers is out… everything is flying around the cabin - I have to hold on to something the whole time to stop being flung across the boat...I’ve had my head smashed against the hull a few times by the violent motion. I have had no sleep at all - its blowing 30 knots, its really really bad right now, the sea conditions are terrible...”
But a new record it was! B&Q crossed the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope at 17:56 GMT on Friday, 17th December 2004, setting a new solo fastest time of 19 days, 9 hours and 46 minutes, taking 10 hours and 45 minutes off Francis Joyon's time. Ellen reported crossing the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope in 40-foot seas! Setting a new fastest solo time is a second speed 'benchmark' for MacArthur, after setting a faster time to the Equator 10 days ago.
Fedor hit by tropical storm Fedor reported that he was hit by a tropical storm, with the wind speed picking up to 38 knots from E-S-E. The rain was so strong that he could hardly see the bow. It was like a waterfall; the noise inside the boat similar to hundreds of hammers banging on deck. Fedor managed to furl his jib sail, but couldn't drop the main sail in time. With full main (260 sq meters) and no ballast the boat went 60 degrees on starboard side.
Expedition Siberia: -49F "One long uncomfortable nightmare" As they are heading deeper into the Siberian winter, the temperatures drop and the light fades by each day. If you haven't experienced a cold of -50F (where most thermometers bottom out) you cannot imagine the pain the guys are going through. Their last dispatch read: -57F! ‘Nuff said! They will soon head into the cold of the Calendar winter, on the second leg of their winter crossing.
But there are joys too: "Last night two wolves gave us a spectacular howling concert for an hour, not far from our tent. Awesome to say the least. Another highlight is the comradeship between young Johan and myself. There are no quarrels, no hard words, only perfect cooperation and friendship. Johan is a truly nice young man. He spoils me, with his unselfish hard work. A true explorer. There are few of them around today." Check the ExWeb special Half way Wrap-Up of this Siberian Odyssey.
The other Siberia: Not out just yet! The guys rowed across the Bering Sea in a boat they bought on e-bay, and went hiking through Siberian wilderness, determined to make it on foot all the way from Vancouver to Moscow. That's when disaster struck. Colin got dual kidney infection, infected bladder and an acute urethral stricture. Colin swore to raise additional funds for the expedition, right from the hospital bed - and what do you know - things are looking up! Wallace and Carey, one of the team's core sponsors, has stepped in to provide assistance in various ways to help the team overcome their latest obstacle and Colin is getting better, eager to join up with his friends waiting for him in Siberia.
Top of Gondwanaland: Not everyone can do this. We can! Damien Gildea is an expert on everything Antarctic. He has written a book about Antarctica, compiled Antarctic statistics, skied to the South Pole, measured the summit of Vinson and other peaks - and now he's really marking his territory by climbing virtually every unclimbed peak in the area. Read his latest report about “the sharpest summit I have ever sat on” and what it is that not everyone can do.
Expedition Volunteers Wanted - For a Once in a Lifetime Polar Challenge Keo Films in London have been commissioned to make 6 x 1 hour documentary films by the BBC, National Geographic and the History Channel (US) about the historic expeditions made to the South Pole by Scott and Amundsen in 1911/12. Filming will take place in April, June and July 2005, and will mostly occur in Greenland. “We are looking for determined, physically fit individuals to make up the teams. Although this unique experience will be filmed for a documentary series, it is still a genuine and potentially dangerous expedition in extreme conditions that requires complete dedication.” Keo Films will cover all expedition-associated costs including clothing, equipment and food.
136 new Extrasolar planets found - and counting...A few days back we reported that the Spitzer Space Telescope have revealed, for the first time, suns like ours that have both planets and a debris disc. We also wrote that many scientists believe that it's only a matter of a few years now before we detect an earth-like planet. So how many planets have we actually found until now? Answer: 136, and two are like our own Neptune!
Mars Society - Expedition Alpha debrief "The shower drain thawed and all the crew were scheduled for a much needed shower. Right now, Mister Mom (Graylan) is beating up a batch of chocolate pudding for the crew, he is hedging his bets for the Marsnaut Congeniality contest to be held later this evening. On to Mars! Go Alpha!"
The upcoming Mars Desert Research Station field season will run December 2004 through April 2005. The Mars Society will be issuing an additional call for volunteers for the summer 2005 field season of the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station (FMARS) on Devon Island later. The Society will pay travel and related expenses from Salt Lake City, Utah during training and simulation, but there will be no salary.
VoIP High - SKYPE over Satellite SKYPE is blowing up. When we ran our first story Nov 1 about the new free VoIP software, SKYPE had an amazing 20 million downloads. Today - only 1 month later - they are showing 40 million! Check how to set up VoIP over RBGAN and a WiFi connection. Give all your expedition mates an iPAQ with SKYPE and headsets. Now, everybody will have a permanent internet connection for e-mail and web uploads (using CONTACT 3.0 of course) and can cuddle up in their sleeping bags chatting away with friends back home. Cool or what?!
ExWeb series: The future of K2, part 4 Did we tame the Savage Mountain and will we go commercial? We have asked both climbers and outfitters. Not on your life, says Spanish K2 climber Carlos Soria, 65.
Antarctica: The first American to ski unsupported to the South Pole Kites on Ice, the only full distance unsupported team left on the ice has finally arrived to the Polar Plateau after a nearly 1000 km long trek, and doing a great time too! They should be less than a week from the pole. The mother and her teenagers will beat all kinds of South Pole records if the make it. She will be the first American unsupported and the kids will be the youngest to ski to the Pole supported or unsupported. In addition, they'll be only half way when they do. At the pole, they'll take their first and only resupply, turn around - and ski back! Remember that Eric ate crumbles from the tent floor already weeks ago - this expedition has a potential to turn into a true Antarcic thriller. Their distance is even longer than the Fiennes/Stroud crossing in 1992.
Vendee Globe: Roland Jourdain "It's over" “It´s all over, there is no way I can continue” said Roland Jourdain Friday morning. Yet to officially retire, Roland Jourdain has suffered irreparable keel damage: "I didn´t touch anything. There was no impact. I can´t understand it at all. Even if I lose this damn keel the boat shouldn´t capsize. It´s a crushing blow as we have been preparing for this race for the past four years, with our sights on victory. We were really in the match and now the sky has fallen in on us...”
Read these stories - and more - at ExplorersWeb.com!
NASA satellite shot of Shisha Pangma, courtesy NASA.
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| Andrew Lock on Annapurna tragedy: "I wanted to keep on climbing" Jun 6, 2005 | | Gabriel Filippi and Sean Egan's soul, together on the summit of Everest Jun 6, 2005 | | "Supermom" Monica Kalozdi update: Everest Summit and hard descent Jun 5, 2005 | | Robert Milne dies during summit push Everest South Jun 5, 2005 | | Grania Willis summits Everest this morning Jun 5, 2005 | | ExplorersWeb Week-In-Review Jun 5, 2005 | | Himex summit - Update from climber Jun 4, 2005 | | No Mountain top too high, my Love Jun 4, 2005 | | Jagged Globe team summits again! Jun 4, 2005 | | More summits for DCXP/Project Himalaya this morning Jun 4, 2005 |
| | End of season... Jun 4, 2005 | | Ranulph Fiennes turns back on Everest Jun 3, 2005 |
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2004
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