Daglige updates fra Jon Otto (SummitClimb.com) via satelittelefon
til EverestNews.com
Omtale af vores vores danske ekspedition er
markeret med rødt
Dispatch #1, July 1: Kashgar, Xinjiang, China - 1300 m (4264 ft) The
last "big-city".
The entire team, except the father and son pair (the Wasleys), are assembled.
The Wasleys should be arriving at any moment on a plane from Beijing. The weather
here is very hot - in the 80s during the day - and it is also hot at night. It
is great to be back in Kashgar, I haven't been here in almost 4 years. The changes
here are noticeable, with wider streets being the most obvious one. We have an
eclectic team of climbers, coming from Denmark, Singapore, China, and the United
States. We also have 2 Tibetan "Sherpas" with us on the mountain, Awang
Norbu, who summited Everest in the spring, and also Pemba Tashi. This will be
their first climb on Mustagata, but we have worked with them before, and we think
that they are excellent leaders and very strong climbers. We are leaving tomorrow
morning at 8am for Karakuli Lake, where we will spend the first two nights acclimatizing
before proceeding on to basecamp. We just finished loading all the equipment
into the truck, and soon we will be going out to dinner to get our last "big-city" meal
before heading out tomorrow. That's it for now, Jon Otto, from SummitClimb.com
Dispatch #2, July 3: Subashi - 3735 m (12250 ft) Acclimatization
camp before basecamp
Flood! This afternoon the banks of the nearby river exploded and a rush of
water flowed through camp. We hastily moved tents and attempted to redirect
the flow
with shovels and stones and by constructing makeshift dams. This is the second
time the tents have had to be moved, the first was in the middle of last night
because there was constant heavy rain all night long. As the volume of the
flooding river kept increasing and it threatened to overflow all of camp, we
ended up
hiring local Kirghiz people to dig like crazy. We successfully redirected the
stream right before the entire camp flooded, and retired to a well deserved
dinner. All in all, it was an action-packed afternoon. If I were a kid, the
playing in
mud with bare feet would've been paradise. The sudden increase in the river's
height resulted from the previous night's heavy rain. This rain meant that
snow fell high up on the mountain, which today's sun melted. All the small
tributaries
filled with water by the afternoon, and at the same time it rained in the upstream
area, adding to the volume of water. We are now camped at Subashi, also known
as 204 Camp, because it is 204 kilometers from Kashgar. Views of Mustagata
are stunning! Yesterday we all piled into our 30 seat bus and rode the 6 hours
to
Subashi. Along the road we stopped at Wu-Per for the best home -made noodles
(a local Uighur food) in Tien Shan. A few hours later, the cool, clean air
at Karakuli Lake was a welcome reprieve from the desert heat of Kashgar, and
the
team was excited, as we were finally at the mountain. Most of the team had
travelled many hours by train and plane from Beijing to our kickoff city of
Kashgar. Kashgar
is an ancient Muslim city that is developing quickly. The dominant local ethnicity
is Uighur, a proud, friendly, and energetic people. It is great to be back
after a 4 year absence. Our team is composed of members from 4 different countries.
There is a group of 5 representing Mountain Madness, an expedition company
based
out of Seattle, USA. We have 4 climbers from Denmark.
They will be trying a new way of tackling the mountain, staying in basecamp
for one week to acclimatize,
then heading for the summit in one push, alpine style. They will be on the
same
route as we are. Regarding their acclimatization method, there has been some
preliminary research into this different approach, and we are all interested
in seeing how they do. We also have a father and son from the US, 2 Chinese
climbers from Shanghai, and a young Singaporean climber. Last, but not least,
our 3 Tibetan "Sherpas" travelled
all the way from Lhasa, Tibet. Tomorrow, will will be making the half-day walk
to basecamp. Sincerely yours, Jon Otto, from SummitClimb.com
Dispatch #3, July 5: Basecamp 4430 m (14,530 ft)
Hello from Basecamp! It is great skiing on the mountain today! The little bit
of skiing I did below Camp 1 was addicting. I took a few turns to get used
to skiing in plastic mountaineering boots, which have little ankle support,
but
my new Kneissl skis performed excellently. There is a lot of snow on the mountain
this year 1 metre or more at Camp 1. On all our previous climbs of Mustagata
the snow line started just above Camp 1, but this year you have to start skiing,
or showshoeing, up about 3-400 meters below Camp 1, making the ski run from
the summit 2500 vertical meters (8200 ft). I'm dreaming about what the snow
conditions
up higher may offer. Today we got 100 meters from setting up Camp 1. An approaching
lightning storm necessitated caching the tents and other gear and beating it
back to Basecamp. Everyone is acclimatizing well. Most of the team will be
taking an acclimatization hike up to Camp 1 and stowing gear there. Other daily
activities
have included eating tons of food. Our cook has been putting so many plates
of different tasty dishes on the table that we cant eat all of it. But, who's
complaining,
we love our cook! Also, we have been reviewing high-altitude medicine and sickness
prevention, giving Gamow bag demonstrations, establishing radio protocol, and
showing how to cook up high, using hanging stoves as demonstration. That's
all for now, Jon Otto from SummitClimb.com
Dispatch #4, July 6
Here is a note to his family from William Wasley: Poopie: Bret and I are fine,
start climb tomorrow, tell Alice all is well, hi to all. - Wm. Wasley ]
We took a rest day at Basecamp today, while some of the others went up to Camp
1 with loads to get a bit of acclimatization. Our 2 Tibetan sherpas, Awang
and Pemba, are doing great and have been very helpful. It turns out that they
were
with us on Nojin Tangla way back in 2000, and they have gained a huge amount
of experience since then. We have established Camp 1 today, with 2 tents up,
and tomorrow we are going to go up and sleep at Camp 1, then the next day we
will try to establish Camp 2. All for now, Jon Otto from SummitClimb.com
Dispatch #4, July 10 - Basecamp
Two days ago we pushed up to Camp 2 (6166m, 20,230 ft) and stashed two Sierra
Designs Stretch Dome tents. At around 5900m, on the way to Camp 2, a new crack
had opened up sometime in the last 4 years. This huge crevasse, 15m (50 ft)
wide, was a bit of a surprise. There is a nice path through it however, and
its flat
bottom is all filled with snow. It would be a great place to camp.
On the way down from Camp 2, the rarified air was taking a toll on me. I had
to rest every two turns I took on my skis. However, as I approached Camp 1
it became easier to breathe, and I got a nice rhythm, carving multiple turns
on
the hard, wind-blown snow. With the snow conditions, the skiing seemed to change
daily. Heavy winds and below-freezing temps on the night of July 8th had turned
wet powder into this hard and slick stuff I was now laboriously skiing down.
On July 9th, a blanket of new snowfall made for some nice powder for Ted Callahan
and team as they carved turns back to Basecamp.
Today, Kah Shin, Bill, Bret, Ding, Zhu ("Old Pig"), and I will
be going back up to Camp 1, with the goal of pushing up to Camp 2 tomorrow
and spending
the night there. It will be interesting to see what new snow conditions
we encounter. Everyone is in good spirits.
A little bit about Zhu's name. Zhu is his last name. The Chinese character
for "Zhu" is
pronounced just like the character for "pig". Although the characters
are different, they are pronounced exactly the same. So, in good humor, he received
the nickname "Pig". It is a sign of respect to call someone "old" in
China, thus his paradoxical nickname of "Old Pig". However, here in
Xinjiang Province - a Muslim region - "Old Pig" has to be careful
about where he uses his moniker...
Finally, thank you Mike O'Brien (Cho Oyu summitter), for all your hard work
in transcribing my wordy dispatches. Talk to you soon. From Camp 2, Thanks!
from
Jon Otto and all of us at SummitClimb.com
Dispatch #5, July 10 - Basecamp: "Tibetan 'Sherpas'"
Our 2 Tibetan "sherpas" (Awong and Pemba) are an invaluable asset to
the team. It is not really accurate (or appropriate) to call them "Sherpas",
who are people from the highlands of Nepal. Instead, the 2 young men are Tibetan,
and grew up around Tingri near the Everest region of Tibet. With a grant from
Ozark Gear (a Beijing-based outdoor equipment company), a school was formed in
1998 to train young Tibetan men to do the high mountain work traditionally done
by Nepalese Sherpas. The school is now in its fifth year and has over 50 students,
most coming from poor, rural village communities around the Everest region. It
is run by a dedicated 38-year-old Tibetan man named Nima Tserin. It is Nima's
passion to give these young men a chance at an economically improved future.
The school has created a whole new generation of mountain workers, and it has
given young Tibetans a new and previously unimaginable future. The official name
for a graduate of this school is "Tibetan High-Altitude Assistant",
but this is a little cumbersome, and until someone comes up with something catchier,
we are going to stick with Tibetan "sherpa". Regardless of
what we call them, they are strong, able, and hard-working young men
who live
up to their
misappropriated namesake. Thanks! from Jon Otto and all of us at SummitClimb.com
Dispatch #6, July 10 - Basecamp: "The Danes
- Alpine or Bust!"
After 5 days acclimatization in Basecamp (4440m), and one night at 5000m, our
Danish team members are now ready for their attempt to climb Mustagata
in Alpine-style. Bringing enough food and gas for a 9-day single forward push,
the Danes commence
their climb to Camp 1 today. We look forward to seeing them often
as they make their way up the mountain. Thanks! from Jon Otto and all of us at SummitClimb.com
Dispatch #7, July 10 - Basecamp "Tomaz"
In July 2000, Daniel Mazur, Walter Keller, and I climbed a new route up the
east ridge of Mustagata. After summitting, we descended the normal (west) route
on
July 16th and spent a night at 7200m in an empty tent belonging to a Slovenian
team. Descending to Basecamp the following day, we learned that one Slovenian
climber was still on the mountain, and was feared to be in serious trouble.
Mr. Tomaz Kavar and Mr. Joze Peljhan had spent 3 days in that same tent, while
attempting the summit. Something had been wrong with either Tomaz's skis or
his legs, so Joze, who had frostbitten fingers, had skied down to Basecamp
to get
help.
Tomaz had probably left his tent only hours before we had inadvertently arrived
at it. His frozen body was found near to some Camp 3 tents on July 21st by
a Spanish team, led by Jordi Binyoli. Tomaz was 59. When found, Tomaz was sitting
up on a ground pad, clutching some nuts in his hand. One can only suppose that
he sat down for a rest and maybe some sleep, sleep from which he never woke.
The Spaniards buried him in the snow, and marked the spot with a pair of skis.
I can only imagine that if we were just a day - or even a few hours! - earlier,
that we may have met Tomaz somewhere on the mountain or in his tent, and been
able to save his life. But on the big mountains, normal rescue efforts can
take
days to reach a person, time which the victim often cannot spare. Successful
rescues are often more dependent upon those who can help being in the right
place at the right time. But, in Tomaz's case, there was no one else at Camp
3 at that
time.
Upon arriving at Basecamp this year, I noticed a rock with Tomaz's name carved,
in big letters, into the face of it. Two days ago, Tomaz's younger brother,
Janez, arrived at Basecamp to pay tribute to his fallen brother. Listening
to Janez
talk and tell stories, I have learned a little about Tomaz and his family,
and I hope to learn more.
Tomaz left behind his wife, Maja Kavar, and 2 daughters, Urska and Mojca. The
younger one, Mojca, is 14 and is starting high school. Urska is 18 and beginning
college at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia. They live in the town Radovljica,
near Lake Bleol.
Janez put a plaque dedicated to his brother on a large boulder facing the west
face of Mustagata. Each night here at Basecamp, the glow of 2 candles burning
in remembrance of Tomaz cautions us against approaching these great peaks with
anything but the utmost respect and humility.
Before he left, Janez was kind enough to give me a shirt as a gift. On the
shirt there are two hands, and extending from the hands are 7 fingers, symbolizing
7000 meters. This was a picture that Tomaz's climbing partner and friend, Joze
Peljhan, took of Tomaz when he arrived at 7000 meters. It will forever remind
me of the unfortunate tie that binds our two teams together here on Mustagata.
In memoriam, Tomaz Kavar (1941-2000). Sincerely, Jon Otto
Dispatch 8: Mustaga Ata Dispatch for July 7
Today, Bill, Bret, Ding, Kah Shin, Zhu, Awong and Pemba (our 2 Tibetan "sherpas"),
and I are at Camp 1. Kah Shin and I are having a late dinner of
ravioli and instant rice. Awong and Pemba have had to carry loads
up from
Camp 1 every
day, until
we were in position to push higher up the mountain.
Tomorrow morning we will take off and explore the route to Camp 2. I suspect
most of the crevasses will be filled in, due to all of the snow on the mountain
this year.
Our 4 Danish climbers, who are going to attempt
to climb the mountain "Alpine-style",
today went up a different part of the mountain, up to 5000 meters,
where they will try to acclimatize. Then, they will return to Basecamp
tomorrow,
where they
will spend a few days before ascending again, this time using the
same route as us. They will be moving slowly, as they have heavy
backpacks
full of food
and fuel. We will talk to you again tomorrow, hopefully from Camp
2. All the best, Sincerely, Jon Otto from SummitClimb.com.
Dear EverestNews.com, Hope all is well, and thank you so much for
keeping everyone informed about summer climbs in the Himalaya! Here
are the latest Mustagh Ata dispatches from SummitClimb.com, satphoned
in by leader Jon Otto and written by Cho Oyu summiter Mike O'Brien.
THE LATEST NEWS: Jon Otto summited with our father-son team: Bill and
Bret Wasley! Now the others are trying for the top.
July 11th - Camp 2 (6200m): A long and rewarding climb has gotten us
to Camp 2 at 6200 meters, and we could not have had a better day. No
winds and no clouds. Okay, light zephyrs at times. Last night, a cold
north wind wind blew in, creating what appears to be a stable front.
On the climb up our main problem was avoiding heat exhaustion due to
the mid-afternoon sun.
Eight of us (Bill, Bret, Kah Shin, Ding, "Old Pig", Awong, Pemba,
and myself) are now finishing dinner, and then it is early to bed. Bill, Bret,
and Ding have their hearts set on making the summit this trip up, which would
be the day after tomorrow. Originally, this was only going to be an acclimatization
trip, with us going back down to Basecamp tomorrow and resting for a day or
two before making our way back up for a summit push. The main reason they wish
to attempt the summit now - other than that they're feeling pretty darn good
right now at 6200m - is that "the walk to C2 is too !@#!!#@#!!@!X#X#X!!
long and we don't want to do it again!" And hey, if that is incentive
enough to get to the summit early, then so be it! However, because we are more
than a week ahead of schedule, we only have enough tents up here right now
to make a summit bid feasible for 4 people. This is also the highest that most
of us have ever slept, so we will see how everyone is feeling in the morning.
Ted Callahan is presently in C1, and will be moving up to C2 tomorrow. I
passed the Danes yesterday, they were camped at 5100m, and today they should
have
moved up the mountain to around 5600m, just below the beginning of the icefall. The sun has now set, and the temperature has dropped rapidly in this rarified
air. It's gone from around 15C to below freezing, all in under an hour. Bye
for now. Jon Otto from SummitClimb.com
July 12th, Camp 3 (6800m): Six of us are at Camp 3, and poised for
the summit. Given good weather conditions tomorrow (and good health
for everyone), we will
depart early in the morning, but not too early, as this is an extremely cold
mountain, and we will wait until past first light. Ding, Pemba, Bret, Bill,
Tah Shin, and myself are here and ready to go. The climb up from C2 today
was difficult, and it took alot out of all of us, but that is to
be expected at
this altitude. Once again we were blessed with excellent weather, sunny skies,
and no wind for most of the day. However, in the late afternoon, as we were
brewing up on the slopes using the hanging stoves - melting snow and making
hot drinks - a storm blew in with 30 kph winds, and visibility dropped to
under 200 feet while heavy snow began to fall. It lasted only about
an hour and a
half or so, and by the time we pulled into camp the clouds had lifted and
the sun was shining once again. This evening, as we were setting
up the tents and
making dinner, we were treated to a spectacular sunset. Now, as my hands
begin to freeze up from clutching this satellite phone, I must
say goodbye, as we
have a very early wake up call for tomorrow morning (5:30am). I hope to speak
to you again via satphone from the summit of Mustagata. Cheers for now, and
good night. Jon Otto from SummitClimb.com
July 12th, Summit! The call from the summit was a little garbled, but we heard
Jon Otto say on the sat phone that it was windy and cloudy but everyone was
ok and very happy to be on top. -Mike Obrien from SummitClimb.com
Today at 4pm local time, our father and son duo from the US (Bill and Bret),
our Chinese climber (Mr. Ding), and myself stood on the summit of Mustagata.
Bret was the first to reach the summit, a nice 27th birthday present for
him. We shared the summit with a very nice Swiss-Belgian couple, whom we
had gotten
to know over the last few days on our way up from C2. (They had offered one
of our other climbers, "Old Pig", some mountain tea which, he claimed,
revitalized him and got him into C2.) Unfortunately, when we arrived on the
summit we had whiteout conditions, with heavy winds and blowing snow. These
seem to be common for Mustagata, and can last anywhere from an hour or two
to a day or two. She is a very fickle mountain. So, we took the requisite summit
photos, then hurried back down to C3. We were the first team in a while to
go up the mountain, and so I had wanded the route religiously on the way up.
This is important to do on Mustagata, since it is mostly featureless for much
of the climb, with no guiding landmarks to give one a good bearing. This helped
us tremendously on the way down from the summit, when we had low visibility
and had to feel our way from wand to wand, hoping the clouds would part long
enough for us to find the next one. The trip to the summit and back took us
about 12 hours, and we are all now safely back in C3. Tomorrow we will go all
the way back down to Basecamp, and then we will have ourselves a party. We
will invite our Belgian/Swiss friends, and we hear there is fresh lamb and
plenty of beer, along with Chinese "white-wine", which is the equivalent
of lighter fluid, and some interesting pomegranate wine.
This group made incredibly short work of summitting Mustagata: starting at
Basecamp on Day 1, we reached the summit on Day 9. It takes many people up
to to 17 days. Our oldest summitter and team member is Bill at 59.
We were briefly in radio contact with the Danes, but
it was unclear as to their progress. It sounded like they had split into
2 groups as of our last communication,
but we will find out where they are camped and what they are planning when
we see them on our way down to Basecamp tomorrow. Everyone else will be taking
a rest day in Basecamp before attempting their own summits. All the best, and
happy dreams. Jon Otto from SummitClimb.comDear EverestNews.com, Hope you are
doing well! Here are the latest dispatches sat-phoned in by Jon Otto and written
by Mike Obrien of SummitClimb.com
Summit Day Recap, July 13th
We headed out, in great weather, at about 7:30 am local time on July 13th toward
the summit of Mustagata. Some say that this is too late a start, but it is
just so darn cold, why head out any earlier? And getting caught in the storm
at the summit was still warmer than was getting out of our tents that morning.
The down side of getting caught in the storm was that we missed the usually
spectacular 360 degree view from the summit, but hey, things don't always
work out perfectly, especially when mountaineering remote high peaks.
Originally, six of us had headed out for the summit, but half way up Kah Shin
had to turn around. Pemba accompanied him down. A marathoner, Kah Shin has
great tenacity and determination, and he knew he would get another chance.
He descended to BC in less than a day and is now back on the mountain going
for the summit once again. Because I had him go back down with Kah Shin, Pemba
was looking rather gloomy, until I explained to him (3 times!) that he would
get another shot at the summit, really. Pemba shows the great determination
typical of these Tibetan sherpas.
The team was all on snowshoes, and Bret broke trail all the way to the top.
I was the only one on skis and broke trail parallel to the rest of the team,
placing wands every 50-100 meters. The snow was plentiful and soft, and Bret
was rewarded for his efforts by being first to the summit. Mustagata is mostly
flat on top, except for a few rock outcroppings. Bret ran up the tallest
of the small outcroppings of rock - which is the "true" summit and highest
point on the mountain - and lay down, then ran back to meet his dad with a
big hug. Bret didn't look like he was at 7546 meters, he was moving like a
squirrel looking for a nut. Ding was elated and was hugging everyone. He pulled
out the banner of his sponsor and pictures of his girlfriend, and took photos
until his hands went numb (which takes less than a minute up there). In the
meantime the clouds had surrounded us, and the wind was howling and snow was
falling. I called my wife from up there, a first for me. This was the fourth
mountain that Ding had climbed, but Mustagata was the first that he had summitted.
Needless to say, his motivation level was through the roof. He had previously
tried Shue Bao Deng, China's easiest 6000 metre peak, but only made it to camp
1 before his climb ended when he and a another female climber fell in love
and eloped together. Then, in 2001, having recovered from his romance, Ding
went to Nojin Kansa, a 7000m peak in Tibet (SummitClimb.com has climbed this
mountain twice), but was ordered to remain in basecamp as "basecamp manager".
He also climbed a technical 6000er in Sichuan with Jon Otto last year, but
we had to turn him around less than 50 vertical meters from the top, because
of an exposed ridgeline we deemed too dangerous and unstable. That is why
Ding was so determined he was going to get to the top of Mustagata! And he
did....
The way back down to C3 from the summit was slow going. Other than Bill and
Ding being extremely exhausted, we had to play "find the wand". This
tedious game entails staying near one wand until the clouds and fog clear enough
to spot the next one, then "running" to that one and trying to spot
the next one, etc... I also had my GPS unit, which gave us an added layer of
security up there, a very desirable thing to have on a mountain like Mustagata,
which has few landmarks of any kind high on its flanks. If worse came to worst,
I could simply have entered "go to C3" on my Magellan unit, then
followed the little arrow until we bumped into our tents. Between tried-and-true
traditional methods and modern technology, it should now be virtually impossible
to get lost up there. We got back to C3 at around 8pm, making it a 12 to
13 hour summit day, not bad, especially after the push we made to get there.
All
for now from Mustagata, Jon Otto from SummitClimb.com
Mustagata Basecamp, July 15th: The storm from summit day (July 13th) continued
into the night and the following day. We, the summit team (father and son
pair Bill and Bret, Ding, and Jon), finally left the high camp at noon on
July 14th.
On the way down we passed Steven Decoster (Belgium) and Claudia Broch (Switzerland),
who were waiting out the weather for another day before descending. These
two are the friendly and personable couple that summitted together with us.
We
have been helping each other out in small ways over the past few days. They
gave a cup of "mountain tea" to Zhu, who was having trouble getting
to Camp 2. "Without that tea, I would never have gotten here!", said
Zhu at the time. We never did ask what the secret ingredient in that tea was.
Also, Steven and Claudia were able to follow our footsteps and wands while
making their way to the summit. It's nice when teams can support each other
and cooperate, rather than have a "competitive attitude" that may
be present between teams from different expeditions. The mountains are big,
and there is plenty of room for everyone on them.
I stayed behind to dig out the Camp 3 tents, which were easily becoming overwhelmed
by nature's whimsical ways - tons and tons of annoying spindrift, you can never
win the sisyphean battle against spindrift! I then caught up with the others
(I was on skis, so could move down the mountain more quickly), and as a group
we methodically continued down toward C2, sometimes in whiteout conditions.
Even though the weather was awful, the air temperature was rising quickly as
we continued our descent. At C2 more of our tents needed digging out; at C1,
wow, what a city of tents! Culture shock! Camp 1 has grown dramatically (now
it is at around 30 tents) during the few days that we were higher on the mountain.
Many Western and Eastern European teams are here now. The Korean team, which
was camped next to us at BC and at C1, have now reached C2. There was a large
Chinese team, led by Mr. Yang, with 6 tents at C1. Some of their team members
I know very well, such as Terry Choi from Hong Kong, and Mr. Jin, who runs
a climbing equipment shop in Yunan. The rise of Chinese climbing in the last
3 years has been incredible, the increase exponential. They have taken to their
own mountains like never before in history, and in every corner of their country.
We made it down to BC by 8pm, and had a skillfully prepared, delicious and
abundant feast of fresh vegetables, noodles, rice, and fresh roasted lamb
(separately prepared for the non-vegetarians in our team). It continued to
rain all day
today here at BC, while snowing on the mountain. Our summit energized the
rest of the team as they headed out for their own summit push. Today they
are going
to C1, tomorrow C2, then on to C3 and the summit, weather permitting. Kah
Shin, who got to over 7100 meters with us on July 13th, is highly motivated.
Zhu,
who got hit by the altitude at C2, is now confident that he is properly acclimatized.
Denny, JD, and Bob all look in good shape and are in high spirits. Our guide,
Ted Callahan, and our 2 Tibetan "sherpas" are going up with this
group. Their planned summit date is July 18th. Talk to you soon, Jon Otto
from SummitClimb.com
July 16th, Snow!
We are having the largest July dump in recent history. The snow began
to fall last night and continued falling all day today, with only
brief pauses. At
times it was thick, wet flakes, at other times it was like hail. At C1
the accumulation was several feet, visibility was often 10 feet
or less. What
conditions prevail higher on the mountain, we can only guess. Our second
summit team stayed in C1 today. JD, who was getting a little stir crazy
sitting around up there, decided to run down to BC for lunch. Along
the way, he heard
and then spotted a member of the Korean team who had gone the wrong way.
The man was yelling "I'm lost! I'm lost!". With some assistance
from JD, and a couple of hours hiking down, they both made it safely into
BC. Nice cooperation team mates!
The Danes are hunkered down at around 6200m,
waiting out the storm and wondering if it will ever end. They are
all okay. It is still snowing and we are all
hoping that it blows out during the evening. Cheers from a very wet Basecamp,
Jon Otto from SummitClimb.com Dear EverestNews.com, it has been wonderful working
with you on this Mustagata climb.
Dispatch, “Finale” Kashgar
We are now back in Kashgar, the nearest big city to Mustagata, and
feeling very proud that our team has summited Mustagata, the world's
easiest 7500 meter
peak, often skied, snowshoed, and snow boarded. Here is an account of
the final days of our climb:
July 18th: The heavens had dumped more snow on Mustagata during this
time of year than anyone had seen in over ten years. At this point I
was worrying about
how we would clear camps 2 and 3 if the bad weather persisted. Other
than tents, stoves, gas, and lots of food, our members had a lot of their
personal equipment
at camp 2, staged and ready for the summit bid. Their personal articles
included such items as warm clothing, sleeping bags and sleeping pads.
The following morning (July 19th) the weather looked promising. We assessed
the avalanche potential critically, and determined that snow pack anchors
on the slopes were still sufficient for safe travel, so we left early
to try to
catch the snow in its best condition. Our two superstar Sherpas, Awang
and Pemba seemed to have renewed energy. They broke trail like bulldozers
all
the way to camp 2 in around 3 hours. From there they continued to camp
3. A fog
rose out of the valley in the morning and we were climbing through on
and off semi-whiteout conditions with occasional light snow. I was thinking, “Will
it ever just be nice out.” By noon the sun finally burned the fog away.
The tents at camp 2 were completely covered by snow. Some careful digging revealed
the word “Ozark” (the name of our kind sponsor) on one of the
tents. These were the same Ozark tents we used on Everest during April
and May of
2004 and they held up well. Not a bit of damage from being buried; these
are some tough tents.
Finally, Awang and Pemba came down from camp 3 with our 2 tents, stoves,
and other equipment. As we continued to pack-up camp 2 a steady stream
of climbers
were moving up the mountain, following the impressive trail blazed by
our two tough Sherpas. Everyone had been stationary for 5 days and now
that the weather
was a little better and our Sherpas had made tracks, so it seemed everyone
was pushing up as fast as they could. I offered hot drinks and food to
the passers-by. We had left quite a bit of equipment at camp 2, so Awang
and Pemba
each had their rucksack jammed full, plus each dragged a duffle crammed
full of stuff. Then down the mountain they went, and everyone was very
impressed
with, and grateful for, their incredible strength. We could not have
done this climb without them.
July 20th was a nice day, but July 21st it socked in again and snowed.
To celebrate we had another incredible feast skillfully conjured by our
amazing cooks, of
fresh vegetables and meats (separately prepared for the vegetarians amongst
us). A few of our members chose to sample some of the local firewater,
and a friendly and cheery evening was had by all.
On the morning of July 22nd, there was a layer of snow on the ground
as we hastily broke camp and made loads for the camels. It seemed fitting
that the
mountain was, again, shrouded in a layer of clouds on our departure day.
It would have been ironic had our final day dawned clear, after we were
pummeled
by so much snow during the last week of the climb. The camel drivers
were very meticulous in loading their trusty beasts, and the process
of weighing and
loading the camels took about 4 hours, including a fair amount of discussion
in rapid-fire Chinese [thank heavens we had Jon there; he speaks fluent
Chinese]. Finally, we made it down to Subashi where our vehicles were
waiting to take
us to Kashgar. In Kashgar we celebrated our successful climb with yet
another incredible feast of delicious food and drink until late into
the night.
About the weather: The local people who live around Mustagata, the "Khergiz" did
not have an answer to why there was so much rain and snow this year.
They did not seem disturbed by it, though. Mustagata is usually immune
from the effects of the monsoon, but this year the monsoon definitely
made it to
Mustagata. While on the mountain, we heard reports of heavy rains in
Pakistan, influencing climbers on K2 and the Gasherbrum. Bob, one of
our members, works
as a scientist for NASA predicting weather patterns.
Throughout the climb, Bob was pretty much accurate about what was coming
and how long it would stay. When he returns to the States he will be
doing an analysis
of what went on this summer, so hopefully we will have some more
answers. But, for now, it suffices to say that Mustagata was just having
a wet July.
Normally, average dry years generally follow years of excess, so we shall
look forward to "back to normal" conditions next year. Thank
you for following our climb of Mustagata and we look forward to climbing
Mustagata
again with
you in 2005. Cheers, climb safe, Jon Otto.
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