Dispatch Twenty-five: September 18th, 2009 |
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2009 Shishapangma Expedition |
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Day Twenty-five: High Winds Thwart Carry to Camp II; Day in Camp I This morning, we woke up to the exact conditions we fell asleep to the night before. Winds were blowing spindrift horizontally across the plateau that makes up Camp I, and it was clear that conditions were far from ideal for our climb to Camp II. We decided to wait to see what the weather forecast would call for the next day. We tried our best to kill the time in the tent, the weather preventing us from venturing outside. I finally geared up in my down jacket and Gore-Tex, and ventured out to say hi to the Swedish Expedition that had arrived and to help the Summit Climb expedition dig their tent platforms for five tents. When this was finished, I headed back to the tent, neglecting to pick up my ice axe from just below the platform (I had carried it for security on the glacier). A few hours later, I remembered it, and headed up to pick it up. It was gone. Mario’s had gone missing earlier in the day, and in the night, the Spanish on the Summit Climb expedition’s would also go missing. I went to bed disheartened that someone would take an ice axe high on a mountain, where one’s safety depends to a large extent on this tool. Mario and I decided that, regardless of the weather in the morning, we would force our way to Camp II, set up the tent, deposit our equipment, and retreat to Base Camp. Late in the evening, the winds died down, and I hoped that they would remain low till morning. Photos: Left: Swedish Climbers preparing their tent platform in Camp I; Right: Climbers in Camp I |
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