from stu in the USA office
May 23, 2010
Our team is settled into their highest camp at 7650m after a great 3 hr climb from C3 and is in great position for a summit bid to begin in 9 hours! I spoke to Fabrizio and he and the entire team is feeling very strong and very well. They were brewing up drinks and supper and planning to get as much rest as they can before leaving at 2am. To leave at 2am they will need to spend at least an hour or two getting set to go with more drinks and food, warming up boots, getting on harnesses & crampons and fighting the urge to stay in the nice warm sleeping bag!
With mixed reports still ahead for how much wind and snow they may have we are all hoping the weather gods smile on not only our team but the other 3-4 groups joining them at C4. No matter what they will certainly have some wind and temps around -25°C so they will need to take great care to protect their faces and digits. While they have a very demanding and serious climb ahead tomorrow, they are a very experienced group of climbers and have been preparing for days like this for many years. Joining them for the summit bid are a few other teams so it will be good to be able to share any final fixing of the route!
Fabrizio also reminded me that they are now in China and spent most of the day out of C3 climbing in Nepal's neighboring company. As with many peaks in the Himalaya as a route nears the top it may travel back and forth between two counties (or at least once you reach the top you'll have one foot in each country. More often then not one of the two countries is China!
Fabrizio has left 2 audio dispatches from c4 - Enjoy!
Part 1
Part 2
Listen to all the Field Touring Alpine Audio Dispatches at Gabcast
Wish all the teams on the hill good luck and gentle winds!
More news as we have it!!
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