FTA Spantik 2012 - C1 established!

FTA Spantik 2012 Update
Brad called in this morning to let us know that all is well at Spantik and that they are on their first round of acclimitizations with plans to ascend to camp 1 today and then move up to camp 2 for 2 nights before returning to base camp. After that they will look for the good weather window and a summit attempt!

Avi and Grace enjoying the fine day high on Spantik © brad jackson

Upcoming trips - confirmed with spaces!

We are in full swing here in the FTA office with Spantik well under way and already making preparations for our confirmed trips to Stok Kangri in Sept, Khumbu Peaks and Passes in Oct and Ama Dablam, Island Peak & Everest BC in November. We do have limited spaces remaining on these trips so let us know if you want to join us for a fun trek, moderate climb or demanding ascent!

As well we have already begun to accept applications for our trip to Ecuador and Argentina in Nov, Jan & Feb as well as Broad Peak, G2, Spantik and K2 bc for 2013. Check out the full array of trips on our main site: www.fieldtouringalpine.com or email at "info@fieldtouring.com" us for a custom adventure!

Brad's Blog from Spantik
We'll expect a full report and pics when they are back down and in the meantime Brad has sent a few notes and pics from the first days at base camp...enjoy!

FTA Spantik 2012 team at C1: Brad, Grace, Avi and Noel

August 8th – Rest day at base camp
Chatted with Andy and Clare from another team. Continues to sort out tents and group gear. Played iPad monopoly. Avi and Noel almost completely recovered from some lingering ailments.

Looking down to the Shogolung Glacier from C1. Note the base camp tents at the lower left of the image - nice spot! © brad jackson

August 9th – Carry to Camp 1
Antoine form the French team was going up to camp 1 today to retrieve his tents, so we decided to tag along and take up some tents and gear. Andy, an English geologist from a previous FTA expedition also decided to tag along. Breakfast was at 8am and we decided to depart at 10am.

The climb to Camp 1 is a meandering scramble up an interesting rock face along several ridgelines. It was fun without being too exposed and was diverse in terrain preventing any kind of monotony. We really lucked out with the weather and had high cloud that prevented the day from getting too warm but also meant that I just wore a Patagonia sun shirt for the day. Grace and Andy set the lead with 1:45 minutes to Camp 1 and Avi and I followed at 2:15 minutes. Grace and I managed to get up 4 tents, 2 stoves, a rope and some food to Camp 1 and we set Avi and Noel the task of setting up 2 tents for a bit of practice if they needed to set up tents themselves later.

Shogolung Glacier from C1 © Brad Jackson

It really was a wonderful day climbing in perfect weather conditions. At Camp 1, we had great views of most of the Spantik ridgeline and could see in the distance several members of the Dutch team making their way to Camp 3. The Shogolung glacier meandered beneath us and 22-degree rainbow halos ringed the sun.

Spantik's 8km ridge from C1 © brad jackson

After 2 hours of setting up tents and general chatting, we made our way down. We helped Antoine carry some of their group gear down. The descent was fun and fast. Steep enough to get a good pace but not steep enough to risk serious injury. I luxuriated in for once having a light pack as I was only carrying a tent and sped down the second half of the mountain after having traversed the ridges.

Avi, Grace and Noel descending from C1 © brad jackson

Arriving back at base camp, we were greeted with grape tang and then we bundled ourselves into the dining tent for soup, samosas and another round of delicious Pakistani mangoes. A quick nana nap in the afternoon and then dinner at 8pm. Overall, a superb day.

Noel enjoying a rest at C1 © brad jackson