From stu in the usa office
25th May 10:50pm est (gmt -5)
Fabrizio called in from C4 where both he and Joelle were safely back in the tent after their summit bids. After only an hour or so for each of them the intense cold proved too severe and they were unable to keep their feet warm. Wisely they returned to the tent before running the very real and imminent risk of frostbite. After 3 nights at or above 7400m their bodies were simply unable to battle the cold sufficiently in the thin air.
Their plan was to warm up for a few hours and then break camp and head all the way to BC today. They have a few items top clear in C2 but else are going pretty light (not much fuel or food to slow them down!) so should be able to reach camp in time for a HUGE supper. Fabrizio ordered two diet cokes and a double order of fries and we hope they await them there! When they are safely back in BC we'll have more details of the summit push and plans for returning to Kathamndu.
We are really happy for all our team for the effort they made on on of the great peaks of our planet and congratulate them all. It will be hard to depart without a summit after so many weeks of enduring cold, wind and snow but the mountain will be awaiting them all for another day.
More news as we have it from our team!
stu
Monday, May 24, 2010
Makalu 2010 - Summit Bid Under Way!
From Stu in USA office
May 24, 2010 4:30pm EST (GMT - 5)
Just off the phone with Fabrizio and Joelle and they were putting on their boots and getting ready to head out into the inky crisp night at 7650m and make a bid for the top of Makalu. Fabrizio said the temperatures were likely in the -30°C range with no wind and no snow so a bit crispy but great conditions for a try!
At least one other team has begun their push a few hours ahead of them and they hope to catch up along the way. Their ability to move with good speed will be an important part of being able to try for the top in this cold and hypoxic environment.
Good friends of Fabrizio topped out on 8000m peaks this morning - Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner on Everest this morning (for her 13th 8000m Peak) and FTA guide Chris Szymiec on Cho Oyu (for his first) and Fabrizio sends his congratulations to both! The good vibes from their summits will be great inspiration for our team!!
Fabrizio left a few short audio dispatches from the remote world of C4 - enjoy!
Part One
Part Two
May 24, 2010 4:30pm EST (GMT - 5)
Just off the phone with Fabrizio and Joelle and they were putting on their boots and getting ready to head out into the inky crisp night at 7650m and make a bid for the top of Makalu. Fabrizio said the temperatures were likely in the -30°C range with no wind and no snow so a bit crispy but great conditions for a try!
At least one other team has begun their push a few hours ahead of them and they hope to catch up along the way. Their ability to move with good speed will be an important part of being able to try for the top in this cold and hypoxic environment.
Good friends of Fabrizio topped out on 8000m peaks this morning - Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner on Everest this morning (for her 13th 8000m Peak) and FTA guide Chris Szymiec on Cho Oyu (for his first) and Fabrizio sends his congratulations to both! The good vibes from their summits will be great inspiration for our team!!
Fabrizio left a few short audio dispatches from the remote world of C4 - enjoy!
Part One
Part Two
Makalu 2010 - C4 Again! Summit Tomorrow??
From Stu in the USA office
May 24, 2010
Fabrizio called in about 3 hours ago (from C4 at 7650m) to let us know that as of 6:30am they were still in C4 waiting out significant snow and trying to decide what to do. After consulting with the home office on weather and logistics they they took another hour or 2 to sift through the complicated combination of safety, fuel, food, oxygen and porters imminent arrival. Joelle was feeling very strongly to try again on the 25th and Fabrizio will remain on the hill to join her for the attempt. Stuart was simply not in a position to sit out another day as he is on an O2 climb and begun to use up O2 resources. Tapchen will join him today to descend to C2 at minimum and hopefully all the way to BC if they feel strongly enough.
Joelle and Fabrizio will try to leave tonight at 11pm local time and make the top as early as they can and ensure they will have significant daylight to work with on descent. They are dealing with limited food resources but sufficient fuel for melting water. No doubt by the time they return to BC they will be ready for a great meal!
For Joelle and Fabrizio they have 12 hours of simply existing to manage...melt water, rest and repeat. Their job, stuck in a high camp, is to do as little as possible so to conserve every bit of water and energy and it is amazing how little one can do in a day if you really try!
Before heading up Fabrizio and the BC crew had called for the porters to arrive on the 25th for a 26th departure. But with the delayed summit bid they will be unable to be down in time to join the first wave of porters coming out and a small group of porters will remain to support their walk out while the bulk of the porters will begin the trek out to Tumlingtar with all the excess gear, food and tents. A sparse BC will await Fabrizio and Joelle but it is a small price to pay for the shot at the top of Makalu! We congratulate Stuart for reaching C4 and for making a prudent choice to head down when the situation dictated. He still has a long ways to go with Tapchen to reach BC so hours of careful down climbing await them.
When we have more news of the return to BC and the ongoing summit bid we'll let you know!
Fabrizio has left a short audio dispatch from C4 with the update - enjoy!
Listen to all the Field Touring Alpine Audio Dispatches at Gabcast
May 24, 2010
Fabrizio called in about 3 hours ago (from C4 at 7650m) to let us know that as of 6:30am they were still in C4 waiting out significant snow and trying to decide what to do. After consulting with the home office on weather and logistics they they took another hour or 2 to sift through the complicated combination of safety, fuel, food, oxygen and porters imminent arrival. Joelle was feeling very strongly to try again on the 25th and Fabrizio will remain on the hill to join her for the attempt. Stuart was simply not in a position to sit out another day as he is on an O2 climb and begun to use up O2 resources. Tapchen will join him today to descend to C2 at minimum and hopefully all the way to BC if they feel strongly enough.
Joelle and Fabrizio will try to leave tonight at 11pm local time and make the top as early as they can and ensure they will have significant daylight to work with on descent. They are dealing with limited food resources but sufficient fuel for melting water. No doubt by the time they return to BC they will be ready for a great meal!
For Joelle and Fabrizio they have 12 hours of simply existing to manage...melt water, rest and repeat. Their job, stuck in a high camp, is to do as little as possible so to conserve every bit of water and energy and it is amazing how little one can do in a day if you really try!
Before heading up Fabrizio and the BC crew had called for the porters to arrive on the 25th for a 26th departure. But with the delayed summit bid they will be unable to be down in time to join the first wave of porters coming out and a small group of porters will remain to support their walk out while the bulk of the porters will begin the trek out to Tumlingtar with all the excess gear, food and tents. A sparse BC will await Fabrizio and Joelle but it is a small price to pay for the shot at the top of Makalu! We congratulate Stuart for reaching C4 and for making a prudent choice to head down when the situation dictated. He still has a long ways to go with Tapchen to reach BC so hours of careful down climbing await them.
When we have more news of the return to BC and the ongoing summit bid we'll let you know!
Fabrizio has left a short audio dispatch from C4 with the update - enjoy!
Listen to all the Field Touring Alpine Audio Dispatches at Gabcast
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Makalu 2010 - In C4 and Summit Bid Tomorrow!!
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!!
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!!
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Makalu 2010 - In C3 with great Views! C4 Tomorrow!!
from stu in the USA Office
may 22, 2010
Fabrizio has called in to let us know that all is well in C3 at 7400m after a 6 hour climb from C2. All team members are doing well and looking forward to pushing up to C4 in the morning. The climb from C3 to C4 is just 3-4 hours and a gain of 200m or so but puts them in a great position to summit. With weather reports being reasonable for the 24th they have decided against trying to go directly from C3. They are joined by quite a few other teams with the same plan so they will have good company on the move to C4 and on the summit day!
More news as we have it!
Here are the two audio dispatches from C3 - Enjoy!
Part 1
Hear all the Field Touring Alpine Audio Dispatches at Gabcast
Part 2
Listen to all the Field Touring Alpine Audio Dispatches at Gabcast
may 22, 2010
Fabrizio has called in to let us know that all is well in C3 at 7400m after a 6 hour climb from C2. All team members are doing well and looking forward to pushing up to C4 in the morning. The climb from C3 to C4 is just 3-4 hours and a gain of 200m or so but puts them in a great position to summit. With weather reports being reasonable for the 24th they have decided against trying to go directly from C3. They are joined by quite a few other teams with the same plan so they will have good company on the move to C4 and on the summit day!
More news as we have it!
Here are the two audio dispatches from C3 - Enjoy!
Part 1
Hear all the Field Touring Alpine Audio Dispatches at Gabcast
Part 2
Listen to all the Field Touring Alpine Audio Dispatches at Gabcast
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