March 3rd, 2011Since February 10 (more than three weeks), we nearly only had clouds over our heads. Although suffering a lot under these tough circumstances we worked hard and established camp 1 on the icy ridge at 6300m.
Even if there was no good weather we climbed up again last Tuesday, two days ago. After long work we widened the tiny platform a little bit more, built up the tent, secure it with ice screws and Abalakov anchors. Two people could lie-down on solid ground, but one must be happy with "void hanging" tent floor. Luckily Alex agreed without hesitation to take this "cherished" place J. To be more save and preserve his nerves, we filled the area with ropes and he kept roped in his sleeping bag.
Our first night on the mountain was harsh with -35° and strong wind and we nearly got no sleep. It was hard to get out of the sleeping bag in the morning after freezing a lot. The strong storm didn´t allow a climb up. After a short breakfast we quickly went down to basecamp yesterday in difficult conditions.
Now our acclimatization and our bodies are ready for the next step, to attempt the summit.
Trusting our irreplaceable friend Dr. Karl Gabl it looks good that on the end of the week the sky opens for the first time after weeks and the stormy conditions slowly go down to more gentle wind. Maybe we try a first summit attempt next week J
Here is their newest video!Our camp 1 on a tiny place (quarter more big), above the last hard 500m to the top of the wall at 6800m which we indent to climb next week.
From
Louis Rousseau's site