Ama Dablam in the winter i guess... 
Saturday, March 15, 2008, 01:30 PM - Nepal
That's Ama Dablam on my website banner with the flags, so wonderful...

So yeah, this was another classic trip to a classic mountain up a more than classic route. I had an excellent small group and we really dominated on Ama Dablam. Scott got really sick so he had to bail from camp 1 which is a big bummer for him and I. Me me me, Angus and Tsering Sherpa climbed on.


Our superbad ascent went something like this:

day 1- BC rest
day 2- BC rest
day 3-ascent to camp 1, sleep camp 1
day 4-load carry camp 2, sleep camp 1
day 5-ascent to camp 2, sleep camp 2
day 5-summit Ama Dablam(8hours 20 min) -return to camp 2 (5hours 40 min)
day 6-descent to Ama Dablam Base Camp from camp 2 (8 hours having a blast and enjoying the views)


And the best part of it all:



I really love being on Ama Dablam. It is such a nice place and the vibes are always good. Next time i wonder what music i will choose for the video.?suggestions?


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Cho Oyu 8201M Gets Interesting 
Wednesday, October 31, 2007, 11:03 AM - Tibet
I reached camp 2 7250M feeling well but after a sleepless night and symptoms of mild AMS I made the decision to descend to camp 1 6400M in the afternoon of the 1st. I had a great sleep and woke up pondering whether to call it quits or go back up for another shot at the top. I left camp 1 at 10:30am on the 2nd stoked to climb the mountain. As I plodded upwards in beautiful weather I really felt I would make it, I felt great! At my usual rest spot, just below the big ice cliff, I saw a man hunched over sort of whimpering or crying.

There were many people walking past him focused on their own summit attempts. I sat down beside the man and asked him if he was ok. He told me he had just summited and that his partner had fallen and broken his leg while descending. A victim of fatigue and cramponed boots biting into the hard snow. We call it a boot line fracture. Snap! Right above the plastic boot. Alex, the boss of the 7 summits club was lowering the victim down the 15m ice wall just above us. Four sherpas, Pashang, Lakpha, Pemba and another Lakpha were assisting on the extremely difficult terrain at an altitude of about 6900m.

When they reached me I explained that I was trained in high angle rescue and first aid and that I would like to offer my assistance. They sort of looked at me like I was crazy and said, "what about your summit?". I told them that I'd been rescued before and that a man’s life is a far better reward than some summit. The Sherpas said something in Nepali to each other, one of them slapped me on the butt and said "you very good man, lets go", Alex handed me a rope and in his thick Russian accent said "you short rope him, keep head up hill".

We all prepared the injured climber for the descent by creating an improvised litter/sled with a number of ropes attached for keeping him steady and 'feet downhill'. Meanwhile, many climbers, and even a mountain guide walked down past us without a word. Also, two supposedly 'very famous' alpinists passed going up without even turning their heads. I was quite shocked at all of their abilities to so easily ignore such a serious situation. Disturbing and selfish beyond all words. Count 1 through 10, ohmmm.

Anyways, we started the 500 vertical meter, 2 km ridge line lower to camp 1 where a group of Tibetan porters were waiting to carry the injured man back to ABC and eventually a waiting jeep the next morning. The lower was pretty routine with all of us moving about with our short ropes keeping the sled in position through the challenging terrain. After about 4 hours of very tiring and stressful work, we managed to get our man safely back to camp 1, along with his partner who was exhausted, nearly in tears and suffering from acute frostbite on his left hand.


We celebrated our success with cup of hot tea and a big round of hugs, took five and loaded up the injured climber for the 4 hour walk across the glacier. In this case, a sturdy Tibeten piggy-back ride down 600m and over 5 km of glacier back to ABC. I was informed that both men left early this morning via yak for the road and onto Lhasa.
I'm bagged, done, arms stretched out of their sockets, brain-fried, inspired by those who took part in the rescue, and disheartened after bearing witness to short-sighted display of those who ignored the situation.

Jacob and I are now on standby, radios on, waiting to head back up the hill if our team needs us this evening. Good luck gang, stand on top and make us proud. Get back down safely so we can drink that beer we've been saving.

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Summit of Spantik reached 7027M 
Tuesday, August 28, 2007, 08:59 PM - Pakistan
Alrighty then. One down, three to go. A few days ago i woke up my team at midnight and we chrunched off into the darkness towards the summit of Mt Spantik in the Pakistan Kararorum.

base camp-camp 1 load carry
sleep camp 1, rest day
load carry camp 2- sleep camp 1
move to camp 2, rest
move to camp 3, rest
summit attack and back to camp 3
descend base camp
rest rest rest...

It was a difficult journey. Sickness, bad weather and poor morale tested our resolve over many days. Even a high altitude porter, (The Pakistani equivilant of a Sherpa) who was ill and wanted to go back to base camp all stood in our way. I stood on top after breaking trail for 8 hours with my team of 4 about an hour behind me. It was actually painless and i really enjoyed summit day for once. I managed to take a small nap at 7000M while my guys relished in their sucesses.

Being the only guide on the mountain at that time, it was my responsibility to 'sweep' the clients off of the mountain. On descent, the weather turned bad and our visibility was reduced to about 3 meters. This was the closest i have ever been to dropping to my knees and becoming a permenent part of the mountain landscape. I made it back to camp, all of my guests warm and safe, 16 hours later. My HAP, or high porter, sleeping soundly in his bed. This was not cool as he is my supposed saftey net if things go wrong. Thank god for my well trained auto pilot and all of those evenings coming home from pub during my college years.



Alas, the expedition did have some sad sides. A friend in another group suffered severe frost bite on his toes and may lose some of them. To me, no matter how many members we put on top, if the helicopter has to come to base camp, the trip is not a success. From this we learn not to repeat the mistakes of others.

Until next time.

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Who's got my Burka? 
Wednesday, August 1, 2007, 07:21 PM - Pakistan
I've finally arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan. All is well. Ive been sweating & dodging bullets for about 24 hours and am ready to head into the mountains. I may not have a chance to update here for a while but please feel free to visit the dispatch page for our Spantik expedition.

Le link:
http://www.fieldtouring.com/dispatches/spantik_2007.php

Our team departed this morning at 5am for the mountains and Ian and I are sticking around for a while to settle our permits and whatnots with the ministry of mountaineering and tourism. We will fly to Skardu, the start of all things mountaineering in Pakistan, this afternoon for a day or so of much needed down time.

Peace to you my brothers & sisters. Asa La Ma Lakim!

C


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