Tuesday, April 27, 2010

April 27th mid morning... ABC

Good day all, Robbie writing today the 27th of April and it is a windy/chilly morn. Temps are in the high teens (-8 deg C) right now and we received a light dusting of snow. It is supposed to get a lil' warmer before the weather changes. Scuttlbutt around the camps pertains to a weather pattern that is not in our favor for the upcoming three days. Snow and higher winds from the NW are to come in this evening. We we are trying to plan for tomorrows move up to Camp 2 with this in mind. Yesterday was stunning for mountaineering!!!! Too bad we weren't acclimitized for a summit bid for there was 0 wind and Mediterranean skies til 1100 hr... Basically we were climbing thru the pages of National Geographic... We were all able to move efficiently and confidently to camp 1 and all were feeling well. Camp 1 is @ 21,000' & change... It is situated on a spectacular bench that over looks the upper 2/3s of the route... There is a stunning couloir that we will ascend that feeds us to a summit plateau that then leads us to the summit ridge. The climbing yesterday was all glaciated with a section of 100 meters of 65 deg blue ice as well. There were 4 other expeditions ascending /descending which made for rush hr traffic at the fixed lines... Plans are to have a couple of us set up another fixed line system to alleviate the clusters @ the toe/head of the lines just below Camp 1. Highlights are as follows... Heavy laughter with the French (quite the eclectic group of individuals), stunning 360 deg views, route finding discussions and tactics for how we wish to climb the upper mountain, gourmet high altitude pizza, the Klinke/Klimek morning lattes, and lastly,assisting with some altiude related medical issues... Right now we are reconfiguring the mess hall in anticipation of the storm that is coming in. Thanks to all that have written back to us... It is always a pleasure to hear from our friends and loved ones... Keep it coming.

7 comments:

Judith said...

Hi, Robbie ~

I truly enjoy watching the team's progress ... very informative. It would have been fun to have a Center School class involved with the blog. Must say I am impressed by your writing skills :) ... once a teacher, always a teacher.

Fondly ~ Judith Vitali

Unknown said...

Robbie, Thanks so much for the update. We are all thinking of you and pulling for you all. I hope the good weather gods grace you with their presence soon. I'm sure those Klimek Lattes are working wonders and the high altitude pizza sounds very intriguing. Please be safe and keep us posted. We love you!

Alison

Niels said...

Happy days to everyone on the slope, and greetings to your French Friends!

Mrs Oh Eun Sun summited yesterday Annapurna (her 14th) accompagned by two cameramen from KBC. Her last steps, and the planting the flag gesture, was transmitted and broadcasted live in South Korea.

So today hell broak out in the media, as voices was hinting that it was not a direct broadcast, but a video they shot for the occation. Any way, anything usefull to gun Eun Sun down, is very popular at the moment.

Now if the couloir is jamed....Set up a new line!

Good luck, and best regards from the Pyrenees.

Niels

TYeary said...

Thanks for he up-date. Sounds like you guys are making good progress, despite the weather. I know it will soon be in your favor and I look forward to hearing further up-dates. Ihope Brad is pulling his weight. Ha ha, just kidding! Tell him I'll see him in Peru in July.
Good luck to all on the hill and safe climbing.
Tony

Unknown said...

Glad the climb up to Camp 1 was so smooth, sounded beautiful! Hopefully the weather to Camp 2 will cooperate, and you will all be feeling just as strong, seems like things are moving fast, how long will you acclimate before heading up to sleeping at Camp 1? Don't know if you can respond personally to this blog. Also glad you are enjoying some of the comforts of lattes and pizza! Stay strong and keep smiling! Lots of love,
Kimmie

Unknown said...

I hope those Lattes are non-dairy for Klimek because I've been stuck in a tent with you duringa raging snowstorm after you've chowed down on some dairy. Those were dark hours....

Good luck out there and stay safe!

Peter said...

Robbie, love reading about your team's progress! Good luck and stay safe. Peter FFL