Hello Everyone!

This is Chris's sister, Amy.  I spoke with Chris (and heard Rob in the background)   They are at camp 2 waiting for the winds to die down and hope to make the summit push on the 23rd.   They sounded happy and are looking forward to the summit.

Be well and thanks for sending all the warm and safe thoughts,

Amy

Revised Summit Plan

Weather is weather and completely unpredictable at this point. After having been informed by the various weather services that the previous weather window was "short lived and dangerous" we abandoned our summit plans and have been waiting. Well, the window was good, and we missed the first one, but we are going for the second one with gusto and commitment.

The goal will be to summit on the 22nd of May. Based on current forecasts it should be a stable weather window starting on the 21st and continuing until the 24th. It gives us plenty of time to get up to high camp in semi-decent weather and have the opportunity to get to the summit on a clear day.

So the question that you may have is what have we been doing in the meantime. Well, not much. We went up to Camp 2 on the 16th which was the start of our previous window and slept a night to keep our acclimitization in order, had a horrible, sleepless night and returned to ABC for breakfast. We have taken showers, shaved (some of us), and done laundry. Life in ABC has not been exciting. Although in the last 24 hours we have arranged a helilcopter for a portion of the team who want to fly back to Kathmandu rather then trekking the 5 days out. There is some logic to this decision. I have decided to trek out because I want to enjoy the fun of seeing green and smelling something other then rock and snow.

So to sum up our plan.We will leave ABC on May 20th and go directly to Camp 2. We will try and arrive early in the day so that we can have plenty of time to rest and hydrate. Then on the 21st we will head up the Makalu La and go to our Camp 4. Again leaving early and trying to arrive in Camp 4 with time to spare for hydration and eating. Then we will leave on the morning of the 22nd at about 1 am to arrive on the summit by 10 am. Then we will return from the summit, break camp 4 and descend to Camp 2 by 5pm on the 22nd.

Climb Hard, Climb High, Come Home

Chris Klinke, ABC Makalu

May 15th Update

Robbie K writing the blog for the 15th from ABC. The news isn't too good for an accent up Makalu until later in the month, hopefully around the 23rd of May... The French and the Germans left two days ago for their summit bid and we were to leave today The winds have been ripping for the last week from C1 all the way to the summit. When I say ripping, I mean our flesh would be frozen in seconds without remorse if accidentally left exposed. (Upwards of 100km winds with -28 deg C temps.) We have been diligently watching and getting weather updates from France, Germany, and Switzerland. We utilize as many meteorological resources as possible so that our guessing is minimized and a more calculated decision can be ascertained as to when we should make our way up the hill. The information that we had been originally given gave us a window for the 16th and 17th to make our summit push and we were to leave today. We decided to stay in ABC for the last two days because there were going to be 23 people ahead of us. We wanted some room to play and we wanted to make a speedier accent (3 days). In addition we want to spend as lil time above C2 as possible. But the window is too small and the winds have been nuking since last week. So... the French and the Germans are now heading down because of the deteriorating weather... Right now, outside our fabric walls, we are having a mix of snow and rain. So, we are in a hold patern and we are going to see how the winds and weather fair over the next couple of days. So that is all that we have going on right now. We are relaxing and getting "plumped" up for our attempt. It looks as though we are going be in ABC for a few more days so we will keep you all posted. Again, thanks for all of the comments... And please keep them coming...

Summit Bound

This morning we awoke to the very familiar winds of the past week, but noticeably less intense. Conditions have been unstable this past week, causing our three consultant weather forecasters in Europe to really scratch their heads about how much improvement there might actually be during the May 16-17th period.

It looks like the jetstream will split North/South around Everest and Makalu as it approaches from the NW. Our weather sages think this will mean a decrease in winds from 60-110 km/hr to 20-30 km/hr from the Makalu La(7400m) to the summit(8467m), with temps warming from from -35 C to around -20 C near the summit the 16th and 17th. We will definitely appreciate the warmth and comfort of the Talus Cold Avenger masks and the Point 6 socks!

So today, the six French climbers of our group, four team sherpas, and Chhiring Dorje left for the summit push, targetting a May 16th summit. Right behind them out of BC was a party of 13 Germans with the same game plan. The four of us haqve decided to hold back our summit departure till the day after tomorrow, May 15th. Our reasons for doing this are that we want to summit on the 17th, avoid crowding(including icefall and rockfall risk) in the technical areas of the route, and since we are not using botttled oxygen, to minimize our high altitude exposure time, skipping the camp at Makalu La with a push from Camp 2 to a final staging camp at 7600m.

The waiting is hard-reading books, watching videos, and going on hikes around BC are a reminder that high mountains are not "conquered", but rather snuck up on, and that planning,preparation, and commitment are keys to a successful summit of an 8000m peak. The reality of the experience is that it's just not possible to get to the top of a peak like Makalu without climbing in at least some bad weather. Communication and trust amongst teammates, continual reassessment of risks and benefits, and conservation of energy, are all really important at this stage.

"dolendi modus timendi non item...
to suffering there is an end, to fear, none..."

Eric Meyer, M.D.