ANDALUCIA K2 EXPEDITION WILL ATTEMPT TO ASSAULT THE SUMMIT, AS SOON AS WEATHER PERMITS

The Andalucian climbers have passed the 7,000 meters mark

The members of Andalucia K2 2004 Expedition, sponsored by Consejería de Comercio, Turismo y Deporte through Deporte Andaluz, are ready to attack the summit when weather permits.

Five members of the expedition left Base Camp on the 12th with the intention to get to C3 and to complete the last part of their acclimatization.  During the ascent to C1, the weather conditions worsened and when they got to 6,000 meters, Morales, Del Moral and González decided to descend to BC, while Fernández-Vivancos and Salazar kept climbing to go to sleep at C2 and left 200 meters of rope definitively installed, in parts that were poorly equipped on the route between C1 and C2.  On the 13th and 14th the conditions have not been good but no wind was present in high altitudes, which was convenient for them to get to C3, and then they returned to C2 to spend the night.  The ascent was made in the fog, and they could finish a very important acclimatization phase.

Now the forecasts warn of bad weather until Monday or Tuesday, the 20th, when a good weather window can arrive to try to get to the summit.  For Friday 16th, a chiefs of expeditions meeting has been called, to update the situation in which every team is now, to analyze the completed work and to determine some aspects of the attempts for the summit.  In the last days, it looks like dialog and common sense has been prevalent in some isolated group.

"Weather forecasts -says Lolo González-point to day 19th... to day 20th...  At K2's BC everybody is impatiently waiting for the days to pass, so that the weather forecasts can be more accurate.  Piolets and crampons are being sharpened, bags of food and clothes are being set.  The ghost of nervousness begins to float among climbers, but they don't loose their spirit.  There are still some days to go and everything looks far away.  We contemplate the summit of K2 well above our heads, from the small tents of BC, from where every morning we take our first glance, from where every morning we beg: Chogori, let us".

High altitude porters

On Karakorum they can be Pakistanis or Nepalese.  These men go unnoticed a lot of times while they do their job, they let their bosses get to the summit with lots of help.

Some time ago, because of constraints, they did not assume many technical responsibilities, but today this is changing substantially and they no longer limit to carry heavy backpacks by the side of eight-thousands, they also install fixed lines and the big forgotten topic, they open the trail through deep snow, when the snowfalls leave us without the path of packed snow.

Nepal's Sherpas, because of their strength and technical capacity are more sought for and to an expedition in Pakistan this can mean an investment of 5,000 per Sherpa, including transport, insurance, salary and climbing permit because they are part of the expedition like one more climber for the authorities of Pakistan.  A Pakistani could mean some 2,000 US dollars.

The Andalucia K2 climbers have completed a new phase of acclimatization, which has lead them to 7,000 meters of altitude in 17 days at BC, of the 40 they dispose of.  The first ascent has been done from BC to C2 in one try, it was useful for them to spend the first two nights at C2.  The ascent to C2 was long and exhausting because of lack of acclimatization, besides some uncoordination with Migma, about a material that he had to carry up and the location of the two high altitude tents, which are already installed up there.  The only Sherpa of the Andalucian expedition was dedicated to collaborate with the team of Sherpas and local high altitude carriers, who climbed on the 7th up to the location of C3, fixing lines on the Black Pyramid.

The development of events have made the Andalucian expedition to be perfectly situated on the mountain, with C1 and C2 perfectly installed and a depot at 7,300 meters, with tents and stoves to be installed at C3 and part of what C4 will be.

Translated from Spanish by Jorge Rivera

 

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