K2 2004: K2 South -K2 North: bad weather stops the ascent: Italian expedition Everest/K2 2004 expedition

K2 2004 - 50 years later

K2 South -K2 North: bad weather stops the ascent

Weather has got worst both on the North and on the South Face of K2. Climbers are now standing at the base camps, white with snow, waiting for an improvement in the next days.

July, 5th  2004

K2 South base camp. Yesterday the weather has got worse and all K2 2004 climbers returned to the base camp. They did the right thing, because during the night a heavy snowfall covered the mountain and the base camp is white with snow again.

“We’ll probably have to wait some days before the weather improves and the snow settles down” – Mario Merelli says – “yesterday, when I was coming down from camp II together with Sergio, we were sinking into the knee-deep snow and in some points snowslides were beginning to fall”.

In this gray weather day, Gian Pietro Verza and Daniele Palazzina instructed the climbers on how to use the technologic equipment for the data and images transfer from the high camps. Tarcisio Bellò, climber and cooking supervisor, cheered the band up by coming out with a unexpected and appreciated lunch, all based on chicory.

Meanwhile, the porters with the great part of the numerous missing barrels arrived at last to the base camp.

K2 North base camp. Even on the North face of K2 the weather is not really encouraging.
Yesterday, the K2 2004 climbers had reached an altitude of 5800 m, equipping a very steep slope with several meters of fixed rope.

“We hoped to reach and set up camp I (6500 m) in a couple of days, but we had to give up and turn back to the base camp. The weather is horrible again: this morning it was snowing like at Christmas!” Michele Comi explains “so we continued the operations at the base camp. The guys did an excellent work with the re-arrangement of the kitchen-tent, tiling the floor with stone slabs”.

The major bar to the demanding work of the team is the condition of the snow-covered slopes, not completely stable. “For our safety, we hope in a fall in temperature during the next days” said Michele Comi.

copyright Italian expedition Everest/K2 2004 expedition Expedition

 

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