Kabru 2004

5/1/2004: While we are expecting better weather conditions, the other troubles are appearing. We thought that the troubles would stop when Dragan strained a muscle, so that he has been mostly sitting for two days, but with no indicators of recovery. Today, around the noon, a terrible rumble forced us to get out of our tent. We saw something horrible - an avalanche falling down “our” climbed passage with the fixes. We ran to the edge of the glacier in order to find out the consequences from the proximity. We saw the fixed rope here and there. A fog covered it soon, so we will find out the true dimensions of the damage when the alpinists come to the starting point of climbing again. At the moment nobody dares to predict when it will happen.

5/2/2004: Yesterday a snowy avalanche slid down the space between two rocks.

We have not found out the damage of the previous day yet, when a frozen cliff, as big as a scyscraper fell off and tumbled through “our” passage, and last night a snowy avalanche rumbled over the first 200m of the Serbian Way. The weather has been a little brighter since this morning, so Dragan, Milos, Tenzing and Pemba went over the glacier immediately in order to observe the remainder of their previous work from the proximity. They informed us by radio that the snowy avalanche had cut the fixes at four points in the first 200m of the way and that there were approximately four cuts in the passage, too.

5/3/2004: Nobody hurt in the avalanche passing over C-1

Yesterday morning Dragan and Milos started repairing what the avalanches had cut during the previous days and nights. They managed to form the way to C-1 again, where they took the rest of the equipment for the high camps from the local climbers and porters, and brought it to the camp. When they were about to have a rest after working hard for 9 hours, a horrible avalanche (horrible regarding its dimensions and movements) fell off the saddle between two peaks of Kabru. It was a stroke of luck that it moved a bit towards the north and hit the back of a rock (as big as the National Museum in Belgrade) under which C-1 is located. Thus, due to a strong bang, a snowy cloud covered both the rock and the camp, whereas the heavier and more dangerous part of the avalanche slid off down the icefall from the opposite side. In any case, our guys were lucky, as well as we observing nervously what was going on from the base camp. After the quiet rest of the day and night, today Dragan and Milos are going to try to climb the place where C-2 should be formed (at about 6.100m above the level of the sea).

5/4/2004: Due to an accident which happened yesterday afternoon, the expedition called the Serbian Way 2004 stopped.

The accident occurred when Dragan Jacimovic slid down off an inaccessible icy cliff, 30m long. While falling down, he hurt his right shoulder and the expedition was finished for him. Owing to Milos's help he managed to get out of an abyss and reach C-1. Regarding the absence of our most experienced alpinist, as well as the hardness and risk of further climbing Kabru, we made a decision to stop the expedition and return to Serbia. What a pity! They needed just two more days to reach their goal! Yesterday morning they managed to go through the icefall, form C-2 at 6.100m above the level of the sea, and thus approach the peak itself at about 1.200m.The attempt of scaling Kabru was planned for the night, on May 5, and the early morning, on May 6.

Dispatches

 

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