Italians Summit Everest Again! Italian Everest/K2 2004 expedition Update

Summit photo from the first group

K2 2004 summits Everest again: Today Tarcisio Bello, Marco Confortola and one sherpa have reached the summit using oxygen. Wind was blowing very strongly and temperatures were very low. For this reason part of the group gave up its attempt to the summit.

1 o'clock pm local time (09.00 am Italian time)

K2 2004 members: Tarcisio Bellò, Marco Confortola and one sherpa have reached this morning, at 8.30 (local time) Everest summit, using oxygen.

The three mountaineers had left at 11.30 p.m., local time, camp III, while as a consequence to a particularly strong wind Soro Dorotei, Silvio Mondinelli, Michele Compagnoni, Mario Panzeri and Giulio Maggioni decided waiting until 3 in the morning before starting again.

The second group, which was trying to climb Everest without oxygen, has had to give up the attempt a hundred meters above camp III because of the excessively low temperatures. <>When they came back at camp III they got a bad surprise: wind had nearly blown tents away. Currentlly, Soro, Gnaro, Michele, Giulio and Mario are at base camp, while Tarcisio and Marco have just left camp III.

Tomorrow nearly all mountaineers will return to base camp, where they will have to go through a series of medical tests.

Earlier report: K2 2004 members Karl Unterkircher, Alex Busca and Claudio Bastrentaz summited Everest.
 
09.40 - Everest summit:

Claudio Bastrentaz, Alex Busca, Karl Unterkircher have summited Everest. Without oxygen.

Giampaolo Gioia, Mario Panzeri and Mario Merelli are returning to camp III.

Update: 11.40 time: From Everest top, where re-measurement is being carried out, news come up of  Mario Merelli having reached the summit.

That makes 4!

EVEREST RE-MEASUREMENT ACCOMPLISHED

12.10 local time (08.10 italian time).

In this moment  Mario Merelli, Alex Busca, Claudio Bastrentaz and Karl Unterkircher have started their descent from Everest top.

Perfectly accomplished GPS-Georadar measurements. Great satisfaction of researchers Giorgio Poretti and his collaborators.  

Earlier Update: May 23, 2004 - The climbers of the K2-2004 expedition are again at camp III

The first team of the expedition has once again reached camp III (8300 m.) Dorotei is at camp II, where he is anticipating the arrival of Maggioni, Confortola and Compagnoni.  Mondinelli and Forcatura are at camp I, but will climb directly to camp III tomorrow.

and directly from Camp II at 7700 m./via phone line between Soro Dorotei and Agostino Da Polenza at base camp (13:10 hours, local time -09:10 hours italian time)

Dorotei quotes" I am currently alone at camp II. The others left from here early this morning and are reaching camp III.  I left a bit earlier than the second group heading from camp I, but in a short while I am expecting the arrival of Maggioni, Confortola and Compagnoni.  There is still a good bit of wind, but it is quieting down.  The weather is clear!  Later in the day, "Gnaro" and Marca Forcatura will be departing from ABC for camp I.  Tomorrow they will  not stop at camp II. but will go directly to III."

This phone call is between Soro Dorotei and Agostino Da Polenza who has been monitoring the evolving situation since dawn this morning.  As predicted, the weather is changing for the better.  The barometric pressure at base camp (5200 m.) has slowly but continuously risen, from 537 millibars to 542 in the past 24 hours.  A troublesome wind of over 30 km. an hour was expected  at 7,000 to 8,000 meters.

Higher up the mountain, paradoxically, the wind is quieter.  Our group confirms, in fact, that above 8,000 m. the wind speed is at about 20 km per hour.

In the lead group are Alex Busca, Mario Panzeri, Mario Merelli, Giampaolo Gioia, Claudio Bastrentaz and Karl Unterkircher, who just in these past few minutes have reached camp III

Dispatches

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