Tuesday - the first day after the successful summit push, the giant in all its majesty behind us, we busied ourselves with the many little odds and ends that have to be done, if one does not want to drown in chaos and disorder. Therefore, the basecamp shone in all colours of the rainbow due to sleeping bags, anoraks, heavy shoes, down coats and things alike that were laid out to dry in the sun. The basecamp has become a circus, and the climbers behaved like artists after an exceptionally difficult show that has turned into a success: relaxed, happy, confident, smiling. (more…)

Towards 9 pm a strange light phenomenon was nearing to the base camp: a moving circle of lights. The last mountaineers came back with their headlamps on. Tonje and Sitaram waited for them with juice, Cola, beer and cake and accompanied them back to the camp. Above all was the clear starlit sky of the Himalaya. (more…)

Yesterday (May 14, 2006), at 4:30 pm local Nepalese time, Gerlinde, Ralf, Hiro, Veikka and Andrew stood on the summit of the Kangchendzönga, enjoying a terrific view around.

“I am so glad that we have been there, the feeling was so overwhelming; to stand there above the other summits, just at the right moment. We have all been more or less speechless out of sheer happiness.” Gerlinde’s voice sounds a little breathless and very very happy.

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The bad quality of the radio contact and the thin air in that height only allow a short exchange of information. Ralf said that they reached camp III at 7.700 m and that everybody was fine after the exhausting ascent. That night (tonight, in fact) they will start to climb the summit.

“Godspeed and all the best!”

At 13:30 local time the expedition team reached camp II at 7.240, a place they already knew from two acclimatization nights.

“We are all fine. We are tired, this has been a long stage. Now we are cooking, the evening is wonderful, even though clouds come up and limit our view.” Gerlinde sounds bursting with energy on the Walkie Talkie. The feeling is great: another step done, the beautiful view. For Gerlinde and her companions all this proves once more true that mountaineering is among the most satisfying professions.

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According to plan, Gerlinde, Ralf, Hiro, Veikka, Andrew and Joao left the base camp at 6:30 this morning, local time, for camp I at 6.100 m. The scenery was beautiful: it was already light as day, and the landscape seemed to be sugar-coated by the nocturnal snowfall.

In the meantime, they have reached camp I and will spend the night there.

Good mood  The atmosphere in the base camp was extraordinarily good and optimistic. Sitaram did his best and fed us generously in order to provide us with energy and power.

Attempt to climb to the peak presumably on Sunday

If the weather does not change and if the ascent goes well, the expedition team will climb to the peak of the Kangchendzönga in the night facing Sunday, thus mastering the third-highest mountain of the earth.

The weather is expected to be windstill and they will have an almost full moon.

 

 

 

For some days - since the second acclimatization tour has ended successfully, to be precise - each lunchtime ends in discussing the weatherforecast. It is provided stating full particulars by a Swiss team and covers a few days. Most important for us are the wind speed on the peak of the Kangchendzönga and the amount of precipitation. After the laptop has circled and everybody has carefully and thoroughly checked and considered the various diagrams and descriptions, possible ascents and peakclimbing days are discussed. Very calm, very competent and very optimistic.

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At half past six in the morning our world up here is already light as day. At six o’clock, the sun shines upon the first peaks surrounding the Yalung glacier. Whoever is already awake at that time stays put in their sleeping bags, careful not to expose too much skin to the biting cold. Those are lucky who awake by the kiss of the sun - a few minutes before or after seven o’clock, depending on where their tents are placed. What happens in the tents until breakfast is a well kept secret, though. Nathalie, the author of these lines, dedicates the early morning hour to her meditations and breathing exercise. Without that, she is not fit for the day, she says. Another integral part of her early morning routine is the “bathroom” ceremony. (more…)

We are listening to the music of Coldplay (another luxury: speakers in the common tent), everybody in the base camp is at ease. Brother sunshine visits us daily and thanks to his presence, some of the ways and places are already free of snow. There is an air of spring around. (more…)

‘7.240 m, with heavy snow fall’, Gerlinde wired this afternoon to the basecamp. She was already at camp II of the first ascent route. ‘We are all tired, the ascent was quite steep, but on the whole we are fine. Right now, we are melting ice to get water. Until recently, we had a tremendous view as far as the Makalu!’

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