Mt. Everest 2005: Catalan Team North Side:  In the summit push!

Tents (camp 1) North Col ©EverestNews.com

Update May 20th: Friday, May 20, 2005 - From Camp II to Camp III -

It's 15:00h in the afternoon, Spain time.  I have just talked with Merce.  Together with the expedition, they have taken a decision, make an attempt for the last time, because the bad weather doesn't stop.  So Merce and Albert have stayed in Base Camp and Xavi has climbed with two Sherpas.

Now Xavy is in Camp III (8,400 m), he is fine, after all they have installed the tents without the need of oxygen.  The weather is not the best, Agusti goes behind and is now in Camp II.

Oriol is already in the Chinese Base Camp with all the material. 

At 24:00h, Xavi will attempt to reach the SUMMIT.  Wait for news.  We wish them lots of luck and let's hope the weather is good.

Update: they turned back again...

Update May 19th: We did not advance yesterday and today we haven't decided yet.  The last weather forecasts that we could compare don't coincide about the window of good weather for the 20 and 21, tomorrow morning we will start our last attack to the summit of Everest. The intention is to climb tomorrow morning to camp 2 and if the weather of the next day is proper, we will climb to camp 3 to make the final attack to the summit on the morning of the 21.

It has been more complicated to prepare this attack than we thought, because we had already planned to go down to Advanced Base Camp on the 20th, and the fact that it takes three days to return has made us make intense negotiations to make yaks and transport be adequate to our needs. We have seen that negotiating with the Chinese authorities is not easy, especially when there is money in the middle.

Good night.

Translated from Catalan by Jorge Rivera

Update May 18th: After the frustrated attempt because of bad weather, the expedition will attempt again for the last time before going back to Katmandu.  They will leave from the camp on THURSDAY, May 19, with the intention to reach the summit on SATURDAY, the 21st.

Update: The night in Camp 2 has been extremely hard, the wind that started to blow hard on the last third of the climb to Camp 2 made it very difficult for the planned installation of the tents, ours and the Sherpas. Camp 2 showed a very terrible image by the last hour of the afternoon, where besides us there was anyone else. The strong wind blew all night and as you can imagine, there was little sleep.  During the first lights of the morning our hope, that the wind would diminish according to the weather forecasts, had vanished after talking with the Sherpas if it was ok to leave to Camp 3, and despite having everything ready we saw it was not a good decision. That made us change all the strategy that we had planned and after discarding our stay at 7,600 for one or two night, waiting for an improvement for which we didn't have any guarantee, we decided to climb down to Advanced Base Camp, tired, and why not say it, defeated because all the plans based in weather data crashed. We clearly realized that a forecast is just a forecast, especially in the Himalayas.

According to last hour news, they plan to go to CAMP 2 on Thursday and attempt the summit during the weekend.

We'll keep you posted.

Sergi Guirado

Translated form Catalan by Jorge Rivera

Updates

Millet One Sport Everest Boot  has made some minor changes by adding more Kevlar. USES Expeditions / High altitude / Mountaineering in extremely cold conditions / Isothermal to -75°F Gore-Tex® Top dry / Evazote Reinforcements with aramid threads. Avg. Weight: 5 lbs 13 oz Sizes: 5 - 14 DESCRIPTION Boot with semi-rigid shell and built-in Gore-Tex® gaiter reinforced by aramid threads, and removable inner slipper Automatic crampon attachment Non-compressive fastening Double zip, so easier to put on Microcellular midsole to increase insulation Removable inner slipper in aluminized alveolate Fiberglass and carbon footbed Cordura + Evazote upper Elasticated collar. Expedition footwear for mountaineering in conditions of extreme cold.  NOTE US SIZES LISTED. See more here.

A cold weather, high altitude double boot for extreme conditions The Olympus Mons is the perfect choice for 8000-meter peaks. This super lightweight double boot has a PE thermal insulating inner boot that is coupled with a thermo-reflective outer boot with an integrated gaiter. We used a super insulating lightweight PE outsole to keep the weight down and the TPU midsole is excellent for crampon compatibility and stability on steep terrain. WEIGHT: 39.86 oz • 1130 g LAST: Olympus Mons CONSTRUCTION: Inner: Slip lasted Outer: Board Lasted OUTER BOOT: Cordura® upper lined with dual-density PE micro-cellular thermal insulating closed cell foam and thermo-reflective aluminium facing/ Insulated removable footbed/ Vibram® rubber rand See more here.

   Ascenders

   Atlas snowshoes

   Atomic

   Big Agnes

   Black Diamond

   Brunton

   Carabiners

   Chaco

   Cloudveil

   Columbia
   CMI

   Crampons

   Edelweiss ropes
   Eureka Tents

   Exofficio

   FiveTen

   Featured

   FoxRiver

   Gregory

   Granite Gear

   Harnesses
   Headlamps

   Hestra
   Helmets

   Helly Hansen

   HighGear

   HornyToad
   Ice Axes

   Julbo

   Kavu Eyewear

   Katadyn

   Kelty

   Kong

   Lekisport

   Life is Good

   Lowa

   Lowe Alpine

   Lowepro

   Millet

   Motorola

   Mountain Hardwear

   Mountainsmith

   MSR

   Nalgene

   New England Ropes

   Nikwax

   Omega

   Osprey

   Outdoor Research
   Patagonia

   Pelican

   Petzl

   Prana

   Princeton Tec

   Primus

   Rope Bags

   Royal Robbins

   Salomon

   Scarpa

   Scott

   Seattle Sports

   Serius
   Sleeping Bags

   Sterling Rope

   Stubai

   Suunto

   Tents

   Teva

   Thermarest

   Trango

   Tool Logic

   Trekking Poles
   Yaktrax
   and more here