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This time we catch up with Annabelle as she
tried to finish the 7 summits with a summit of Denali.
May 1: We left at 11.00am for
a carry to 13,500ft. The weather has been boiling in the day and freezing at
night. We headed up motorcycle hill which was heavily crevassed which I hate.
We got to the top, me trying not to look into their bottomless depths.
Squirrel hill was sheer blue ice and Clark our guide, whom is great, put in
running belays to protect us in case we slipped and fell 2,000ft... We got to
the appropriately named windy corner which was suddenly freezing cold. We
finally arrived at 13,500ft and offloaded our packs which was a huge relief.
There was now a white out and you could hardly see the person roped in front
of you. Clark managed to somehow find the way down but he and greg fell into
crevasses luckily not too far down. By the time we got back to camp there was
more than a foot of snow and we had been going for 9 hours...a mere warm up
for higher up the mountain! The reason I'm
Behind on my dispatches is because its either too cold to type at night or I'm
just too exhausted!
May 2: We were ready to move again at 11.00am. I was even heavier than
yesterday if that was conceivably possible. We were now moving up to our camp
3 at 14,200ft. It was exhausting going up motorcycle hill as clark was
breaking trail with about 2 feet of new snow. Everyone at camp 2 was hanging
around for someone to break trail, all the tough army guys included! {they
arrived rather cooly in the Blackhawk helicopter behind me in my first
dispatch picture} I was tired today but with the new snow Squirrel hill was
less icy. By the time we got to our stash at 13,500ft it was starting to get
cold. We had to cross two huge crevasses to reach camp 3 and it was minus 20
when we arrived. I was feeling ill from fatigue and cold and had lost contact
with my fingers. As soon as the first tent was up greg and I were in it trying
to keep warm. I was so tired I could hardly eat. That night temperatures were
below minus 30! I sleep with everything in my sleeping bag in order for things
not to freeze.
May 3: We are waking up later because of the cold. I cannot tell you what its
like waking up with frost and ice all over the tent and all over your sleeping
bag and anything else exposed overnight. By 11.00 am we had breakfast and were
getting ready to go back to 13,500ft to pick up our stash from our carry the
previous day...The weather was warm again and once more we lugged hugely heavy
packs up to camp 3. This was considered a rest day! I phoned my sister Lucy in
Hong Kong as she had just completed the Gobi march, a 250km race in the Gobi
desert, she in the heat and me here in the cold.. I don't know what is worse!!
Tomorrow we are going up the headwall a 2,000f snow and ice wall to 16,400 ft
where we were going to be doing a carry. I tried not to think about climbing
the headwall with a heavy pack! Another night of minus 30! I can't imagine how
cold its going to be at the 17,200ft camp.
May 4: we were woken at 9am and as usual took a while to get out of the tent.
I have been waking up with the puffiest eyes ever and its not a good look! We
started towards the headwall and the sun was now hot. We went straight up for
about an hr 45 mins until suddenly we hit blue ice. I was not that composed as
I started slipping and was yelling to clark and mark on my rope team.. I even
asked clark in my desperation if I could use my jumar on our rope line! They
have subsequently given me a lot of grief about that comment! The fixed lines
at the top of the headwall were so hard.... It was sheer blue ice and no steps
so u really had to use your arms. It was exhausting getting to the top of the
headwall and all our Achilles tendons were throbbing when we arrived at the
top. Clarke says that in his numerous times on Denali he has never seen the
headwall so difficult. I had chatted to a team from Quebec yesterday whom had
said that up to 18,000ft the conditions are really tough -two huge crevasses
and lots of ice.. not what I wanted to hear. We went up to 16,400ft to offload
our packs and we bumped into an Italian guy who had made the summit. He looked
wiped out and almost in a coma he was so tired. He is the only person to have
made the summit this year. We headed back down to camp 3 and we rappelled down
the fixed lines due to the blue ice. It was a little more time consuming but
worth it. We had a yummy dinner of burritos {not sure about beans at
altitude!} and headed to bed, another 8 hour day! Tomorrow is a real rest day
which I'm so excited about.....
May 5: Another minus 30 night and a tent full of frost but we had the luxury
of staying in our tents until 11.30am. We had delicious pancakes for breakfast
and then I tried to phone my parents but couldn't track them down. I'm now in
my tent catching up on all my dispatches and the weather is horrible outside.
One team started up the headwall but came back down. If the weather is good
tomorrow we are moving up to the high camp at 17,600ft with heavy packs.
Judging by the weather now we could still be here! We are about to have lunch
so I'm signing off for today!
From the past:
Annabelle Bond Summits
Everest!
or
read
from the start.
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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. |
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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. |
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