Zaragoza, Saturday, April 3, 2010

CAMP 1

Carlos and the rest of the group left yesterday very early from base
camp.  They climbed up to 5,000 meters where they installed camp 1.
They left there the necessary equipment and went back down to base camp.  It took them a lot of hours, and the route is very complicated. Now they will rest two or three days until they leave base again with the intention of installing camp 2.

Translated from Spanish by Jorge Rivera


Annapurna, April 1, 2010

UNDER THE SLEEPING BEAST

We have installed our base camp at 4,200 m of altitude, under the
spectacular Annapurna.  After numerous helicopter flights we could
bring up here everything we need for this expedition.  We had our Puja today, this ceremony that pretends to put away the bad spirits of the mountain and cover us with luck and bonanza at the same time.  The day has been sunny and a little windy, but it did not snow as the last two days.  We took a furtive glance at the almost 4,000 meters of wall that separate us from the summit of this gigantic mountain.  It is impressive.  This face of Annapurna looks like an agitated and convulse wall, with hanging and broken glaciers, impossible aristas  and chaos everywhere.  It is hard to imagine a safe route for the ascent in this world of vertical ice.  Not in vain, our route sorts the hanging glaciers, trying to find, in the high part, the Hoz glacier, where the path to the summit is clearer.  First we will have to cross a glacier and avoid a large slope of blocks of ice to reach camp 1, at some 5,000 m of altitude.  From there a cracked glacier will take us to the bottom of the large intermediate plain, where we will install camp 2.  Crossing this plain and get on top of a spur of ice will be the most dangerous part, because we will be threatened by all the seracs in the higher part.  From camp 3 to 4 we still have to pass a large wall of ice, previous to the superior glacier.  The entire route is complex and demanding, just like this mythical mountain of the Himalayas.  For the moment, we will concentrate in the immediate things, as always.  Tomorrow, we will take the path to camp1, carrying tents and some gas to install.  We will spend the day outside and during the afternoon we will be back to the comfort and safety of our base camp.  It is going to be like that always.  Advance little by little, thinking in the next thing, attacking problems one at a time altitude in this wild world which will be our home for some time. Edurne’s group is ahead of us, they have already told us about the route.  We will collaborate with the other expeditions and we will all try to leave a route that is reasonable safe, hoping that we all can be lucky in this great mountain challenge.  A lot of work ahead, but for the moment everything goes as planned and we will be already working tomorrow, trying to decipher the traps we will surely find these weeks.  The long journey to Annapurna starts now.

Carlos Pauner

Translated from Spanish by Jorge Rivera
 

Zaragoza, Tuesday, March 30, 2010

AT BASE CAMP

Carlos, Javier and Tolo are already at base camp.  They flew yesterday from Katmandu to Pokhara, where they caught another flight to Tatopani, a little Nepalese town located at 1,190 meters of altitude. From Tatopani they were transported to Annapurna base camp at 4,200 meters of altitude.

They needed seven helicopter flights to move the equipment and loads.
They met two expeditions there, with whom they will share this
expedition’s base camp, with the expedition of Al Filo [de lo
Impossible] and with the Korean expedition.  Carlos mentioned that
everybody is ok, and that it is a comfortable and a little cold base
camp, because of the altitude is not as elevated as in other
eight-thousands.  Now they are going to organize what will be their
hope for the next weeks.

Translated from Spanish by Jorge Rivera
 

Zaragoza, Monday, March 29, 2010

TOWARD POKHARA

Carlos, Javier and the rest of the group arrived at Katmandu by Thursday afternoon.  On Friday and Saturday they organized all the necessary paperwork to leave to Annapurna.  They have checked the material, distributed the loads, requested the permissions and other papers and they are ready.  They also had time to visit an orphanage in Katmandy where the Kumara association in Zaragoza sponsors some children.  

Yesterday, Sunday, they were going to fly to Pokhara, but they delayed the flight until today.  This change of plans is because it is not clear if they can reach base camp by foot.  They may have to catch a helicopter.  They will have more information when they land in Pokhara today, and we will tell you then.

Translated from Spanish by Jorge Rivera