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Saturday 15 April 2000 - Kangchenjunga Base Camp
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The route from Camp 1 through the upper
icefall towards the summit. |
Today was a good day for the team as 10 members and 3 of our 4 Sherpas carried loads
all the way to Camp 1 at 6050 metres. The climb of 750m takes between 4 - 5 hours
and starts with 20 minutes of contouring around a small hill under headtorch before
we reach the first ice obstacle which a short jumar soon overcomes. Jummaring involves
the use of a small device we attach to a rope to prevent you slipping back down the
slope. You still have to climb.
After this gentle introduction the route continues up, initially on snow and ice,
but then through a 100m rock section. The last 100m of ascent are on particularly
unpleasant snow. Once onto the ridge we pass the Korean Camp 1 to our own flat campsite
with spectacular views of the route ahead to the summit.
The descent back to Base Camp took almost 2 1/2 hours.
Of those that did not reach Camp 1, the other Sherpa had a blow out on his crampons
and had to return to Base Camp to sort them out; 2 team members were employed on
fixing ropes alongside those of the the Korean's so that we are not wholely reliant
on their charity. The 2 other team members made it most of the way to Camp 1 before
turning round which is not surprising this early in the expedition. This was a good
achievement at such an early stage of the expedition but we are still not properly
acclimatised and there is a danger that the team could run out of steam if they are
worked too hard.
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Climbers approaching Camp 1 |
We will therefore have a rest day tomorrow with the luxury of breakfast at 0800 with
the sun on us instead of at 0400 wearing down suits in the freezing temperatures.
The reason we go on the mountain at such an early time is to avoid the heat of the
day because as soon as the sun comes up it warms everything up (including the climbers)
but this loosens everything and the snow conditions deteriorate and the avalanches
start. The pictures today shows climbers approaching Camp 1; climbers at Camp 1 and
the route from Camp 1 through the upper icefall towards the summit.
We would like to thank the children of Class Y3LM, Beaconhill School in Cramlington,Northumberland,
who are following the expedition on the web for their good wishes and assure them
that they will be able to catch up with our progress when they return from their
school holiday. We look forward to hearing from them again in two weeks time by which
we should have established Camp 2.
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Climbers at Camp 1 |
The web seems to be very popular and we are receiving around 20 emails a day. It is hard work keeping it updated but we believe that the effort is worth it and will continue to keep our public informed - whoever you are!
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