No call from Steve today, but we did receive a short email update from Vince Anderson. Sorry the photo is so small; I doubt there's much bandwidth at 18,500 feet in the Himalayas.
Hi, We are all settled in base camp now. All of our equipment finally arrived. We are at 18,500 ft. Steve is still ill with a cough though seems to be getting better. Marko and I hiked up a small peak behind camp that is about 20,500 ft. We will continue to acclimatize and just take it easy for the next few weeks until we are ready to try our route. The weather has been ok but we are getting afternoon cloud build up. Today we all hiked to camp 1 on the normal route. Regards, Vince
If you're into "true, orthodox, elitist, cask-strength alpinism," check out Vince's blog, Alpine Style!, or visit his guiding site, Skyward Mountaineering.
[Get better soon Steve.]
Technorati Tags: alpine climbing, alpinism, China, expedition climbing, hiking, Makalu, Nepal, Tibet, trekking
Received another email from Vince this morning:
"Today, we had another rest day. Steve is still fighting a cough so I know he wants the rest. We decided to go up to c2 on the normal route (22,000 ft.) and spend the night tomorrow. The goal will be to go back up there again in a few more days and attempt a new route on the west face of Kungchungtse (MaKalu 2, Ca. 25,000 ft.) and then rest for a while before we go for the real deal.
"It has been getting colder and windier, though there has been much less cloudiness. Tomorrow will be a good first introduction to the hardships of life up high. Tonight, we are having the Spanish team over for dinner. Cheers, Vince"
Posted by: Free | October 10, 2008 at 08:54 AM