Dan Mazur's Kangchenjunga Spring 2002

20 April Dispatch: Today it was beautiful in the morning and snowed in the afternoon. Dorje Tamang and Dorje Sherpa, walked up the glacier, picking their way through the moraines and rivers-over-ice, to prepare the route with stone cairns and bamboo flags. They returned in the afternoon. Mike, Mark, Malte and Paul decided to organize their equipment. Felix and Dan, checked tents and sorted loads, preparing tents, ropes, stoves to be taken up the mountain. Chris and Stuart, who had been in basecamp for five days now, as they had flown and walked in ahead of the group, decided to go and find camp 1 and sleep there. They assumed it would be at 5700 meters. Three days previously, they had walked up the long flat head of the Kangchenjunga glacier, picking their way among the boulders, streams, and ice hummocks. There really was no snow to speak of on this section, and there were no crevasses. At the end of the glacier, at about 5350 meters, their plan was to make a left turn, and walk up the Gimmegela (twins peak) glacier to a plateau area at 5700 meters, located well out of range of any avalanche from Gimmegela or serac-fall from Kangchenjunga. Ivan, Julio and Ian accompanied them to camp 1, temporarily fixing 30 meters of 8mm dynamic climbing rope over one crevasse section enroute, and returned the same evening. As Ivan, Julio, and Ian were not intending to stay, their rucksacks were lighter, so they (especially Ivan) broke trail most of the way. That night's camp was located in a depression out in the face of the Gimmegela valley. Along the way, they fixed a climbing rope in the lower portion of the Gimmegela glacier, over a crevasse section, where a gaping, meter wide, 7 meter deep crack had to be crossed, on a 35 degree angle, with the only foothold being a precarious flake. Chris and Stuart reported on that night's radio call that their stove was not working properly, although they had been able to make tea, and they would come down the next morning. As Ivan, Julio, and Ian returned, retracing their footsteps to basecamp late that afternoon, Ian became separated from the group. Ivan and Julio arrived a bit late for dinner, and upon Ian's non-arrival, Dan and the sherpas went out to look for Ian. It was pitch black and foggy. Occasionally, the fog parted and they could vaguely see down onto the Kangchenjunga glacier, which actually lies 170 meters below basecamp. But, they worried, because there was no sign of a light. They wondered if Ian had forgotten to bring his head torch. Suddenly, they saw Ian's lamp shining above basecamp, as he had apparently become disoriented in the darkness, and climbed straight up from the moraine, a bit too early after exiting the glacier, instead of traversing laterally down it's length, before climbing the 170 meters to basecamp. Well, the sherpas retrieved Ian in the dark, through flashing lights, convincing him to go back down, then across, meeting them half way, then all walked together back up to basecamp. All of us were very relieved to see him, when he arrived in the dining tent at the table, and sunk into his stool, almost too exhausted to eat his dinner.

21 April Dispatch: Today, it was beautiful with clear blue skies and very warm in the morning, then it turned foggy and became windy and began snowing in the afternoon. Chris and Stuart moved the camp 1 tent a bit higher to a rocky flat plateau spot at 5700 meters. Malte and Paul walked up to the new camp 1 and slept there. Dorje Tamang, Dorje Sherpa, and Ang Galu Sherpa carried tents, stoves, gas, and ropes up to 5350 meters at the head of the glacier, and put up two tents, establishing our "advanced base camp" (ABC). Ivan, Julio and Ian, tired from their previous day's excursion, chose to rest. Mike, Mark and Steve also chose to continue organizing their equipment. Felix and Dan decided to head up to the new ABC, and arrived there at 1700 in the evening, in a blistering snow and wind storm (though it was warm).

22 April Dispatch: Today was another sunny and beautiful day in the morning, and then it became foggy and snowed profusely in the afternoon. Malte and Paul came down to ABC to help carry a load up to camp 1 in the morning. Dan and Felix joined Paul and Malte and walked from ABC up to camp 1 in the late morning. Along the way, they fixed 100 meters of polypropylene 7mm static rope over 1 crevasse section. Felix led a 2 meter ice step and 40 degree snow pitch, where they also fixed rope, in order to move the route out from under a serac wall, that appeared to calve off ice chunks actively. Ivan and Julio and Ian passed them en route, heading to camp 1 to spend the night. Chris and Stuart took a rest day in basecamp. Mike and Mark and Steve walked to ABC, along with Dorje Tamang, Dorje Sherpa, and Ang Galu Sherpa. 

23 April Dispatch: It was beautiful and warm in the morning, and in the afternoon and evening it was cloudy but did not snow. Dorje Tamang and Jangbu Sherpa walked to ABC together with Ang Galu Sherpa and Dorje Sherpa. Jangbu Sherpa has been sick, and seems to be having difficulty recovering. He is complaining of overall weakness, a body-fever, and a headache in the back of his head, all of which seem to get worse after 1700 pm each evening. This is a major blow to our expedition, as Jangbu has been our strongest, most personable, most solid, and most communicative Sherpa. Felix and Dan and Ian rested in camp 1. Ivan and Julio began to explore a route up to a plateau which begins at 5800 meters, and angles up to the "ice building" a snow and ice couloir which begins at 6100 meters. Stuart and Chris walked up to camp 1 and slept there. Mike and Mark and Steve organized equipment in basecamp.

Thank you very much. Cheers for now. Yours
Sincerely, Daniel Mazur from http://www.SummitClimb.com

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