Kangchenjunga 2003
Spanish/Italian News

Camp II has been installed (7,000 m.) Kangchenjunga: Carlos Pauner: On the 23rd, the 4 of us left heading up, as always with everything on our backs, with the intention of mounting Camp 2 en 3 days of work.  Weather is good and we have to take advantage of it.  The other teams are lazy and we can't trust they will all take the decision to work united, so we decided to deal with the problem and left at 6 in the morning from base camp.  By 9 we passed Camp 1, we took everything we had there and continued walking.  Camp 1 is on the top of a snow hill and to continue, one has to go down a big glacial valley behind the hill.  That takes us some hours and we fixed some lines in the most difficult part of the descent.  We kept on walking on fresh snow, soft because of the sun and the heat, which has accumulated on this valley and we could reach the 6,400m mark, far still from what we want our Camp 2 to be, but exhausted because of the burden we are carrying.  The advantage of all this is that we are independent and we can stop wherever we want.  So we installed a fleeting camp, we slept and left the next day towards a big hill of snow and blocks of ice.  It took us 2 hours to cross the ice wall and when we reached the top, we found out that we could not continue from there.  So, nothing, we turned back and we went up a little to the left.  Carrying everything, opening the path and installing ropes where it is needed is an exhausting job, and totally tired we reached the 7,000m mark, almost on the top of this icefall, where Camp 2 is usually installed.  We mounted the tent almost at night and we slept, to allow our battered bodies to get used a bit more to the altitude.  The next day, very early, running down, to take breakfast at Base Camp and to enjoy a few deserved days of rest.  We have to let the body recover, because our idea is to go up to the camp in one shot and to continue to attempt the summit in two days.  The rest of the teams are following their tactics, but we are going ahead and after the considerable effort of these days, we are ready, with a camp at 7,000m and having already slept in it, to attempt an attack to the summit.  But well, all this will be after a few days of eating well, sleep tight and to prepare mentally for this final battle.

Translated from Spanish by Jorge Rivera

Update 4/10/03: "Carlos Pauner, Mario Merelli and Christian Kuntner already have arrived at base camp. In the last stages the weather changed, with snowed constant that forced to open track to the porters. They began with 50 porters and they have finished with 15. The negotiations with the porters to continue with extra money, did not give result and they preferred to return to the valley to look for other expeditions. Carlos, Mario and Christian have arrived to base camp at 5500, however, they are a bit short on equipment. They hope the rest of  equipment is at base camp in two or three days."

Update 3/31/03: Carlos was departed last Wednesday to SW Kangchenjunga base camp. Now, the political situation is getting better and I hope the expedition members don't have any problem by the way up. There are 4 members included on permit, Christian Kuntner, Mario Merelli, Silvio Mondinelli and Carlos. They are sharing permit with Andrew Lock and a friend of his. Mila

For more background on this expedition see here.

Dispatches