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Winter
Makalu 2000/2001
12-27-2000 Dispatch
MONIKA
ROGOZINSKA From the Makalu base
A gold foil table cloth
Several months ago none of us thought that we would spend the last Christmas Eve in this
millennium in the heart of the Himalayas. When the sun set and the first star came out, we shared a symbolic wafer with each other1. We sat at tablecloths made of gold rescue film. Ornaments, candies, nuts and a climbing hook hung on an artificial tree. On the table, canned fish2 was served -Monika
Rogozinska writes from the Makalu base. EXPEDITION TO MAKALU There is a second camp White stains on the map Krzysztof Wielicki and Jerzy
Natkanski on route to the Southern Pass of Makalu (6600 m). Together with the photographer Dariusz
Zaluski they are the first Poles to stand on this side of the pass. After nearly nine hours of climbing from the 1st camp on a glacier full of cracks and after conquering nearly a kilometer in altitude Krzysztof Wielicki, Dariusz Za³uski and Jerzy
Natkanski set up the 2nd camp. The alpinists erected the tent at an altitude of about 6400 m, two hundred meters below the saddle of the Southern Pass of Makalu, lying on the south-eastern ridge. This four kilometer long ridge is the path leading in the direction of the peak (8481 m). This approach to the peak is the idea of our expedition. The next day Wielicki wants to enter the pass in order to become familiar with the shape of the terrain. The ridge runs along the border between Nepal and Tibet (China). All the maps that we possess show in detail the southern side of Makalu, belonging to Nepal. The northerly facing walls are marked as white stains on our maps. This same day, Wielicki and the team that setup the 2nd camp, descends to the base for a rest. In their place, another team leaves with supplies for the camps and tracers for precise marking of the path, making orientation easier in the event of bad weather. Monika Rogoziρska from the Makalu base 1 A Polish tradition at Christmas Eve. 2 Fish is also a Christmas Eve tradition in Poland.
written
by Monika Rogozinska, "Rzeczpospolita",
transl. by "TRANSLATOR" Technical
Translation Agency
The
south wall of Makalu has clearly come back to
life; the winds are raging, there are rock and
ice avalanches.Krzysztof Wielicki and Maciej Pawlikowski
returned to the base on December 20th
since the wind destroyed their shelter at the 2nd
camp.Four
people remained on the wall, two in the 1st
camp (5400 m) and two kilometers higher, in the
remains of the 2nd camp.Everyone was to return temporarily to the
base for Christmas Eve.
Krzysztof
Wielicki
In
a single moment Krzysztof Wielicki relates
the wind tore apart the tent, broke the
masts.I
saw two sleeping bags and several pads rise up
and glide through the pass, later disappearing
onto the Chinese side.Along with Dariusz Zaluski we tried to
reach the end of the hand lines put in place by Maciej
Pawlikowski and Jaroslav Żurawski to a height of 6700 m.We
wanted to continue their work.It took us three hours to complete the
path that should have taken three quarters of an
hour.We
had to lie down on the ice to keep from being
seized.The
wind was as strong as the winter on Mount
Everest twenty years ago.We turned back. Zaluski
and Zurawski decided to remain another night in order to
rescue the second tent.
Gia
Tortladze and Krzysztof Liszewski also had a
difficult night in the second camp.They conquered about a kilometer and a
half of the difference in altitude.When they reached the tent it turned out
impossible to start the cooking stove.They made raspberry ice cream from freeze
dried fruits and snow.In the morning, dehydrated, they had to
descend.The
cooking stoves that caused such a large problem
are gasoline fueled American MSRs.This equipment, good in Alaska, does not
work with Nepal fuel.The MSRs smoke, get clogged.They have to be reconciled with gas.
Monika
Rogozinska on pod Makalu Base Camp
Half
of the expedition participants are sick.The base situated at the height of Mont Blanc
ensures a rest, gives a feeling of safety, but it is
not a sanatorium.The altitude in connection with the strong
winds cause sleep disorders.The exertion, glacial dust, dry air and loss of
water lead to a drop in resistance explains
expedition physician Roman Mazik. Most of the
participants experience feverless inflammation of the
upper respiratory tract.At the base their strength and resistance
return, though slowly, while climbers are emancipated
at the upper camps.
An
earlier stay at high altitudes also does not provide
any guarantee that a climber will tolerate the next
stay problem free.Krzysztof Wielicki made a decision: We all
have to descend to the base, treat our wounds,
recuperate and repair equipment.Christmas Eve in a few days.Time for a moment of relief.
Snow
in the Kingdom : My Storm Years on Everest by
Ed Webster, Peter Williams (Editor),
(Illustrator) This item will be published in
November 2000. You may order it now and we will
ship it to you when it arrives.
