K2 2003: ANDALUCÍA K2 EXPEDITION

ANDALUCÍA K2 OPTS TO RETREAT

The Andalucía K2 Expedition, sponsored by Consejería de Turismo y Deporte through Deporte Andaluz, has decided to retreat.  The weather conditions are very unstable and dangerous on the summit of the mountain.  This is the last information received from Base camp.

B. C. Andalucía K2, July 27, 2003 THE 2nd SUMMIT ATTEMPT: Cold, wind and verticality to be today at C3, waiting for an improvement in the weather conditions

THE PLAN: Ahead of us are the Kazakhs and Denis who are attempting the summit from 2:30 hours.  It looks like a suicide attempt because of the wind blowing on C4.

BREAKING NEWS: WE GIVE UP THE ATTEMPT BECAUSE OF VERY BAD WEATHER CONDITIONS

On the 26 our group decides to go to C3 even with wind and cold, behind like the others always leave, how to qualify these situations?

BREAKING NEWS: THEY DECIDE TO RETREAT FROM C3, AND WE WILL LEAVE BC IN THE NEXT DAYS

WEATHER:  Relative humidity very high at 7,000 m, every day.  Snowfalls on Sunday.  Fog at 50%, low on Monday and goes up fast.  Winds of up to 75 Km/h at 8,000 m, from Monday and at 7,000 from Tuesday. 

SITUATION OF THE GROUPS JULY 7 - 9:30 HOURS (PK)

INTERNATIONAL GROUP AND KAZAKH GROUP 1: DENIS WAITS AT C4.  DURING THE EARLY MORNING THEY HAVE GIVEN UP THE SUMMIT ATTEMPT.

ANDALUCIAN GROUP: retreats from C3.

KAZAKH GROUP 2: at C3. 

THE REST: PIRIRIRIPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII.  GO FOR ...

Andalucía K2.  Manuel González  B. C. Andalucía K2, July 26, 2003

Second Update: Andalucía, July 28, 2003

THE THREE MEMBERS OF THE EXPEDITION WHO MADE THE SECOND ATTEMPT ARE ALREADY AT Base camp.

The wind prevents the conquest of the summit where nobody has stepped upon since July 2001

The Andalucian team will arrive to Málaga airport on August 7

The Andalucía K2 Expedition, sponsored by Consejería de Turismo y Deporte, decided yesterday 27 to end their attempt to conquest the summit of K2.  Winds of more than 70 Km/h and temperatures below -40 degrees Celsius have prevented them from stepping on the summit which no human has reached since July 2001.  We attach pictures and the last information written from BC by the Chief of the Expedition Lolo González.

PICTURES:

HOUSE CHIMNEY: Descending the House Chimney, yesterday 27, in the morning.

DESCENT FROM THE PYRAMID: going down in the storm using fixed lines on the Black Pyramid.

AT BC: The three members of the second attempt Amparo Ortega, Jorge Vázquez and Juanjo Garra, recently arrived to BC.

BC Andalucía K2, July 28, 2003

GREETINGS, FRIENDS. NOW THAT WE ARE ALL AT BC, WE WILL CELEBRATE TODAY THE END OF THIS GREAT ADVENTURE.  WE WILL BE BACK HOME ON THE 7TH, WE ARE WISHING FOR BEER AND FRIED BOQUERONES...

EVERYBODY AT BC AGAIN, HAPPINESS AND CALM. 

THE PREPARATIONS FOR OUR RETURN BEGIN, THE ARRIVAL WILL BE AUGUST 7, AT 20:50 HOURS AT MALAGA'S AIRPORT.

THE ANDALUCIA K2 EXPEDITION REACHED 8,200 METERS ON JULY 22 AND VERY BAD WEATHER CONDITIONS PREVENTED THE SECOND ATTEMPT FROM GETTING BEYOND CAMP THREE.

A descent as hard as the ascent of this second attempt, makes all of us to be back at BC again.  Happiness and calm for being together at our home since the last 53 days.

Today will be a day of celebration: up to 8,200 meters on K2; we have not reached the summit, but we are happy.  We have taken advantage of a unique period of good weather of more than 4 days in our 53 day stay at the bottom of this mountain.

The preparations for our return begin, to be back to our yearning Andalucian land along with our families, who we wish to see since weeks ago.  In the next two days we will pack and make an inventory, but this time with the inverse illusion that brought us to Pakistan.  To go back to Andalucía. 

RETURN SCHEDULE

JULY

30                 End with packing and arrival of the carriers to BC.

31                 BC - Ali camp.

AUGUST

1                    Ali camp - Sancho.

2                    Sajcho - Skardu

3                    Skardu - Chilas

4                    Chilas - Pindi

5/6       Pindi

7          PK 785 - 10:20 H - 14:40 H            ISLAMABAD - LONDRES

            ib 139 - 17:15 H - 20:50 H              LONDRES - MALAGA

THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ADVENTURE: Today it all comes to an end, or to the beginning of a new adventure.  This first adventure on K2 remains in our lives.  What a mountain!  I have had to give my best on it, in every aspect, as a sportsman and as a person...  I believe that I have given myself to the maximum (almost always, because we have to go down later), to get where we had.  What a satisfaction and what a pain; there is no summit and in this sports we know that there is or there isn't.  If the latter happens, there is still something to do in this mountain.

When you are for the first time in K2, you give experience and technique to the maximum.  When you finish you realize that it has been good but that you have to change some things, which you considered valid for every eight thousand: You have to act different here, you have to climb with other concepts of difficulty, altitude and mobility.

K2 is the mountain of mountains and that you surely don't know until you climb its hillsides.  Today I feel more admiration than ever for those who have opened a new route in these walls or for those who have climbed not much frequented routes.

MAGAZINE CLIMBERS: In these days we have been able to see the evolution of Himalayas-ism, or better, of eightthousand-ism.  I once participated in an expedition to Everest by the South Col and well..., we were zillions and Sherpas were in charge of fixing the lines, which is normal by Nepal and Tibet; although some famous climbers say in their speeches that they fixed or stocked the camps themselves.  Until now I participated without finding anybody in the route as now on K2.  I feel sorry for eightthousand-ism, many people pass by these mountains for mere publicity or for collection: I have confirmed how the ascents are catalogued ALPINE STYLE, when the route has been climbed by a route completely fixed with lines.  Fortunately, nobody has catalogued their ascent as solo (for the moment), in routes (Abruzzos or the normal Broad) with many climbers.  I have seen how they left you all the work of opening the trail and fixing lines, ascending in the afternoon to install a tent.  I have seen climbers reach K2's BC to open a new route and not being able to reach C3 to spend the night.  I have seen many MAGAZINE CLIMBERS, and few people who tell the reality of mountain climbing.  I feel sorry for them and I respect them; and to the media who give them space: I ask for some seriousness...

Thanks K2, it's simply what you can say to such a majestic mountain.  Manuel González. ANDALUCÍA K2.

Translated from Spanish by Jorge Rivera

Dispatches

Pictures and text copyright ANDALUCIA K2 expedition

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