K2 2003: ANDALUCÍA K2 EXPEDITION

ANDALUCIA K2 Base Camp, EXPEDITION CHIEFS MEETING AT ANDALUCIA'S BC: FIVE DAY BREAK BECAUSE OF BAD WEATHER

Photo: Chogolisa seen from the C2.

THE ANDALUCIAN CLIMBERS RICARDO GUERRERO AND LINA QUESADA HAVE VISITED ANDALUCIA K2'S BC TODAY

A meeting of the responsible for each group installed at the base of K2 was held last Sunday in our mess tent.  During that meeting we exposed the work that has been done so far, as follows:

INSTALLED LINES: between ABC and C1, more than 550 meters.  Between C1 and C2, around 1,100 meters.

LINES ADDED: 300 m by the Czechs, 600 m by the Madrid team.  The rest by ANDALUCIA K2.

With these data we said that we were confident to get a relief to install lines and to open the trail up to C3.  The International and Swiss expeditions offered to help.  Our team will remain as the coordinator and to gather data for the materials that will be stocked at C2 and the line fixing works to be done.

We all agreed to fix lines up to C3 or the shoulder and to make a good job placing signals with flags up to C4, because all the expeditions have a good number of them.  It was also proposed to install light ropes that help in the retreat from Bottle Neck, having 350 meters between all the expeditions.  That is still a job to come.  The Czechs asked the Swiss expedition to use their carriers to carry trash to C2 and did not leave clear what they will do between C2 and C3.

With these agreements, 6 of our climbers left yesterday to C1, but the persistent snowfall left us stuck in BC for the fifth day in a row.  The rest of the week will be used to stock C2 definitively and to improve our adaptation to altitude. We also hope that the job made by the other teammates will be successful and that the route to C3 will be open next week and that we can install it without major problems.

The installation of C3 will be definitive I think, in the settlement of all the expeditions and the summit attempts will start to be planned.

Lina Quesada and Ricardo Guerrero have visited our BC. They are at Broad Peak's (8,047m) BC since yesterday. They will try to climb to its summit in the next days. This mountain is another of the 14 8,000 meter summits that have not been climbed by Andalucians.  We will try to have a maximum collaboration between both expeditions and we hope that by the end of the month, the Andalucian mountain climbing and sports will celebrate the ascent to both summits.

Manuel González.

Translated from Spanish by Jorge Rivera

Dispatches

Pictures and text copyright ANDALUCIA K2 expedition

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