K2/Chogori
Winter 2003
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The K2 Winter
Expedition is in danger (1/29/03)
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Gia Tortladze from Georgia and Ilias Thukvatulin
are leaving the expedition |
Gia Tortladze Revolts
- Three Eastern Mountaineers Leaving -
Conversations About
Pushkin Are Over
Gia Tortladze from
Georgia and Ilias Thukvatulin are leaving the
expedition.
This piece of news
came as a shock for everybody. After returning to
the main base (5100 m) from his rest at the Chinese
base (3900 m), he informed the head of the
expedition, Krzysztof Wielicki, that he is leaving.
He has decided to
return home along with
Denis Urubko, Vasilij
Pivtsov and Ilias Thukvatulin. I was present during
that dramatic conversation.
Gia Tortladze, from
Georgia, organized the participation of the climbers
from the East and considered himself their leader
and head from the very beginning. They called him
“Kniaz” (the Prince). He claimed that his wife is
descended from the house of former Georgian rulers.
On behalf of his friends, he stated that the
expedition has no chance of succeeding, that it is
dangerous and unprofessionally prepared. He
formulated about 20 accusations. Some of them
related to the expedition’s lineup, others to
organizational matters. For example, he was
indignant that the camel herdsmen were eating fresh
meat, while the expedition’s participants made do
with packed meat.
While it is true that
some rams had been butchered to satisfy the demands
of the camel herdsmen, after a few weeks’ time none
of the mountaineers could even look at mutton any
longer. They preferred the packed, home-made
products taken from Poland: beef cutlets with onion,
knuckle of pork or roast pork. Another accusation
was the shortage of oxygen cylinders. It seems the
expedition’s fate hangs by a thread because there
were not enough sausages on the table.
Tortladze claimed that
his team has been doing the lion’s share of the work
on the slope, while the Polish climbers take it easy
and do not do much. It is certainly true that Denis
Urubko and Vasilij Pivtsov are a wonderful team that
deserves respect and admiration. Krzysztof Wielicki
reminded, however, that he does not work in a
vacuum, and that the base of the expedition is
created by all the other participants. Tortladze
added that he has been sounding out the Polish
climbers. At least half of them supposedly told him
that they see no point in continuing the expedition
and that they are ready to return home. For fear of
the Head, they cannot express their opinion freely,
however.
The situation is
reminiscent of the events that took place two years
ago during the Polish winter expedition to Makalu
when Tortladze, also invited by Wielicki, brought
about a situation in which some of the Polish
participants refused to climb farther at one point,
coming out against the Head. This time, the Poles
were solid on the issue and expressed their
willingness to continue the expedition for as long
as it is possible, even if as it gets more and more
obvious that reaching the goal is too much for the
participants in the current weather conditions, and
with forecasts predicting even worse ahead.
After Tortladze’s
statement, Denis Urubko from Kazakhstan has
surprised everybody with his attitude and courage.
Pale and serious, he declared that he came with the
expedition, so he would also leave with the
expedition and not earlier, even if it is doomed to
fail. Denis was then attacked by his
colleagues/friends (COLLEAGUES IF HIS “ATTACKERS”
ARE CLIMBERS) from the East, who demanded loyalty
towards them and not the expedition. He did not
change his position and remained alone.
Gia Tortladze, the
only mountaineer who has not managed to climb above
camp I (5950 m) during the expedition, left today
along with Ilias Thukvatulin from Uzbekistan.
Urubko’s climbing partner, Vasilij Pivtsov (also
from Kazakhstan), stayed, but, after a few phone
calls, he will probably also return home for family
reasons.
Today, the members of
a young team of climbers, who have been working
until now as “porters”, carrying cargo between the
intermediate and the main base, have arrived at camp
I. Jacek Teler, who is very fast and strong, has
managed to bring the cargo to camp I and return to
the main base. Jacek Jawień and Bartek Duda are
staying for the night at camp I. Despite the
snowstorm, they have managed to arrive quickly and
safe, visibly delighted with the unexpected
promotion. All three of them will be carrying
equipment to camp I, maybe even camp II. They have
accepted their designation as senior climbers with
enthusiasm.
I will be missing the
conversations at the expedition table about Russian
literature and Pushkin’s poetry, as well as the
specific sense of humor of the Eastern
mountaineers. They are very interesting people, but
we were denied the opportunity to get to know them
better due to inflated egos.
The wind has torn off
the Georgian flag from the pole. The Uzbekistan
flag, which we have hastily stitched together so
arduously from different pieces of fabric, was taken
down by Denis Urubko after his friends had left.
The flags of Poland and Kazakhstan have remained as
the expedition continues.
MONIKA ROGOZINSKA FROM
THE BASE UNDER K2
Written by Monika
Rogozinska, "Rzeczpospolita";
translated by "Scrivanek".
Dispatches
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