VICKSpedition SKI8000

HOME  |  THE CLIMB  |  TEAM  |  TRAINING  |  SPONSORS  |  PRESS  |  EDUCATION  |  GUESTBOOK  

  home > the climb > update 20.04.04
  After drinking and eating a bit the team leaves Vicks camp 3 at 02.15hr. They follow the trail made by the Sherpa's two days before. From the rockband (10 meters almost vertical rock) it starts getting difficult. The Sherpa's don't know the way exactly and there aren't many old fixed ropes. This is one of the reasons the team is very slow.

During the night I have several radio contacts. After a few hours Joost says that they are too slow. They discuss it with eachother. They keep on moving. There is not much wind, the sky is clear, this is a very good summit day. At 08.00hr Greg says that they are slow but that they have passed the difficult part. They hope be on the summit in 3-4hrs. I tell them that they are very slow and that they have to speed up.

All have very cold feet but from 08.00hr they climb in the sun, warming up a bit. During the morning they slowly progress over the snowfield under the summit rock ridge. They reach 8.000 m. At that point we have a new discussion about their speed and climbing scedules. With my binoculars I can see that they still have some meters to go. Joost says that if they now are at 8.000m they need at least two to three hours to the summit. It is now 12.00hr. They decide to go light and leave the backpacks with the skis.

After half an hour they are still on the same spot. Greg calls and says they cannot go any further, they are too tired. They decide to go down. The Sherpa's are very very dissapointed (they say they are not angry ...).

Then the descent starts. Joost walks down the snowfield feeling very tired and therefor not feeling like skiing. Greg tries to make a the ski descent from 8.000 m, but encounters problems with his light weight bindings. He cannot get into his bindings properly on the steep face under the summit. Frustration! After 30 minutes of trying, cleaning the bindings and exhaustion, Greg packs his skis on his backpack to walk down. The day is horrible. The Sherpa's follow.

After reaching Vicks camp 3 they make a ski descent to Fugro camp 2. There they will spend the night. They have left Vicks camp 3 in place as they will take another shot at the summit in about 7 days.

The several radio talks I had with the team are combined in a short summary.

Herman