2017
Exped day 11: Technical carrying to 16,000ft
(Featured picture: Xavier going up the fixed lines)
May 15 /
Weather: bluebird, -38C morning /
Climbing: 6h30 /
Altitude: 4300 to 4900 to 4300
(below: morning temperature inside the tent at 9am)
Our first technical climbing day of the trip, it’s very exciting, we are all gearing up for a 11am departure. It’s steep for 5 hours straight, a 55% incline. We reach the fixed lines at the bergschrund (the last crevasse of a glacier). We fix ourselves with ascenders and safety backup (pigtail) and start the steepest section up to the ridge. It is very very steep, but extremely beautiful, and the communication between us is good. Each time we reach an anchor point on the ropes we yell ‘anchor’ everyone stops, the person yelling clips into to the next section of ropes and yells ‘climbing’ and everyone moves.
(below: clipping into the fixed ropes)
(below: Patrick, Ben, Xavier, clipped in and ready to hit the steepest section)
The view from the ridge is just phenomenal, cold with dropping cliffs to the St Peters Glacier. Kai’s word of advice: ‘keep close and roped in as a fall will bring you down 3000ft to St Peters glacier’ we have been warned.
We cache the gear that will be used only for summit and 17 Camp (17,000 ft camp, latest one before the summit).
After a short break, we down climb the steep fixed rope with an ‘arm wrap’ around the rope and a safety backup clipped into our harnesses. Xav, Pat and I are all in sync for the way down, managing the rope for the person in front to avoid tripping and falling, it takes great focus but we are dialed in, supportive and care for each other.
