Back to Civilization

Got a couple text messages from Bob just now. He is safe and sound back in the town of  Penitentes, cleaned up and drinking beer. His iPhone works again, so he can check emails, etc. Pretty sure he is already a few sheets to the wind, celebrating the New Year and all, so we'll probably just hear more from Bob tomorrow. Happy New Years!

Denouement

Just spoke to Bob. Here's the rest of the story that I did not get in his message yesterday:

Apparently, they woke up yesterday to find two other tents got torn overnight in the wind. The team was able to piece them together and keep them functional, if not perfect. Despite the winds, the team started out up the hill yesterday morning on the way to the summit.  They made it up about 1,100 feet above their camp (about half way to summit) and the winds were pretty terrible and it was very cold. Wind chill factor was high, people were having trouble standing upright in the wind, and trouble staying warm in the wind chill. A few team members were not feeling strong and secure in their ability to keep climbing.

The guide, Susanna, said that it got steeper and more dangerous from there on up. To continue would be quite dangerous. Clouds were moving in to the mountain. Knowing that they had supplies for at least two more days, and that the were due for a break in the weather after two weeks of cold and wind, Bob and five others decided to turn around and head back, to try again the next day. Susanna and three team members, inexplicably, decided to continue upward. One of these went up another 100 feet and turned around and descended with the others.

Remarkably, the three that went up managed to summit in a whiteout, experiencing at least one small fall along the way, no significant injuries. Upon arrival back in camp, all three including Susanna were exhausted. Wiped out. Susanna said she had no reserves left, that she had been on the edge the entire time, and Bob said she certainly looked fried.

This morning, the weather changed for the better and the skies were clear. Bob, two others and the Sherpa (my apologies, I do not know his name - mike) were to head up to summit today. Bob and the Sherpa were having hot drinks early when the other two decided that they did not have it in them to go for the summit - they had not been sleeping well and had not been feeling well and they did not want to leave their warm tent and push on up. Susanna would not allow just Bob and the Sherpa to climb on their own. (mike's note: I do not understand this decision as no one had to rope up and everyone else could stay in camp quite comfortably for another day, or even move down to a lower camp and let Bob and the Sherpa climb and then catch up as they will.)

So, the decision was made to go down and get off the mountain. No one but Bob was still game to summit, Susanna is dead tired and not up to making good decisions in Bob's favor, and  no one wants to wait around until tomorrow so that maybe a few people can feel better and go for the summit together.

In short, Bob was penalized for making the correct decision to tun around yesterday. Even the sherpa has said that they made the right decision to turn around. It was too dangerous to have gone for the summit and those that did, just got lucky. And in return, Bob does not get his chance at the summit on a lovely day on the mountain. (mike's note: ask for a return trip for free, Bob.)

When Bob and I spoke, he was between disappointment and anger, but was nevertheless on his way down. They will be at the road sometime late tomorrow. I am sure that Bob will add his own updates (and corrections?) to all this once he is back in civilization. Thanks for reading.

Still High Winds

Got a message from Bob today. Winds were still very high and they did not try to summit. Bob sounded well, though I could also hear the disappointment in his voice. They have a couple more days that they can wait it out for a good weather day, so the team remains hopeful. As long as they do not eat all their snack/lunch food while sitting in camp, they will be fine to try tomorrow or the next day. Stay tuned...

High winds delay summit bid

Spoke to Bob just a few minutes ago. The team did not attempt the summit today. He reports that the winds are gusting well over 50 MPH (I could hear them in the background!) and it had gotten quite old last night, well below freezing even in the daylight. He said quite a few items froze overnight.

Also, one tent collapsed from the wind overnight - not Bob's tent - that was bomber solid, of course - but one used by other climbers on the team. The tents are Trango 3's and well-designed for harsh conditions, but require good setup and ongoing good maintenance of the lines and zippers and anchors in order to remain secure. And even then, Mother Nature can always throw something at you that no man-made tent will withstand. Anyway, Bob was up in the middle of the night to help secure the damaged tent - it had some tears in it, but the team was apparently able to make it work and get it back to functionality again.

They have not been able to get an up-to-date weather report for these last few days since they are on the"dark" side of the mountain. They are hoping the winds drop off for tomorrow morning and they can head up to the summit.Bob will keep us posted.

Oh yes, Bob reports that Christmas dinner was ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and fruitcake!  He says it was very tasty and a nice treat high on the mountain.

High Camp

Bob called in this afternoon to report that everyone made it to high camp at 20,650 feet above sea level. Hurrah!  He said that the climb up today was pretty hard. They carried heavy loads up to Camp so that they did not have to do a double carry. There was a lot of wind again and there were some steep sections across some snow and ice fields where they had to use their crampons and ice axes and it was just a bit tricky climbing, but everyone did fine. Camp is set up on a very exposed plateau, all rock and dirt, pretty windy.

Bob said he was tired from the day, but he did not have a headache and his legs felt strong. All good.

Bob said the team was not sure if they would go for the summit tomorrow or not. The wind was pretty strong this evening, and the weather forecast called for continued, maybe even increased, strong winds tomorrow. The winds are supposed to die down on Tuesday and Wednesday, so they may decide not to climb tomorrow and just take a rest day and wait for a nice day to walk to the top. They probably won't decide until they get up at 5 AM and judge the weather at that moment. Bob was getting his gear together to be ready to go, just in case, but as we spoke, he gave it a less than 50% chance that they would actually go for the summit tomorrow. Stay tuned...

Christmas Day - Camp 3

Bob's Christmas Day report:  The team moved up to Camp 3 today without incident. The wind was much lighter than the last couple days so it was an almost pleasant walk up to 19,000 feet. They are camped on the glacier now, though it is old, dusty, dirty glacier, Bob said. Apparently Bob and his tentmate had some issues with where they set their tent due to the glacial melt and runoff once it warmed up this afternoon, and so they had to move their tent to a better location, but other than that, all is well.

Bob did not carry up his Christmas decorations for the tent. He left them at base camp, deciding that the winds would be just a bit too much for his garlands, so the team will have to celebrate Christmas in spirit only. Bob reports several sightings of Santa's sleigh in last night's sky, though they did not witness any landings there on the glacier with the climbing team, due to dangerous conditions for the sleigh. Christmas dinner was being cooked as I spoke with Bob, but he did not know what it would be - only that there was something good promised by the guides. Bob was hoping for real meat of some kind.

Tomorrow is a rest day for the team, and then they head to Camp 4, their high camp, on Sunday.

Christmas Eve

Bob's report: the team made a carry up to 19,000 feet today and cached some gear and fuel and food. It was a 4 hour round trip from their camp at 17,350 feet, but the hike was made the ore challenging by strong and consistent winds at 25 knots gusting up to 45 knots. At one point, Bob said, the wind literally just pushed him up the hill - at least the wind was blowing in the right direction. But it was a struggle when they had to cross the wind, especially with a large pack that would catch the wind and cause them to lose their balance.

Right now, the team is camped in a pretty exposed spot right on a saddle on the mountain. There are not many wind breaks. Even going to the bathroom is problematic - with no big rocks to hide behind, the wind blows around the plastic wag-bags that everyone is supposed to poop in, and it makes every dump an adventure.

Most of the camp area and trail has been dry rock and scree. There are a few patches of snow here and there but not enough to camp on and very little to travel on.

Dinner tonight was Curry Coconut Rice. It's clear and cold; Bob and the team hope that being up so high gives them a good view of Santa and his reindeers and he speeds around South America tonight.

Tomorrow the team will move camp up to 19,000 and then have a rest day before  going for the summit.

Moved to Camp 2

Bob reports that they moved on up to Camp 2 at 17,350 feet above sea level today. About 4 hours of climbing in some stiff winds, averaging 20 mph and gusting to 45 mph. They had fun (not!) putting up their tents in the wind, but all is secure now. Bob was not sure of the actual temperature but the reported wind chill from a teammate was -19 degrees F. Brrrrr... 

Tomorrow they make a carry up to Camp 3 at around 19,000 feet. This next camp is supposed to be a more protected area, so they should not have to suffer the strong winds, at least not in camp. Bob is hoping that the weather does not get any worse, so that they can still make the carry tomorrow.

Bob's still healthy, sounds strong on the phone. He's not reporting any issues, so all systems are go.

Rest Day at Camp 1

I (Mike) talked to Bob today. They are enjoying their rest day. Still haven't figured out why the SAT phone updates are not reaching this blog, but we'll keep the updates going this way for now. Bob sends his love to all.

Update from Camp 1

(FYI: This update is from Mike S - Bob's SAT phone mechanism for posting updates to the blog is apparently not working, so I am relaying Bob's thoughts here from a phone call he made to me just a short while ago.)

Bob called from Camp 1 this afternoon - 15,300 feet above sea level. Everything is going well and aside from a few headaches (expected at altitude) everyone remains healthy! 

Today the team carried gear and supplies up to Camp 2 at 17,200 feet, then returned to Camp 1 to sleep. Tomorrow will be a rest day, then on Wednesday they will move everything up to Camp 2. Bob expects that will be a heavier carry than today was.

The team moved up from Base Camp (13,100 feet) 2 days ago. They had donkeys to carry gear up to that point, but since then the team has carried everything themselves.The food has been good, Bob reports - including delicious steaks at Base Camp.

Bob said that it is very windy - winds up to 46 knots. Temperatures have gone as low as -19 degrees C (-2 degrees F) during the night but have been a balmy 38 degrees F during the day.

They are climbing on glacier right now. Bob said that the good news is that the one large scree field ahead of them is still covered with snow so that will make the travel easier. It will also mean less rockfall - Bob dodged one big microwave-sized rock this afternoon - no blood, no foul.

The team has been working well together. No cliques, no problem children - Bob says he is enjoying the climb and doing well. Everyone is on task to summit according to schedule.  Stay tuned for future updates - Bob said he will call in a report every day or two.