May 16, 2012

Eben reports that the team survived their drive from Jomsom to Pohkara.  Sounds like a classic Nepal bus ride—bumpy and hairaising at times!  The team had a good dinner in Pohkara and enjoyed a beautiful sunset, but the day was not over. There was a “bandh” (strike) scheduled for tomorrow, which would cause more disruptions to travel, so the team decided to keep pushing on, and continued the drive to Kathmandu (on better roads)  where they have now safely arrived.

Good job, gang.  Sounds like a real adventure!

Eric Simonson

May 15, 2012

Eben and the team crossed the Thorung La (17769ft / 5416m) today and descended to Muktinath, where they were able to send some nice A4 photos from the climb.  Then, they continued on to Jomsom.   Sounds like the flight schedules are disrupted, as predicted, so it’s going to be Plan B for the team tomorrow.  Phinjo has arranged seats on a bus to Beni and then we have arranged a van to meet them there for the ride on to Pohkara.

It should be a classic Nepal road trip!

Eric Simonson

May 14, 2012

Dhaulagiri (7th highest at 8167m) from near Muktinath (Charlotte Austin)

Eben called this morning to say they had made it to Manang yesterday, and that they enjoyed food, showers, and entertainment (they watched “Vertical Limit” last night).  Pasang Nuri and Sante are headed back down to Besisahar with gear/porters and today the Sherpas are meeting the climbers at Yak Kharka and then they are headed to Phedi. Then, tomorrow, they cross the Thorung La (5,416m/17,769ft; La means pass) and descend to Muktinath and Jomsom, with the hope of flying back to Pohkara on the 16th.  We had some sad news overnight — it sounds like one of the local Jomsom flights crashed today, so it is unclear how that event might affect the teams’ departure plans.   If necessary, they can depart Jomsom by vehicle (it is a very rough 12 hour drive or a 20 minute flight back to Pohkara).  Either way, they should be back to Pohkara in the next couple days.

Eric Simonson

May 12, 2012

Annapurna 4 from near Humre

IMG guide Eben Reckord called on the sat phone from Camp 3 to say that they were hoping to get a pre-dawn start on their summit bid this morning, but that a snowstorm came in overnight.  So, they were electing to bail out from C3 instead.  Now Eben called back to say they made it down to Base camp, and were glad that they bailed, as it snowed hard all day during their retreat to BC.  Better safe than sorry—they did not want to get pinned down up there.

These guys have had a real Himalayan experience the last month, making their own route up a beautiful peak.  Now they are headed home via Thorung La trek and Jomson flight.  Their goals for tomorrow are hot showers, lots of food, and emailing friends and family in Manang.

Eric Simonson

May 5, 2012

Early morning sun hits Annapurna 2 (on left) and Annapurna 4 (on right) from A4 Base Camp (Craig John)

IMG guides Eben Reckord and  Emily Johnston report that the team descended today to Base Camp, after their run up towards Camp 3.  After spenidng their second night at Camp 2, they push up towards C3, then descended.  The sherpas did some more fixing above Camp 2, and everyone is now back down.  They are doing well, and are going to take a few rest days while they wait for a good forecast prior to their summit bids.

There was a big flood today on the south side of the Annapurna Range, apparently triggered by a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (you can Google that up for more info).  This had nothing to do with our team.  There are hundreds of these glacial lakes in the Himalaya, and unfortunately, these GLOF events are not that uncommon.

Eric Simonson

May 2, 2012

Summit Ridge on Annapurna 4 (Photo by Mingma Dorje Sherpa)

IMG guides Eben Reckord and Emily Johnston report that the team is healthy, the weather is improving, and it’s time to go climbing again!  Hopefully their patience will be rewarded with a good rotation up high over the next few days.

Today the team climbed to Camp 1, and then Phinjo and Thunang continued on to up to Camp 2 with a load.  Up at C2, they dug out the camp, then blasted back down to Camp 1.  Tomorrow the plan is for everyone to move up to Camp 2 to sleep.  They are hoping to spend a couple nights up at Camp 2 for acclimatization, and get the route established up to Camp 3.

Eric Simonson