In one of our first reports we described the icefall: how it changed, how difficult it was and that we covered 70% of the road at this stage. However, we were wrong. As it turned out, we covered only 30% of it and the rest was equally difficult. The difficulty did not lie with rubble or seracs; the main problem was to find a way through the gigantic crevasses. The team consisting in Bielecki, Sadpara and Baig that on 26th January established camp 1 showed great strength and determination.

On 27th January Janusz Gołąb and me (Artur Hajzer) followed them. We set off, according to the rules, at 6 AM. Adam informed us via radio that the route leading to camp 1 had been long and exhausting and that probably we would fail to make it to camp 1, but if we planned to do so, we had to take with us a light assault tent and be prepared for a bivouac. We felt insulted. We would not make it? By following a route? By following their footsteps? What was going on? Was Adam pulling my leg?

We met Adam’s descending team between the icefalls at approx. 11:30 AM. Adam went on talking: “Guys it’s far away! It may happen that you won’t manage to get there. I’ll give you my GPS.” And he gave it to us. We took it with a slight idea about how to use it and continued walking. We were ascending while Adam, Ali and Shaheen were descending. We walked … and walked … and walked … and walked between the blocks of seracs, in ice canyons and between various crevasses. Unfortunately, on the hard patches of the upper plateau weak traces of crampons of Adam’s team were invisible. We could not follow their traces. There were also no tracers, because at this stage Adam’s team had already used all of them and they did not have a possibility to mark the entire route. The hike was getting complicated. The route was meandering often into the opposite direction than the presumed camp.

At approx. 4:00 PM the things got serious. We realized that the day was coming to an end and the camp was nowhere to be seen. Moreover, we were not sure if we were on the right track. The only things left were the GPS and necessity to speed up our pace. The GPS showed only a thin green line (the route marked by Adam) and a white triangle (us). The picture kept on rotating, but as long as the triangle was on the green line we felt safe. At 5:00 PM it grew dark and the GPS indicated that we were not too far away from the camp. We started to run regardless of crevasses that we mostly managed to jump over. Once my body fell into an abyss, but Janusz successfully blocked the rope, I got out and we continued the run. It got dark. We stared at the GPS. Adam told us over the radio how to zoom in the picture and use the GPS to show us the camp in a straight line. We zoomed in. According to the GPS, the camp was 200 m away. However, we could not modify the setting of the GPS so that it showed the camp in the straight line. We were running round in circles – it went without saying that it was an aimless activity. At 6:30 PM it was completely dark. We pored over the GPS. We stopped to move, wet PrimaLoft® overalls lost their heating properties; we started to shiver. We used the GPS by means of a tip of an ice axe or bare fingers. One minute – Janusz, one minute – me. Adam told us to enter the menu and use “find.” The GPS was misty; I could not read the small letters on the screen. Janusz took over the device and also failed to locate “find.” It was getting colder and colder; I warmed up my fingers. Janusz claimed that we could manage to dig a snow pit. We had gas and some food. I zoomed in Adam’s route on the GPS showing that the camp was 48 m away from us. I slowly followed the GPS’ directions and Janusz went after me. I heard Janusz: “It’s there, I can see it on the right!” We found the camp. It was 7:20 PM. We reached the camp – I notified the base camp. In the base camp – where since the last two hours the situation was also tense – everyone relaxed. We put up a tent and everything was fine. In the morning we started to descend to the base camp and it took us an entire day. Taking into account this terrain, it did not matter whether we were going up or down; the pace was almost the same. The route was difficult and far regardless the direction. The situation is completely different in summer. In winter the glacier is more “open.”

All in all, we have camp 1 – so much exhaustion, fear and work and it is only the first camp. What is going to happen at higher altitudes?! For the main fight is to take place above 7,000 m. During our stay in camp 1 we could have a look at a pass leading to camp 2. There is also an open glacier. Hmm … what will happen?

Artur Hajzer

Janusz on the glacier on this way to camp 1

Dodał marek karnecki dnia 31.01.2012