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Mardi 23 juin : Gabriel à RDS |
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There is no translation available, please select a different language. |
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Back home! |
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First of all I would like to apologize for taking so much time to write. The end of an expedition is always tough physically as we take only two days to come down the mountain. Then we have to coordinate the transportation of the gear by yaks and by truck all the way to Kathmandu. Also, we have to do some paperworks with the chinese government and liaison officer of the expedition. All this being said, here is a little description of our final days on Everest : After our Sherpas refused to attempt the summit, alleging too much wind and snow on upper slopes, my cameraman, a Peruvian climber (Richard Hidalgo) and myself launched a lonely summit push on Everest North side on june 2nd. At arrival at camp3 (june 4th) , we couldn't find our cached gear. We finally found some gear here and there. Too exhausted to live for the summit, we decided to spend one night at 8300 meters. On june 6th, we set off for the top. There was only the three of us on Everest, all other teams had left the mountain. In the dark, we were unable to find the fixed ropes. I lost a crampon on the mixed terrain, Richard (climbing below me) found it but it got loose again after a while. I told Richard I was turning back. Due to wet feet he did the same. The cameraman followed us. The attempt was over. The descent back to ABC (advanced basecamp) has been a real pleasure. The cameraman left first. Richard and I went down from camp 3 to camp 2 on a hidden side of Everest across snow slopes and breathtaking traverses. A pure delight. Being alone on Everest has its charm. On our way to camp 1 we got hit by a blizzard, zero visibility. We stopped until we could see something. I think I heard my own voice saying THANK YOU to the sky. The last two hours were done in the complete silence, looking at this huge universe in front of me. It is a unique relation between the man and the mountain. The real summit is probably there. Strangely I felt like the day I was on top of Everest. 
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The expedition is over: June 6th, 2009 |
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We just learned that Gabriel ended his expedition. He is back at basecamp. The reason for this interruption will be known as soon as he will have the possibility to write to us.
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Talk about Gabriel: June 4th, 2009 |
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If the plans are being followed, Gabriel is climbing towards the summit right now, and should be on top in the next few hours. MountEverest.net is commanding his perseverance:
Courage Gabriel!
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Sun!; June 2nd 2009 |
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Gabriel left advanced base camp this morning to climb to camp 1. The weather forecast is finally good, and the winds should stay quiet until June 5th. Therefore, he hopes to reach the summit on Friday morning. There are only 5 climbers left on the mountain, and they all chose to work together during the final push. The Sherpas had not decided yet if they were going up when Gabriel called. However, he seemed confident that they would join them.
Since no one knows the snow conditions past camp 3, they opted to climb alpine style (with minimal equipment) to minimize the weight that they carry. It is then possible that we will not get any news from Gabriel before he gets back to base camp on June 6th. Evidently, the CH flag, and the ice-axe will be part of the team to the summit.
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Still waiting, May 31st 2009 |
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After 2 attempts to reach camp 2, and fighting winds of 80 km/h, the 3 Sherpas of the team turned around and went back to advanced base camp (ABC), leaving Gabriel to open the trail for his two climbing friends. He reached 7600m. Even in these intense conditions, and besides major burns to his skin by the sun and the wind, Gabriel stays optimistic. He is now at ABC and waits, once again, for a window of good weather to try another summit push. There are only 8 men left on the mountain: 2 Canadians, 1 Peruvian, 2 Tcheks, and 3 Sherpas. Out of these, 3 climbers, including Gabriel, have confirmed a new attempt as soon as possible. Some good forecast has been announced for the 1st of june, and unless something else happens, Gabriel should be heading back up on Tuesday. What great patience and perseverance!
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Winds and snow: May 28th, 2009 |
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Gabriel and his team, along with 17 members of the ex-Yugoslavia team, opened the trail yesterday by digging out the fixed ropes under, in some places, one meter of snow. It was hard work where Sherpas and climbers from the two teams were alternating up to 7350m, half way to camp 2. Sometimes, the winds went up to 70km/h. Back at camp 1, the Colombian team, and all members of the ex-Yugoslavia team, decided to end their expediton because of the strenuous conditions. Therefore, only Gabriel, his great cameraman friend, Richard (the Peruvian), and their Sherpas, are left at camp 1. They are hoping for good weather to be able to proceed towards camp 2 tomorrow. Gabriel assures us that they are in good health.
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It is snowing: May 27th 2009 |
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We just received confirmation that Gabriel is still at camp 1. It has snowed all day yesterday and moving up the mountain was impossible. At this moment, he is with the Colombian and Serbian teams and they are analyzing the weather forecast. They will then decide if they should go back down to advanced base camp (ABC), or try to reach camp 2 to be in position for the next summit push, expected to be on May 30th or June 1st. Because of the snow, the trail has to be re-open, by human footsteps, which will need a lot of work and energy. They are teaming up together to share this difficult task. Thank you to Marc-André and Jorge, two exceptionnal climbers, who are communicating by radio with Gabriel on the mountain and who are taking the time to send us the information.
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