So for those of you who like plants, I thought I would take you on a little tour around BC and show you just some of the Flora and Fauna that we have been living amongst. I am no horticulturist but I have tried to group the plants. There are a lot more different kinds of grass and some other flower species, but thought this little tour might interest you.
Sorry about the poor light but the urge to grovel around BC only struck late this afternoon.
David.
Pictures: Pretty clouds = evil winds
Today we commissioned via Andy Houseman in Kathmandu a specialist mountain forecast from a meteorologist in Switzerland (the joys of Satellite communications!) which was reviewed by Everest guide and 8 times summiteer Kenton Cool (who should know a thing or two about Himalayan weather), and it is not good.
There is a very active and consistent westerly air stream which is predicted to blow at 50 mph above 7000m for the foreseeable future with only a brief lull in 36 hrs time. Given that the temperatures above 7000m are -20C, you can see why we are not racing back up to get frozen. Kenton says that he has never seen such a consistent and strong air flow, which we have seen for ourselves today while watching the snow plumes blow off Annapurna 3.
Our lift out of here is booked for the 15th, and we are low on food, so there is no time to wait for the winds to drop; we have given it long enough. There will be no summit for us this time, but an expedition like this is not just about getting to the summit...
Today we went for a wander to look at a line on the South ridge of Annapurna 3 which tops out at around 6000m, but the ice lines are melted out at the bottom and the glacier approach is something out of a computer game with some grotesque giant hurling boulders down the path you would like to climb.
So we have a few days to relax in the sun (base camp is a different world meteorologically speaking to the summit of A3) and take in the stunning scenery of this remote and wild place for the last few days of our expedition.
Pic 1. Our water supply (on a good day)
Pic 2. Filling up
Pic 3. The walk back to BC.
So the last two days in BC have been somewhat interesting. We have been exploring some of the area (searching a couple lines that the boys have had their eyes on over the past month) and of course been having fun along the way. In fact we were so distracted yesterday, we arrived a couple hours late for lunch and as we all expected, Buddhi was not impressed. After apologising to Buddhi a number of times, the team all found a chair and a spot to enjoy the afternoon sun. Of course Buddhi popped into his tent and rustled up some tasty egg fried veggie noodle soup. I chucked to myself, being reminded of my childhood and being told off by my mother for being naughty, I wonder of the boys shared the same sentiment. J.
This morning I followed Buddhi and Santosh on their daily water run to film them filling up the BC water bottles at a nearby mountain stream. I must admit, I was not really expecting anything special but I absolutely loved the experience. The stream itself was very small and in fact resembled more of a trickle from a leaking tap. The way the boys harness this small volume of water is so simple, it is undeniably brilliant! They have cut the bottom off a typical plastic cool drink bottle, wedged it amongst some rocks at a small step in the stream. The large opening of the bottle was facing upstream and the smaller end protruding out over the "step", creating a mini "drinking fountain".
The water containers that they are using are also quite fascinating, the one large industrial blue 35 litre bottle original contained the fuel that Buddhi uses to cook with (we stopped taste the fuel in the water about 2 weeks ago) and the other two 5 litre bottles are those rather common opaque foldable water bottles resembling a musical accordion. (Although common, when emptied into the larger barrel we have at BC, they have a rather satisfying way of shrinking in your hands as the water empties out, so fascinating in their own right).
Perhaps my favourite receptacle is the large curved aluminium jug used for transferring the water from the "mini drinking fountain" to the water bottles. It is thick and solid and almost resembles the kind of pottery jugs you might expect to find in archaeological dig. It too has a very satisfying look and feel about it, especially when watching the shimmering glacial water running off the stream bed and flowing into the bottom of this heavy metallic vessel, listening to the almost metallic echo of splashing water as it fills up.
During the time it has taken to write this blog entry, you might be interested to know that Buddhi and Santosh had built a largish "H" out of rocks in preparation for our helicopter flight back to civilisation in a week or so. I am hoping that it was just an activity to kill time, rather than it being an actual reminder for Pemba the Pilot for where to land.
David.
Pictures: 1) Matt battles to coil the rope in the wind, 2) Pete on the final pitch to the snow hole, 3) Nick's watches the flag from the snow hole, 4) The Samsung weather station.
We played our hand...
It looked like the weather had changed, or at least that the winds would be more favourable after the northerlies that nearly blew base camp away. After that wind event, a calm day tempted us back up to our lofty snow cave advanced base camp at 6000m on the east ridge. Everything was calm and settled when we arrived after the tiring 1500m ascent from base camp, which turned out to be very stressful as the initial snow slope has started to melt out revealing rotten gullies and tumbling rocks which were using us as target practice! Safely installed in our snow hole we went to sleep dreaming of calm weather.
The day dawned bright and very breezy, which started to get progressively worse as the morning wore on forcing us back into the snow cave and the warmth of our sleeping bags. Even with all our clothing on, 5 minutes outside was enough, enough to tell us that at this altitude frostbite would be inevitable and worse still higher up. We dose. Clouds fly by. We rig up a flag outside the snow-hole to monitor the wind speeds from our insulated cave. The flag strains at its violently flutters all day. Not good.
On the radio, Dave relays a weather forecast: winds decreasing, then gale force winds to approach mid week. We sleep, hoping for calm weather.
On the third day, the winds have dropped at 6000m, but our eyes gaze across to Annapurna 4 which is being beaten by savage winds, the plumes of snow detail the abuse.
We question. We talk. We review the situation: a couple of days of good weather, then gales are forecast, probably right on the day we would be summiting, all going well. And then there is the descent - long, arduous and technical, including a 2 km horizontal section back to our snow cave.
Nick, a battle-hardened veteran of 17 mountaineering expeditions around the world sums up the situation as we hastily convene a conference in the snow cave: "we need at least 7 days of perfect weather to try and get up this mountain and off it safely, and on the basis of that forecast (which has been fairly reliable to date) we have, 3 days". We cannot deny the facts: in 4 and half weeks, there has hardly been a day without massive plumes of airborne snow from the peaks, why should anything change? We discuss. We are all driven climbers and after all the time and effort we are perhaps 3 days away from our goal, but the chances of getting there and back look bleak. We are realists.
These big mountains are unforgiving. We will put our project on hold for the moment while we review weather and discuss options and of course eat lots of Buddhi's amazing food.
Pete
Pic 1. Team Down Climbing the Snow Slopes
Pic 2. Buddhi and Santosh waiting to greet the team at the snow line.
Pic 3. The team coming down to BC.
After spending the majority of the morning scoping out the snow hole for signs of life, finally, I spotted the guys alongside their winter home wearing a selection of colours.( Red, Green and Blue) There seemed to be quite a lot of traffic, back and forth, back and forth, 09h00, 09h30, 10h00... The boys should have left by now. "Why are they still milling about the snow cave at such a late hour?"
SPECULATION: They didnt want to spend too long at the base of the Pillar and hence where planning a later start.
SPECULATION: They know the weather starts to reveal what it has planned for the day in the late morning and are waiting for about 10h00 to make a decision.
FACT: 10h15 and they are on the move. Buddhi, Santosh and myself are relieved they are finally on their way. BUT not the way we expected, they where abseiling down the mountain.
Realising that the team are on their way back to BC. I thought it appropriate to once again, mission up the mountain and surprise them with a bit of camera interrogation and bring up something nice for the boys to snack on. So packing my bags with all the toys and some tasty Mango Frooti drinks. Headphones on and scrolling through Matt's MP3 player, I came across "Salmonella Dub" which had a fantastic rhythm matching my mountain plod. Saying goodbye to Buddhi and Santosh, I made my way back to the same spot I greeted the team off from, just days before.
Hanging around the snow line for about an hour and a half, they finally reached us. When I say us, I include Buddhi and Santosh. On my way up the mountain, I was flapping my arms around like a bird in time to one of the music tracks (generally looking like a bit of a tit) turned round to find Buddhi and Santosh right behind me laughing their heads off at my silly wing flapping action. Seems like they figured they might as well come up the mountain and see what the news was…. Flip Flops, skipping up the mountain side. How unfit do I feel now?
Well the boys are back, safe and sound and the Frooti drinks I brought up definitely brought a smile to their faces.
I would like to tell you the whole story but I don't want to spoil the other guys fun. They are eagerly waiting for me to get off this netbook to get their story online.
David
"Paging Dr Faggot, Paging Dr Faggot" the words echoing across the Annapurna valley this evening as Piglet opened the lines of communication. Of course this is an ongoing joke and originates from the film "Hangover". The team are all warm and tucked away in their cave, having just finished dinner consisting of tea and butter biscuits. Of course it was not long before the usual Buddhi food related questions cropped up. For those of you who are interested, it was a lovely thick tomato soup with popcorn, a massive bowl of tasty veggie noodles and then apple fritters for desert.........."BASTARD!"a very destinctive Scottish accent echoes across the valley!
The guys asked me a bit of trivia based on the film "Victor" they wanted to know the name of the Rugby Captain (Not the actor's name). Embarrassingly, I am South African and could not answer them, so if anyone out there knows the answer, please feel free to drop me an email and I will pass it on.
So the plan is to leave early tomorrow and attempt the long traverse. They are considering alternative options if the wind continues as it has for the past month, but they are limited with both time and food, so their options are also somewhat limited. Only time will tell.
David.
Pic 1. Location of ABC
Pic 2. Reflections in a Galaxy Tab.
I received an early radio call from Matt this afternoon. He said that they have decided to spend today in the snow hole. Apparently the winds are strong and very cold on the ridge and despite their early morning efforts in starting the long traverse, they chose to turn back and try it again tomorrow.
Again, they were eager to hear what Buddhi was rustling up in the cook tent for lunch. Deep fried chips , fresh bread with.......Matt said they have been rationing the cheese pasties that Buddhi made for them yesterday and although they are tasty and hit the spot, they where all hoping Buddhi and Santosh would pop up the ridge with a flask of hot water and a hot dinner. Normally Buddhi is the first to jump up and sort things out, but after hearing Matt on the Radio, he burst out in laughter and I suspect the Team got the answer they didn't want to hearJ.
Otherwise today I have been catching up with organising my video library and backing up everything. I played around with getting some shots with the Galaxy Tab and ended up getting distracted with the amazing views.
David.
