My travel diaries
Saturday 11 August, 2007 - Camp 2, Muztag Ata, Xinjiang, China
David has decided we should leave at 6.30 this morning to get as far as we can up to Camp 2 before the hot sun hits the slopes. This means a 5am alarm call in order to melt snow, have breakfast, pack kit and don harness and crampons for the ascent. Even so, I'm not ready in time and end up leaving at 6.45, after most of the others have set off.
A slog through snow
The slope looks quite steep, but I get a rhythm going and before long have caught up with David leading Lindsay and Toby at the front of the group. I end up quite enjoying the walk, exhausting though it is. Starting from Camp 1 at 5400m, the first part is a standard steep ascent up a snow slope which we ascend diagonally to make the slope gentler. Somewhere to our left is the huge cliff which forms the great divide between Muztag Ata's two broken halves, but we keep well to the right of it, enjoying fine views of Lake Karakul with Kongur behind it. Between 5700 and 5800m we pass through an intricate passage of crevasses and weird snow formations. Passing over a ridge of snow, the path slants down into a fold before ascending steeply between a large crevasse on the left and giant overhanging ice cliff to the right. There is a steep section immediately below the ice cliff where I consider using an ice axe, but David plods on with a walking pole in each hand, and those of us following do likewise. Above this labyrinth of crevasses the path is more straightforward: a steep wade up through thick snow which slopes down to another giant crevasse on our left. Camp 2, at 6100m, is on a wide shelf at the top of this section.
Gradually, the group divides as we climb higher and people find their own pace through the deep snow. Somehow I manage to stay at the front with David, Lindsay and Toby, even though it's blindingly obvious they're way fitter than I am. I'm only able to keep up because every time I drop behind, David stops to rest and let me catch up again. Halfway up the final section, during a pause for breath, we have a conversation and I discover all three of them have run marathons in under 3 hours, David in a little over 2½. Given my plodding 8-minute mile pace over a much shorter distance, it's clear they're in a different league to me, and I'm pleased with myself for managing to stay anywhere near them! We eventually reach Camp 2 at 10.15, after a 3½ hour slog through snow.
I'm exhausted by the time I arrive at Camp 2, but now there's work to be done. Before the others arrive we have to carve out platforms in the snow with our ice axes and pitch the tents on them. I'm sharing a tent with Geoff and Luigi, who arrive shortly after we get them pitched. We're all pretty tired, and apart from melting snow to drink, we can't be bothered to cook lunch, so we just snack on nuts, crackers, cheese and chocolate.
Sherpa fitness
Although I am pleased with my own physical performance, let's just compare it with that of our porters Galjen, Kaji, Leela and Abdullah. Two days ago they set off at 5am from Base Camp to walk up to Camp 1 (from 4500m to 5400m) where they picked up tents, shovels, stoves, pans, ropes and enough food to last 12 people 3 days. They then proceeded to Camp 2 at 6100m where they pitched one of the tents and deposited all the rest of the gear before descending all the way back to Base Camp. Fifteen minutes after we arrived at Camp 2 today, Galjen and Kaji appeared having set off at 6am from Base Camp equipped with tents and supplies for stocking Camp 3 at a later date. Tired as they may have been, they immediately picked up shovels and ice axes and helped us to pitch the remaining tents. Having helped with this, with barely a rest they immediately returned all the way to Base Camp again.
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