My travel diaries
Friday 17 August, 2007 - Camp 3, Muztag Ata, Xinjiang, China
I had possibly one of my most uncomfortable night's sleep ever, yet in spite of this - probably due to exhaustion - I managed to sleep remarkably well. With the Marianas Trench beneath the floor of our tent, all three of us found ourselves sleeping in the middle. I had about a yard of space to my left, but I couldn't use it because it was at an angle of 30 to 45 degrees and I'd just slide down again. By the morning our church was turning into a cathedral and a small person could probably stand up inside it.
Our plan is to wake up at 5.30 this morning and leave by 7. Once again I was secretly hoping for the tell-tale pitter patter of snow on the roof of the tent which signalled that we could stay in our sleeping bags until it stopped. In fact, the pitter patter went on most of the night but had stopped by the time we were due to wake up at 5.30. This means we have the worst of both conditions - an early start and fresh snow making for tougher conditions underfoot for today's climb.
It easily takes an hour and a half to pack away sleeping bag and thermarest, do a brew, and get everything else ready, such as boots, harness and snow shoes. This isn't easy in a 3-man tent without much space (except vertically, as previously noted). Even so, I'm ready to leave at 7.15. David has already sent the very well-organised Toby and Lindsay ahead to break the trail, which means this is probably the last time we'll see them today.
Another whiteout
The snow is thick and the first section steep, and even though Toby and Lindsay have broken the trail and set off in zig-zags to lessen the angle, I find it hard work, especially as I'm now wearing snow shoes for the first time in earnest. It's bitterly cold, and although I'm expecting the sun to appear over the horizon at any moment and warm me up, by the time Juliet and I reach the horizon and the path bends to the right, the snow clouds have returned. I press on and soon find myself alone in another white out. I have to stop and wait for the next flag to appear through the cloud, and as soon as it does I put my head down and stride towards it. I'm in my own little world when a man coming down the slope towards me says, "Excuse me, are you Mark?"
I look up to see that Toby and Lindsay, uncertain of whether we should continue in the now blizzard conditions, have turned around and come back to see if we are following. It hadn't occurred to me to turn around as long as I could see the flags in front of me, and as soon as they see that I at least intend to continue, they turn again and head back up the slope. Within seconds they have disappeared into the clouds ahead of me, though now I'm able to exploit the track they've left behind them. I continue onwards, stopping frequently to catch my breath and look for the next flag. Eventually I take my pack off to sit down and rest, and Galjen catches up with me.
"One hour to Camp 3," he says.
I smile. "One hour, you. Two hours, me."
"No, no," he replies. "Same speed." And sure enough, he waits for me the rest of the way up as I stop frequently to rest against my walking poles.
Uncertainty at Camp 3
We reach Camp 3, at 6800m, at 11am. Toby and Lindsay have nabbed one of the tents and I grab a shovel and start clearing snow from around one of the other partially buried ones. It's hard work, though, and I'm absolutely shagged. Juliet and Geoff are not far behind me, and when they arrive with Leela, I take a rest and accept Galjen and Leela's offer to finish the job. One by one, others arrive in camp, but it eventually becomes clear that Orna, Scottish Jeff and David have not made it up here. We have no means of communication with them, and some of us walk from tent to tent, discussing our options. I'm upbeat about the situation. We have 2 days' supply of food here, and have ascended 700m in each of the two previous days in some fairly severe weather conditions. We have only another 700m to climb to reach the summit, and we have all three sherpas and Abdullah with us. I maintain that, given good weather conditions tomorrow morning, we should press on for the summit; but others are not so sure that we should set off without David's approval.
Later that afternoon our problem is solved when I hear a voice outside Toby and Lindsay's tent.
"Excuse me, English group? I bring radio."
David has given one of our radios to someone else who intended to reach Camp 3 this afternoon, and at 6 o'clock Toby tunes in to speak to David via Ela at Base Camp. It's agreed that if the weather is fine tomorrow we will start our summit bid between 8 and 9 o'clock. I'm very happy and bubbling with confidence and enthusiasm for the rest of the evening. I know it's going to be a tough day, but the weather's unlikely to be any worse than it's been on the two previous days, yet it hasn't stopped us getting to where we wanted to go. Geoff, meanwhile, remains as inscrutable as ever, and while I'm buzzing with enthusiasm on this auspicious night, his demeanour doesn't change.Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Next
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