The boys will be back in town tomorrow
Adi, Dani and Misha are landing tomorrow evening in Bucharest. If you want to welcome them back we’ll gather at 8:50pm on Otopeni.
Guys, we can’t wait to see you and hear all about Tian Shan!
News from Tien Shan
Great news from Tian Shan
Two days ago Adi and Dani decided to spend the night in Camp 3, too tired after the ascent to pack and head towards 6400m again in the opposite direction. With the weather situation so out of hands, all the local guides decided to descend (“close the mountain”).
The night has been one with avalanches only minutes away one from the other and large amounts of fresh snow. The wind was so strong that even in the Basecamp Misha told us that several tents were torn, the wind ripping their material, even his tent.
We received today the great news that they managed to descend yesterday to Camp 1 and today to the Basecamp. They should now be safe, travelling by helicopter to Karkara, then to Bishkek.
With how dangerous Khan Tengri is and all that happened in the past month, we cannot wait to hear about all the experience from the boys. The mountain will be there next year as well for the peak! Adi, Dani, Misha we cannot wait to see you on the airport in Bucharest!
Congrats for Peak Chapayev, for all the experience and for surviving a month of crazy weather, health issue and local “delights”!
The Hardest Decision
Hardest decision so far
Crazy weather this year on the Khan Tengri and Chapayev Peaks.
Adi and Dani left Camp 3 (5900m) at 4am this morning towards the Khan Tengri Peak (7010m). When they got to 6400m the local guides closed the mountain. There is so much snow and the wind is so powerful that going further would be way too dangerous.
They had to come back to Camp 3, tired after the climb, where they now have to make a decision.
The small window of 3 days of no blizzards and good weather is closing today. Starting of tonight it will start snowing again, the temperatures go down, the wind gets more intense. Even more, the way from Camp 3 to Camp 2 is a climb to 6371m (Chapayev Peak) before they will be able to descend back towards the Basecamp.
From the 2 peaks the guys had in plan this year they have already succeded in doing one, but for the second one, the weather doesn’t seem to create any window of possibility.
Even though it is a very hard decision to make, we are sure Adi and Dani will make the right one and hopefully we will have good news soon…
Finally Some Good Weather
Finally some good weather
During the past days the boys climbed to Camp 1 and then Camp 2. They had to endure constant snowing, crazy wind and large amounts of fresh snow every morning (approx 1 meter).
Today, the message from them said they finally had a day with good weather and, after a climb of 7 hours, they are now in Camp 3 (5 900 m).
Misha is communicating with the boys from the base camp, giving them weather information, learning Russian and making wind turbines :).
Let’s hope for good weather in the following days!
Adi, Dani & Harciogu, good luck guys!
The Moment Has Come
The moment has come!
Sickness, cold, pneumonia, diarrhea, dehydration we faced them all. Unfortunately, Misha’s heath does not allow him to make effort at higher altitudes without a bag of pills, as he is daily vomiting, in a battle with his bitter gall. He will stay in the Basecamp, hoping to recover in the next days.
For the rest of us, today we leave in the most difficult, abrupt, provocative ascent so far!
We have ahead seven days of unpredictable weather and extreme cold… Tibi and Adi Rusu will help us with daily weather reports for the following seven days to know when to leave each camp towards higher altitudes.
The Ultrabook will join us, as we’ll test it on one of the highest peaks in the world, using it to record our ascent.
Patience, passion and a lot of power will be key in the next days, and your support has been a huge part of this :).
Today, we leave the Basecamp for the last time before the Khan Tengri Peak. The countdown begins as we head towards Camp 1…
Altitude Today – 5500m
Altitude today: 5500m
As some of you already know, in the basecamp the guys got together with another Romanian Alpinist – Daniel Toader, also known as “Harciogu” among friends :). They are together now, heading towards the Khan Tengri Peak.
According to the latest news, they already finished installing Camp 2 (5500m), where they spent last night. For the next 3 days they will continue the aclimatization in the BaseCamp. They are complaining a bit about the unpredictable weather but as always the attitude and the morale are good :).
Adi’s cold has passed but now Misha is facing some digestive issues. On top of this, last night was quite hard for the boys because of the 100km/h wind and the 1 meter of extra snow brought by the blizzard.
However, the next 3 days should bring some relaxation and give them a chance to recover.
Next stop after aclimatization – Peak Chapayev – 6371m (on the way to Khan Tengri Peak). Good luck guys!!