원정 개요

ABC just over West Col
C2 just below start of SE Ridge
High point at C2.

World Expeditions 2009 Baruntse Expedition, Soren Ledet - 3 June 2009

For preliminary acclimatization, the team went first to Mera Peak. All members and Nepalese climbers attempted to reach its summit on 18 May, but very strong wind turned them back before the top.

The eight members and three Nepalese climbers arrived at BC on 20 May, C1 on the 22nd and set out from C1 to C2 on 24 May. In the crevasse field halfway between the two camps, Ms. Skirka became very tired and decided to turn back; her partner, Thomas, descended with her to C1, where they stayed, unable to move farther down because of the onset of a snowstorm.

The remaining six members continued to C2 on the 24th and reached there at 1:00 pm. The weather was good that morning and early afternoon, but very soon it started snowing and by 2:00 pm the wind was strengthening and there was a whiteout. They were pinned down in C2 by strong winds and constant snowfall; it was impossible for them to go higher. By the morning of the 26th, a meter and half of fresh snow had fallen on C2.

On the morning of the 26th, they decided that the weather could get only worse, and they started down at 9:00 am, abandoning their tents. It was snowing and quite windy, and it took them 11 hours to descend to C1 and join Skirka and Thomas.

They all left C1 at 10:00-10:30 am on the 27th after recovering from the previous day's 11 hour descent and after digging out the tents from the newly fallen snow. It was extremely slow work breaking trail; by 10:00 pm, they had covered one and a half km sto reach 5900m, only halfway to BC. They stopped here. Everyone was cold and tired, and Barton discovered that all his toes had become slightly frostbitten. They "crashed out" here in the tents they set up.

Finally by the morning of the 28th, it had stopped snowing and they could leave this temporary camp. While they were moving slowly, breaking trail again, the kitchen staff was coming up from BC with hot soup. The two parties met at noon, and all were safely back in BC (5440m) about 2:00-2:30 pm.

The next day they rested at BC, and on the 30th they left BC at 8:00 am. They descended through more deep snow and arrived at Seto Pokhari at 5200m at 2:00-2:35 pm. It would be impossible for them to cross Mera La to get to Lukla, so Ledet called for a helicopter and the team camped here.

On the 31st there was white-out and the helicopter couldn't land at Seto Pokhari. It night-stopped at Lukla while the climbers spent another night here. At 6:30 am the helicopter reached them and took all the climbers to Rumjitar in half an hour. It went back later for their baggage and kitchen staff, then carried all of them to Kathmandu, where they landed at about 9:00-9:30 am.

Hired:
Balram Rana Magar, 25/5/69 (12/2/2026), Tharpu, Gorkhali-8, Gorkha, no 8000ers
Kami Sherpa, 14/4/47 (1/1/2004), Mopung, Beni-5, no 8000ers
Lhakpa Tamang, 4-5/77 (?/1/2034), Lura, Salleri-9, Solu, no 8000ers