Kanchenjunga 2002. Канченджанга 2002

Flight to the Aim.

(text was written for http://russianclimb.com in 2002 when I was very young)

Our expedition planned to reach the Kangchenjunga summit in the short time, but you can be convinced that we climbed direcly according our advised plan.

So, 18 April we reached together with the big caravan of porters the place of our Base Camp. It was the large hill, covered by yellow flowers, on the right side of the Yalung glacier. There was really high altitude place - about 5500 m. But after 10 trekking days everybody felt good.

Next day the Korean team visited our camp, and asked us to help them to bring next day some equipment, which they needed for the preparation of the route. We were amazed, and agreed.

20 April our team established the Camp 1 at 6100 m (used only once in future),
and decscended to BC the same day.

After two days of rest we hoisted our bodies at 6500 m of altitude. There we
put 2 tents and spent the couple of nights, between which we used the time for the
preparation of the route till 6800 m. There was the deep snow route.

 

It was the lots of snow in Himalaya this year, but we expierensed the close situation during many years in Tien Shan. On the other hand, seraks, crevasses, steep ice, but technical problems were not so difficult.
The weather was also good enough. In the morning of most of days we had a clean
sunny sky, but in the afternoon the weather turned bad. And if we were still working on the route, it was close to the snow storm.

26 April we moved down together. We began to work by two separate groups - 4 and 3 members. Our first group (4 persons) was working in the 1 day distance before the second group. It was organized for some reasons - the main from them was to decrease the weight, needed for organizing high-altitude camps.

After some days of relaxation and waiting for the good weather factors (2 days, which we stayed in the Base Camp, were very bad). All other expedition's members sat in their Base Camps.

So, after 6900 our team was working ahead , - no Korean, no Chekh, but together
we made the attempt to the summit of Kangch.

That's happened 02 May, - after the hard work under the heavy rucksacks we
left the last fixe ropes and came to the plateau. There we set our Camp 3 - in
the 7300 m. Then our four-members group was going through the deep snow between seracs. During this way we also prepared fixed ropes, and spent there a lot of time and strength. In that day, avoided our plan, we reached only 7550, and slept there.

But next day, our tired team desided, in despite of all circumstances, to establish the last camp on the Kangchenjunga steeps. Early morning we reached the the small flat place under the rocks, wide enough for a tent , where put our small Camp. It was at 7700 m. The top of Jannu was at the same level. During the descent to the Camp3 we met our friends, who were going up for spending last acclimatization nigth before the sturm.

So, we was tired, but got nice acclimatization and hoped to reach the summit without
some problems after good rest in the Base Camp altitude. Our coach Mr. Ilyinskiy
together with us discussed some possibilities in the different situations for choosing the best strategy for the ascension. We agreed, that the strong wind, that came from Tibetian plateau would be the most difficult problem during the ascent the ridge. It
meaned, that we needed to find our route just below of it.

In the normal style we moved up to the Camp 4 at 7700 m. All members
of other expedidions started the day before us from the BC , but we reached the last
Camp together. They wanted to set Camp 5 just higher than 8000 m, but that plan was not conformed, because of extremely dangerouse avalanch situation. So, in
01.10 a.m., in the midnight our international team started for the attempt to the top.

Nobody helped us when we tracked through the deep snow. Only Maxut, Vassiliy, Sergey and me were working ahead. Only one Sherpa just tryed to go forward. It was a really cold darkness around us. We needed to keep our foots and hands, - in that reason we tryed to warm them by flaps in the short moments when stopped.

After the sunrise we climbed the rocks. Not very hard technical climbing, but accomplished at an high altitude. We put there 200 m of fixed ropes. When the ropes were finished, we climbed the steep rocks and snow free. It was like a flyght to the aim. Difficult flyght, but we was working together - Maxut, Vassiliy,
Sergey and me. And at the 3.10 p.m. - after 14 hours of men's work we stayed together on the summit of Kangchengunga - the 3-rd mount in the World. It was on 8586 m.

The descent was quick. At 7.00 p.m. everybody reached Camp 4. There stayed 3 of our friends, and so there were not enough space for spending night. It was the
reason for Vassiliy and me to descent to Camp 3, and we reaced it at 9.30 p.m. It was a finish of very long day on the high altitude.

Next day our second group succesfully reached the summit.

21 May we left the bottom of our dream Mount, and began our back trekking. We needed to go home, Kangchenjunga, we liked to be people between the same people, but... But now we know something, that nobody can understand, something very important... And this is the present for us from you, Kangchenjunga. We hope to the Future...

30 May, 2002