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HADT - DIARY UPDATE FOR: DAY 19 - SATURDAY 10 APRIL 2004 |
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| Camp: Baruntse Moraine Base Camp (5650m) Major Occurrences: Nil A slow start was planned for today as our next campsite, located at the edge of the glacier below the West Col, was only several hours walk up a huge moraine. The remoteness of our campsite was clearly apparent as we awoke to find ourselves enclosed on three sides by the towering walls and hanging glaciers of Baruntse and neighbouring peaks. No move was planned before a late morning brunch and full advantage was taken of the morning sun to wash clothes - the girls even managed a discrete shower! The afternoon's walk was short and sharp on an exposed moraine ridgeline accompanied by a bitterly cold wind, despite the powerful sunshine. All to soon tents were pitched, solar panel and wind generator established, which should ease our battery problems in the next 48 hours. The sun continued to blaze all day; hopefully a change to the normal cloudy afternoon weather pattern. The complexities of Baruntse's SE Ridge are now becoming apparent; a serac wall to be overcome or bypassed, a large crevasse on the ridge and what looks like significant exposed knife-edged sections. But before we can begin climbing the mountain we will need to overcome our next objective, the West Col - a 200 metre snow gulley. All our equipment must be transported up here to establish Camp One on the Lower Barun Glacier. |
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