As we retired to our tents last night the snow had stopped but the surrounding area was illuminated by almost continuous bright bolts of lightning. Slowly the storm passed and the remainder of the night was only punctuated by the noise of 2 significant avalanches.

Due to the evening snowfall we had planned a late load carry, hoping that the early sun would burn off some of the snow from the rocks. However, at 0730 a radio call from our team at ABC did not bring good news. One of the avalanches that we had heard during the night had been serac fall from the front of the icefall, the debris reaching very close to our intended route. They were naturally reluctant to start climbing the route without further assessment of the conditions. From Base Camp we could see the avalanche debris at the foot of the icefall and we spent some time discussing the options open to us. As leader of the expedition I decided to check the route for myself and met up with the advance team mid-morning. We surveyed the route to the bottom of the icefall, concluding that a reasonably safe route still existed. However, the safest route up the icefall still appeared extremely exposed to serac fall. Given the number of load carries that will be needed to support our higher camps and the fact that warmer weather will increase the likelihood of serac fall - such a route was looking difficult to justify.

A decision to abandon climbing the icefall leaves us with only one option - that of climbing the ridge over Peak 3 and reaching the col at 6500m. It is to this challenge that we now turn our attention. Having dismantled our Advance Camp close to the icefall we will establish a Camp 1 at 5700m on the ridge tomorrow. Over the next few days we will fix rope where necessary along the ridge, hoping to establish Camp 2 at the col within 7 days. It is frustrating to have to change plan but the ridge may provide an equally challenging but potentially safer option. The route over Peak 3 was used by Doug Scott on his attempt at the South East Ridge of Makalu in 1986.

As I close, the final loads from our Advance Camp at the icefall are arriving back at Base Camp. The temperature has dropped considerably and sleet is beginning to fall. Our cookboys are busy serving hot drinks to the team members as they arrive back. Today has been a disappointing set back but team morale remains high and we remain focussed on the job in hand.

Colin Scott
Expedition Leader