DISPATCHES

Mazur

Keller

Otto

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We struggled up here today with heavy packs in very deep snow, and the weather was good in the morning then turned to fog and a blizzard by 1pm. We camped, much to Walter's chagrin; he wanted to continue up the face in a whiteout and bivy in some rocks. But, we put up the tent, crawled in and slept mercifully for three hours, then woke up to brew. Our plan is to go for the top during the night.

There is a small moon and the clouds seem to have abated. If we go all night, then we might avoid the problem of where the hell to camp out on the face. There are, of course, a series of nettlesome problems which we can't get away from. What if it avalanches? What if our feet get cold in the night? What if we are tired and can't find a place to camp? What if the weather turns bad? Anything can happen, and it feels scary.

But, our fuel is almost out, the weather seems to be better this evening, and we can't wait here. It seems certain that the weather is going to be bad again tomorrow because the morning fog rises and becomes clouds and turns to blizzard by midday. That does surely seem to be a daily phenomenon.

In any case, we would not have enough fuel to heat water and cook the food that we would need while we rested. So, it looks like we must go for the summit this evening with the mixed feelings that always attend such endeavors.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at Mountain Zone and Quokka, for all of your fantastic help. Also, thanks and commendations are due to all of our family members, loved ones, colleagues, friends, and associates, who have been supportive and attentive throughout this sometimes frustrating process. Please be well.

Thank you very much, cheers for now, yours sincerely, Daniel Mazur.

Walter Keller
Hopefully, we'll be going for the summit this evening. We only climbed for two hours before the conditions degraded. It was really windy and snowy and you could see the face ahead of us, but the visibility was on and off. Initially, I wanted to keep going and set up camp in some rocks on the face, but Dan and Jon both preferred to stop and set up the tent, hoping the weather would clear a bit.

Fortunately, the visibility improved though some wind exists. The moon should be approaching full, so if all goes well, we'll be climbing hopefully to the summit into tomorrow. I am looking forward to our prospects and the ever-enjoyable experience of climbing at night with close to a full moon.

Of course, it will be bitter cold on this night, and the coldness could curtail our goals, but mountaineering is often all about the unknown challenges which we're presented with. The true enjoyment is often these experiences that take place in these unknown places, so I really look forward to the next 24 hours.

Jon Otto
Well, here we are at around 6800 meters at what is presently our high camp, just 100 meters or so above our last Camp IV. I think there is a good chance, though, that we will be spending another night or two on the East Face, depending on the snow conditions.

These last two days we have been plotting up the ridge; the snow is so deep—often sinking up to one's knees and then using one's hand to lift one's leg for the next step. This, the altitude, and weighty packs make for very slow progress, but we are having steady progress, and we still have four days of food and only 750 vertical meters or so. But, our fuel is running a little low. We only heat the water up to lukewarm and then make drinks or dinner (instant meals, mostly potatoes).

Today, July 13th, we only went for two-and-a-half hours before setting up camp. We are at the base of the East Face, the last bit to tackle before the summit. As we arrived at the base, the wind started to pick up and we had whiteout conditions. The conditions were horrendous. Now, a few hours later, in good Mustagh Ata style, it has cleared up and the wind has pretty much stopped.

The weather here never stops changing. The only predictable factor is that in the afternoon, it usually gets a little overcast. So, if it stays clear, we will take off sometime this evening and climb through the night till the morning. I just hope I don't freeze off my toes. It gets mighty cold up here at 7000 meters, sometimes down to -40 degrees.

I must say that this last bit of the climb makes me nervous. It is at the perfect angle to avalanche and it clearly has done so in the past. I would like climb it as expediently as possible, but this will all depend on the snow conditions. On the very top of the face is a 40-foot, 80-degree wall we may have to surmount before reaching the summit. This will sure be a challenge. Till next time, good-bye, Jon Otto.

— Dan Mazur, Walter Keller and Jon Otto, MountainZone.com Correspondents

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