Our friend and mountain guide fellow Peter Ressmann died in a tragically climbing accident on Friday 28th of May in Unken (Salzburg/Austria).
We lament for a good friend, and we also lose an excellent alpinist and mountain guide.
We feel with Peters family and his significant other.

In the name of the Alpinist team
Stephan and Anita

Team:  Stephan Keck and Paul Gürtler
BC Crew:  BC Manager and cook Purna Tamang
goal:  Dhaulagiri normal path 2 man Team without Sherpa support; no oxygen; ski run down

Last diary entries – written on May 19th in Kathmandu, Hotel Shangri La
In the last days we were hiking down from the base camp, following to this we had a wild car drive and finally a quiet flight from Pokhara to Kathmandu. We also found out what happened to the Chinese team. But read for yourself, step by step:

14.05 – Dhaulagiri base camp
When we packed our camp yesterday, we heard that the Chinese team – with Sherpas – has reached the peak during the storm. In the morning we heard from other Sherpas that there were serious problems at the mountain. They used the radio unit to get connections and what they found out was that one climber of the Chinese team died. Three more Chinese climbers have got bad frostbites, also one of their Sherpas. The rescue work with the help of seven more Sherpas is still in progress. The team should be somewhere between camp 3 and camp 2. Five more climbers which are stayng at camp 1 because of the bad weather are also helping at the rescue mission. So it seems that the climbers up there know what they are doing and we are not needed and ready to start our journey home. We guess that the oxygen of the not well acclimatized Chinese team got empty already at their way up. There was no possibility for us to help the rescue team because the base camp is 2 – 3 days away of the place of accident. We start our way down in the storm and snowfall and we can make it all the way down to the jungle.

15.5.
We make three day stages in one day. A wild way leads through a wild area. We see the helicopter flying to the base camp which means that there is a problem up there.

16.5.
This day is probably the most exhausting part of the way down. In the heat of the – for us unusual – sun we reach de first village with a street which leads to a busy area. We have a telephone connection here too. We saw 2 helicopters flying towards the base camp this morning. We get the horrible information that 3 of our Chinese fellows have died at the mountain. They reached the peak very late at the 13th of May and had to bivouac without a tent. Beside the three deceased climbers all of the others have got bad frostbites. They ran out of oxygen. The Sherpas has brought down the rest of the team. The last of them were flown out by a Swiss helicopter from camp 1 (Report kobler).

17.5 and 18.5
Drive to Pokhara – flight to Kathmandu

19.5. – Kathmandu
We are still shocked. We have often been together with the Chinese team and have analyzed the situation. The weather forecast for the peak walk was not good, but also not bad. There was a statement that the jetstream will blow pass the mountain on May 12th. A weather forecast is never sure, so a start of a peak walk was arguable. Unfortunately the weather changed and the peak walk was getting dangerous. We were hiking up together with the Chinese team on 10th and 11th of May. We felt the bad weather at camp 2 in the night of the 11th of May. While our decision was to hike back down, the Chinese team decided to keep going up with oxygen. The Chinese team was very experienced with conditions like these. They reached the peak of the Manaslu a half year ago. That’s maybe why they took the risk and saw good chances. Unfortunately this ascent ended in a drama. We are glad about our decision after the fight against the storm. We knew that the chance of reaching the peak was over at this point. But coming home safely is much more important. We are grieving for our fellows who were always hospitable, interested and accurate to us.
We will fly home in the next days. What we take with us from this expedition is mainly the warning of the mountain because of the drama with the Chinese team. A defensive decision is sometimes the reason to fail to reach the peak, but no mountain of the world is worth to risk our health.

Side note: In the last days – during a cleaning action – at the Mt. Everest a Russian climber was found (our friend Gianni Goltz, who had an accident in 2008). Tomorrow he will be buried in Kathmandu.

We thank our families and all our friends which were with us the whole time.
Many thanks to our sponsors and to Derk from the Netzathleten for the awesome commentator ship.

Kathmandu, 19th of May
Paul and Stephan

10.05
We crawl out of our sleeping bags at 4 o clock am. A perfect CIRCUHEALTH breakfast from Purna and Chandra is waiting for us. At 5 o clock we start to camp 1 for the last time. We see a pretty good chance to reach the peak after taking a look at the weather forecast. Like always we try to get pass the dangerous areas (under the “Eiger” and the glacier valley) as fast as possible. We reach camp 1 at 9 o clock. The weather is awesome and we use the day for relaxing, eating and drinking. The best thing to drink is again the cocoa drink of CIRKUHEALTH. It starts to snow a little in the afternoon and also the night is very smooth.

11.05
Fit and ready for the day we get up at 6 o clock am. We pack our stuff after a great breakfast. The weather is great today, blue sky and no wind. We are good in time and a Chinese group is walking with us. Every single group member has a Sherpa as an escort. From camp 2 all of them walk with oxygen, which is pretty good for us because they help us making tracks. One hour before we reach camp 2 it starts to snow and the wind gets stronger. After 4 hours o walk we are finally at camp 2. The wind is getting stronger. Our tent is covered on snow, we can hardly find it. Also the tents of the Swiss team are almost covered, you can just see the top of the tent. From this time on it does not look to good for us. All the gear I need for the peak walk is lost in the tent. We decide to free one of the tents of Kobler from the snow to at least have a tent for the night. Paul starts to dig out the tent while I am looking for our tent. Now it is storming on a height of 6650m. After 3 hours of work Paul has digged out the tent of Kobler. And I finally found our tent. Our BLACK DIAMOND tent lies under 2m of wind presses snow, but it is still in shape. No pole is broken and also the shell is still complete. We are lucky to find it. Because now all our needed stuff like food, clothes and tents for camp 3 are in a safe place. At 4 o clock pm we go into our tent tired but satisfied. Now the work of melting snow and cooking meals starts. It is getting dark soon. Unfortunately the wind does not get less and it starts to snow again. But we still have hope to get to the top. The Chinese team has created their camp 2 on a 50m higher area. Pauls cooking is very good and also all the bins are filled up. The wind is getting stronger and stronger and we are going to be covered in snow. This means we have to go out regularly to free the tent of snow. Every 15 to 45 min we have to go out alternately and start to dig. We have not expected that. You could see the starts clearly at midnight, but the wind is still very strong. For a short time Paul and I were sleeping at the same time. But luckily Paul waked up because he needed a “toilet”. In this short while the tent got covered with 50cm of snow. The air opening at the entrance was totally covered with snow. This was very comfortable because we could not hear the storm any more, but a half our longer and maybe we would not have waked up again. From that dangerous moment on we both stayed awake and waited for the morning with alternately digging.

12.05
The storm got a little bit weaker in the morning. Paul spent the night with shivering and I had to throw up once while I was digging. Despite the cloudless sky and sunshine we had to admit that with the strong wind and without oxygen it would not be very smart to go on. We had our chance but the wind is too strong now. After a short debate we decided to go down. Another hike up under these conditions and after such a night would be not just risky, it would rather be a suicidal action. We pack our whole stuff and make our way down to camp 1 while the wind is still getting stronger. We leave the mountain with a heavy heart. At camp 1 we pack the rest of our stuff onto our backpacks and we are heading to the base camp now with 30kg of weight on our backs each. At the same time the Chinese team is heading to camp 3 with oxygen. By midday we are at the base camp. We are very glad to reach the base camp and we need the whole afternoon to get recovered from the horrible night. At night we found out that the Chinese team has reached camp 3 and that they have lost 2 tents in the storm. A situation like this would not have brought us a happy end up there. Still tired we get in our sleeping bags right after dinner.

13.05
The day today starts with sunshine and looks like there is not much wind at least at the base camp. We begin to strike the tents at the base camp at pack our bags. The next good weather period should come on May 21st. This is too late for us, which means our time is over. There is storm again on the mountain. We heard that some of the Chinese have reached the peak with their Sherpas. We hope that all of them get back down safely. For us this would not have been possible without oxygen and these conditions. However the mountain will stand there a little longer. For us it was a great experience, and if we look at the circumstances we are just glad to be able to start the trip home healthy. Maybe our carriers will come tomorrow already, which means we can reach Pokara in three days and if everything works out good we are home at Whitsuntide. The last report about the hike down and the trip home will be made when I am back at home. We thank all our friends which have been which us mentally on our journey and we are looking forward to getting home.

Greetings from the Dhaulagiri base camp

Stephan and Paul

Team:  Stephan Keck and Paul Gürtler
BC Crew:  BC Manager and cook Purna Tamang
goal:  Dhaulagiri normal path 2 man Team without Sherpa support; no oxygen; ski run down

06.05
We get up very early and we are heading to camp 1. Paul and me are making the tracks on our own until we reach the glacier valley. Then the team of Kobler came to overtake the lead. The snow is very unsteady and the snow reaches up to our knees. After 5 and a half hours we are finally at camp 1. We use the rest of the day to melt snow for making the awesome CIRKUHEALTH cocoa drink. The night is silent.

07.05
We are waking up very early again and we are continuing with melting snow. Drinking is the most important thing up here. After a while we are watching what our friends are doing. Looks like they are not in a hurry, because they are still far away from camp 1. We have no chance to make the tracks to camp 2 on our own and the rest of the guys at camp 1 will go nowhere without Sherpas. So we decide to hike back down to the base camp and wait for a chance to head to the peak. It takes us about an hour to get to the BC. We use the rest of the day to find out when and who is going to the peak.

08.05
We are hanging around at the BC for the whole day. We are informing us about the weather forecast, having conversations with other teams, reading our books and having a great meal from Purna and Chandra.

09.05
Another day of rest in the BC. After checking the weather forecast we decided to start our peak walk on May 13th. We just know that there is snow again on the 14th, so we should start before. The Chinese team – including Mingma (a Nepalese climber which was on 10 8000m mountains already) also goes with us to camp 3 and to the peak. This all means that the safety is much higher in case of any problems. We will see!!! The Swiss team will start in 4 – 5 days.

This means that – May 10th – we will start very early again to get to camp 1 tomorrow. From there we will make one last phone call with Karl Gabel about the weather. At the 11th we will be at camp 2. We heard that our tent is covered with snow, and maybe broken. So lots of work to do at camp 2. If the weather is okay, we will put up camp 3 somewhere between 7200m and 7500m. We will have a short night there. If everything works out as planned, we will start to the peak at May 13th at 1 o clock am.
You will hear from us when we are back. Wish us luck. We will give our best to reach the peak and mainly return safely and without frostbites back at the BC and at home.

In the meantime
Greetings

Stephan and Paul

Team:  Stephan Keck and Paul Gürtler
BC Crew:  BC Manager and cook Purna Tamang
goal:  Dhaulagiri normal path 2 man Team without Sherpa support; no oxygen; ski run down

can`t wait to get to the top

Hello from the  Dhaulagiri base camp – 05.05.2010

30.04
Doing nothing except of keeping me fit with the CIRKUHEALTH cocoa drink, sleeping and reading. This is what a day of rest at the base camp looks like.

01.05
We feel recovered and our view goes to the peak now. The weather does not look too good, and after a telephone call with Karl Gabel we decided to wait for another 2-3 days. There is daily snowfall at this time. This means that there is sunshine for 2-3 hours in the morning and then it starts to snow. There is already 40cm of fresh powder at the mountain. It is not too cold, but very changeable.

02.05

Today we use the day to have fun in the sun. We grab our unbelievable SKYVER to cruise around in the snow. Also our Nepalese friends like are having fun with the SKYVER. We are a bit worried about the electricity. We do not have power at the moment. It is impossible to start our way to the peak right now, because of the daily snow fall. We have to adjust our plans to the other teams because it is impossible to make the track to the peak in a group of two.

03.05
After another phone call with the weather man Karl Gabel we found out that – because of less wind – it would be perfect for the peak action right now. But the only problem is still the daily fresh snow. This means that the weather is still very unstable. All the other teams still haven’t had a night at camp 2, which means that they are not ready for the peak walk – except of a few.  Paul and I still have the problem that it is almost impossible to make the track to camp 3 on our own. After a conversation with the Swiss and Chinese team, it looks like that every team wants to climb the peak at the 12th or 13th of May. We decide to climb to camp 2 once more to keep our acclimatization standing and get the rest of the needed gear up there. We wait for another day, and then we will climb together with the Sherpas of the Swiss team from the base camp to camp 2. With one more night at camp 2 we are ready for the peak.

Swiss and Chinese climbers are flown away

04.05
Waiting, waiting, waiting …….. and drinking CIRKUHEALTH fruit drinks to be prepared for the peak.

05.05
Another day of rest – it is snowing and we are sitting in our tents uploading our pictures and keeping contact with you. Our backpacks are ready for tomorrow and we are glad that we can climb up again. We will start very early tomorrow and we hope that we can manage to make the 2000m of height – together with the Sherpas of the Swiss team – in ten hours. We will be back at the BC on 7th of may. 

Greetings from the base camp
Paul and Stephan

Team:  Stephan Keck and Paul Gürtler
BC Crew:  BC Manager and cook Purna Tamang
goal:  Dhaulagiri normal path 2 man Team without Sherpa support; no oxygen; ski run down

25.04.
Paul wakes us at 03:15 am, good, otherwise we would have overslept. The breakfast consists of hot potatoes and Nutella bread. We are ready to go at 4 o clock am. On the way to camp 1, we have food for more than six days with us, clothes and the rest of the needed gear. At the entrance to the Eiger we meet four Sherpas of the Swiss team. I am glad we start before them because I do not have a helmet and the ground is very loose. We passed the first steep part at sunrise. We go together with the Swiss team for the rest of the trail. Shortly before camp 1 we had to change the way because a big loosened serac zone has covered the tracks with a 5 – 7m thick ice layer. After 5 hours we arrive at camp 1. We use the rest of the day to relax, eat and water cooking. Tomorrow is also planned to be a day of rest at camp 1 at a height of 5800m.

26.04.
Day of rest at camp 1, relaxing…………

27.04.
We get up at 4 o clock am. After breakfast we start our trail. It is 6 o clock am. We carry 2 tents, gas, food and fixation material with us. It is very windy at the beginning and to the end it is storming. The sun is shining and it stormy and ice cold. Without a second VAUDE jacket from Paul I would have to go back because of the coldness. But after six hours we reached camp 2. We are lucky to take over an Iranian camp ground. The team was at the peak yesterday. After waiting for one hour – the Iranian team was ready to walk down now – we could put up our BLACK DIAMOND single wall tent. Right after that we start our trial back to camp 1. Being very tired we go to bed into our tents.

28.04.
This time we start at 8 o clock am to camp 2. The weather is good and there is no wind. We do not have to make the tracks because a little group of the Swiss team is walking in front of us. It is very hot and the way to camp 2 seems to be endless. One hour faster than last time (5 hours) we arrive at camp 2. We move into our mini tent and Paul starts to melt snow. What we see first in the morning is that we have to tighten the apse, to get a better windless cooking area. We have a very tight, but also good night at 6650m.

29.04.
We are ready to go at 7 o clock am. Today we go back to the base camp. I am glad about that. It is planned to have a day of rest. While we are melting snow the sun is rising. The great view is the compensation of an uncomfortable night. It is a very beautiful day, the sun is shining and there is almost no wind. We are ready to start after fixing our stuff to be storm resistant. We start our way down to camp 1 in 15cm fresh snow. After a short rest in camp 1 we continue our way to the base camp. We reach the base camp in 2 and a half hours. After the up and down in the glacier we finally reach the base camp where Purna and Sandra are cooking for us. It looks like we are ready for the peak now. We will use the next few days for recovery and relaxing and waiting for a good weather forecast for our peak ascent. You will hear from us before the next start.

from the BC, 29.04.
Paul and Stephan
 

20.04.
My headache is gone after a painful night. I am crawling out of my tent totally tired and powerless. Paul managed that we try to go down to the French Col, which is 300 – 400m lower, where the Dhaulagiri base camp is. The only problem to get to the BC at 5360m is that we have to cross a big snow field. Because I am not able to have breakfast I am the first one who starts the trail with my camera. I know that this is the only solution: I have to cross the pass to get to the lower base camp to get some recovery. Paul takes my backpack what makes it much easier for me. We walk next to a river where the landscape looks pretty much like the Tibetan high plateau. The river water is frozen and there is a mixture of cold wind and snow in the air. At about 9 o clock am we come to the point where we need to cross the snow. The last 200m of difference in altitude we have to walk in the snowfield. We are lucky that the snow is compact enough to carry our weight. We reach the French Col at 11:30 am. From there on it goes just downhill. The view of the pass is awesome. You can see directly to the Dhaulagiri. The mountain seems to be very massive and dangerous. Big hanging glaciers are waiting for us all the way to camp 1. The so called “Eiger” seems very daunting from the front. We should calculate with possible falling rocks and ice. We decide to go early every day to minimize the risk with the help of the coldness at night. The trail to camp 1 and to the peak is also dangerous because of avalanches. What a nice and warm welcome. But at the beginning it seems always harder than it is in the end. After a short break at the pass we start our way down. I am still like a leaking bottle but I can carry my backpack now on my own. We have to find out that “just” walking down can also be exhausting. It is very hot all the way through the stone desert. After a few breaks we finally reach the valley ground where we build up our base camp on the glacier tongue. We think we are almost there, but still we are walking up and down for another 45min at the Todd glacier until we see the tents of the other group. Arrival time at the base camp is 2:30 pm. This is the first time that the tea stays inside of me. It seems that the antibiotics are helping now. We could use one of the Swiss team’s tents for the first night because they were here with the same Nepalese agency as we are. Purna, Zering and Sandra are building up a kitchen and food tent. We are lying in our sleeping bags already before dinner. We come out to eat shortly and afterward we are enjoy a recreative night.

21.04.
After our first breakfast at the base camp we have to do some work. Thanks to the medicine I feel very good today. We create two areas for our tents where we are going to live for the next weeks. During the morning the rest of the Swiss team is arriving. The rest of the day is filled with relaxing and eating – yes, I can eat again. The weather is normally good in the morning but turns a little cloudy and windy in the afternoon, or sometimes even snowy.

22.04.
We continue with our BC build up after a sunny breakfast. One more platform stands in the ice where we first had to transport lots of stones and sand to create a flat ground. This is going to be our information and communication tent. The rest of the day is needed to set up the solar plant, telephone and internet. We even made it to send the first short message and a few pictures home. Continuing to this we pack our backpacks, so we can start the first time to camp 1 (5700m) tomorrow. This is what we take with us at the first climb to camp 1: 3 high camp tents, 2 duvet sleeping bags, 2 camping mats, 1 duffel bag, 2 gas cartridges, 2 snow anchors, cooking dishes, tea, lighter, 30m rope, 20m cord, 2 first aid kits, 1 emergency medicine, 2 peeing bottles, various ice screws and belays…….. . For dinner Purna and Sandra surprised us with “Speckknödel”. We have a short night.

23.04.
Punctually at 3:30 am Purna wakes us up. After a little breakfast (Chapati for Paul and hot potatoes for me) we start to the foot of the Eiger. The trail is surprisingly easy to find and soon we are on very steep (40°) ground. It is still dark but we are good in time. Soon we have passed the first 150 m of altitude and we reach a little cliff grot. Paul leaves his helmet behind at this point. We go on on a bit more easier way to the Eiger glacier. There is one more steep part before we reach a huge flat glacier valley. The sun is out now and we are at almost 5000m. We get along real good and soon we have let the long glacier valley and the impressive hanging glaciers behind us. During a short break we recognize how fast everything can change up here. Behind us a little part of the hanging glacier is falling down. First we can see a little snow cloud which soon becomes a big avalanche. With huge speed the avalanche rushes down the mountain. I am taking pictures. Paul says it will powder us too, but it did not. It rushed over our track where we have been just 15min ago. When everything is over we can see that our tracks are still there. So we saw that it was more the noise which feared us than the snow rushing down the hill. On one hand we are relieved and on the other hand we feel confirmed (early start). We go on to camp 1. There is one more steep part between hanging glaciers before we get to flat area and also into the sun. We make a rest to drink before we keep on going up. Now the danger of falling ice should be behind us. A moderately steep glacier with crevasses follows on the way to camp 1. After 6 hours and a half we are finally at the camp. At the same time two Sherpas of the Chinese team arrived too. We share our water with them and start building up our tents. We put our gear into the tent and start our way back down during snowfall. We use the rope to get safe through the crevasses. Back at the spot where the avalanche came down we have to find out that it was not just powder dust. A few smaller ice rocks rolled all the way to where our tracks are and could be reason for injuries. After 1,5 hours we are back at the BC. Summary of the day: Very long exhausting way to camp 1; former start needed; Good music and meal from Sandra make a perfect end of the day. Purna needs some medicine because he has a bad back and fever at times. We told him to stay in bed, what he probably will not do.

24.04.
Today we celebrate the Puja ceremony together with the Kobler group. Prying flags are put all over the camp and the gear is getting consecrated. I use the rest of the day to write the diary and prepare the gear for the next five days. This means the plan for tomorrow is to get up to camp 1 again to stay there for two nights. After that we want to get up to camp 2 and spend two more nights there at 6600m. At day five we come back down to the base camp. I think the next message will come to you on 29th of April.

Greetings from the BC, 24.04.2010
Paul and Stephan
 

Team:  Stephan Keck and Paul Gürtler
BC Crew:  BC Manager and cook Purna Tamang
Goal:  Dhaulagiri normal path 2 man Team without Sherpa support; no oxygen; ski run down

Diary entries from 12.04.2010 – 18.04.2010

12.04.
Start at 6:30 pm – Drive to Munich. After we have packed our bags, Anita, Sina and Silas brought us to the airport. It all went well like usual, except the Turbo at the car did not work. Anyway we arrieved at the airport in time, even there was time for a short interview with the NETZATHLETEN. After that we yet met some fellows from Germany and Switzerland, who were on the way to Cho Oyu. The flight to Abu Dhabi was without any difficulty.

13.04.
After a few hours of detention in Abu Dhabi we left the airport in time, but at the approach in Kathmandu we got into a heavy storm and had to do circles for two hours. We have never seen so many thunderbolts from such a close distance. There was no problem with the toll and so we have got our gear instantly and were ready to go, while there was a complete power breakdown at the airport. Except the fact that it was pitch black, the airport staff just catches an eye at the bicycle without seat and foot pedals we have with us. This is our SKYVER, with it we want to roll down a few downhill tracks. This time we stay in the middle of Thamel, and therefore it is easy to find an open restaurant. It is very warm here and we go to bed really tired.

14.04.
After a comfortable breakfast we go back to Thamel to get our last needed gear. Peeing bottles, extra packing bags, praying flags, greeting cards…….. We are writing the cards right after, in a little café. At 1:30 pm we head to the airport and continue our journey to Pokhara. Despite of the dust, which unfortunately is in every city here, Pokhara is very nice. We take a walk around the lake and enjoy the warmness, which is about +35°C. At the moment everything is running fine and cozy. After dinner we take the opportunity of the internet to skype a little and then we go into our rooms. It is very hot and also noisy – cars, motorbikes, disco sound….. I`ll take a cold shower and go to bed. Tomorrow our journey goes to Jomson to finally start our walk by feet to the Dhaulagiri.

15.04.
The night was very sticky and the alarm rang at 5 o clock am. After a short breakfast we packed our stuff into two taxis and headed to the airport. Jogendra from the Nepalese agency had our tickets already and we got a new companion – Zering. He is the cameraman of the Swiss team. At the airport the Skyver causes a sensation again which was very advantageous because of our over weighted luggage. The flight from Pokara to Jomson did only last for 45min and we are finally at the starting point. Jomson has recently been made available by street and is a very dusty town. Purna is waiting for us at the airport. Our luggage is being put on a truck and we start our walk to Marpha – Paul and Zering are walking, I am rolling. Halfway down I overtake a mother with her daughter. The girl is so excited and was driving down with me the rest of the trail. When we arrived in Marpha we got lunch and afterwards we had lots of time to look around the little village. The new road was not very good for the village, because all tourists which came from Mustang or the Ansporn round get in the bus in Jomson and skip the rest of the passage. Hence we have been brought to almost every shop in town and of course bought something: Xi-stones, praying flags, ….. In the afternoon the luggage is being split up to our carriers and then we are finally ready for our egress. The night here in Marha is not as comfortable as in Pokara, but the climate is much more likable.

16.04.
We leave Marpha heading to Dhaulagiri BC right after the breakfast. Soon we let civilization behind and make a lot of height. The surrounding is except of a good forest stand pretty scant and desertlike. Also temperatures are very high. Some Lizards are crossing our way while we are walking. At a height of 3600m we find a place to have lunch. We meet a single Russian climber with his Nepalese team.  Our altimeter says that it is not far to the campground anymore. Jak Karkha is an alp on 400m as per our map. Our team wants to go further because it is easier to get water up there. So we continue, against all rules of acclimatization, up to a height of 4200m. It is already a little cold and we wait until all our carriers are here. The tents are put up fast and after a good dinner we crawl into our sleeping bags.

17.04.
Today is our day of rest. The night was very good despite of the height. I was lying in the sun the whole morning, while Paul did a little acclimatization round. After lunch we did it the other way around.

18.04.
Early we start to the Dhampus pass (5258m). Look like we are the only tourists walking this path. After two hour we could see the Dhaulagiri the first time. Clouds are making the view worse during the day. At about 2 o clock pm we reach the Dhampus pass base camp at 5000m and we are very glad to get to our goal of the day. But this is just what we thought. Purna suggests to keep on walking for 3 hours to build up our camp near the French Col. This way we would reach the Dhaulagiri base camp tomorrow, and we could sleep 200m lower. This sounds good and we pack our stuff to keep on going. One hour later we are at the Dhampus pass at 5258m. It was very warm and except of the pass there was no snow at all. But on the North Western side of the pass, in direction Hidden Valley, there is very much non supporting snow. But we can see from the top that there is a possibility to get on dry ground to get down from there. This is what we try. We are making tracks down for about 300m hip deep in the wet snow. This takes us about two hours. At the bottom we are waiting for our team. Slowly the sun sets and it is going to be very cold. Still we are at a height of about 5100m. Our carriers also need much time to follow: Not really remarkable with 30kg on the back and bad equipment. Short before sunset they are finally here. Paul goes towards them to help them carrying all the gear. In the meantime I walk down to find the path. It is getting dark already. I was waiting for Paul and the team at a little river which we have to cross before we are finally back on dry earth. While crossing the last snowfield, we are sinking in again to our hips in the wet snow. On the way down we could see parts of the airplane which has crashed here 50 years ago when the Dhaulagiri was first ascent. In the dark we reach our camping ground in the Hidden Valley at 5050m. I am tired and went to bed without dinner, except of a few spoons of rice. Paul is still with Purna and the team in the cooking tent, but soon we are both in our sleeping bags.

Marpha – starting point to the base camp

We have built up the base camp and everybody is feeling great. Also electricity and communication systems are working. We had long stages to pass in the last few days, therefore we could not find much time to make a lot of record. It is still not possible so far. Tomorrow we will start to camp #1 at 5700m the first time to build up a tent to store our materials for camp #2 and camp #3. After that we have planned a day of rest to send the promised diary entries to you. Now it is already 5:30pm and I have to pack my rucksack for tomorrow.

greetings from the base camp
Stephan and Paul

on the way to Jak Karkha

first campground Jak Karkha 4200m

on the way to the Dampus pass – in the background: Dhaulagiri

Dampus pass 5200m

French  Col 5360m

base camp Dhaulagiri 4650m

14.04.2010 Marpha, 2670m Mustang area Nepal

After a few waiting loops above the airport of Kathmandu we landed in Nepal two days ago. Two more flights with smaller machines brought us to the startpoint of the trecking to the base camp. The downhill scooter from Mountainskyver was always a highlight at the security checks. But with the help of that fact we had a great distraction for our excess luggage. The first ride with the Moountainskyver was done by Stephan from Jomson to Marpha. Immediately some kids ran after Stephan riding the scooter. A little girl was allowed to go with Stephan and was so excited, while Paul had to walk down the trail. However you almost get lost in the dust of the trucks and busses. Tomorrow we start our walk to the base camp. Crossing the Dampus pass and the French Col  we will reach the base camp in five days. We won`t be able to communicate until we reach the base camp. As soon as we are online, we will send you more deatilled infos and of course some pictures.

In the meanwhile
Greets from Paul and Stephan