Jannu: for the first time in a history of mountaineering, the hanging portaledge was hauled and settled on the wall at 7400 m
The latest news (translation by www.mountain.ru):
17.05
Nikolay Totmyanin reports:
Pershin as the leader and I once again worked our way through the wall. For three days we made two and more pitches, and one of the days we spent getting over a cornice. Somewhere on a sea level he would overcome such steep wall for a pair of hours. Last working day I hauled the portaledge at 7400m.
Now Eketerinburg climbers work above it, and having descended yesterday we are staying in the base camp now. The snow on the plateau has become such limp, that we fall through up to the waist even in snowshoes! There is winter above, but lower than 6000 m spring came into its own. I do not complain of my health. Descending from 5100 m on the last pitch I got a little bit scratched my face and my favorite glasses broken by a rolling stone, but today in the morning I had a shave for the first time. It seems the mountain does not want to let bearded person to come nearer to it. Finally speed of movement was stabilized on one pitch a day. Not densely, but it is not bad.
On the "roof", because any high mountain has own roof, the speed should increase! I hope that in the nearest 7 days we shall get up on it. Let's not guess our fortune. We miss home very much, but we have to finish the epopee. We have spent forces and means a lot. The team is powerful, another time we would not collect such team. We thought that we were engaged in mountaineering earlier. It appeared baby-talk in comparison with climbing on Jannu.
P.S. Today in the afternoon the advanced three-man team had to stop work on the route and descend in the tent at 7000 m because of impulses of a gale-force wind. In the photo you can see a route-line with already fixed ropes.
15.05
Nikolay Totmyanin reports from the base camp:
Yesterday, on May, 14, for the first time in a history of mountaineering, the hanging portaledge was hauled and settled on the wall at 7400 m. The advanced group every day leaves in "free space" and wins a meter after meter from the vertical wall. We recovered from the psychological shock from the first acquaintance to the wall. It is not a rarity any more to make only a pitch a day. And we show real aerobatics free climbing three - four meters. We can see 2-3 very complex pitches ahead: 80-degrees plates 1-2-meter cornices and at last a vertical 20-meter chimney with destroyed, opening outside walls deep cut in a six-meter cornice.
Each working hour on the mountain is overcoming impossible. We can not see what there is above and it means there should be more gently sloping. The psychological pressure is increasing. We cannot demand from each other to put on speed, as we do not know even our own maximum opportunities, at first. Second, we should be cautious, now we have no right on a mistake. I ask all gods and saints to protect us from wrong actions. Today the three-man ream Bolotov - Borisov - Kirievsky works ahead. They have made one more pitch. For the present the weather is in favour of us.
14.05
Hi, friends. The group Mikhailov-Ruchkin-Pavlenko continues to restore forces in the base camp, due to ours kindhearted doctor Michael Bakin. He treats everyone and in every way possible. As all of us, having swallowed cold, cough like steam locomotives, our throats-noses are exposed to smoking of hookahs, rinsing and greasing of throats and everyone is going to be completely recovered. Those who are especially cripple the doctor makes massage, and humpbacked become harmonous, and lame start to go, and the life is adjusted.
Work on a wall takes its normal course, the group Pershin - Totmyanin made some pitches and having reached the black strip crossing all the wall, they ascended on 15 meters higher it. We came nearer even closer to cherished purpose.
Today Bolotov's group ascending already the third day for work on the wall, left the high-altitude camp at 7000m on the portaledge which Nick Totmyanin hauled on a new place, at about 7400m. Now it is closer and more convenient to work on a wall above 7400m. Moving took placesafely, the guys in full complement: Bolotov - Borisov-Kirievsky, reached 7400m, set the portaledge, hauled all needed things for their life there, i.e. all biwy with life-support for 4 days for the further fixing a complex site of the wall. Totmyanin and Pershin descended in the camp at 5600m.
Tomorrow Bolotov's group will fixed above 7400m, and the group led by Totmyanin descend to have a rest to the base camp.That's all our news about what happened on May, 14.
You will hear from us soon. Our greetings to everybody who waits for us and believes in us.
Ruchkin
17.05.2004
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