K2 Magic Line update: Valen left BC a few hours ago with two porters
Agu 18, 2004 15: 14 EST
Jordi Tosas just spoke with Jordi Corominas over satellite phone. Jordi Corominas said that Oscar and Manel have reached Camp 1. Jordi Tosas guess is that the climbers have been seen there, as BC is within sight of camp one.
Jordi also said that Valen left Base Camp a few hours ago, and brought 2 high altitude porters with him.
Valen went to meet Jordi on the Abruzzi ridge route earlier today, and helped him back to BC. Now the climber is heading back up the mountain, along with Balti high-altitude porters Gulam and Akhmed, to meet Manel and Oscar and help them back down.
Night has fallen and there is a snow storm.
The section Valen is attempting right now is a 1300 vertical meters snow and ice couloir, leading to the Negrotto col, where Camp 1 is located. The climbers worked hard for days fixing that part of the route, so at least Valen may count on the help of fixed ropes.
Jordi Corominas reached the summit of K2 through the Magic line at 0:00 (local time) on August 16th. He followed the trails of the Japanese Cesen team down the Abruzzi Camp 4, where the Japanese were waiting for him. After a short rest, he decided to climb back down alone through the Abruzzi Spur. He spent last night resting in C3 before arriving in BC today.
Oscar turned around on the summit push and returned to the bivouac camp on the Magic Line. Manel didn’t attempt the summit. The climbers have since descended slowly on the rope they fixed earlier from C3 and down.
There are also no news yet on the Japanese team on the Cesen route. They last planned to spend another night in one of their high camps.
Yesterday's weather report:
Summit: West 15-20 m/s. At times 25 m/s.
7500 m: West-southwest about 10 m/s. At times 15 m/s.
Moisty air in The K2-area. Also very unsettled weather the following days with frequent showers.
Messner attempted the Magic Line in 1979 with Michl Dacher. He abandoned the route after a while and climbed the Abruzzi Spur instead. It was then the fourth repetition of the Abruzzi. It is commonly said that after his climb, Reinhold described the Magic Line as suicidal, which he denied Friday.
The first Magic Line ascent was made by a Polish/Slovak team. The men were Wojtek Wroz (Poland), Przemyslaw Piasecki (Poland) and Peter Bozik (Slovakia). The climbers ascended in expedition style up to 7600 m. Wojtek Wroz fell from the fixed ropes during the descent by the Abruzzi spur. Peter Bozik later perished during an attempt to climb the Bonington route on the South West Face of Everest in 1998.
Oscar Cadiach, the head of the current "Tarragona Magic Line Expedition 2004" has done 5 expeditions to Everest, 2 of which reached the summit. Cadiach has also climbed Nanga Parbat, Shisha Pangma, Makalu and Lhotse. He opened the route 'Free Tibet' on Cho Oyu and did a new route on Broad Peak central.
Team members include Manel de la Matta who climbed Cho Oyu and Shisha Pangma. Jordi Tosas descended Cho Oyu on a snowboard. Jordi Corominas climbed Dhaulagiri alone. Ski touring expert Valentí ‘Valen’ Giró has accomplished expeditions to 7000+ peaks Duch SpantiK and Gurla Mandhata.
Image of one of the team-members climbing the lower sections of the Magic Line, Copyright K2 Magic Line 2004 Expedition.
|
|
Feature Stories |
|
Latest News |
more news |
 |
ExWeb Interview: Damian Benegas - Return to a Dangerous Land
Full Story
|
 |
ExWeb Interview: Manuel Gonzalez - Turning to the Gasherbrums to h
Full Story
|
 |
Menno Boermans: Frozen images from Broad Peak
Full Story
|
 |
K2 2005: Base Camp Clinic!
Full Story
|
 |
K2: Americans for 2005 SSE Ridge Alpine style attempt
Full Story
|
 |
Karakorum climbing permit Sale to continue!
Full Story
|
 |
Silvio Mondinelli/Edurne Pasaban Nanga Parbat 2005
Full Story
|
|
|
| Ireland K2 expedition leaving town Sunday Jun 3, 2005 | | Avalanche alert in Pakistan and media reports of 2005 causalties Jun 2, 2005 | | Vikings for Pakistan sky descents! Jun 1, 2005 | | Russians for K2 West Face first ascent May 31, 2005 | | ExplorersWeb Week in Review May 30, 2005 | | Pakistan's last images of Chinese/Tibet expedition May 28, 2005 | | China/Tibet's great loss - Rena dies, Bianba Zaxi seriously injured May 28, 2005 | | China/Tibet Gasherbrum expedition caught in big avalanche May 28, 2005 | | Simone Moro's Batura II expedition: “Thank God Alpinism is anything but dead,” part 2 final May 26, 2005 | | Simone Moro's Batura II expedition: "Thank God alpinism is anything but dead" part 1 May 25, 2005 |
| | Iridium: "Invalid battery - matches found, 0" May 24, 2005 |
|
|
