Karakorum big walls: it is all about the weather
Jul 8, 2004 13: 48 EST
Damian and Willie Benegas are taking advantage of an improving weather on the Latoks Masivee, and going for the wall.
“Today we had a complete rest day preparing everything for the climb. Tomorrow we will depart at 3am to get on to the face early enough to avoid some of the bombardment and try to get in to a good bivy spot. We are looking in to spending 10 to 12 days in the face as long the weather is not too bad. The route is in acceptable conditions; a little too loaded for our taste and dry at the same time. It seems that it didn’t snow for a long time and then got a bunch in a short period of time. This results is not very stable couloirs, ridges and cornices and at the same time dry and small ice ramps but with huge snow mushrooms impatient on finishing at the base of the face.
At the beginning of this trip we thought of sending dispatches from the face, but we learned that the position of the face will not let us to get a signal for the Thuraya. So it might be that there will not be news from us for 10 days or so.”
The Benegas brothers will have no other choice but to readjust their climbing criteria to the current conditions of the wall: “Yesterday we decided to wake up at 4am and carry a load to the base of the ridge and probably fix some of our lead lines past the bergschrund on to the face--- there goes our alpine style ascent.”
“It took us about 1,3hs to complete the little over 3.5 miles to the base of the face. Now let’s take in to consideration the heat and fresh snow, not a good combination for the time that we arrived at the face---- but what we can say. We are from Patagonia!
Our first idea was to climb fast in the middle of the couloirs, but as we both where getting ready a big slush slide came down in the middle of the proposed line. Discard that and to the safe and solid rock we went, the first thing was to pass the giant hole that was between the snow and the perfect granite. With some Peruvian snow swimming technique and some levitation Willie reached the solid rock. We spent the rest of the afternoon going between solid rock and waist deep 65° of wet snow to fix our lead lines and our back up rappel line, dodging some serious bombarding on top of everything a small but intense snow storm hit us for almost 2 hours.”
Spanish to Spantik: game over
The Spanish ‘Guardia Civil’ expedition to Spantik has been forced to retreat due to stubbornly bad weather. Unsettled snow made impossible both climbs they were trying: the Golden Pillar and an ice-ridge to the right.
Damian and Willie (Guillermo) Benegas, born in Argentina and living in the USA, have raised the attention of the climbing community since they were very young, and started opening routes in their homeland, mostly in Patagonia and Aconcagua. Then they extended their action field to the rest of Andes, did severe rock-climbing in big walls such as El Capitan (Yosemite) and soon headed for the Himalayas. They own a guiding company.
Last year they were the first to climb the North Pillar of Nuptse, resulting in a new route opened in alpine style after a non-stop six day long climb, and named ‘Crystal Snake’. This summer, they are moving to the Karakoram Range, where they will try to be the first to climb the North Ridge of Latok I.
Guardia Civil police team has summited Cho Oyu and Everest. Expedition members belong to mountain rescue patrols.
Image of Latok I, courtesy of Damian Benegas.
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