Frostbite
Pete Athans swung his
ice tool and placed it perfectly in a dimple in the frost-covered
blue ice. We were filming him ice climbing on a serac that had
broken off of the West Buttress a few seasons ago. Few climbers can
so effortlessly move up and down a slightly overhanging 30-foot wall
of ice. "It's like cheese," Athans said when he placed his first ice
tool into the large Flintstonian ice boulder that lay a quarter mile
from Fourteen Medical. It landed with a crisp thunk.
The rest of our team, including
Colby Coombs,
Caitlin Palmer, and
John Grunsfeld, await
better weather up at High Camp at 17,200 feet. Clouds are strangling
the summit slopes and winds buffet the high snow walls the team
built to protect the tents. "Our trip up the ridge from 16,200 feet
to High Camp was spectacular," Grunsfeld reported to Dr.
Howard Donner on the
radio last night. It was a long day with eight hours of climbing
from 14,200 feet. "We all have small headaches, but are otherwise
doing well."
To leave High Camp for the summit, the winds should be low, with
good visibility. A group of climbers, led by expert guide Scott
Darsney, had to turn around on their summit day due to cloud cover
that moved in and offered poor visibility.
Tomorrow, if the weather is good, we will move up with Athans and
Donner to High Camp to join the rest of our team. "It's like
Calcutta up here," Coombs said today by radio. Athans has confirmed
that over 100 climbers are between High Camp and the summit. If the
weather turns bad, Athans and Donner will be equipped to assist
climbers in distress.
"Hey Liesl!" Donner yells outside my tent as I write this dispatch.
"I have a frostbite victim who is just coming off the fixed lines,
and he's willing to let you film him." As the snow falls, we move
quickly to gather our camera and sound gear together and meet the
climber outside the medical tent.
Location: Fourteen Medical
Altitude: 14,200 feet
Air Temp: 0°F
Windspeed: 2 mph
|
