Taking advantage of the improving weather, the Sherpa team on Dhaulagiri cautiously fixed ropes toward Camp 1 today. Oswald Pereira and Bartek Ziemski of Poland — who recently skied down Annapurna — went with them.
“We went up to 5,850m to check conditions and to support the guys fixing the ropes,” Pereira told ExplorersWeb. “We left a gear deposit at 5,650m. The weather has been good for the last two days, until this afternoon when it started snowing again. The snow was quite deep after the recent snowfall, but manageable.”
Oswald Rodrigo Pereira two weeks ago on the summit of Annapurna. Photo: Oswald Rodrigo Pereira/Facebook
At 5,600-5,900m, climbers reach the huge saddle between Dhaulagiri and Tukche Ri Peak. Camp 1 is usually set up at 5,900m at the edge of the saddle, next to the mountain’s flank. See more details in our Dhaulagiri climbing guide.
A long delay
In the previous two weeks, no one had set foot beyond Base Camp because of constant snow and dangerous conditions. Amrit Rai, a porter belonging to the Rai community and working for Seven Summit Treks, was buried on Friday in an avalanche that swept the valley nearly 1,000 meters below Base Camp. He has been missing since then.
Logistics on Dhaulagiri have been troublesome since the start. A helicopter crashed near Base Camp on April 9. There were no casualties, but the incident caused further supply delays, Carlos Soria reported.
Soria and Sito Carcavilla reached Base Camp by helicopter last week, just before heavy snow started falling again. They have not moved since then. For Spanish speakers, Soria explains in the video below that they are well-acclimatized and prepared to climb once conditions allow.
Shishapangma summit push update
Meanwhile, on Shishapangma, the Climbalaya team is progressing according to plan, according to Viridiana Alvarez’s tracker. Check on the map below how she moved today, from 6,400m to 6,923m, corresponding to Camp 2’s location.
Viridiana Alvarez’s tracker shows her progress today.
The four Western clients are Kristin Harila, Viridiana Alvarez Chavez, Sophie Lavaud, and photographer Matias Myklebust, who has a permit to climb as well. The Sherpa guides are Pemba Tenjin Sherpa, Pemba Tenjing Sherpa, Chhiring Wanchu Sherpa, Ngima Rita Sherpa, and Tenjen Sherpa.
Mingma Sherpa, director of Climbalaya Treks and Expeditions, is the expedition leader, but it is not clear if he too is climbing or just coordinating from Base Camp.
Kumar Rai and Sandip Ale are part of the Base Camp crew. There is no information about any Tibetan climbers, other crew, or liaison officers working with the expedition.
