Marek Holecek and Radoslav Groh are slowly progressing on difficult mixed terrain up the Southeast Face of Cho Oyu, but the wind is making things difficult for the Czech climbers.
The pair departed from the glacier in the early hours of Saturday. That day, they climbed up what they described as “a difficult mixed start of rock and ice.”
On Sunday, they resumed their climb. Holecek said that the difficult, steep terrain forced them to fight for every meter.
“In six hours, we climbed only 300 vertical meters,” he wrote. Holecek calculated that at such a pace, they would need seven days to reach the summit. At the same time, he hoped that they would encounter easier sections along the way.
Rogue wind
Today ended with an unexpected challenge: the wind. As we noted in previous updates, gale-force westerlies are expected all this week. Holecek said that 130kph gusts are raking the northwest side of the mountain. The climbers should be sheltered while they remain on the southeast face. At least, that’s what we — and they — thought. Unfortunately, the wind had slightly shifted direction by the end of the day.
“I don’t know if it was just a random natural phenomenon, or if it will be the rule on the higher sections of the wall,” Holecek wrote. “Suddenly, out of nowhere, a south-eastern cold rushed in, and by the time I reached the belay point, my teeth were chattering and I was shivering.”
As soon as Groh joined the belay, they quickly set up a bivouac while the temperature dropped to -20˚C.
“Whether this is…just an anomaly, we will see in the morning,” Holecek reported.
