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 DUSHARIN:
On the 31st of July the group of Penzov ascended to 7,500m. At that time
it became clear for everyone that the path to the summit that the previous
expeditions had used didn't exist any more. This year a huge piece of the
hanging glacier fell down and there appeared a cut of 100m high. So it
was not possible to free-climb to the glacier right from the 4th camp through
the ice-fall, which was relatively safe. That's why Sergei, feeling well
and having obtained permission from our doctor, Luba, started forward following
Krzysztof. He didn't take any equipment to bivouac with him. Krzysztof
was going to start his summit attempt and tried really hard to find the
way up. Reaching 8,000m, they found quite a difficult pass through the
crest to the hanging glacier. It was clear that it was the place to set
the 5th camp. Krzysztof took a small tent with him and set it. In the morning
on the 1st of August Penzov decided to descend to ABC getting tired after
his exploring. It seemed a little strange to me. Usually Sergei doesn't
hurry to descend that quickly, and we wanted to have his group fixing more
ropes.
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Right after the group of Penzov there were the guys of Dosaev going up. Sasha Dosaev, Andrei Mariev, Vadim Melnikov and Vitaly Klimenko were not very skilled and experienced high-altitude climbers, but they were young and fit, and that meant a lot. The undoubted climbing leader was Andrei Mariev, a very good rock-climber. For the first time the youth became the vanguard in fixing ropes. But they couldn't set the 5th camp either. We were to do it in our next ascent, and we almost had lost the chance to reach the summit this time. The guys reached only 7,500m by August the 3rd. They had left Vitaly Klimenko in the cave, because he had some liver troubles. On the 4th of August they started descending having fixed 80m of rope. |
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When Carlos had been spending the night with us in the cave, we decided that he would join our team after our descent to the base. On the 1st of August Carlos came to our tent. Carlos, Ivan and I had a conversation. To his mind there were serious problems in the international expedition. It was because Krzysztof was planning to summit the mountain with Piotr and Richard and he didn't really care about the others. So Carlos had got no chance to reach the summit with them. Having understood the situation he came to ask to join our team. |
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Actually, we were not against that, but we cared about the consequences. That's why for 2 hours we were discussing such questions as the liaison officer's agreement, Carlos' inclusion in our permit, the possible reaction of Chinese officials, visa, food and so on. The main point was whether Carlos can accept the system of relationships in our team. We traditionally organize our team as a collective, as a 'summit machine'. Western Alpinism is more individual, the case with Krzysztof was quite demonstrative. The difference is very noticeable, especially at the end of an expedition. At this time the organizational machine falls apart and people's relationships come first. In any case, we've made our decision and there is nothing left, but to fight problems this decision could lead to. |
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