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 On the morning of the 21st of August we went up. The weather was bad, but we couldn't wait anymore. Andrei Mariev had serious stomach troubles at 6,100m. As we decided later, it was because of cheese all the guys (except for Volkov and me) had eaten for breakfast. Andrei Mariev had spasms, terrible aches and diarrhea. He felt better after he had taken pills we gave to him. It seemed as if the mountain was trying to warn us and to say that there is nothing for us to do there. Nevertheless we moved further.  |
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 VOLKOV:
Later we've found out that everyone in the camp had been poisoned. They
had to rescue Sasha Dosaev when he fainted right on the path between the
ABC and the "Chinese camp" and then crawled about 50 meters being unconscious.
So they couldn't find him for a long time.
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We ascended to 6,500m and couldn't find the cave. It was under the snow. For two hours we had been digging out the entrance and then spent the night there. In the morning we found out that we are blocked up by snow, and we spent a lot of time digging out of there. Now, remembering that time, I think that if anyone said that he would not go further, we all would turn down. The party from the ABC asked us to go down immediately, begging and threatening. Luba shouted, "Ivan, it's OK with you, but Andrei Mariev is only 25". There in the camp they had got 40 centimeters of snow, so they could imagine what was happening on the route. |
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We retarded as long as we could. We spent one more night in the cave and in the morning of the 23rd we decided to move further, although there wasn't any logic in that. To be honest, our desire to summit overbalanced our sense, and the weather couldn't be storming that long. It had been snowing for ten days already. So we decided to climb to 7,500m at once. There was a strong hurricane and the snow was waist-deep. We had got a good acclimatization, and in three hours we managed to get to the tent at 7,100. As soon as I lag 40-50 meters behind Andrei Mariev, the path became invisible. We were moving further. It was about 7,400. |
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Suddenly I got a strike and started falling. It was the avalanche. My ascender started sliding down the rope and I started tumbling. Automatically I caught the rope and then I bumped into something and everything calmed down. I looked around. I had been dragged into a niche in a rock, and the avalanche went above. Perhaps, that saved me. Three pairs of mittens had been torn in pieces, and one finger on the right hand was raw up to the bone. It is very dangerous at such an altitude. I guessed to switch the mittens - that would protect the skin, so I could use the ascender again. Then I looked up the slope to see what happened with the other guys. Andrei Volkov had also been caught by the flank of the avalanche, and his ascender didn't slide down. Then I had heard Andrei Mariev shouting. Everything was OK with him. I was about to go to meet them and here my crampon unfastened. While fixing it I had to take off the mittens and my hands were cold, but not frostbitten.
Finally, we reached the 4th camp. The night at 7,500 was painful. The sleeping bag I had with me turned out to be wet and frozen. Andrei Volkov was groaning and twitching all night long. It seemed that he was just freezing, although he was dressed in a very expensive one-piece down suit, which Carlos gave him for the summit attempt. The mountain was not jeering, she was beyond that. She was tired warning us, and simply did her job. |
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VOLKOV:
That night I understood that all the resources were used up. It wouldn't
be possible to restore them there. The expedition had been finished for
me. I have to say one more thing. The North Ridge of K2 is rather steep,
so much snow can't accumulate here. That's why there were no huge avalanches
on our way. The one that pulled us down was rather small one (just 2-3
meters wide), but it is enough to carry a human being away.
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Next day we went down to the cave. There were a lot of snow and we couldn't find the cave again. We found the entrance from memory and spent two hours and a half digging it. In the morning we were blocked by snow in there again. That happened on August, the 25th. The Winter came to the mountains. Never at 6,500m was it so cold, and never was there so chilly snow-dust. While going down we were having hard times, taking the ropes out of the snow using the weight of our bodies. We were very careful descending. There was a danger of avalanches, and everything was filled with that danger. Nothing happened. The mountain let us go. The guys met us with drinks and escorted us to the camp. Luba ran out and tried to curse us. Then she cried. |
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