Brad and Ben called in earlier to get the latest weather and to report that they had been holed up in C3 today with constant snow fall that has left perhaps 20-30cm of new snow on the hill. While much of it has been blown off by the constant wind there is the concern for avalanche potential which is much higher now.
The plan for the moment is to arise in the morning and see if they have clear weather and the potential to still move up for a bid on the 21st but they will have to assess carefully whether they think sufficient snow has been deposited to make it unwise to cross the avalanche prone slopes between C3 and the col.
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| climbing from C2 to C3 © stu remensnyder |
Already over on Gasherbrum 1 a team has been avalanched in the Japanese couloir and we are glad to know that all 5 climbers are safe and well after surviving the slide of some 500-1000ft. This certainly adds to the caution of our team and in the end the mountain will be there still for another year and 4 of our members still have additional time so we may yet see another bid after this one.
During the day today Hamza and Matt descended as they were not feeling strong and well at C3 and Matt has stopped at C2 to keep his options open but Hamza has made his way down to base camp and with time running short it is unlikely he will have a chance to go for the top again.
Send your best thoughts for clear weather and we'll have more news tomorrow!
