Stages & Expeditions, Club Aventure & Mandala Trekking joint expedition

 

Advanced Base Camp, Friday May 25th, 01 Five summiteers for "2001, Everest Odyssey" ! After weeks of patience for proper weather conditions , the summit of Everest has been reached on May 22 & 23, 01 by the joint expedition Stages & Expeditions/Club Aventure, organized by Mandala Trekking.
Bernard Muller, leader of the expedition, with Guy Chardini and Anna Collet, reached the summit in perfect weather conditions the day before yesterday, with 4 altitude sherpas.


Yesterday, Jean Marc Porte and Yves Anciaux started from Camp III at 8200 m where they had spent the night and they reached the summit with 3 other sherpas. Yves and Jean Marc spent a second rather 'comfortable' night (sausage & mash potatoes by -30°c !) at 8200 m, before going down.
Going down went smoothly for both teams. It is actually the most perilous exercise of these expeditions especially with the accumulated fatigue and stress. It 's too early to voice our feelings and sensations from the summit. This environment of rare oxygen, where human beings seldom survive is of titanesque beauty, strength and space, an experience that rewards months of suffering, sacrifices, risks and hopes. With great weather conditions, we all managed to spend some times on the top. From the summit, the giant "neighbors" Makalu, Lhotse, Cho Oyu look like cathedrals under the sky.
All summiteers were surprised by the difficulty of the eastern submittal ridge, quite exposed. Delicate steps, especially just below the summit, perilous insurance on the way down, scary rappelling on 6 mm used ropes. At the time of sending this mail, Russian and US teams are still struggling on their way down since the weather is deteriorating quickly.


We've been lucky due without any doubts to the quality of our team - Westerners and Sherpas - very motivated but also very careful about the climbing conditions, very respectful of the mountain. Saying that Bernard Muller is happy is not an understatement. Despite the fatigue, the altitude and the difficult conditions of this spring, this expedition 2001 Everest Odyssey ends up as a group success on the Roof of the World.
9:00 PM. All members are exhausted but happy: no mishaps, no incidents. some sort of relief after weeks of expectations and those final days on edge. After the huge physical effort to summit and back down, after 5 days spent above 7000 m, we are slowly getting a real sense, beyond words, of the privilege we have had to actually step on the physical summit of the world. 8500 m in the stomach. In the heart….


Jean Marc Porte,
french journalist, transmitted from advanced Base Camp

 

GURLA MANDATA 7760m FIRST BELGIAN GROUP

 

Complete success for the forwarding of the section of the Brabant in Gurla Mandata which returns with a beautiful first Belgian group. The rise of the great top EAST culminating with 7760m of altitude. From the Nepalese border, 800km of track at an average altitude of 4500 m led to the fine bottom of the plate Tibetan, at the edge of the lake Manasarovar in which reflects the 3000m walls of Gurla. The feeling of insulation is very strong, not possible help in this corner of planet and the mountain is gigantic for the small team made up of four climbing of the Belgian Alpine Club and a Nepalese team made up of two sherpas, a cook, a cook assistance.
One week is necessary to convey 640kg of material and to install a base Camp with 5600m, a camp I with 6300m and a camp II with 6900m. 500m of fixed cords is placed to make safe the progression through the seracs and the cracks. Because of the conditions weather (winds very violent), only one attempt is possible towards the top. June 17 with 6h of the morning, after 2 nights spent to camp II, they are three to arrive at 17h at the top! A few minutes only to taste the victory because it is late and the descent is made delicate by a "white out" which covers all the summit part. Camp II is found only towards midnight and half what imposes a third night on close to 7000m. The following day all the camps are déséquipés and all are found with the base camp to celebrate the victory and to accommodate the "yackmen" which assemble valley to convey the material with the foot of the lake.
CAB :
Guy Carbonnelle, Edouard Deramee, Lambert Martin, Yves Raymaekers
MANDALA TREKKING : Passang Sherpa, Palde Tamang, Chandra Magar, Dal Magar

Organisation :
CAB brabant & Mandala Trekking ( Bhim Tamang)
www.trekmag.com