Dhaulagiri Climbing Expedition News 2012

Dhaulagiri Climbing Expedition News 2012

 
Climbers above basecamp on Dhaulagiri.
 
 Dhaulagiri Autumn: news of our expedition

2 September to 16 October, 2012

Blog posts: Please click one of the links below to go directly to that blog post or just scroll down.

Dear Summit Climb Dhaulagiri 2012 Members, please send me the captions for these photos. thank you very much. Deha Shrestha,

Photo by Dan Mazur Photo by Dan Mazur
 Dhaulagiri photo by Dan Mazur Dhaulagiri, photo by Dan Mazur
 Dhaulagiri photo by Dan Mazur Dhaulagiri photo by Dan Mazur
Dhaulagiri photo by Dan Mazur Dhaulagiri photo by Dan Mazur
Dhaulagiri photo by Dan Mazur Dhaulagiri Photo by Fredik
 
 Photo by Dan Mazur, Fredrik Johansson.
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Dhaulagiri photo by Fredik Dhaulagiri photo by Jerry
Dhaulagiri photo by Jerry Dhaulagiri photo by Jerry
Dhaulagiri photo by Jerry Dhaulagiri photo by Juerg
Dhaulagiri photo by Juerg Dhaulagiri photo by Slavo
 Dhaulagiri photo by Slavo Dhaulagiri photo by Slavo
 
Photo by Fredrik Johansson, Jerry Gladh, Juerg Merz, Slavo Fila. back to top
 
Dhaulagiri photo by slavo 
Photo by Slavo Fila
 
Dhaulagiri photo by andrea Dhaulagiri photo by Andrea
 Dhaulagiri photo by Andrea Dhaulagiri photo by Andrea
 Dhaulagiri photo by Andrea Dhaulagiri photo by andrea
 
Photo By Andrea Rigotti. back to top

8 October

TODAY’S TWEET FROM EXPEDITION LEADER DAN MAZUR:DHAULAGIRI TEAM SAFELY HOME 2 KTM. PHOTOS / STORIES / VIDEOS PUBLISHED LATER TODAY & TOMORROW @ 

7 October

TODAY’S TWEET FROM EXPEDITION LEADER DAN MAZUR: DHAULAGIRI TEAM BACK DOWN TO ROAD SAFE. NOW DRIVE TO KATHMANDU. WATCH  FOR NEW PHOTOS, VIDEO, & STORIES.

6 October -

TODAY’S TWEET FROM EXPEDITION LEADER DAN MAZUR:  TEAM WALKS ACROSS FRENCH PASS & DAMPHUS PASS TO YAKARKA @ 4200 M / 13,779 FT. GORGEOUS!

4 October -

TODAY’S TWEET FROM EXPEDITION LEADER DAN MAZUR: TEAM ALL BACK DOWN SAFELY IN BASECAMP. TODAY IS OUR LAST DAY IN THIS BEAUTIFUL CAMP. 

TODAY’S TWEET FROM EXPEDITION LEADER DAN MAZUR: ALL DHAULAGIRI TEAM TUCKED INTO BED SAFE & SOUND IN CAMP 1, WHILE A SNOWSTORM LASHES THE MOUNTAIN

Team climbs above the Deposit Camp at 5085 metres - 16,679 feet. Photo by Arnold Coster. 

3 October -

TODAY’S TWEET FROM EXPEDITION LEADER DAN MAZUR: TEAM TURNS ROUND @ 0330HRS. UNSTABLE SNOW. EVERYONE OK. NOW HEADED DOWN FOR CAMP 1

2 October -

TODAY’S TWEET FROM EXPEDITION LEADER DAN MAZUR: GOOD LUCK FOR SUMMIT! TEAM IS NOW IN HIGHCAMP @ 7577 MTRS / 24,852 FT. UPWARD DEPARTUR IN 3 HRS. back to top

1 October -

TODAY’S TWEET FROM EXPEDITION LEADER DAN MAZUR: DHAULAGIRI TEAM REST DAY IN CAMP 2 @ 6553 METRES / 21,50@ FEET. GOOD WEATHER. SHERPAS NEED TO FIX MORE ROPES FOR SAFETY.

30 September -

TODAY’S TWEET FROM EXPEDITION LEADER DAN MAZUR: OUR DHAULAGIRI TEAM REACHED CAMP 2 @ 6553 METRES / 21,500 FT. WEATHER GOOD. NOW TRYING FOR C3, 7500 M / 24,600 FT

29 September -

TODAY’S TWEET FROM EXPEDITION LEADER DAN MAZUR: TEAM HEADING FOR SUMMIT. NOW IN 5800 METRE / 19, 000 FOOT HIGH CAMP 1. HEADING FOR C2 NEXT.

 

Andrea Rigotti traversing the snow face above the Dhaulagiri Glacier. Photo by Arnold Coster. Prayer flags in basecamp. Photo by Slavomir Fila back to top

27 September -

The first week after the team's arrival at Base Camp, the weather was anything but favorable. A steady rain fell, occasionally giving way to snow that landed more or less as slush. By the time the team began its initial climb onto Dhaulagiri, time had been lost due to the weather, thus a more special acclimatization schedule seemed to be called for, in order to make up for lost time.

With this in mind the team departed Base Camp (4650 meters / 15,252 feet) at 0500hrs on the morning of the 21st and began a steady climb towards Depot Camp (5100 meters / 16,728 feet) across rock, snow and ice with the team all complete in location by around 1000hrs.

The following morning, the 22nd, the team departed Depot Camp at 0600hrs and crossed the upper Dhaulagiri ice fall to reach Camp 1. (5850 meters / 19,188 feet) with the team complete again by 1300hrs.

The next day, the 23rd, was taken as a rest day to allow the team to acclimatize further before a push to Camp 2 at 6560 meters / 21,517 feet.

At 0600hrs on the morning of the 24th, on what turned out to be the hardest day of the expedition so far, the team made its way further up the mountain. Conditions ranged from blinding sunshine and heat to cold and near zero visibility which could occur with in minutes of one another. The team arrived at varying times this day, ranging from 4 to 6 hours, and everyone were in varying degrees of health on arrival at Camp 2. At the time it seemed like a challenging jump in altitude between camp 1 and 2, although now that we are now back relaxing comfortably in basecamp, we recognize we
were barely halfway up the mountain with still a long way to go.

After an interesting night at high altitude, on the morning of the 25th, the team descended back down to Camp 1, to spend the night before returning to Base Camp very early on the morning of the 26th. Over the previous 5 days the team had ascended from 4650 to 6560 metres, 15,252 to 21,517 feet, a
total of 1910 meters / 6265 feet vertically. After such a gain, the effects of altitude experienced by some at Camp 2 can be completely expected.

With necessary acclimatization now complete, at the moment of this writing, the team now rests back in Base Camp awaiting the weather window that will allow for a summit attempt. According to more than 5 daily weather forecasts compiled and sent to us each day by Stewart Wolfe in the SummitClimb home
office via satellite messaging service, the 2nd of October could be a good day to climb to the world's 7th highest summit, Mount Dhaulagiri.

Last but not least, the unfortunate events that occurred in the tragic avalanche on Mount Manaslu, the world's 8th highest peak, located in Nepal, need to be mentioned. All of us at SummitClimb send our thoughts and condolences out to the injured and lost fellow climbers, their families, friends, and colleagues.

As a side note, the mountain our SummitClimb team is attempting, Mount Dhaulagiri, sits at quite some distance away from Manaslu and our local weather and snow conditions are quite different and apparently considerably more stable.

Report compiled by Richie Maybank - UK
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25 September -

TODAY’S TWEET FROM EXPEDITION LEADER DAN MAZUR:   TEAM DESCENDS TO CAMP 1 @ 5800 M / 19,024 FT. TOMORROW RETURN TO BASE CAMP. WEAT HER PERFECT!

 

 Camp 2 in the early morning after a snowstorm. Tukuche Peak in background. Elevation circa 6700 metres - 22,000 feet. Photo by Arnold Coster. The Dhaulagiri Glacier seen from above. Basecamp lies on the medial moraine in the background. Photo by Slavomir Fila.  

24 September -

Team reports in live (click here to listen)

Hello SummitClimb News this is Arnold Coster; the leader of the Dhaulagiri expedition calling from camp 2 at about 6,516m and today is Monday 24th of September.

We had a hard day climbing up here; it’s a long way up from camp 1 to camp 2 but all members made it up here and in reasonable time. It’s a nice camp with some nice views of Machu Pichu and Anna Purna 1 and it’s a pretty amazing place here.

Yesterday we had a rest day in Camp 1 at about 5,850m, we’re trying to make up some time because when we arrived in basecamp we had a long period of bad weather so we’re trying to catch up now and I think we’re catching up well.

Unfortunately today we got some bad news from Manaslu, we heard that some climbers got killed in a huge avalanche our thoughts are with the families of the injured and the victims. I also want to let you know that Dhaulagiri is very far away from Manaslu so don’t worry we are on a completely different mountain.

Tomorrow we will go back down to camp 1 again and the next day we will probably go back down to basecamp for some rest.

TODAY’S TWEET FROM EXPEDITION LEADER DAN MAZUR: DHAULAGIRI EXPEDITION REACHES CAMP 2 @ 6558 M / 21, 510 FT. GOOD WEATHER & SNOW CONDITIONS.   back to top

EVERYONE @ SUMMITCLIMB SENDS THEIR CONDOLENCES TO FAMILY, FRIENDS & COLLEAGUES OF THOSE LOST IN MANASLU AVALANCHE TRAGEDY

 

Team sherpas enjoying tea during the basecamp prayer (puja) ceremony. Photo by Violetta Pontinen. Bob Mooney, Juerg Merz, Andrea Rigotti, Fredrik Johanssen at the basecamp prayer ceremony, known as Puja. Photo by Violetta Pontinen. Deposit Camp inside the Dhaulagiri plateau, is ringed by active glaciers @ 5085 metres -  16, 679 feet. photo by Slavomir Fila. Mount Dhaulagiiri, elevation 8167 metres - 26,788 feet. Climbing route to summit follows left hand ridge, traverses horizontal rock balcony, then heads to the summit via couloir. Photo Slavo Fila. CJ Bailey and Richard Maybank discuss expedition progress in camp 2, 6553 metres - 21,500 feet. Photo by Violetta Pontinen. Richard Maybank climbing on the scree apron beside the Dhaulagiri icefall. Photo Arnold Coster

Richard Maybank prepares a kettle of cream of chicken soup on the hanging stove in camp 2 @ 6558 metres - 21,510 feet. Photo by Arnold Coster.  back to top

23 September -

TODAY’S TWEET FROM EXPEDITION LEADER DAN MAZUR:  DHAULAGIRI TEAM REST @ C1, 5800 M / 19,000 FT. TEAM MEMBER JERRY GLADH PHONED HOME TO DISCOVER HE IS NEW GRANDPA TO 3.9 KG / 8.6 LB BABY. 

22 September -

Team reports in live (click here to listen)

Hey this is the dispatch for 21st & 22nd September.

On the 21st we walked from basecamp to the departed camp at 5,081 meters, we left in the middle of the night and got up there around 9:30 or 10:30 in the morning.

On the 22nd we walked up to camp 1 at 5,800 metres leaving at 6am and arriving between 10:30 and 12:30.

Everybody’s up here, we’re doing good and there are amazing views up here and we’re finally getting some good weather. It’s a little bit cloudy right now but we can see some blue sky and it gets hot every afternoon and we’re hoping to take a rest day on 23rd September and maybe go up to camp 2 on 24th September, the Sherpa’s are working on the route right now.

Thanks a lot for following the expedition, stay tuned and wish us luck.
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Camp 2 seen from above on a sunny morning @ 6553 metres - 19,500 feet. photo by Dan Mazur. Depot camp seen from above @ 5035 metres - 16,500 feet. photo by Dan Mazur. Fredrik Johansen enjoys a hot cup of tea in camp 2 @ 6553 metres, 19,500 feet. photo by Violetta Pontinen. Arnold digs an amazing toilet in camp 2 @ 6553 metres - 19,500 feet. photo by Violetta Pontinen. CJ Bailey and Dan Mazur and team heading to camp 1 @ 5800 metres -  19,000 feet. photo by Violetta Pontinen.  Camp 1 @ 5800 metres - 19,000 feet. Photo by Violetta Pontinen

21 September -

TODAY’S TWEET FROM EXPEDITION LEADER DAN MAZUR:  DHAULAGIRI TEAM REACHES DEPOT CAMP AT 5086 M / 16,682 FT. EVERYONE OK. RESTING NOW, WISH US LUCK TOMORROW 4 WALK 2 C1. WEATHER CLEAR IN A.M.

Jerry, Matt, and Andrea heading down slope from camp 2 to camp 1. Tukuche peak in background, elevation circa 6700 metres -  22,000 feet. photo by Dan Mazur. Team traverses the upper Dhaulagiri glacier at 5600 metres - 18,368 feet. Photo by Slavomir Fila. back to top

20 September -

TODAY’S TWEET FROM EXPEDITION LEADER DAN MAZUR:  TONIGHT. 4 AM. JOURNEY TO CAMP 1.

THANKS FOR WATCHING!

Hello, This is Matt Belman writing on a spectacular sunny morning from Base camp. The team is feeling strong and the monsoon seems to be going away. Yesterday we had fun training on the glacier getting tuned up on our rope safety skills and crampon use. A few days ago we acclimatized up at French pass with a few hikes and a lot of cloud, rain and snow, testing our route finding skills.  We have been entertaining ourselves with a few games of cards, yahtzee and a guess who I am game which has brought us to hysterics. We are surrounded by spectacular peaks and ice falls and a geologists dream of rock strata. A few animals are about, rabbit, we think and pesky clever and hungry ravens. Fortunately, we are sharing the mountain with only the Spanish team. Tomorrow we plan to head up the ice fall to depot camp and the next day for camp  1 .We all send our best to family and friends. Thanks for following Summit climbs Dhaulagiri 2012 NE rib climb.

Matt Belman and Arnold Coster basking in the sun's rays just above basecamp. They are standing beneath the famous 'Eiger' altitude circa 5800 metres - 19,000 feet. Photo Dan Mazur. Team practices glacier climbing technique on a sunny day in basecamp. In Background is Mount Dhaulagiri and the 'Eiger'. Photo Dan Mazur. Arnold Coster, expedition leader, guides the team through a sunny morning of glacier training. Photo by Dan Mazur. Dhaulagiri Icefall after a new coating of snow. Appx 5000 metres - 16,400 feet. Photo Dan Mazur. back to top

18 September  -

TODAY’S TWEET FROM EXPEDITION LEADER DAN MAZUR: AFTERNOON SUN HIT BASECAMP & SURROUNDING PEAKS. WE EXPLORED NEW SNOW ON SURROUNDING GLACIERS. TONIGHT STARS ARE OUT. TOMORROW GLACIER TRAINING.

Glacier Training Day. Violetta climbs up the rope while Arnold checks the anchor. Photo by Dan Mazur. Juerg Merz practices ascending fixed ropes on glacier training day. Photo Dan Mazur

17 September -

Team reports in live (click here to listen)

 

Looking straight up at Mount Dhaulagiri from basecamp during a beautiful sunset (Dan Mazur). The Dhaulagiri 5 Range, circa 6500 metres - 21,300 feet. photo by Dan Mazur. Dhaulagiri 2, the mountain with the maddest fault lines. Photo Dan Mazur. Team in 4650 metre - 15,250 foot high dining tent. Enjoying starters and soup. our tent is extremely comfortable with electrical lights and heating. photo Dan Mazur. back to top

TODAY’S TWEET FROM EXPEDITION LEADER DAN MAZUR: BACK IN 4650 M / 15,252 FT HIGH BASE CAMP. JUST RETURNED FROM 4 DAYS ABOVE 5O00 M / 16,500 FT. NOW SNOWING HEAVILY. 

Richard Maybank shows his part in the popular basecamp game known as 'Celebrity Heads'. Photo by Dan Mazur. Expedition leader Arnold Coster in 5034 metre – 16,500 foot high acclimatization camp. Thanks to Dave Howard for the awesome First Aid Kit! Photo Dan Mazur

16 September -

At the moment we are living in a very small world. It's cloudy, rainy, snowy all at the same time and we are just able to see a few meters around us. It's like we are living inside a ping pong ball!

This morning we went for an acclimatization hike with the whole team to the French Pass. A few of us scouted the route out a day before, so it was not too hard to find the way this time, even in total white out conditions. We put a lot of extra cairns on the route, this way it's easy to find the way back and the next group who passes by here has no route finding problems either. On the French pass the wind was hauling and it was snowing horizontal, not very nice, so we decided to head down to our high camp again and call it a day.

In our high camp we have a small kitchen and staff who take very good care of us. This makes our stay here, even in this bad weather, very easy.

They wake us up with tea in the morning, followed by breakfast. When we came back from our hike they served us a delicious lunch and tonight we will be surprised with a tasty dinner again. This way we will stay strong, so if the weather clears we are ready to go high up the mountain.

High Altitude greetings,

Arnold Coster

TODAY’S TWEET FROM EXPEDITION LEADER DAN MAZUR: TODAY TEAM MADE AN ACCLIMATIZATION TREK TO FRENCH PASS @ 5380 M / 17,646 FT. HEAVY SNOW & HIGH WINDS CHALLENGE! back to top

Team on the French pass 5380m during blizzard (Dan Mazur).

15 September -

Well the last few days have been very exciting for the SummitClimb Dhaulagiri Expedition.

After arriving in basecamp on the 11th, the members had a lovely few rest days in 4671 metre / 15,320 foot high basecamp relaxing in their warm and cozy private individual tents, meeting up in our very spacious heated and comfortable group dining tent, enjoying delicious freshly prepared meals, watching entertaining dvd's and playing several rousing rounds of cards. During the warm afternoons, we all took hot showers.

On the morning of the 13th, we had a blessing ceremony called a "puja" for all of the sherpas and members, where the most religiously knowledgeable of our staff recited prayers and lit incense while sherpas strung prayer flags around the basecamp and everyone drank special tea and ate yummy fresh doughnuts.

Our neighbors joined in the Puja as well. They are a Spanish expedition, working to place Carlos Sorias on the summit of Dhaulagiri. At age 74, he is attempting to become the oldest person to climb all 14 eight thousand metre peaks, and has an impressive support team of sponsors from a Spanish bank, a doctor, camera men, journalists, cooks, guides, and sherpas.

On the afternoon of the 13th, our SummitClimb sherpas went off up the Dhaulagiri icefall at 4900 metres to carry and install fixed lines. While the sherpas were busy fixing rope, the members prepared all of their climbing equipment, harnesses, ice axes, helmets, etcetera.

On the 14th, the members, accompanied by 4 kitchen assistants, 1 cook, and 2 climbing sherpas, climbed up to 5034 metres / 16, 511 feet, in the direction of the French Pass, and made a good camp in a sheltered, dry, flat, rocky valley with a clean flowing stream. This is where I am writing you from at this moment. The plan is to stay up here and acclimate and hike the dry moderate rocky slope up to 5800 metres / 19,024 feet, in order to further acclimate, before we climb through the rocky icefall. We are calling this our Advanced Basecamp (ABC) on the way to French Pass.

The trail between BC and ABC was very interesting, at first walking along the white and black ice of the Dhaulagiri Glacier, then the French Glacier, then gaining moraine ridges with inspiring views of the massive North East wall of the Dhaulagiri Massif. The terrain was very easy and there was even a faint trail, cairns, and prayer flags at times.

On the afternoon of the 14th, a group of us hung out near the ABC kitchen tent and drank delicious tea and ate soup, while Arnold, Fredrick, Richie, and Chris, explored the higher reaches of the French Pass and the Hidden Valley, all of the way to 5800 metres / 19,000 feet. One of their goals was to see if they could find a higher campsite, to allow for additional acclimatization, however, they said that during their tour, they never saw enough free flowing water to allow a large camp to be established. Nevertheless, they were not able to observe in very much detail the terrain all around them, due to heavy fog, which made their return to ABC, even using GPS, a bit challenging. Fortunately they did arrive before dark. It commenced raining after our very delicious dinner last night and ceased again at around 2 am.

This morning in ABC we enjoyed another big fresh cooked breakfast with lots of hot drinks and at the moment are waiting in our tents for the fog to burn off so that we can walk around these beautiful valleys and further explore this gorgeous French Pass and Hidden Valley area, while our sherpas continue to forge the route to camp 1 on Dhaulagiri. Thanks for following our expedition and please stay tuned. back to top

 

Dhaulagiri basecamp at 4700 metres with the Dhaulagiri icefall behind (Dan Mazur). Arnold Coster and Carlos the Spanish teams doctor looking at photos of the climbing route during a meeting in Spansh Dhaulagiri basecamp (Dan Mazur). Carlos Soria attempting to become the oldest person to climb all 14 eight thousand metre peaks in Dhaulagiri basecamp (Dan Mazur). Fresh snow avalanches pour down the walls of Dhaulagiri 2. Photo by Dan Mazur

TODAY’S TWEET FROM EXPEDITION LEADER DAN MAZUR: STEADY RAIN & MISTS MAKE GPS NAVIGATION ESSENTIAL @ 5034 M / 16,518 FT.  back to top

14 September -

Team reports in live (click here to listen)

Andrea Rigotti seeking shelter behind Chorten on French Pass (Dan Mazur).

TODAY’S TWEET FROM EXPEDITION LEADER DAN MAZUR: SUMMITCLIMB DHAULAGIRI TEAM JUST REACHED 5034 METRES / 16,511 FEET ON ROUTE TO FRENCH PASS. JUST AS WE SET UP TENTS, HARD RAIN STARTED

13 September - 

TODAY’S TWEET FROM EXPEDITION LEADER DAN MAZUR : TODAY MET CARLOS SORIA, SHARING DHAULAGIRI BC, TRYING 2 BCOME WORLD'S OLDEST 2 CLIMB ALL 14 8,000 METRE - 26,000 FOOT HIGH PEAKS! 

12 September -

The team arrived in basecamp today and everyone is feeling fine. We will have a puja ceremony in the next few days, as well as rest and acclimate to the rising altitude. All members and sherpas are doing well and getting excited for the upcoming training sessions in basecamp as well as working our way up the mountain over the following weeks. We have only seen one other expedtiion so far here in basecamp or on the mountain, a Spanish team. We'll report in again soon after we've settled down for some well deserved rest. Thanks for following our expedition!! Dan Mazur - expedition leader

TODAY’S TWEET FROM EXPEDITION LEADER DAN MAZUR: SUMMITCLIMB DHAULAGIRI EXPEDITION REACHES BASECAMP.  back to top

11 September -

Yesterday our team arrived in Italian Camp at around 3660m.

Today we will have a rest day here and a chance to wash our clothing, shave and just relax. We have an awesome view of a huge waterfall and Dhaulagiri V. Tomorrow we will continue our trek to Base camp at around 4700m. Some of our staff are already up there preparing base camp for us, so if we arrive tomorrow some shelter will be there.

So far the trek has been amazing, by far one of the most beautiful treks I've ever done. After a long and bumpy drive to Beni 830m, we were able to drive all the way to Babichour 950m the next morning. A big landslide blocked the road there and we had to start trekking from there. We followed the road through small villages and beautiful rice paddies to Darapani at 1500m, where we spent our first night in tents. The next day we followed a small trail through the jungle to Khibang at 1850m. The trail goes through pretty dense forests, crossing rivers and landslides. Every now and then the forest opens up and we can see the most beautiful waterfalls. The village of Boghara at 2520m is the last real settlement here, after this it's all jungle and mountains.

The whole way up we didn't see any other tourists, so this is still the real Nepal!

The team is strong and is doing very well. We are a nice mix of nationalities and we have plenty of things to talk about at the dining and breakfast table.

Tomorrow we will head off to Base Camp and reach our destination. We are excited to go there and see what our home is going to be for the next month or so.

High Altitude Greetings,

Arnold Coster, Expedition leader back to top

 

Arnold in the SummitClimb office in 3700 metre high Italian camp with waterfall in background (Dan Mazur). Team resting along the trek in the village of Salaghari please note the giant trees (Dan Mazur).

9 September -

Team reports in live (click here to listen)

Hi this is Andrea calling with the dispatch for the SummitClimb Dhaulagiri expedition for Saturday 8th September.

We left the village of Bagar and we had a very beautiful trek across steep terrains with beautiful scenery. We arrived in the village of Doban Kartan at 2520 meters. We all enjoyed the trek, it was very beautiful. When we arrived it was very sunny and it was nice to do some laundry, get refreshed and to chill a little bit.

We also have a friendly dog that has been following us on the trip. All of the climbers are in good health and good spirits and we’re all having fun.

Tomorrow will probably be a long day as we head for the Italian camp and we’re all looking forward to another day of trekking. Bye back to top

Team breakfast in Durbang School ground with Dhaulagiri 5 in background (Dan Mazur).

7 September -

Team reports in live (click here to listen)

Hi this is Chris Bailey from Australia giving the Dhaulagiri update for Friday 7th.

We left Dobang yesterday morning for another full day of trekking. We followed a really nice trail and haven’t seen any other tourists since we left Kathmandu; it’s really remote out here. It’s very hot and humid and a lot of people look like they’ve been in the river all day; absolutely soaked in water. The trekking is really nice it’s very varied, the tracks aren’t very big and there’s a real sense of remoteness out here.

The group started to go a couple of different ways yesterday as well; one group took the scenic route which took a little bit longer but we all arrived in Boghara safely towards the end of the afternoon. A couple of people went and had a shower and a wash in the water pool in the river and everyone was very relaxed in the afternoon.

After dinner at night the local school came and gave us a bit of performance with lots of singing and dancing and we were all dragged up to dance along with the group at the end which was very nice.

Everyone is very excited at the moment and just really looking forward to getting to basecamp. It’s very enjoyable at the moment everyone is just concentrating on that so we’ll see what happens when we get there.

So that’s all for now – over and out. back to top

Switchback trail on the trek to Dhaulagiri (Dan Mazur).

6 September -

Team reports in live (click here to listen)

Hi this is Slavo from Slovakia and I’m a member of the Dhaulagiri expedition and I would like to provide a dispatch for yesterday (6th September).

We stayed overnight in a village called Dobang. We set up our tents in a football field by one of the schools, it was simply amazing seeing large numbers of people playing football, the local Nepalese guys are really good at football and it was nice to watch.

We had a good breakfast and then we set off for the mountains. The weather was good with some sunshine before noon then it was a cloudy afternoon and started raining at about 4pm but it wasn’t that bad. It was a little bit humid; more than most of us are used to.

We gained quite a lot of elevation but then we descended down again so overall we gained about 300m but it was a pretty tough job to get up there and downhill. Currently we are in a village called Dobang and we are ready to hit the road.

The weather looks good, slightly overcast which is good – not to hot and we are ready to set off. back to top

Rice farm along the trail to Dhaulagiri (Dan Mazur). back to top

5 September -

Team reports in live (click here to listen)

Hello this is Matt Belman with SummitClimb's Dhaulagiri autumn expedition.

Yesterday we spent the night at a nice hotel in Beni and had breakfast. Then did a little provisioning and had a few hours bus drive which, was a little bumpy but pretty comfortable. We started walking at the end of the road where the landslide made a path and for a few hours.

There was a little bit of heat and after a few hours we stopped off and had lunch at a little settlement along the beautiful Marsyangdi river. The staff prepared a delicious lunch with lots of interesting food, rice and veg and good drinks.

We continued to walk along a nice road and trail for a few hours. Some were fast and others a little slower but we all kept ourselves well hydrated as the temperatures were quite warm. The sun stayed hidden behind the clouds so it was nice and cool and we didn’t have any rain.

We stopped after a few hours in a town called Darbang. The porters found us a beautiful place to set up our camp in a small yard where many many children came out to meet us, see our tents, cameras and toys/gadgets that we have here. We enjoyed a little bit of internet, another delicious dinner prepared by the SummitClimb staff and then rested. Our altitude is 3800ft / 1200m.

Today has started with blue skies and the river is moving swiftly alongside of us. In the distance we can see a 7000m peak, white against the blue sky with a few light clouds. We’ve had our breakfast; eggs and salami and plenty of tea. Now we’re all packed up and ready for another nice stroll for anywhere between 5 to 9 hours. So everything’s well here, we're all feeling good and getting very excited about the trip ahead of us. We’ll be calling in with another dispatch as soon as we can.

Thank you back to top

Boarding the bus from Kathmandu to Beni (Dan Mazur). Arnold presents the SummitClimb team donation of funds to Kibang school committee (Dan Mazur).

4 September - 

Team reports in live (click here to listen)

Hi this is Violetta Pontinen speaking, I’m from Poland. Today is the 4th September and I’m calling with the dispatch for SummitClimb for the Dhaulagiri expedition. We started in Kathmandu very early in the morning and we came to a small village called Beni, which is about 800m above sea level. Our trip was very interesting with absolutely breath-taking views, we crossed a few rivers and a few bridges and although it was a little bit difficult we got to Beni safely and are very happy. We all feel good and admired the views. The trip lasted 8 hours and tomorrow we are going to our next destination.

Now I’d like to say something in Polish and in Finnish (click the audio link above to hear) back to top

3 September -

The entire team met for an informative get-to-know-you expedition orientation meeting at the excellent Shakti Hotel. Then we went out to a few of Kathamandu's more than 100 outdoor gear shops to buy the equipment we needed. Great prices! At the end of the day, we all met up for a delicious dinner on the rooftop of 3rd eye restaurant, while Deha, our loyal office staff, configured our satphones to use twitter. So please watch out for our twitter messages coming to you live from the mountain! back to top

Members on their way to camp 1. 

2 September - 

Today we received the permit at the Ministry of tourism. Then we had a delicious celebratory dinner with the team at Northfield's in Thamel back to top

Members and staff packing in Kathmandu (Dan Mazur). 

1 September -

Today expedition leader Arnold Coster and our 8 member Sherpa staff packed and prepared all day at the Kathmandu SummitClimb Headquarters. The weather was good and we got a lot done! back to top

Members and staff packing in Kathmandu (Dan Mazur).

Team Roster:
 
  • Dan Mazur (leader) - US/UK
  • Arnold C.(leader) - Netherlands
  • Ms. Violetta P. - Poland 
  • Fredrik J. - Sweden
  • Jerry G. - Sweden
  • Andrea R. - Australia
  • Slavo F. - Slovak Republic
  • Juerg M. - Switzerland
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]