Dispatches - January 2009

Polar Bears

arlenebowie@gmail.com — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 18:00:00 +0100

The sound of snow falling on my tent is soft and soothing. It feels good to be snug inside my sleeping bag - this feathered zeppelin - at the end of each day. I usually get Didar (our cook) to fill up one of my Nalgene bottles with boiling water, which I stuff into my sleeping bag - at least until it gets a little too hot. That's right, I said a little too hot. I can thank my Feathered Friends -60C Snowy Owl sleeping bag for that. Still, despite this short period of nightly comfort, even in [...]

"Good! Just one less thing."

arlenebowie@gmail.com — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:00:00 +0100

(Posted 01/20/09, 1:32 pm Pakistan time)

Hoping to take advantage of a few hours of storm reprieve, Qadrat and I left mid-morning yesterday (Jan 19th) for Camp 1. My plan was to stay the night there and then climb to Camp 2 today, sleeping one night there and carrying my share of the summit push supplies, then returning to Base Camp to wait out the next spell of bad weather. During our ascent to Camp 1, Qadrat and I spent much time and energy digging and pulling out the ropes buried [...]

Base Camp Boredom

arlenebowie@gmail.com — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 15:03:32 +0100

Basecamp Boredom 1.1 from Calpinist.com on Vimeo.

Back from Camp 3

arlenebowie@gmail.com — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 18:00:00 +0100

Back from Camp 3 at 7000 meters, we are all now resting in base camp, waiting for a spell of good weather to try for...dare I say.

In 18 days since our arrival, we have spent 10 days of activity on the mountain - a remarkable feat for even a summer expedition. We take our fast progress in stride, committed to the long haul, knowing that long spells of bad weather and other challenges lay ahead. Personaly, I feel content, but most of all, I feel thankful - simply grateful - to be on a [...]

Camp 3: Phone dispatch from 7000 meters

arlenebowie@gmail.com — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:00:00 +0100

(The team left base camp on 01/05/09 to overnight in Camp 1 and then climbed to Camp 2 at 6300 meters to overnight on 01/06/09.)

(11am 01/08/09 Pakistan time) "We reached 7000 meters and decided to set up Camp 3 even though it is a little below what we had planned. The weather was worse than we had anticipated. There was more precipitation than we had expected and the winds were blowing consistently at 40 km/hr with gusts up to 50 km/hr. These winds don't seem like mu [...]

On the way to Camp 2

arlenebowie@gmail.com — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 18:00:00 +0100

On the way to Camp 2 from Calpinist.com on Vimeo.

At Camp 2 filmed by Artur Hajzer

info@calpinist.com — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 22:02:07 +0100

At Camp 2 from Calpinist.com on Vimeo.