It is 7.00 a.m. on 5 August. Four of us, Debraj, Jyoti, Rudra and I are snuggled in the warmth of our sleeping bags at c. 6500 m in our summit camp (Camp 3). Five of our Sherpa members are also resting in an adjacent tent. It is walky-talky time with the lower camps. We had asked Camp 2 and ABC not to keep their sets open last night as it would have been difficult for us to attend to their calls during our night climb towards the summit. Debraj, who normally handled our communication, did not have the heart to break the news of our failed attempt, wherein a strong blizzard had forced us back from an altitude of c. 6865 m on the final slopes on the east ridge of Mamostong Kangri I. He passed on the walky-talky to me while still in his sleeping bag. Gautam at Camp 2 was the first to get online. I broke the news of the failed attempt. Gautam and Aditya along with Lakhpa Sherpa had left the summit camp yesterday after our aborted summit attempt on thenight of 3 August. They were now ensconced at Camp 2, where our cook Lila and his assistant Phunshuk had been stationed in order to support our large summit team of six members and six Sherpas. As the weather conditions seemed uncertain, we could be forced to stay for a longer period in the higher camps. I requested Gautam to descend to ABC along with Aditya and Lakhpa, leaving the kitchen team as our support at Camp 2.
展开▼
