Sarychat/Fersmana 2011
Jul 29
Dispatch #9
Published at 20:58
Just wanted to give some detail to Gareth's previous post, which was short and very cryptic owing to the satphone only being able to send messages of 160 characters.
The Slovenian team arrived in Kyrgyzstan about two weeks before the boys KCLAMC expedition, so there was always a good chance that, given favourable weather conditions, the Slovenians would make the first ascent of the Grand Poobah, and it seems that this is what has happened, so congratulations to them. I can only imagine that they must have crossed routes with Gareth and co on their descent, as Gareth, Hannes, Charlie and Ed are still load-hauling until about 1st August.
While this is disappointing news, I know that Gareth and Charlie had been looking at a number of routes up the Poobah so it's likely that they will put up additional new routes to those achieved by the Slovenians, and they will still be able to make the first British and Swedish ascents, if the conditions remain stable.
The actual primary targets of this expedition are the unclimbed peaks of Fers III (approx 5,200m) and Pik Byelyi (a.k.a. Grand Poobah) (approx 5,600m), which were earmarked on the previous expedition in 2009, so we wish them luck in gaining these peaks.
Bearing in mind that Gareth posted that they had reached the Aytali Valley, I can only assume that sooner or later they will have to cross the Aytali River, if they haven't done so already.
I sent the weather forecast to the satphone today, although I don't know if it is being received. The conditions remain stable, with little or no rain and light winds due to change course from SSW to NW over the next few days. I will send them an update just before they are due to start climbing in earnest.
You can see pictures of the peaks of Fers III and Pik Byelyi on the link below, both of which look amazing, as well as a short video of the Aytali River crossing. http://kyrgyzstan2011.kclamc.org/about-the-expedition/targets/
~ george
The Slovenian team arrived in Kyrgyzstan about two weeks before the boys KCLAMC expedition, so there was always a good chance that, given favourable weather conditions, the Slovenians would make the first ascent of the Grand Poobah, and it seems that this is what has happened, so congratulations to them. I can only imagine that they must have crossed routes with Gareth and co on their descent, as Gareth, Hannes, Charlie and Ed are still load-hauling until about 1st August.
While this is disappointing news, I know that Gareth and Charlie had been looking at a number of routes up the Poobah so it's likely that they will put up additional new routes to those achieved by the Slovenians, and they will still be able to make the first British and Swedish ascents, if the conditions remain stable.
The actual primary targets of this expedition are the unclimbed peaks of Fers III (approx 5,200m) and Pik Byelyi (a.k.a. Grand Poobah) (approx 5,600m), which were earmarked on the previous expedition in 2009, so we wish them luck in gaining these peaks.
Bearing in mind that Gareth posted that they had reached the Aytali Valley, I can only assume that sooner or later they will have to cross the Aytali River, if they haven't done so already.
I sent the weather forecast to the satphone today, although I don't know if it is being received. The conditions remain stable, with little or no rain and light winds due to change course from SSW to NW over the next few days. I will send them an update just before they are due to start climbing in earnest.
You can see pictures of the peaks of Fers III and Pik Byelyi on the link below, both of which look amazing, as well as a short video of the Aytali River crossing. http://kyrgyzstan2011.kclamc.org/about-the-expedition/targets/
~ george
- Name: Aytaliy
- Elevation: 3629 m
- Latitude: 41° 7’ 31” North
- Longitude: 77° 29’ 38” East
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