Friday 13: Accident on the Way from C1

In the evening the wind got stronger. So right from the early morning I had been watching the ridge but saw no one. At least I was comforting myself that both of them had enough power and made it to the C1 which I couldn't see from here. The agreement between us was clear so I departed for ABC. The forecast for the 14th and 15th of April was announcing a very strong wind which meant to go down from C1. I really hoped that they would follow it. But still at 9 am I could see nobody thus I was getting really worried. I kept stopping now and then on my way down and popped my sights at the ridge.

Back in the ABC I could only speculate and hope since the corridor couldn't be seen from here. Our cook Kipa made a quizzical smile towards me and asked: Coke or beer? He had had me. I had no idea that we had such an offering of drinks with us! Up to then I only knew tea and again tea as the drink of drinks. Well. few days of a tea diet and one starts feeling to have enough of it. Though I'm not a drinker I emptied two cans of beer with a delight.

At about 6 pm, big Hurray!, as my friends are back. But with some bad news though - in the middle of a beautiful corridor Jan sank in.

It was on the way back while pressing another one out of hundreds steps into the veil of white snow. But this time the virgin-like blanket, unscathed of steps or signs of depressions, was spreading over another crack in the ice, in fact over an endless hollow as was discovered later. There was an ice bridge stretching over the big crack which collapsed as Jan crossed over. Since it was on the way down and Jan was almost kind of running the momentum luckily bounced him upfront and out! Thus Jan was saved. Both of them inspected the crack afterwards only to find out that all around the collapsed ice bridge an endless hollow went down, maybe right into the heart of the mountain and into the arms of gods. Better not to think about other possible scenarios.

Luckily, all three of us are here in ABC and we must relax after all that carrying of equipment up there to C1. Also, we must wait for the sun and let it clear away the snow and unveil the cracks. Some experienced sherpas who know the corrugations of this icefall should come today to the camp. Because we were the first to climb here this season and made it up to 6 450 m we definitely have some capital to put into a joint-venture cooperation. 6 450 m? After my departure Jan and Jiri continued for another hour but the progress was slow. The number of hidden cracks was growing literally with every step they made and thus they decided to stop at 6 450 m and to camp there overnight. They began their way down at 10 am the next morning.