Miro Caban

Since it was overcast still in the morning I set off at 10 am. As my altitude carrier said that he would leave the other day and head straight to C2 I left on my own. The Germans stayed in the Base Camp. When I reached the beginning of the ice plateau I found out that the Russians obviously also stayed in the BC. Thus I started to fight with the snow on my own. In the beginning it was quite normal, there was only about 20 cm of fresh snow. But as I was getting higher also the amount of snow was rising. Near the first altitude camp the depth was already some 30 cm. I reached the C1 in 5 hours and I was standing there completely alone.

We agreed with the German leader that I would take the radio out of their tent and call them when at 6 pm what was the situation in C1. Thus I radioed them about the situation and asked them to tell my carrier to stay one more day in the BC. Following my deep footprints a single member of the German expedition reached C1 as well. He was 66 years old and came by the dusk quite exhausted.