"Today was hard. Short, pumpy and physical. The snow and weather
is deteriorating on Annapurna IV's north ridge – and we are in the middle
of it – but safe.
Josh and I climbed out of camp 1 at 6 a.m., it was beginning to cloud up
below. As I lead a block – or pitches of snow, rock and ice – scrambling out
of camp, we were getting happy about moving. Things were frozen – our
greatest wish. As I neared 18,000 feet it became a struggle like a pebble
versus a stream, swimming through consistent hip deep
rotten snow. It was mind blowing even for a climber who spends all
summer wading through it in the San Juan mountains of Colorado.
We carried on through the warm hollow ground and eventually were
overtaken by an early morning tempest. Cloaked in a completely white
environment, we climbed to a bench where we knew we were safe from
avalanches and crevasses and will be spending the day here. Don't
worry, after the 1000 feet of hip-deep wading we are totally snug and happy
to be here. It's still up higher, right?
Best to all of you, we're hanging out through waves of snow, wind and
clouds today and will continue to push our persistence and patience
until prudence or the summit.
A picture has also been posted to the website. After the winter we had in Telluride, digging camp sites is a breeze!
Ben Clark"
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