Here's the latest dispatch from Tellurider Ben Clark, who is ascending Annapurna IV:
"A long storm pattern is blanketing Annapurna IV with snow. Each hour
we hear thundering avalanches ripping down the north face. Eerily we
wake in the middle of the night as if a dumptruck just pulled into
camp. Annapurna IV is a dynamic mass, the same gravity that pulls at
its slopes is the same force that is our ticket to fun!
We have now spent five nights and four days beneath the massive north
ridge of Annapurna IV. When the sun is out it is an awe inspiring
vision, fractured where its convexity breaks toward earth and elegant
as marble where the jet stream touches it. Elements are at play
constantly sculpting it to its present form. When one enters the
Himalayan high country, it is evident in some rare form that earth is
so puzzling sometimes it is better to just look and breathe before you
taste.
Sprinkles of snow dot our tent fabric every few hours throughout the
day. It sounds like sand blasting against a tarp when the mighty winds
plunge to our altitude. Sometimes we are numb to the sound, the
laughter of each other and the ruckus of long bouts of gambling in the
cook tent distract us. If nothing else, we have "discovered" a 40-minute loop of what we liken to be the Talking Heads of Nepal. I don't
know what their call and response is saying but...it's growing on us.
Pasang and Dorje - our cooks - are really into it.
The scene in basecamp is enough to merit the title of vacation time and
if we patterned ourselves after our sherpa friends it would be just
that. Rather than kick back and gamble away rupees while wearing hats
with marijauna leaves and soccer pants and sandles...we've rolled the
dice against the weather and come out with a few first ski descents.
Today, for the second day in a row we headed up and south of camp to
ski some really nice couloirs or gullies and then went back to the peak
we skied yesterday just for fun. I was really grunting it for the top
as BB-sized pellets of gropple snow stuck to me like a dog walking
through cuckaburo bushes. It was intense. Josh and Tim followed suit
with fire in their eyes and before I knew it there we were, on top of
the little 17,000' peak in a whiteout---skis and poles buzzing with
electricity.
We dropped off the little summit fast with large arcing turns slicing
through an inch of ball bearing like gropple snow laying sweetly over
warmer deeper creamier corn snow beneath. It was heavenly and sinful
at the same time, our goal just to get off the peak as fast as
possible...but the snow was so good we couldn't help smile through our
fear. I often tell people that skiing is like pizza, even when it's
bad...it's still good.
We will wait another day and through several more hours of snowfall
before we set foot on Annapurna IV's slopes. We hope to see some sun
on the route before we get on it. Judging from our recons of
conditions around camp, it wants to slide and inevitably will, there
are more than two feet of fresh snow on the 30-degree slope we climb to
camp one. All it takes is a little heat, some patience and we will
climb this mountain smooth and safely.
Cheers!
Ben Clark"
Add your comments...