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The final planning in Kashi.
Pitching all the tents, so we could learn how all the other expedition
members tents worked as well. Better learn the back yard of Seman hotel,
than in a raging blizzard on 6000 m.
"No camping" a passing gardener remarked, when seeing us
pitching the tents. :-)
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Finally!
Time to take off for the mountain. Honza and I decided to make it all
the way by bike. |
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Honza 40 km out of Kashi.
The bar ends on MTB's are like made for putting the Uighir bread on,
or the other way around. |
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The way to get the grain
separated from the rest. Around and around...
China is still a poor country in some areas and if oyu don't even have
tracor, you can always chuck the hay on the road and let buses and
trucks run it over a couple of times.
There's always a way! |
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The wonderful Subashi valley
offered us perfect camping and time to acclimatize a bit. |
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Joey and Tomas heading up a 5000
meter + peak to acclimatize.
The T-A-R-G-E-T looming in the background.
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Photo: Oscar Fors |
I've loaded my bike and is ready
for take-off from Subashi.
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Photo: Honza Galla |
On the way towards base camp.
You may wonder why I choose to spend so much energy transporting all my
gear, while most other people choose to get help. First it's a matter of
principe - I wanna do it on my own. Second the price for the transport
was outrageous. Looking at it in retrospect. It was not at all
that hard. 3 hours of cycling and I was there. The last 45 minutes was
hard and I wasn't able to cycle that much, but as a whole - a breeze.
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Photo: Honza Galla |
"The High Tech High
Altitude Camels".
A very impressive name for a normal camel and the only difference
between these camels and the others was the price. The locals in the
area offered us to transport the gear with their camels for a very good
price, but XMA and KMA officials threatened to fine both us and the
local cameldrivers if we used these camels instead of the "High
Tech" ones. |
Photo: Marcus Haraldsson |
Charlotte and Oscar over the
glacial rivers on the way up to the base camp. |
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Olle arrives at basecamp with all
his gear. He was the only one except for myself, who brought all the
gear without any help from camels and porters. |
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We were a bunch of people of
different backgrounds and different priorities also when it came to the
actual climbing.
Some were going to Muztag Ata with bicycles, some ar normal climbers and
yet another group within the group had skiing as the main priority.
Oscar and Charlotte at base camp.
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Photo: Marcus Haraldsson |
Looking up at the looming giant
on a sunny morning. |
Photo: Honza Galla |
The basecamp seen from above.
There were a lot of other expeditions there and sometimes it felt too
much like a circus, but then again, in that case I was just another
clown :-) |
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Olle and Joey hacking out a
platforn on our first haul up to camp 1 at 5500 meters. |
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Sebastien and I were stopped by a blizzard in the icefall. Dumped some of the
gear and food there. |
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The task of getting the bikes
towards a new world record started. Gabriel is helping Stefan and Martin
to get the bikes in position on the backpacks for an ascent to camp 1.
I wanted to know a bit more about the conditions higher up on the
mountain and left my bike behind in base camp. It never got higher than
that. |
Photo: Marcus Haraldsson |
One of the few steeper parts on
the mountain. A little icefall 200vert/m over camp 1. |
Photo: Marcus Haraldsson |
Martin heading upwards. |
Photo: Marcus Haraldsson |
In the beautiful icefall at 5800m.
Walls of ice. Huge crevasses and ice caves. |
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Marcus have just passed the
mid-section of the ice-fall and are getting close to 6000m. |
Photo: Marcus Haraldsson |
Climbers on their way up on the
massive snowslopes. |
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At 6100 meters. Sunshine and I'm
feeling great! From here on it was all going down the drain for me. The
stoves didn't work very well, the tent I had was absolutely useless and
on top of that I got sick.
Had no problems to reach camp 2. Snowfall and a really cozy atmosphere
up there at 6400 meters. Planned to continue higher the day after, but
woke up with a very sore throat and high fever. I get one cold a year
and it felt a bit unfair that it was time for the bugger to arrive at
one of the worst moments possible.
Well, that's the way it is sometimes. |
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The expedition members back in Kashi.
We all reached different altitudes and was stopped for different reasons.
The only one who wasn't stopped at all was Sebastien, the only one who
isn't on this photo, he reached the summit after a long hard walk
trailbreaking most of the time by himself.
Congratulations Seb!
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