3. “De_Partea_Ta”_’06 Cho_Oyu_8200,5 m

Expeditia Romaneasca “De Partea Ta” / Romanian Expedition “On your side”

Membrii Expeditiei:

Catalin NEACSU, 28, Pitesti -Area Sales Manager la “Noua Generatie”

Zsolt TOROK, 33, Arad -Tehnician Dentar

Cristian TZECU, 36, Timisoara -Fotograf, Drd al Universitatii Politehnica Timisoara

Fata de alte expeditii himalayene, cred ca pentru mine totul a stat sub apasatorul semn al incertitudinii, de la vestea ca am primit finantarea necesara (asta pe lânga economiile mele) cu doar doua saptamâni inainte de plecare, pâna la ultimul pas inainte de vârf.

Discutasem cu Zsolt înca din iarna ideea unei ascensiuni pe Cho Oyu, însa de dorinta lui Catalin am aflat cu doar doua luni înainte. Desi acesta nu iesise din tara pâna atunci, s-a dovedit a fi de baza pe tot parcursul expeditiei.

Ajunsi în Katmandu, capitala Nepalului, la sfârsit de august, am consacrat câteva zile ultimelor pregatiri, urmând ca în 1 septembrie sa trecem granita în Tibet…. pardon, China! Ne-a luat mai bine de 10 zile pâna în Tabara Avansata de Baza (ABC), la 5700m, rastimp în care ne-am aclimatizat corespunzator. Contactul cu lumea tibetana, despre care unii din noi stiau doar din filme, desi emotionant, a fost umbrit de tot ce a însemnat si continua sa o faca, brutala dominatie chineza.

Din câte mi s-a spus, în ABC erau în jur de 400 de oameni, atât alpinisti cât si bucatari, ajutoarele lor si conducatorii turmelor de yaci cu care am transportat echipamentul. Sherpasii au devenit o prezenta de nelipsit, multi alpinisti folosindu-le serviciile, în schimbul unor sume considerabile.

Expeditia noastra, organizata de Monterosa Treks and Expeditions din Nepal a avut alpinisti din Slovenia, Japonia, Tara Bascilor, Danemarca, Polonia si România. Alaturi de noi, desi cu proiect si finantare separata, au fost românii Sergiu MATEI si Alexandru GAVAN, din Bucuresti.

Dupa câteva zile în ABC, un lama a oficiat „puja”, un ritual buddhist de îmbunare a zeilor (Cho Oyu înseamna în tibetana „Zeita de Turcoaz”); abia apoi am putut urca, binecuvântati, spre înaltimi. Tabara 1, situata la cota 6400 si Tabara 2, 7100m, au fost echipate în decursul a 5 zile, urmând ca asaltul final sa îl dam dupa o necesara odihna în ABC.

„Zeita” s-a dovedit însa a fi temperamentala, o ninsoare ce arareori s-a oprit timp de 5 zile lungi a ajuns sa puna sub semnul întrebarii prezenta oricui pe vârf. Pâna la urma, incertitudinea s-a spulberat asemeni norilor si câteva echipe au spart gheata, la propriu, în drumul spre taberele superioare. Înaintea tuturor s-a aflat Zsolt, solitar, condus de dorinta de a îsi sarbatori cei 33 de ani împlinitî în 29 septembrie, pe vârf. Catalin si cu mine am preferat sa asteptam si alte grupuri, crescându-ne astfel sansele de reusita.

Ziua de 29 însa nu i-a oferit lui Zsolt cadoul mult visat, zapada mare si aerul rarefiat oprindu-l la 7800m. (Chiar si acum, ideea ca un român ajunge sa bata, în Himalaya, urme pentru serpasi, mi se pare paradoxala!).

În 30 septembrie, Catalin si cu mine ne-am reîntâlnit cu Zsolt în T2. Planul meu de a urca pe vârf a doua zi, în 1 octombrie, nu a fost fructuos. Catalin a respins ideea fiind neaclimatizat suficient iar Zsolt si cu mine ne-am întors dupa câteva ore de urcus în noapte, rebegiti de frig.

Ziua cea mare, 2 octombrie, a inceput la ora 01: 45, când dupa mai bine de o ora de echipare înfrigurata, am pornit toti trei spre vârf. Ni s-a alaturat si Alexandru Gavan, ramas singur dupa ce Sergiu Matei a renuntat în urma unui edem pulmonar.

Dupa mai bine de 4 ore am atins cota 7500, unde era instalata Tabara 3, folosita în special de cei ce aveau butelii cu oxigen pentru ascensiune. Noua ne-a fost mai eficient sa urcam direct din T2, mai mult dar fara bagaje, decât sa mai pierdem o zi cu instalarea T3.

Un prim obstacol tehnic, Rock Band, a marcat începutul unui pasaj aproape vertical. Sfârsitul sau, dupa o ora solicitanta, ne-a scos la soare, dupa aproape 8 ore de mers prin frig extrem. Mi-au mai trebuit înca 5 ore, într-un ritm mult prea lent ca sa nu ma simt cu adevarat la 8000 metri, ca sa ajung pe platoul somital, la mai putin de o ora de punctul de cota maxima, desi aflat cu doar 50 metri mai sus.

La ora 16 (ora Nepalului), la capatul a 14 ore reci si grele, ajuns pe crestetul Zeitei de Turcoaz, am avut certitudinea reusitei- la nici 30 km în linie dreapta se înalta, doar pentru mine, Chomolungma, Zeita Mama a Pamântului, cel mai înalt vârf al lumii.

Întocmai ca si anul trecut, am avut cu mine un steag cu semnaturi ale persoanelor cu dizabilitati de dezvoltare de la Centrul de zi “Pentru Voi” din Timisoara, pe care l-am fotografiat în mâinile alpinistului sloven Pavle Kozjek, întâlnit pe vârf. Apoi l-am lasat acolo -legat de o butelie de oxigen abandonata- în bataia vântului, aproape de cer, la 8200,5m. Asta deoarece din respect pentru cei pe care i-am reprezentat, nu am vrut sa calc pe vârful propriu-zis.

La 15 minute dupa mine a ajuns si Catalin, stabilind o remarcabila performanta pentru un alpinist ce nu mai strabatuse decât Carpatii, iar dupa trei sferturi de ora, si Alexandru.

Cu Zsolt ne-am întâlnit la coborâre, la capatul platoului. Lungile zile în care a stat la altitudine si-au cerut pretul, încetinindu-l prea mult ca sa mai atinga vârful.

Epuizanta coborâre pâna la cort s-a încheiat la 21 de ore de la plecare, în lumina generoasa a unei luni pline, cu jumatate din Himalaya la picioarele noastre.

Frigul indurat în ziua de vârf mi-a provocat degeraturi usoare la picioare si am hotarât sa fac efortul de a coborî urmatoarea zi pâna în ABC (la caldura si supraveghere medicala), baietilor ramânându-le sa dezechipeze si T1. Sarcina grea, în conditii de vânt ce nu te lasa sa stai în picioare.

Seara de 4 octombrie a marcat întoarcerea lor în baza, extenuati peste masura, mai ales Zsolt, suspect de edem pulmonar (cu senzatia de „trei doze de bere în plamânul stâng, pe care le vom deschide si bea jos, în Katmandu”).

Asa a si fost, cîteva zile de odihna în capitala nepaleza ne-au prins bine tuturor, atât lor, care urmai sa se întoarca în tara, cât si mie, care împreuna cu Roxana, urma sa strabatem India, de la Darjeeling si Kolkata pâna în Mumbai si Rajahstan, într-un periplu fotografic ce sper ca a fost rodnic.

Mi-ar placea sa cred ca în urma nu am lasat doar un munte ce ne-a acceptat prezenta, ci si începutul unei prietenii, a unei alte viziuni asupra lumii. Sper însa ca marea mea cucerire va fi mesajul de toleranta si întelegere pentru cei a caror semnaturi au ramas sa fluture sub marele cer.

Cristian Tzecu
Timisoara, 12 noiembrie 2006.

Pentru mine, expeditia a fost organizata prin Clubul Sportiv Alternative Timisoara.

Am avut urmatorii sponsori, fara de care as fi stat acasa:

Sponsori principali:
De BooT,  momente.ro

Sponsori:
Kathrein- Romkatel, Stihl, Alpconstruct, SSI Schaefer, Textor, Magazinul Himalaya, Austrian Airlines, Gotech, Nahanny, Spot-Foto Modex, Magazinul Xsport, Cabinet Medical Neuroimpuls,

Partener: Universitatea Politehnica Timisoara.
Parteneri media: TeleUniversitatea Timisoara, Photomagazine, Knox

Catalin Neacsu a avut ca sponsor principal pe: Orange

Zsolt Torok a fost sponsorizat de:
Consiliul Local Arad, Axum Comp,
si
Polaris, Elba, Calivita International, Rotary Club Arad, Irodalmi Jelen, Compar, Bengi Invest, Smaragd Gold, Austrian Airlines, Luteranus Intezet, Elecon, Activ Club

Multumiri:
*Roxana Damaschin, *Fam. Ianculescu, *Dragos Dubina, *Catalin Morariu, *Alina Biriescu,*Cornel Galescu, *Andrada Damian, *David Neacsu, *Lala Velker,*Dan Glazer, *Dan Tomin, *Diana Andone & Radu Vasiu, *Fam Kemecsei, *Marius Nicoras, *Andrea Salazar, *Adrian Popescu, *Cosmin Baciu, *colegilor de la Multimedia (B226) si TeleUniversitatea.

Zsolt Torok si Catalin Neacsu

Ganesh Neupane si nepalezilor de la Monterosa

Dr Pierre Maina (Danemarca) pt asistenta medicala.

Multumiri familiei pt tot sprijinul.

Formatiei Blazzaj, pentru numele expeditiei

Tuturor celor ce mi-au fost aproape

Romanian Expedition “On your side” / Expeditia Romaneasca “De Partea Ta”

Members:

Catalin NEACSU, 28 years old, Pitesti -Area Sales Manager at “Noua Generatie”
Zsolt TOROK, 33 years old, Arad – Dental Technician
Cristian TZECU, 36 years old, Timisoara -Photographer, PhD student at the Politehnica University of Timisoara

Compared to other expeditions in the Himalayas, I guess that for me everything was overwhelmingly uncertain, starting with the news related to finally having the necessary financing (on top of my savings), news received only 2 weeks before the departure and ending with the last step before the summit.

Last winter I had already discussed with Zsolt the possibility of an ascent on Cho Oyu, but I found out about Catalin’s wish just two months before the expedition. Although Catalin had never travelled abroad before, he proved to be very reliable during the entire expedition.

At the end of August, once we arrived in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, we dedicated several days to the latest preparations, planning that on the 1st of September to cross the border in Tibet… sorry, China! It took us more than 10 days to reach the Advanced Base Camp (ABC), located at 5700 m, and during this period we managed to acclimatise ourselves properly. The contact with the Tibetan world, about which some of us heard only in the movies, was touching and at the same time shaded by everything that the brutal Chinese domination is and will continue to be for Tibet.

As I was told, there were around 400 people in ABC, climbers and cooks, their assistants and the leaders of the yak herds we used for equipment transportation. The Sherpas became indispensable, many climbers using their services for remarkable amounts of money.

Our expedition, organized by Monterosa Treks and Expeditions from Nepal, included climbers from Slovenia, Japan, the Basque Country, Denmark, Poland and Romania. Sergiu Matei and Alexandru Gavan from Bucharest were also with us, though having a different project and different financing.

After spending a few days in ABC, a lama officiated ‘puja’, a Buddhist ritual meant to make gods kinder (Cho Oyu means ‘The Turquoise Goddess’ in Tibetan); only after this ritual we were allowed and blessed to climb towards the heights. Camp 1, located at 6400 m and Camp 2, 7100 m, were equipped during the next 5 days, the final summit being planned after a needed rest period in ABC,

. Nevertheless, the ‘Goddess’ proved to have a moody temper and the snow falling for 5 long days, with only short breaks of calm, questioned the presence of anyone on the summit. Eventually the uncertainty swept away like the clouds and a few teams broke the ice, literarily, on the way towards the higher camps. Zsolt was ahead of everyone else, alone, with the desire to celebrate his 33rd anniversary on the summit. Catalin and I preferred to wait for other groups also, and this way we increased our chances of success.

On the 29th Zsolt did not get the present he dreamt of as he was stopped in his ascent at 7800 m by the big amount of snow and the rarefied air (even now the thought that a Romanian got to clear the tracks for the Sherpas in the Himalayans seems a paradox to me!).

On the 30th of September Catalin and I met Zsolt in C2. My plan to reach the summit the next day, on the 1st of October, was not successful. Catalin rejected the idea from the start as he was not enough acclimatised, while Zsolt and I came back only after few hours of climbing during nighttime, defeated by the freezing cold.

The big day, the 2nd of October, started at 01:45 am, when after 1 hour of feverish preparation of the equipment, the 3 of us started climbing to the summit. Alexandru Gavan joined us, as he was alone due to Sergiu Matei giving up because of pulmonary edema.

After more than 4 hours we reached height of 7500 m, where Camp 3 was equipped, used especially by those who had oxygen cylinders for the ascent. We thought to be more efficient to climb straight from C2, which meant a longer distance, but we did not carry any luggage and we did not waist an additional day with the installation of C3.

The first technical obstacle, Rock Band, meant the beginning of a part of the route that was almost vertical. At the end of it, after one long and hard hour, we reached a sunny area, after almost 8 hours of climbing in extreme low temperatures. I needed 5 more hours, climbing way too slow not to really feel that I am at 8000 m, to reach the summit plateau, less than one hour from the maximum height point, even this was only 50 m higher.

At 4 pm (Nepal time), after 14 cold and hard hours, on the crown of the Turquoise Goddess, I was aware of my certain success – less than 30 km away on a straight line, there she was: Chomolungma, the Mother Goddess of Earth, the highest summit of the world.

Just as I did last year, I carried with me a flag with the signatures of mentally disabled persons from ‘Pentru Voi’ Day centre in Timisoara, which I took a photo of while in the hands of the Slovenian climber Pavle Kozjek, whom I met on the summit. I left the flag there, tied to an oxygen cylinder left behind by climbers, at 8200.5 m. I did not want to step on the summit itself out of respect for the ones I represented.

Fifteen minutes after I got there, Catalin followed, setting a remarkable performance for a climber who only hiked in the Carpathians. Alexandru also reached the summit 45 minutes later.

We met Zsolt on the way down, at the end of the plateau. The long days spent in high altitudes turned against him and slowed him too much to be able to reach the summit.

The killing descent to the tent ended 21 hours after the departure, under the generous light of a full moon and with half of the Himalayans lying at our feet.

The cold during the summit day caused superficial frost bites to my legs and I decided to make an additional effort and to descent in the next day to the ABC (where I could find warm conditions and medical care), while the boys had to uninstall C1. Hard task, given the weather conditions, with heavy wind that could have put you to earth easily.

They returned to the ABC on the 4th of October, literarily exhausted, especially Zsolt, suspected to have pulmonary edema (the feeling was of ‘3 cans of beer in the left lung, cans that we will open and drink down, in Kathmandu’).

And that’s how it was: several days of rest in the Nepalese capital were a blessing for all of us, both for them (they were going to return to Romania soon) and to me (together with Roxana I was going to travel through India, from Darjeeling and Kolkata to Mumbai and Rajasthan, in a photographic travel which I hope was fruitful.

I would like to believe that we left behind not only a mountain that accepted our presence, but also the beginning of a friendship, of another vision on the world. I really hope that my great achievement is the message of tolerance and understanding for those whose signatures are left to wave under the great sky.

Cristian Tzecu
Timisoara, 12th of November 2006
translation: Simona Vilceanu

For me, the expedition was organized through Clubul Sportiv Alternative Timisoara.

I had the following sponsors (without them I would have stayed home):

Main sponsors:
De BooT, momente.ro

Sponsors:
Kathrein- Romkatel, Stihl, Alpconstruct, SSI Schaefer, Textor, Magazinul Himalaya, Austrian Airlines, Gotech, Nahanny Spot-Foto Modex Magazinul Xsport, Cabinet Medical Neuroimpuls.

Partner: Universitatea Politehnica Timisoara.
Media Partners: TeleUniversitatea Timisoara, Photomagazine, Knox

Catalin Neacsu’s main sponsor was: Orange

Zsolt Torok was sponsored by:
Local Council Arad, Axum Comp,
and
Polaris, Elba, Calivita International, Rotary Club Arad, Irodalmi Jelen, Compar, Bengi Invest, Smaragd Gold, Austrian Airlines, Luteranus Intezet, Elecon, Activ Club

Thanks to:
*Roxana Damaschin, *Fam. Ianculescu, *Dragos Dubina, *Catalin Morariu, *Alina Biriescu,*Cornel Galescu, *Andrada Damian, *David Neacsu, *Lala Velker, *Dan Tomin, *Diana Andone & Radu Vasiu, *Fam Kemecsei, *Marius Nicoras, *Andrea Salazar, *Adrian Popescu, *Cosmin Baciu, *colleagues at Multimedia (B226) and TeleUniversitatea.

Zsolt Torok and Catalin Neacsu

Dr Pierre Maina (Danmark) for his kind assistance.

Ganesh Neupane and the Monterosa crew.

Many thanks to the family for all the support.

To Blazzaj band, for the name of the expedition.

And to everyone who was close to me.

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