2. “Vise_fara_Limite”_’05 Shishapangma_Central Summit_8012m

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Expeditie organizata prin Clubul Sportiv Alternative Timisoara   &      Alpin Club Repedea Iasi

 

VERSIUNEA IN LIMBA ROMANA
Membrii expeditiei: Dragos DUBINA, Catalin MORARIU, Cristian TZECU

Cred ca ar trebui sa incep spunandu-va ca in urma cu cativa ani nici nu m-as fi gandit la unul din cele 14 varfuri de peste 8000 de metri din lume, atat din cauza pretului prohibitiv cat si datorita lipsei de experienta. Odata cu trecerea timpului muntii mari ai lumii au devenit tangibili iar recentele victorii ale alpinistilor romani in Himalaya ne-au dat incredere ca un optmiar ar fi posibil de atins.

Ceea ce fusese planificat initial ca o excursie in India si mai apoi o expeditie in Himalaya indiana s-a transformat intr-un proiect mai ambitios, intitulat “ Vise fara limite”, ce isi propunea atingerea varfului Shishapangma, de 8012m, traversarea Indiei si Nepalului cu autobuzul, crearea de legaturi intre oameni si nu in ultimul rand realizarea unei expozitii foto odata intorsi acasa. Punctul forte al proiectului l-a reprezentat, evident, ascensiunea, pentru care am inceput sa ne antrenam din toamna. Colaborarea mea fotografica de 2 ani cu Fundatia “Pentru Voi” mi-a dat ideea unui mesaj social, concretizat in ducerea acolo sus a unui steag cu semnaturi ale persoanelor cu dizabilitati intelectuale; aceasta reprezentand o premiera in ce priveste alpinismul nostru in Himalaya.

Plecati din tara la jumatatea lui martie, cu destinatia Nepal, am petrecut cateva zile intr-o tura de aclimatizare in regiunea Langtang urcand pana la cota 4000. Reintorsi în Kathmandu, capitala tarii, am consacrat o saptamana pregatirilor finale, de la cumpararea echipamentului pana la mancarea de altitudine.
In 2 aprilie am plecat spre Tibet, acum parte a Chinei. Cateva zile petrecute in Nyalam, la 3800m si iata-ne din nou la drum spre tabara de baza, la cota 5000, pana la care am ajuns cu transport auto. De aici cu iacii, dupa alte cateva zile, pana in tabara de baza avansata (ABC), la cota 5600, unde vom petrece o luna incercand sa ne aclimatizam si sa atingem varful.

Aclimatizarea presupune obisnuirea organismului cu aerul din ce in ce mai rarefiat si cu presiunea scazuta, proces realizabil intr-un timp de ordinul saptamanilor. Doar asa vom fi putand atinge varful, fara sa folosim butelii cu oxigen.
Rand pe rand am dus echipament in taberele superioare, Tabara 1 la 6300m si Tabara 2 la 7000, cu urcari si coborari repetate in ABC, pentru odihna. Comparativ cu alti ani, primavara lui 2005 a fost extrem de capricioasa in Himalaya, vanturile puternice fiind principalul obstacol. Inca din prima zi viscolul a rupt doua din corturile noastre din ABC, fiind nevoiti sa improvizam un cort pentru sala de mese si sa imprumutam bucatarului si ajutorului sau unul din corturile noastre.

Prognoza de vreme buna pentru ziua de 3 mai ne-a facut sa incercam o prima tentativa spre varf. In acest sens am decis sa urcam impreuna cu o expeditie austriaca ce folosea serpasi la echiparea traseului cu corzi fixe. In dimineata zilei de 3 mai, la ora 4.30 –ora locala- am plecat impreuna cu Dragos spre varf din Tabara 2, 7000m. Catalin a fost impiedicat de probleme respiratorii care ulterior s-au dovedit a fi o pneumonie ce ar fi putut fi letala. Odata cu primele raze, Dragos a hotarat sa se intoarca –ii inghetasera picioarele si era mai putin aclimatizat- si sa incerce in ziua urmatoare.
Am ramas singurul din cei trei spre varf, in fata mea fiind austriecii si cei doi serpasi. Datorita altitudinii, viteza medie a ascensiunii nu a depasit 100 metri diferenta de nivel pe ora. Din fericire vremea a fost excelenta si m-am bucurat mult de aceasta sansa. Traseul a fost mai dificil decat ma asteptam, portiunile stancoase echipate cu corzi fixe –deci mai abrupte- alternand cu pante inghetate si destul de abrupte. La ora 17.15, cu 4ore si jumatate inainte de asfintit, am reusit sa ajung pe Varful Central Shishapangma, la 8012m. Fiind sigur acolo sus, pe un varf ca o lama ascutita ce nu iti ofera confort, am pozat steagul cu semnaturi tinandu-l în mana stanga si declansand cu dreapta, incercand sa il prind nemiscat intr-o fractiune de secunda cand vantul batea putin mai incet. Nu am reusit decat partial.
Desi visam de mult ca odata ajuns pe varf sa o sun pe prietena mea de pe telefonul prin satelit, teama de a fi prins de intuneric m-a facut sa nu zabovesc si sa cobor cat mai iute. Cu toate acestea mi-au fost necesare 5 ore de mers prin zapada, gheata si interminabile rapeluri pana la cortul situat 1000 metri mai jos. In noaptea aceea am dormit putin, spre dimineata se facuse foarte frig.

Vremea rea din urmatoarea zi ne-a dus pe toti în ABC, la odihna, Dragos urmand sa plece dupa cateva zile intr-o noua tentativa spre varf. Avea sa petreaca mai mult de o saptamana la peste 6300 metri in asteptarea unei zile cu vreme buna dar din pacate in ziua cu prognoza favorabila a fost silit sa se intoarca de la 7650m, din cauza acelorasi capricii ale vremii, mult prea aproape de varf pentru a nu-l fi meritat cu prisosinta.
De la intoarcerea in Nepal si pana la jumatatea lui iunie am reusit acea calatorie fantastica in India, tara marilor contraste, infruntand incredibilele calduri dinaintea musonului. Intorsi in tara, cu 79 filme expuse si cu 5 GB de fotografii digitale, planuim acum realizarea expozitiei foto.
In spatele nostru a ramas un varf caruia de acum i se va asocia si numele Romaniei. In sufletul nostru se afla locuri noi, multi prieteni si mai ales amintiri ce s-ar merita povestite mai pe indelete.

Cristian TZECU , Timisoara, 21 iunie 2005

 

In tabara de baza expeditia a folosit cu succes sacii de dormit Nahanny

 

 

Interviu cu Simona Pele la Radio Timisoara – mp3 45 minute    Download – 20MB

 

ENGLISH VERSION
I think I should start by telling you that a few years ago I wouldn’t even dare to think about one of the fourteen summits above 8000 meters, both due to the huge price and to the lack of experience. The time passed by and slowly the world’s giants became more approachable. The recent victories of the Romanian mountaineers in the Himalaya gave us trust that an 8000 meters summit might be possible to climb.

What was initially planned as a trip in India and later as an expedition in the Indian Himalaya became a more ambitious project, named „Vise fara limite” –„Dreams without limits”. Its targets were the climb of Shishapangma, 8012m, to traverse India and Nepal by bus, to establish new connections among people and, not least, to organize a photographic exhibition once we would be back home.
The main target was, of course, the ascent – in this purpose we have trained since autumn. My collaboration for more than two years with the „Pentru Voi” foundation – an organization dealing with persons with intellectual disabilities – gave me the idea of a social message, by taking as high as possible a flag with the signatures of the disabled ones, the endorsing of a social message being a Romanian premiere concerning our Himalayan ascents.

The three of us to climb were Catalin MORARIU, 30, dentist, Dragos Dubina, 28, psychologist and myself, Cristian Tzecu, 35, photographer. Together we have done previous climbs in high mountains, so our team was very confident that we’ll get to the summit.

We left Romania in the middle of March heading towards Katmandu, Nepal. Up there we have spent a few days in an acclimatization trekking tour in the Langtang region, climbing up to 4000 meters. It was the first encounter with the Buddhists and their way of living, so financially poor, but also enlighten by their believes.
After the return to Katmandu we have dedicated a whole week to the final preparations, from the acquisition of the missing equipment parts to the high altitude food. On the 2nd of April we set forth to Tibet, now just a humble part of China. A few days in Nyalam at 3800 and we are on the road again – with a Land Cruiser – towards the Base Camp, at 5000m. From here we have used the yaks -15 at all, each carrying 40 kg of equipment or food – to get to the Advanced Base Camp (ABC), 5600m, where we were supposed to spend a whole month in order to get a good acclimatization and to reach the summit. The acclimatization supposes the accommodation of the body with the thin air (poor in oxygen) and the low pressure, by increasing the number of the blood’s red cells, which can be achieved in a few weeks. This is the only way to reach an above 8000 m summit without oxygen.

One by one we have carried the equipment to the upper camps, Camp 1 at 6300m and Camp 2 at 7000, with many ascents and descents back in the ABC for rest. The cook and his helper did their best to ensure a good food; furthermore, on the 13th of April we have celebrated the Nepalese New Year, the first day of 2062. Comparing with the previous years, the spring of 2005 has been extremely whimsical; the main impediment was the strong winds. From the first day the blizzard destroyed two of our tents in the ABC, thus we had to make a single one from two broken tents and to lend one of our tents to the cook and his helper.
The optimistic weather forecast made us set the first summit attempt for the 3rd of May. Thus we have decided to join an Austrian team which was using Sherpas to put fixed ropes on the route. The Sherpas are strong men, all belonging to the Sherpa tribe from the north of Nepal. Their contribution to the conquest of the Himalayan giants is huge. Hiring one for an 8000 summit costs about 3000$.

In the early morning of the 3rd of May, at 2.30 – local hour – I have left for the summit with Dragos, from Camp 2, 7000m. Catalin has been stopped there in his attempt by some breathing problems which later turned out to be pneumonia, which might have been very dangerous. The first hours were the most difficult; the bitter cold almost stiffed my feet. At the first sunrays, almost frozen, Dragos decided to return and to try the next day. This is how I remained the only Romanian to go for the summit, having in front the Austrians and two Sherpas. But my feet became warmer and so I felt more confident. Due to the altitude, the average speed of the ascent could not go beyond 100 meters in altitude per hour. Fortunately the weather was excellent and I felt very lucky having this chance. The route was more difficult than I have expected, rocky parts equipped with fixed ropes –thus very steep- alternating with icy slopes. At 17:15, four hours before dusk, I managed to reach Shishapangma Central Summit, 8012m. Being alone up there, on a peak like a sharp blade, without any place for the classical summit photo, I took the picture of the signature flag by holding it in the left hand and the camera in the right hand. Trying to get them still in a fraction when the wind wasn’t blowing so strong, I have only partially succeeded.
Although one of my hidden dreams was that once on the top to call my girlfriend from the Thuraya satellite phone, I was too stressed not to get caught by the night to come. That’s why I decided that it would be much wiser to descend as quickly as possible. It took me five hours among snow, ice and rocks, endless rappels until I finally reached the tent situated 1000 meters below the summit. On that night I have slept only a little, in the morning it became very cold and the zipper from my sleeping bag was damaged.
The next day’s bad weather banished all of us to the ABC, the best place to rest. Dragos was very firmly in his decision to try again to reach the summit. He spent more than one week above 6300m waiting for a day without strong winds. Unfortunately, the day forecasted as suitable for climbing was not so lucky; he had to return from 7650m because the winds started again ruthlessly. He was much too close to the summit for not deserving it all over.

From our return to Nepal until the middle of June we have done an incredible trip in India, the land of the amazing contrasts, facing out the 45 degrees heat. In Delhi we have met an organization for disabled, thus making new connections among people. We have returned with a lot of pictures and now we are planning an interesting photo exhibition.
Behind us remained a summit which from now on will be associated also with the name of my country, Romania. In our souls there are new places, lots of friends and above all, memories which would deserve to be told little by little.
Cristian TZECU , Timisoara, the 21th of june 2005