16 NISAN / APRIL 16
Ana kampta 3.gunumuz. Dun ve bugun Khumbu buzulu yakinlarinda
kramponlarla antreman yaptik. “Buz doktorlari” denen Nepal hukumeti
tarafindan gorevlendirilmis (ekiplerin hukumete odedigi tirmanma
ucreti karsiligi) cok yetenekli Sherpa’larin buzuldaki catlaklar
uzerine yerlestirdigi “merdiven”lerin simulasyonunu yaptik. Nepal
tarafindan tirmanmanin en riskli tarafi bu buzul catlak gecisleri.
Metrelerce derinlere uzanan metrelerce uzunluktaki catlaklar. Tibet
tarafindan yapilan tirmanislarda bu tarz bir yer yok, daha duz bir
tirmanis. Sirf bu yuzden bir suru dagci Tibet tarafindan tirmanmayi
seciyor.
Ana kamp da bu buzulun uzantisi uzerine kurulu. Yani buz ve kaya
heryer. Ve surekli hareket halinde! Butun cadirlar once saatlerce
suren bir platform hazirligindan sonra kurulabiliyor. 1-2 haftaya
kadar da gece-gunduz ve mevsim degisikligi sicaklik farklari sebebiyle
buzulun hareketi daha belirgin olacak ve cadir platformlarini
degistirmemiz gerekecek. Yani hersey yerinden sokulecek, oynamis
kayalar duzeltilecek, ve cadirlar tekrar kurulacak.
Hergun gece ve gunduz etraftaki tepelerden dusen kaya, buz, ve kar
ciglarinin sesleriyle urkuyoruz. Bunlara ek olarak tepemizde surekli
dolanan helikopterler. Komsu NBC ekibinin butun kamera ve ekipmanlari
400 kusur kutu icinde yavas yavas ana kampa ulasiyor. Ana kampta
birden fazla helikopter “pist”i var ama bir tanesi NBC ekibi icin tam
dibimizde.
Resimde ana kampin nerdeyse yirmide birini ancak goruyorsunuz.
…………………………………………..
3rd day at the base camp. Both yesterday and today, we practiced a
little bit with crampons near the Khumbu glacier. We tried to simulate
“ladder” crossings on the icefall. There is a group of super talented
Sherpa employed by Nepalese government to put aluminum “ladders”
across huge cracks across the icefall as part of the permit fee teams
pay. We tried to simulate that a little bit. This is the most risky
aspect of climbing from the Nepalese side: crossing meters of deep
crevasses with meters long ladders “secured” on the icefall. There is
no such sections on the route from the Tibetan side: it is more
straightforward. This is one of the reasons some climbers choose to
climb from that side.
The base camp is established also on the extension of this Khumbu
icefall covered with rock and ice that moves all the time! All the
tents are set after hours of Sherpa labor of creating platforms. In a
few weeks, we will have to dismantle everything and re-arrange tent
platforms by moving rocks around before we put the tents back up.
Everyday and night we jump from our seats with the sounds of rock,
ice, and snow avalanches happening all around us. Plus there is the
sounds of the helicopters hovering above us too. The neighbor NBC team
has been getting their camera gear and equipment in 400+ cases
delivered. There are more than a few “helipads” in the base camp but
there is one just next to us for the NBC team.
The photo shows only about one twentieth of the whole base camp area.
Khumbu buzulu ve ana kamptan minik bir kare / Khumbu icefall and a tiny frame from the base camp