Ueli Steck is in Nepal top open a route in the Khumbu valley, on the Kang Tengpoche summit. Here are some news from him :

Namche Bazar - Monday, April 14, 2008

Simon and I needed a short break. That’s why we decided to go back to Namche Bazar just for one day. Our first attempt to climb Tengkamopche north face took us quite a bit of energy. We had to break off our climb due to the bad weather.

Thursday, April 10

After our trip to the Trashi Laptsa Pass and further up, we rested for 3 days. Today we want to try the Tengkampoche north face. At 3 am it’s time for breakfast. Although it’s very early, we find our cook Kaji beeing in a great mood, as usual. We start our way to the wall at 4 pm. Simon ahead of me. The way is not too difficult to find and it’s not too far away from our base camp.

By daybreak we put on our climbing strap and crampons. The weather is good, the wind not too strong. The forecast for the following days: Friday more wind, otherwise dry. In the night of Saturday, increase of the wind. Saturday more humidity, wind changes to north-west. Sunday dry. The forecast for Saturday does not disturb us. We should make it to the upper part of the wall by then, just before coming out to the summit. We carry a minimum of equipment. We have food for four days and our sleeping bags in one backpack. We decide not take a tent with us. As from our wall-studies, done during the days before, we would be happy to find somewhere a bivouac, where we would be able to lie.

Simon goes up first and climbs the first 100 meters. Most of the time we climb together. We are connected by a rope and in between we place at least two belaying points. This is a very efficient method to gain height quickly and however stay secured at the wall. At 8 am we reach the platform. A 6 times 60 meters long very diversified climbing is waiting for us. I start to climb the first 4 pitches. Simon is damned to carry the backpack behind him. The climb is very demanding and each pitch is definitively not a stroll. On the contrary: each pitch requires everything from me. I carry a small equipment set with me, which consists in 14 normal pitons, 3 camelots, 6 nuts, 8 quickdraws and innumerable runners. Each of all these 60 meters long pitches is an adventure. I find difficult rock and mixed passages, which I have to belay with this minimum of equipment. The effort of Simon compared to mine is much bigger. He must belay and wait in the cold for at least 45 minutes. Afterwards he may jumar the 25 kg heavy backpack up. And this as quick as possible, to gain the lost time, which the leader waisted beforehand.

After 220 meters in the rock ascent we change. It’s 5 pm when Simon set up for the last pitch. Now it’s me, who is convicted to belay. From my belay station, the pitch looks pretty easy. But the sight is being obstructed by an overhang. Suddenly nothing goes on. From time to time I can give up a bit of the rope. I am belaying now a full hour. I am getting cold and a quick glance at my watch tells me, that it will get dark soon. Simon is a very strong climber. That it doesn’t move on, doesn’t really bother me. The passage up there must be quite difficult. There are not many climbing partner, where I can accept such a situation. But I can with Simon, and this to a 100 percent. Only the fact that it will be dark soon, bothers me. My actual position is not very comfortable for a bivouac. Then the rope comes to its end. Simon must have reached the end of the platform.

Short afterwards I reach the area with the heavy equipment. The place seems to be a bit flatter. We climb up another 60 meters, where we find a good place where to bivouac. We are able to build a 70 cm large and 4 meters long place, before hitting the rock. What a perfect place to spend the night. Not only 2 hours before, I would have thought, that we were going to spend the night in a vertical position. A small dream came true. The only bad news: the place is very outstanding. The wind is howling and we have pain to start our cooking gear. After a while we solve the problem and can make some hot water out of the snow. A Katadyn meal usually takes about 8 minute to be ready to eat. After 5 minutes I can no longer wait. I eat my pasta before being al dente and before being cold again. Our comfortable Phantom sleeping bags beware us from the cold night. The wind is still howling.

Friday, April 11

5 am. Time to get up. Like robots we make hot water. We eat our poor breakfast. Then it’s time to pack our gear in the big backpack. Yesterday Simon climbed the last pitch. Now it’s my turn to start. Good for me. I don’t have to carry the heavy backpack. I just have to make sure, that we move up higher and higher. Demanding climbing is waiting for me. The steepness and difficulty wakes me definitively up. At 1 pm we pass the mark of 6000 meters. The weather is getting worse and worse. We keep going. 1600 meters of the Tengkampoche wall lie below us. The wind is getting stronger and we have heavy snowfall. Spindrifts become avalanches. We are really too much exposed and totally delivered at the mercy of the natural elements.

Suddenly the decision is very simple: we have to abseil. It’s 3 pm and we find ourselves in the middle of a snowstorm totally exposed. Avalanches pass over us. Sometimes we have to wait until the wind calms down. We know we have to get down as soon as possible. The bad weather reached us half a day earlier than forecasted. As from our experience, it will only get worse. The abseiling is adventurous. Pitch by pitch we have to install belays. Sometimes it’s getting hard to the limits, that the cold is overcoming us. When the wind calms down for a moment, we can move on. A 8 pm we reach the bottom of the wall. About 100 meters below on the moraine we see two headlamps. Our cook Kaji and the “kitchenboy” have been waiting for us with juice. Simon and I are back. Tonight we will sleep well at our base camp.

See you soon, Ueli