World Peace Pagoda - Pokhara, Nepal

World Peace Pagoda

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World Peace Pagoda by Wikipedia

A Peace Pagoda is a Buddhist stupa designed to provide a focus for people of all races and creeds, and to help unite them in their search for world peace. Most (though not all) have been built under the guidance of Nichidatsu Fujii (1885–1985), a Buddhist monk from Japan and founder of the Nipponzan-Myōhōji Buddhist Order. Fujii was greatly inspired by his meeting with Mahatma Gandhi in 1931 and decided to devote his life to promoting non-violence. In 1947, he began constructing Peace Pagodas as shrines to World peace.

The first Peace Pagodas were built as a symbol of peace in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki where the atomic bombs took the lives of over 150,000 people, almost all of whom were civilian, at the end of World War II. By 2000, eighty Peace Pagodas had been built around the world in Europe, Asia, and the United States.

The Peace Pagoda was awarded the Courage of Conscience award June 5, 1998 in Sherborn, MA



World Peace Pagoda - Pokhara, Nepal
Balanced on a narrow ridge high above Phewa Tal, the brilliant-white World Peace Pagoda in Pokhara is a massive Buddhist stupa which was constructed by Buddhist monks from the Japanese Nipponzan Myōhōji organisation. Besides being an impressive sight in itself, the shrine is a vantage point which offers spectacular views of the Annapurna range and Pokhara city.

more pictures of Pokhara (link) :

http://followtheclimb.blogspot.com/search/label/Pokhara

Devi's Falls in Pokhara

 

Devi's Falls in Pokhara

Devi's Falls marks the point where the Pardi Khola stream vanishes underground. When the stream is at full bore, the sound of the water plunging over the falls is deafening.


According to locals, the name is a corruption of David's Falls, a reference to a Swiss visitor who tumbled into the sinkhole and drowned

more pictures of Pokhara (link) : http://followtheclimb.blogspot.com/search/label/Pokhara

Nepalese Hindu Women Festival

Teej in Nepal

by Wikipedia

link : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teej

The first day of Teej is called Dar Khane Din. On this day the women, both married and unmarried, mainly of Khas ethnicity, assemble at one place, in their finest attire and start dancing and singing devotional songs. Amidst all this, the grand feast takes place. The jollity often goes on till midnight, after which the 24-hour fast starts.

The second day is the fasting day. Some women live without a morsel of food and drops of water while others take liquid and fruit. On this day, they gaily dress and visit a nearbyShiva temple singing and dancing on the way. The Pashupatinath Temple gets the highest number of devotees. At the Shiva temple, women circumambulate the Shiva Linga, the symbol of the lord, offering flowers, sweets and coins. The main puja (religious ceremony) takes place with offerings of flowers, fruits, etc., made to Shiva and Parbati, beseeching them to grant their blessing upon the husband and family. The important part of the puja is the oil lamp which should be alight throughout the night.

 

The third day of the festival is Rishi Panchami. After the completion of the previous day's puja, women pay homage to various deities and bathe with red mud found on the roots of the sacred datiwan bush, along with its leaves. This act of purification is the final ritual of Teej, after which women are considered absolved from all their sins. The recent years have witnessed an alteration in the rituals, especially concerning the severity, but its essence remains the same.



Teej is celebrated just before the first day of Ganesh Chaturthi. Women do 24-hour nirjala fasting (without water or fruit) for the wellness of their spouse and their married life and unmarried would be praying to get a nice husband.




Conference at NUST - Pakistan

Thank you to NUST Adventure Club, The Adventure Club, and PFAN for inviting me as keynote speaker and for their heartwarming welcome.

I had great pleasure talking to such interested, enthousiatic and involved audience.

* NUST: National University of Sciences and Technology

* PFAN : Pak-France Alumni Network

Official website:

• http://www.pfan.org.pk/index.php
• www.adventureclub.com.pk and www.rockclimbing.pk
• http://www.nust.edu.pk/

Broad Peak Daily Journal Videos - Online

Click on the video that you want to view

Broad Peak Pictures (link)

more coming soon ...

Excellent News & Bad News

Excellent News : The 2 days chock treatment worked. I'm healthy again. I am very happy!!!! (I will not eat yogurt anymore that I buy from a deli, I promise .... what a stupid mistake ....)

My doctor gave me some food/vitamins supplement to speed up my recovery. I need too rest and eat up.

Bad News : I should I have left Kathmandu September 1st to Tibet to climb Shishapagma, which is leaving me less than 10 days to build up strength and to gain weight. The doctor told me that it is too early to be back in mountain and asked me to cancel my Shisha climb.

It is with regret that I will cancel my Shishapagma expedition. It is the wise decision and I am comfortable with it.   

Body Fat Drama #2

I am suffering from a food positioning for the last few days. I went to the hospital and doctors are running some tests. They gave me a 2 days very porwerful medecine. I will go back to the hospital on Monday to check on my status and thay will decide if I should get hospitalized to treat me and help me to recover.  My body is unfortunately very weak now and crushed down every day little bite more my body fat ratio. It is a terrible timing for being sick as it might jeopardize my Shisha climb. 

I have always put safety first. So if my doctor ask me to cancel my expedition, I will do it.

PS: Please do not worry. I am in excellent hands. I am followed by one of the best hospital in Nepal

Me yesterday - my current weight : 124lbs

The issue is I am in a down trend, whereas I should be gaining weight.

http://followtheclimb.blogspot.com/2011/05/body-fat-drama.html

All you wanted to know about the mountains > 8000m

Excellent website

http://www.8000ers.com/cms/en/8000ers-mainmenu-205.html

Alpine Challenge Itinerary - 9 Months Away Day by Day

Click on the link/title to access to the photos of the day

Everest Base Camp Trek

• 03/27/11 - Luckla to Phakding
• 03/28/11 - Trek from Phakding to Namche
• 03/29/11 - Namche rest day
• 03/30/11 - Trek from Namche to Deboche
• 03/31/11 - Trek from Deboche to Dingboche
• 04/01/11 - Trek from Dingboche to Chhunkung
• 04/02/11 - Trek from Dingboche to Lobuche 
• 04/03/11 - Trek from Lobuche to Kalaptar 
• 04/04/11 - Trek from Lobuche to Panboche
• 04/05/11 - Trek from Panboche to Phakding
• 04/06/11 - Trek from Phaking to Lukla 
• 04/07/11 - Visit Baktipur
• 04/07/11 - Visit Monkey Temple 
• 04/07/11 - Visit Pattan
• 04/08/11 - Visit Nagarkot
• 04/09/11 - Visit Kathmandu

Rest  

• 04/10/11 - Kathmandhu Rest Day

Cho Oyu Climb

• 04/11/11 - Kathmandu to Tatopani
• 04/12/11 - Tatopani to Nylam
• 04/13/11 - Nylam Rest Day
• 04/14/11 - Nylam to Tingri - incl hike
• 04/15/11 - Tingri rest day
• 04/16/11 - Tingri to Chinese Base Camp
• 04/17/11 - Chinese Base Camp to Intermediary Base Camp
• 04/18/11 - IBC to ABC
• 04/19/11 - ABC rest day
• 04/20/11 - ABC rest day
• 04/21/11 - ABC acclimatization trek
• 04/22/11 - Rest Day
• 04/23/11 - ABC to C1 to ABC
• 04/24/11 - ABC Rest Day
• 04/25/11 - ABC to C1
• 04/26/11 - C1 to mid C2 to C1
• 04/27/11 - C1 to C2 low
• 04/28/11 - C2 low to ABC
• 05/01/11 - ABC to C1
• 05/02/11 - C1 to C2 low
• 05/03/11 - C2 low to C2
• 05/04/11 - C2 to C3
• 05/05/11 - C3 - summit - C2
• 05/06/11 - C2 to ABC
• 05/07/11 - ABC to Zanbu
• 05/08/11 - Zanbu to Kathmandu

Rest

• 05/09/11 - Rest day Kathmandu

Lhotse Climb

• 05/10/11 - Kathmandu to Namche
• 05/11/11 - Namche to Dugla
• 05/12/11 - Dugla to Base Camp
• 05/13/11 - Base Camp Rest Day (wait for weather window)
• 05/14/11 - Base Camp Rest Day (wait for weather window)
• 05/15/11 - Base Camp Rest Day (wait for weather window)
• 05/16/11 - Base Camp to Camp 2
• 05/17/11 - Camp 2 to Camp 3
• 05/18/11 - Camp 3 to Camp 4
• 05/19/11 - Camp 4 to Summit to Camp 3
• 05/20/11 - Camp 3 to Camp 2
• 05/21/11 - Camp 2 to Base Camp
• 05/22/11 - Base Camp (last day day - sorting stuff)
• 05/23/11 - Base Camp to Pheriche
• 05/24/11 - Pheriche to Namche
• 05/25/11 - Namche to Luckla
• 05/26/11 - Luckla to Kathmandu

Rest Days

• 05/27/11 - Kathmandhu Rest Day
• 06/10/11 - Flight to Islamabad

Broad Peak Climb

• 06/11/11 - Fly to Islamabad
• 06/12/11 - Drive to Chilas
• 06/13/11 - Drive to Skardu
• 06/14/11 - Rest Day at Skardu
• 06/15/11 - Drive to Askole (3000m)
• 06/16/11 - Trek to Jhola
• 06/17/11 - Trek to Paiyu
• 06/18/11 - Day free at Paiyu for acclimatization (3600m)
• 06/19/11 - Trek to Urduka
• 06/20/11 - Trek to Goro II (4500m)
• 06/21/11 - Trek to Base Camp (4800m)
• 06/22/11 - Rest Day at Base Camp
• 06/23/11 - Climb from Base Camp to Camp 2 (6200m) 
• 06/24/11 - Climb from Camp 2 to Low Camp 3 (7000m)
• 06/25/11 - First Summit Attemp (turn back due to high wind >60km), go down to Base Camp
• 06/26/11 - Rest Day at Base Camp
• 06/27/11 - Base Camp Rest Day (wait for weather window)
• 06/28/11 - Base Camp Rest Day (wait for weather window)
• 06/29/11 - Base Camp Rest Day (wait for weather window)
• 06/30/11 - Base Camp Rest Day (wait for weather window)
• 07/01/11 - Base Camp Rest Day (wait for weather window)
• 07/02/11 - Base Camp Rest Day (wait for weather window)
• 07/03/11 - Climb from Base Camp to Camp 2 (6200m)
• 07/04/11 - Climb from Camp 2 to Low Camp 3 (7000m) but an Avalanche ravaged our tent, we lost everything, we have to turn back. Back to Camp 2
• 07/05/11 - Go Down Camp 2 to Base Camp
• 07/06/11 - Base Camp Rest Day (wait for weather window)
• 07/07/11 - Base Camp Rest Day (wait for weather window)
• 07/08/11 - Base Camp Rest Day (wait for weather window)
• 07/09/11 - Base Camp Rest Day (wait for weather window)
• 07/10/11 - Base Camp Rest Day (wait for weather window)
• 07/11/11 - Base Camp Rest Day (wait for weather window)
• 07/12/11 - Climb from Base Camp to Camp 2 (6200m)
• 07/13/11 - Climb from Camp 2 to Camp 3 (7200m)
• 07/14/11 - Summit Attempt - Go up to the col - Got frosbite - Go down to Base Camp
• 07/15/11 - Base Camp Rest Day (recover from frosbite)
• 07/16/11 - Base Camp Rest Day (recover from frosbite)
• 07/17/11 - Base Camp Rest Day (recover from frosbite)
• 07/18/11 - Base Camp Rest Day (recover from frosbite)
• 07/19/11 - Base Camp Rest Day (recover from frosbite)
• 07/20/11 - Base Camp Rest Day (recover from frosbite)
• 07/21/11 - Base Camp Rest Day (recover from frosbite)
• 07/22/11 - Base Camp Rest Day (recover from frosbite)
• 07/23/11 - Climb from Base Camp to Camp 2 (6200m)
• 07/24/11 - Climb from Camp 2 to Camp 3 (7200m)
• 07/25/11 - Summit (8047m) - Go Down Camp 3
• 07/26/11 - Go Down Camp 3 to Base Camp
• 07/27/11 - Trek to K2 Base Camp (5100m) 

K2 Climb

• 07/28/11 - Rest Day at K2 Base Camp (need to recover from Broad Peak Summit)
• 07/29/11 - Rest Day at K2 Base Camp (need to recover from Broad Peak Summit)
• 07/30/11 - Rest Day at K2 Base Camp (need to recover from Broad Peak Summit)
• 07/31/11 - Rest Day at K2 Base Camp (need to recover from Broad Peak Summit)
• 08/01/11 - Get ready for the summit push
• 08/02/11 - Climb from Base Camp to Camp 2 (6100m)
• 08/03/11 - Climb from Camp 2 to Camp 3 (7350m)
• 08/04/11 - Climb from Camp 3 to Low Camp 4 (7600m)
• 08/05/11 - Climb from Low Camp 4 to Camp 4 (8000m) 
• 08/06/11 - Too windy - Summit Attempt Cancel - Go Down Camp 2
• 08/07/11 - Go Down Camp 2 to Base Camp 

Trek Back from K2

•  08/08/11 - Pack at K2 base Camp and get ready to leave
• 08/09/11 - Trek down to Goro II
• 08/10/11 - Trek down to Jhola
• 08/11/11 - Trek down to Askole
• 08/12/11 - Drive to Skardu

Rest

• 08/13/11 - Rest day at Skardu (waiting for a flight)
• 08/14/11 - Fly to Islamabad
• 08/15/11 - Rest in Islamabad

Thanks to bloggers' input - Post had been removed

Sophie has spent more than 80days above 4800m in the last 3 months

How to qualify my Broad Peak climb in one word : Resilience

Broad Peak

Attempt #1 (summit scheduled June 26th) : We were climbing alpine style. During our summit push we got cut in a wind storm. We when down to Base Camp the same day

Attempt #2 (summit scheduled July 6th): After going through a wind storm, we finally reached Camp 3. But no tent as waiting for us. Our tent got covered up y an avalanche. We had to go down

Attempt #3 (summit scheduled on July 14th): Starting at 9:30pm, we climbed for about 13h and reached only 7900m. Snow was deep, and fixing rope took the team a long time, long enough to freeze my toes. I had a small frostbite at big toe, we had to go down. We when down to Base Camp (4800m) from 7900m

Attempt #4 : SUMMIT. I summit on july 25th !

K2 - we reached and sleep at Camp IV

K2's Attempt #1 (summit scheduled on august 6th): We should have start at 1am. Waking up at midnight, we'd checked on the weather every 30 minutes. But the wind did not slow down. At 5am we could see very high winds at the top, and at 7am it was a white out. Weather tuning sour, and the weather forecast predicating bad weather for the next day, we 've decided to go down. 

 

National Day of Pakistan

August 14th 2011 is the 71st National Day of Pakistan

learn more : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan 

Back to Islamabad

I am back in Islamabad, Happy and Healthy

I have 2 weeks to rest and eat up before my next adventure : Climbing Shishapgma (8,013 m/26,289 ft) in Tibet, and Manaslu ( 8,156 m/26,759 ft) in Nepal

Pakistan : Baltoro Glacier view Broad Peak Camp 2

Sophie - chosen by FRANCE AMERIQUE magazine to be in the top 50 French people who have an influence in the USA.

BREAKING NEWS !

For France-Amerique Magazine special summer issue, I have been chosen by France Amerique magazine to be in the top 50 French people who have an influence in the USA.

France Amerique EDITORIAL PROFILE

France-Amérique, also known as Le Journal Francais des États-Unis, is America’s largest and only nationwide French-language publication, serving an audience of French expatriates, Francophones and French-speaking Americans

http://www.france-amerique.com/

Here is the digital version of that July/August issue:

http://issuu.com/francepress/docs/july_august_2011?mode=embed&layout=http%3A%2F%2Fskin.issuu.com%2Fv%2Fdark%2Flayout.xml&showFlipBtn=true

** I just remind you that the numbers don't correspond to a ranking.

Back in Skardu

We walked more than 10h every day for 3 days to trek out from K2 Base Camp to Askole. It was really tough for our feet which had been devastated with blisters .... Today Lakpa and I are in Skardu, happy!

Tomorrrow we will fly to Islamabad if the weather is good.

Toutes les Nouvelles de Versailles (France)10 août 2011

Clic = zoOM

Appel de Sophie du K2 camp 2

Appel de Sophie à Yves Denis (Paris samedi 06/08/2011 à 15h45)

Vendredi, nous avons atteint le camp 4. Ce matin, de 00h00 à 03h00, nous nous sommes réveillés Lakpa, Louis et moi toutes les 30 minutes pour surveiller la météo. A 05h00, il y avait trop de vent et surtout un voile blanc de tempête qui ne permet pas de prendre des repères au risque de se perdre. D'autre part le camp de base nous annonce que la pression tombe et que le temps va se dégrader. Nous avons décidé de redescendre, l'équipe étant trop réduite, la montée devenait trop dangereuse, c'est dommage car physiquement et moralement, le sommet était à notre portée.
Pour moi la montée du K2 s'est faite en 4 jours, dans des conditions météo formidables, car nous n'avions de la neige que jusqu'aux genoux, le paysage était magnifique et j'étais très émue. Ce sera une expérience inoubliable.
Je referai une tentative, mais avec une équipe solide car nous montons près de 1000 mètres par jour.
Après de nombreux soucis avec les porteurs, pourtant payés et qui au C2 nous disent "on est malade, on ne peut pas monter" ou "c'est trop lourd", nous nous sommes chargés nous même d'aller rechercher du matériel, portant l'oxygène et 200m de corde, soit 6 kg en plus.
Samedi 6 nous avons donc fait la descente et nous sommes au camp 2. Demain nous allons du C2 au camp de base.
Le 8 nous aurons redescendu le matériel. Puis il y aura 12 heures de marche pour atteindre Skardou et enfin 6 heures pour atteindre Kachgar d'où je prendrai un avion pour Islamabad où je doit être reçue à l'Ambassade de France pour une conférence de presse.
Au programme 15 jours de repos, (je dors actuellement sur mes cotes !)
Encore 2 sommets et je rentre en France vers le 18 novembre, peut-être le 11.

News from the explorersweb: Summit day postponed

Here is the link of the article http://www.explorersweb.com/everest_k2/news.php?id=20276
and hereunder an extract

Posted: Aug 05, 2011 02:52 am EDT
(Angela Benavides) Tough conditions prevented most K2 summit climbers from reaching C4 as planned. Only the ABC team members Gerfried Göschl, Alex Txikon and Kilian Volken managed to reach the camp's location at 7,900m, while all other teams were forced to stop for the night between C3 and C4.
"The delayed climbers are carrying ropes and essential gear to fix some of the mountain's upper sections," Alex home team explained. "Thus, Gerfried, Alex and Kilian have spent all night waiting for the rest and evaluating their options: to remain over 24 hours at nearly 8,000 meters, or to abandon the attempt. Finally, this morning they decided to go on."
"I am feeling strong - and I've worked so hard on this attempt," Alex said on the sat-phone. "It's worth to wait one day and try to top-out all together tomorrow."
Noone has summited K2 since the dramatic push of 2008. Alex, on the contrary, has already managed a GI+G2 double header and now aims to make a triplet of it with K2.
Meanwhile in BC, FTA's Chris confirmed the news and reported on today's plans: the climbers will fix the Bottleneck. FTA's team has been reduced to Sophie Denis, Lakpa and two HAPS's, after rob Pringer turned back yesterday.

Chris' phone call: Camp 3 in spite of high wind (and on the way to camp 4)

Chris called FTA office in (see this link FTA blog) to let us know that the summit push is under way and they  reached C3 on the 3rd as planned. Sophie, Lakpa, Farhad, Aziz and Said were in C3 last night and hope to push to C4 today. Rob came back down to BC after pushing towards C3 and is reconsidering his options at this time.
The winds have been very strong even at base camp so they will be watching carefully this afternoon and evening for the very latest reports before making a final call on a summit bid on the 5th. All members are safe and sound and Chris will have more later today on how the push to C4 has gone. Stay tuned!

Chris  a appelé le siège de FTA et les a informé que la route vers le sommet a commencé. Ils ont atteint le camp 3 le 3 aout comme prévu. Sophie Lakpa Farhad Aziz et Said étaient au camp 3 la nuit dernière et espèrent atteindre la camp 4 aujourd'hui  (le 4 mais nous n'avons pas confirmation pour l'instant). Rob est finalement retourné au camp de base (après avoir atteint le camp 3).
Même au camp de base, les vents ont été assez violents, à partir du camp 4 (le 4) ils devront donc être très attentifs à l'évolution des conditions météo l'après midi et en début de soirée avant de partir pour le sommet le 5 (ils doivent passer un coup de fil avant de se lancer).
Tous les membres du groupe se portent bien .
Restez en ligne, 
les choses peuvent vite évoluer dans les prochaines heures

News from the explorerweb:August 4th 2011

Link to the article: http://www.explorersweb.com/everest_k2/news.php?id=20274 and an extract of the article hereunder

Posted: Aug 04, 2011 02:16 pm EDT
(By Dave Hancock) 
In Skardu, FTA leader Dave Hancock just submitted the following report to ExplorersWeb. FTA lost a client on Broad Peak and have a bunch pushing for the summit of K2 right now. Here goes a debrief and thoughts straight from the horse's mouth.

High hopes for K2 tonight
By Dave Hancock

"There is significant anticipation surrounding K2 tonight both amongst the asssembled returned climbers and outfitters in Skardu, and no doubt the respective BC teams at the foot of the hill. By various reports up to 17 climbers are poised at camp 4 for a summit attempt tomorrow, including FTA members Sophie Denis, Rob Springer and Lapka, and our two HAP's.
A huge high pressure system has parked itself across the top of northern Pakistan, and while some European models are predicting possibly higher winds late tomorrow, all indicators locally are fuelling hopes for a near perfect weather window. As the suns sets this evening across the Indus basin in Skardu, there is not a breath of wind and the temperature remains well into the high 20's celsius. K2 has not seen a person stand upon her summit since 2008.

Article dans le Parisien (french newspaper): "Sophie Denis s'attaque au mont K2"

Sophie's phone call: K2 Camp 2 the second

Today the international group leaved Base camp (5100m) at 3h40am.
The group is composed of 14 people and due to a lot of snow, all the people have decided to follow the CESEN road (K2 roads including CESEN road).
At the beginning of the climbing day, Sophie has difficulties to feel concerned by the climbing but after 2h00 of effort, the 60° of the mountain slope make her back to business with her well known dynamism. Broad Peak was emotionally a big challenge and all the climbers need time to focus on K2.
For information, with a slope higher than 45°, every fall and slide can not be stopped by the climber itself and can be the last one (be careful do not confuse the slope in ° and %).

At 12h the second, the whole group is in camp 2 around 6000M
the third, the group will be in camp 3
the fourth, the group will be in camp 4
And the 5: Summit day

Aujourd'hui le groupe international de 14 personnes a quitté le camp de base (5100m) vers 3h40 du matin. A cause de conditions de neige et météo assez moyenne, l'ensemble des grimpeurs a décidé de parcourir la voie CESEN (K2 roads including CESEN road).
Au début de la montée Sophie a un moral bas, mais après 2h00, la pente atteignant les 60° Sophie est obligée de se concentrer, retrouve son dynamisme et oublie ses pensées négatives. A midi, le groupe est au camp 2 vers 6000 mètres. 
Les objectifs sont les suivants: 
le 3 au camp 3
le 4 au camp 4
le 5 au sommet.

FTA K2/Broad Peak 2011 - Update from K2 BC

From this link: FTA blog

Chris has called in with an update from K2 where the team is now resting in preparation for a summit bid. Lakpa, Chris and the HAPs (Farhad, Aziz and Said) have now carried gear (rope, tents etc) and oxygen in C2 in preparation for a summit push this week. Everyone is back at BC with a rest day planned for August 1st. As it stands they plan to ascend to C2 on the 2nd, C3 on the 3rd, C4 on the 4th and then make a summit bid on the 5th.  They are running into deep snow high on the route and this will represent a real challenge to establishing camp on the Shoulder in the days ahead so there will be a need for sharing the hard work to do.

They are hopeful to make a bid on Friday the 5th and the weather will dictate this possibility. The predictions have been for calm summit winds for the 2nd to 5th but there looks now to be rising summit winds on the 5th so that window may close before they can make this push in which case they will hope for another window the following week.

At this time FTA members Sophie, Rob and Lakpa will plan to make a summit bid with Chris planning to be in C2 in support during the bid.  Farhad, Aziz and Said plan to deposit O2 and other gear in C4 and return to C3 on the 3rd. It is a real challenge for them to deliver these supplies to C4 and our success will depend a lot on how successful they are in their role. They have worked very hard for our team on Broad Peak and have been a tremendous asset to the expedition as a whole.

Chris notes that the group of climbers now assembled on the Cesen are largely familiar to each other and that they are cooperating very well. Among them are FTA alum Alex Txicon who became the youngest Basque climber to reach an 8000m summit in 2003 on Broad  Peak. As well Bruno Buchet who was with FTA in 2005 on Broad Peak is on the hill and joining to push. Fabrizio and Kinga who had planned to climb a different route but have been forced by conditions back on to known ground.  Christian, Gerfried and more round out the assembled group. Initially teams were to have been on up to three different routes but now all hopes lie in the Cesen from the Pakistan side.

That's It: Broad Peak and New World record for Sophie

On July 25th, Sophie reached the Broad Peak summit. It was her fourth attempt with 23 hours of climbing. With Broad Peak summit, she becomes a new world record woman with three 8000m in less than 3 months: Cho Oyu - Lhotse - Broad Peak.

Sophie a atteint le sommet du Broad Peak le 25 Juillet après une ascension de 23 heures lors de sa quatrième tentative. Elle bat ainsi un record du monde en ayant atteint 3 sommets de plus de 8000m en 3 mois: Cho Oyu - Lhotse - Broad Peak. 

Sophie climbed CHO OYU and summit on May 5^th
Cho Oyu is the 6th highest peak in the world (8201m) and is part of the Greater Himalaya, where the central Asia plateau meets the Indian subcontinent.
Sophie climbed LHOTSE and summit on May 19^th
Lhotse is the 5th highest mountain in the world - a mountain in the central Himalayas on the border of Tibet and Nepal (8516m) and is connected to Everest via the South Col.
Sophie climbed BROAD PEAK  and summit on July 25^th
Broad Peak is the 12th highest mountain in the word 8047m in Pakistan.

After one little week of rest, Sophie will continue her challenge by climbing K2 (picture hereunder) on August 4th and 5th.

 More informations about the others climbers of the expedition and Jeff's accident are on the FTA blog:
 http://fieldtouring.blogspot.com/2011/07/fta-k2broad-peak-2011-team-back-in-bc.html#more

Never Give up : A fourth attempt planned July the 18th

After a first try abort due to a windy day, a second because of an avalanche, the third has been the occasion to encounter a very cold day. The whole group going up (with groups coming from Argentina and Spain) has stopped their effort around 7800/ 7900m and has decided to come back to the camp.
Dealing with a weather window, she left at 4am to the summit and after 13 hours of climbing since camp 3, tired to walk in a deep snow, she stopped a moment to add socks. As a prevention against these cold conditions, she got a stove in the bag and use it to dry her first socks she wears. At that time she saw her toes starting to be frozen so she decided to go down to camp 3 where the others groups joined her few times later. Her actual co-climber decided to give up. Her current planning is to wait for a possible weather window on the 18th with a new climbing partner to help her to walk in the deep snow. If the new attempt does not succeed, she will join an international group of climber to climb K2 and will come back to Broad Peak later as she knows the way to the summit since her last summit push.
Everything is going well, and she has not forgotten one of her motto: "Go  up is an option, go down is mandatory".

Depuis que Sophie fait de l'alpinisme, une de ses craintes est de se geler les doigts, des mains ou des pieds. Après une première montée arrêtée pour cause de vents, une seconde suite à une avalanche qui a emporté son matériel au camp 3, cette fois c'est le froid qui a eu raison  vers 7800/ 7900m de tous les groupes qui montaient.
Sophie s'est rapprochée de groupes argentins et espagnols. Espérant une amélioration de la météo, elle est partie vers le sommet à 4H00 du matin et après 13h d'ascension depuis le camp 3, fatiguée caril fallait se relayer pour faire la trace dans la neige, elle s'est arrêtée pour mettre des chaussettes supplémentaires et comme, par precaution et malgré le poids supplémentaire, elle avait emporté aussi un réchaud, elle a seché celles qu'elle avait. C'est alors qu'elle a aperçu un début de gelure de son gros orteil. C'est pourquoi elle a décidé de redescendre au camp 3, où elle a été rejointe par les autres groupes qui ont finalement renoncé. Son partenaire abandonne et son programme actuel est d'attendre une nouvelle opportunité vers le 18 juillet en embauchant quelqu'un qui pourra l'aider à faire la trace dans la neige. Si cela ne se fait pas, elle envisage de rejoindre un groupe d'une vingtaine d'alpinistes et de revenir éventuellement sur le Broad Peak maintenant qu'elle "connait le chemin". internationaux sur le K2
 Elle a un moral d'enfer et est très fiere d'avoir géré cette montée en prenant les bonnes décisions.

Photo - Summit Attemp #3

July 12th to Juy 15th

Lakpa and Sophie made their third Broad Peak Summit attempt

Day #1 - They climbed from Base Camp to Camp 2. We were expecting very deep due to the heavy recent snowing. But not at all, the snow was crispy, and ankle high. Just perfect to climb.

We joined for the summit push a german team and a spnish/argentinian team. The fact that we not only 2 in the mountain make a big difference from a breaking trail stand point.

Day #2 - All the teams went to Camp 3. Great team work today - Spanish/argentinian broke the trail at the morning, followed by the Germans, then by sophie and Lakpa. they arrived at Camp 3 early afternoon, leaving them few hours rest before push.

Day #2/3 - All the teams left at 9:30pm. Breaking the trail was very difficult. The snow was on some sections blue ice to very deep snow. We fixed about 200m ropes. After spending all night climbing, at 8:30am Sophie suddenly felt her feet very cold. Expecting that will happen, Sophie and Lakpa carry with them a MSR reactor to boil water or warm them up. At 7900m, Sophie took off her boots, sock,, bear feet she warmed up her feet with the stove. Dry her boots, put on new socks, and go down right away. She SAVED her feet from frostbite. She ended up with a tiny frostbite at the very top of her big toe.

Sophie always put safety first. She carried about 1kg more (Gas, stove, pot) when every grams count. But she noticed the day before summit that the sun will hit the face only late in the morning meaning that she knew that she will spend more than 12h in the dark, and in the cold

All the teams turn back shortly after Sophie and Lakpa.

Sophie and Lakpa went down to Base Camp the same day.

Explorersweb (dated June 27th 2011): "Sophie Denis, who wants them all, and she wants them fast"

http://explorersweb.com/everest_k2/news.php?id=20220

Jamais 2 sans 3: Nouvelle tentative pour le sommet plannifiée (New summit Bid on 10-13 july)

Lors de la dernière tentative pour le sommet, Sophie et Lakpa ont eu la surprise de ne pas retrouver leurs tentes au camp 3. Ces dernières ont été emportées par une avalanche pendant leur absence .

Il y a vraiment certains endroits ou on est content de ne pas être.

Après avoir rebroussé chemin pour cause de vents violents (>80km/h) lors de leur première tentative, ils se sont retrouvés dans une situation délicate pour leur deuxième tentative.

Malgré un chemin en partie de nuit, le retour vers le camp de base à la lueur des frontales s'est passé sans encombre.

Pour rétablir la situation, de nouvelles tentes vont leur être acheminées afin de ré installer le camp 3.

Ce nouveau matériel devrait leur permettre de faire une troisième tentative entre les 10 et 13 juillet pour Broad Peak avant que Sophie ne parte littéralement à l'assaut du mythique K2, en un temps record entre les 22 et 25 juillet.

Broad Peak sera alors le 3ème sommet de plus de 8000m réalisé par Sophie depuis le début de son challenge en Avril, après Cho Oyu et Lhotse.

At the second summit bid, Sophie and Lakpa discovered that their tents at camp3 have disappeared under an avalanche. So they decided to go back to base camp to find a roof for the night.

Some new tents will be sent to them and a new summit bid could be done around July 10-13^th before leaving for K2 around July 22-25^th.

FTA K2/Broad Peak 2011 - Second round of acclimatization done... & summit bids ahead for Sophie and Lakpa!

From Stu in the USA office
July 4, 2011

Chris has called in from BC to let us know that everyone is well and that most of team is in BC resting up for a summit bid. Sophie and Lakpa have remained high and are hoping for a break on Thursday in the winds to make a summit attempt. The remainder of the team is down at BC resting up for the next few days and then will hope for a good window perhaps around the 9th or 10th.
The camp 4 that sometimes we establish is often placed on a small flat area at around 7500m and it is quite a spot! It can reduce the summit day by a few crucial hours and especially when the summit ridge is giving short windows of low wind this can be the small advantage making a summit bid possible.
The views from C4 are spectacular but one rarely gets much sleep there between the altitude and the anticipation of leaving early for a summit bid. The sun comes onto the slope quite late in the morning so it is a very cold start and the ridge offers the first rays of warming sun. With summit winds to remain at or above 30km/hr Sophie and Lakpa will have their work cut out for them to make it to the top and back safely.
They will have to negotiate the summit ridge which is quite steep on both sides  and offers little protection from wind. We have seen summits in winds like this before but they are very demanding and most parties will wait for a lower winds. As Chris says in his dispatch Lakpa and Sophie will try to thread the weather needle later this week so we wish a great window for them!
After reaching the top or a high point then one must negotiate a winding ridge back to the relative safety of the col at 7850m. From there it is a short rappel/downclimb to the main slopes leading back to high camp. This upper slope has a few narrow crevasses which must be negotiated. They can be hard to see from above and have been the site of at least a few serious accidents requiring evacs from high on the hill. After winding through the upper slopes it is finally back to the warm tent and a hot brew!
We'll have more news shortly about any summit bids!

Photo - Summit Attemp #2

July 3rd to Juy 6th

Lakpa and Sophie made their second Broad Peak Summit attempt

 

Day #1 - They climbed from Base Camp to Camp 2. Snow was deep and sticky. Weather was nice almost all day.

Day #2 - After a late start due to a wind storm, Sophie and Lakpa climbed up to camp 3. As getting closer to Camp 3, snow got deeper, and deeeper, getting from knee high to hip high. Once arrived at camp 3 no tent, they try to dig at few different places where their tent could have been. Good effort but not successful. As it was starting to get dark, Sophie and Lakpa decide to trun back and go down to Camp 2. It was heartbreaking as it meant as well that they ost everything and had to give up their 2nd summit attempt.

Day #3 - They went down to Base Camp