Andrès en Rodrigo made it back to Kathmandu. Last week they attempted to go from basecamp up to higher camps to look at the consequences of the big storm that blow for days in a row. So they found out that most of their gear was destroyed or disappeared underneath massive snowfall. They made the wise decision to forget about further summit attemps and head back to Kathmandu.

Attacking a 8000+ mountain without sjerpa’s and without extra oxygen, is still a super human challenge, even if the weather is calm. Our Chilean heroes experienced very poor weather conditions which made it impossible to reach the summit.
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Hi Rodrigo

i red about the poor weather conditions you had to deal with during the weekend. According to my information that poor weather should be confined to the lowest 5/6000 meter of the mountain. At higher levels the sky should be mostly clear but from there wind starts to blow pretty hard. So i hope you guys are careful and don’t take any unnecessary risks.
Anyway, take care and be safe. Marc. (more…)

Hi Rodrigo
i consider myself a part of your team, so i do my best to put you guys in the best position to achieve your goals. Which most likely is: reaching the summit. However my opinion is that enjoying the climb and being safe, is as least as precious. It is not necessary to take any risks to get to the top.
I made a forecast until next Saturday, 17 october. I know you guys are smart enough to realize that the value of such a forecast grows less the further you go in time.
In general i can say that the atmospheric conditions suppose to be excellent: a clear and blue sky all the way. on the other hand the wind above 7000 meters remains very strong. i would say averagely about 40 to 50 kt, which is 90 to 100km per hour. Any lull in the wind i expect to be temporarily.
Anyway, take care and be safe. Marc.
 
Here are the details

Day 1: Friday, 09 october 09
Wind:
5000mr: 10-15kt 
6000mr: 25kt becoming 20kt 
7000mr: 30-35kt 
8000mr: 55-60kt (100-120km/h)
Temperatures: 6000mr -7°C  8000mr-15°C
Weather: sunny clear. Blowing snow above 7000mr
 
Day 2: Saturday, 10 october 09
Wind:
5000mr: 10kt 
6000mr: 20kt 
7000mr: 35kt
8000mr: 50kt
Temperatures: 6000mr -7°C 8000mr:-16°C
Weather: sunny clear. Blowing snow above 6500/7000mr.
 
Day 3: Sunday, 11 october 09
Wind:
5000mr: 10kt becoming 5kt
6000mr: 20kt becoming 15kt
7000mr: 35kt becoming 30kt 
8000mr: 50kt
Temperatures: 6000mr -8°C 8000mr:-16°C
Weather: sunny clear. Blowing snow above 7000mr. no significant change.
 
Day 4: Monday, 12 october 09
Wind:
5000mr: 10kt becoming 5kt
6000mr: 20 becoming 15kt 
7000mr: 30kt 
8000mr: 50kt decreasing to 35-40kt
Temperatures: 6000mr-8°C 8000mr:-16°C
Weather: sunny and clear, no change.

Day 5: Tuesday, 13 october 09
Wind:
5000mr: 5-10kt 
6000mr: 15-20kt 
7000mr: 25-30kt 
8000mr: 35-40kt
Temperatures: 6000mr-9°C 8000mr:-17°C
Weather: sunny and clear, no change.

Day 6: Wednesday, 14 october 09
Wind:
5000mr: 5-10kt 
6000mr: 20kt 
7000mr: 25-30kt 
8000mr: 35-40kt
Temperatures: 6000mr-7°C 8000mr:-16°C
Weather: sunny and clear, no change.
 
Day 7: Thursday, 15 october 09
Wind:
5000mr: 5kt 
6000mr: 15-20kt 
7000mr: 25-30kt 
8000mr: 40kt
Temperatures: 6000mr-7°C 8000mr:-17°C
Weather: sunny and clear, no change.
 
Day 8: Friday, 16 october 09
Wind:
5000mr: 5-10kt 
6000mr: 5-10kt 
7000mr: 20 becoming 15kt 
8000mr: 30kt
Temperatures: 6000mr-9°C 8000mr:-18°C
Weather: sunny and clear, no change.
 
Day9 : Saturday, 17 october 09
Wind:
5000mr: 5-10kt 
6000mr: 10kt 
7000mr: 15-20kt 
8000mr: 20-25kt
Temperatures: 6000mr-8°C 8000mr:-16°C
Weather: sunny and clear, no change.

Hi Rodrigo

Thanks for your great words, you really are a star!!
Well the winds turn to a westerly direction which cuts the advection of moist air that results in quite significant snowfall. On the other hand that wind is pretty strong and remains strong for the next 5 days (at least). So summarized i can tell you: sunny and clear conditions but very high winds above 7000 feet. At 8000 ft the wind is almost permanently around 50 knots, which is about 100 km per hour.

Here are the details

Day 1: Thursday, 08 october 09
Wind:
5000mr: 10-15kt 
6000mr: 20kt becoming 25kt 
7000mr: 25-30kt 
8000mr: 35-40kt becoming 45-50kt
Temperatures: 6000mr -7°C  8000mr-15°C
Weather: sunny clear. Blowing snow above 6500/7000mr. Little change.
 
Day 2: Friday, 09 october 09
Wind:
5000mr: 5-10kt 
6000mr: 20kt 
7000mr: 25-30kt
8000mr: 45-50kt temporarily increasing to 50-55kt
Temperatures: 6000mr -8°C 8000mr:-14°C
Weather: sunny clear. Blowing snow above 6500/7000mr. Little change
 
Day 3: Saturday, 10 october 09
Wind:
5000mr: 10kt
6000mr: 20kt  
7000mr: 25kt becoming 25-30kt 
8000mr: 40-45kt becoming 50kt
Temperatures: 6000mr -8°C 8000mr:-16°C
Weather: sunny clear. Blowing snow above 6500/7000mr. no significant change.
 
Day 4: Sunday, 11 october 09
Wind:
5000mr: 10kt 
6000mr: 20-25kt 
7000mr: 30kt 
8000mr: 45-50kt temporarily decreasing to 35-40kt
Temperatures: 6000mr-8°C 8000mr:-16°C
Weather: sunny and clear, no change.

Be safe and enjoy the climb.

marc

Hi Rodrigo
Thanks for your mail. Good to know that you guys are doing well.
Winds above 6000meter are pretty high! averagely 40-50kilometer per hour, above 7000meter 30-35kt. If we look at the days after the 9th (10-11/oct) the wind is further increasing to 40-45kt above 7000meter. And there is no indication that will ease at those levels. On the other hand, the general weather conditions will start to improve on late wednesday and Thurs, Fri, Satur and Sunday look sunny and clear.
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Hi Rodrigo
This weather forecast to confirm that bad weather is coming your way! Friday and Saturday still look pretty good but on Sunday things start to change, more clouds will build, snow will develop and wind will increase. Those poor conditions seem like to persist for quite a while.
So try to work as much as possible on Friday and Saturday.
Do not forget that wind speed is an average value. Wind gusts can be 10-15kt higher. 1kt = 1.8km/h

Here are the details
 
Day 1: Friday, 02 october 09
Wind:
6000mr: 5kt - calm 
7000mr: 5kt becoming calm 
8000mr: 5 - 10kt becoming 5kt
Temperatures: 6000mr -6°C  8000mr-16°C
Weather: sunny, good conditions, clouds above 8000 mr
 
Day 2: Saturday, 03 october 09
Wind:
6000mr: 5kt becoming 5 - 10kt 
7000mr: 5kt becoming 10kt 
8000mr: 10kt becoming 15 - 20kt
Temperatures: 6000mr -5°C 8000mr:-16°C
Weather: sunny, good conditions. Gradually building clouds, later maybe a snowshower
 
Day 3: Sunday, 04 october 09
Wind:
6000mr: 10kt becoming 10 - 15kt 
7000mr: 10kt becoming 15 - 20kt 
8000mr: 15 - 20kt becoming 25-30kt 
Temperatures: 6000mr-4/-6°C 7000mr:-17°C
Weather: becoming very cloudy, snow develops, poor conditions
 
Day 4: Monday, 05 october 09
Wind:
6000mr: 10-15kt becoming 20kt 
7000mr: 15-20kt becoming 20-25kt 
8000mr: 25-30kt increasing to 35kt  (average)
Temperatures: 6000mr-4/-6°C 7000mr:-17°C
Weather: very cloudy to overcast with snow fall: poor conditions.
Be safe and enjoy the climb.
marc

Hi Rodrigo
this weather report has some interesting and important information. First of all the next three days look pretty good. In general low winds at all levels of the mountain, clouds below 5-6000 meter with some showers there, but above 5-6000 meter sunny and good conditions. On the 4th of october conditions start to change: wind will pick up at the higher levels, clouds increase and snow fall starts. Details of the forecast below
Good luck!
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Rodrigo, Andres and Francisco climbing in heavily crevassed area

Hi Rodrigo,
In general conditions look very good: low winds at all levels of the mountain, clearing cloud and prevailing good conditions. So that is good news. But it looks like it is going to change after Friday the 2nd: more wind and more clouds. But i will keep an eye on that. Good luck! http://www.alhimalaya.cl/
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Latest report from the Chilean Dhaulagiri team: Dhaulagiri 1 Chile 0
“Today we woke up at 3 AM to go to Camp 1. But first we should pass the hanging glacier that is in front of us (which one, by the way, is falling apart piece by piece).
After a couple of hours we were in front of a huge rock wall. In that moment I reminded what Herzog (Herzeg?), the first man to try to climb Dhaulagiri, said. He looked at it, turn back and left, saying it was impossible. We look for several places till, finally, we decided to go for the rock side, in the wall named Eiger, the one that connected the glaciar up there. The problem was it was already too late and the sun was hitting hard and the avalanchs started to fall.
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