Arian Lemal, The Sweeper of the Peaks

June 27, Base Camp: About midnight I was awakened again, I looked at the ceiling of the tent. The light outside intrigued me. I opened the tent to have the pleasure to admire a full moon night. All the surrounding peaks were visible, it was superb! Crystal clear The air was cold, there was no wind, the night was silent. What a sight! Around 6am, the sun rose. I waited until the sun warms my tent (6:25) out of my sleeping bag and I continued to admire the scenery.

June 28, base camp, 3:45 am: it is cold, the night is fine, I get dressed to go to Camp 1. Leaving the warmth of the sleeping bag is always "oh no not now, a few more minutes!"
At 4:20, I put on my crampons, and I agree on the glacier. The snow crunch, my breath is steady, the cracks are silent and motionless seracs. All is well!
4 hours later, I arrive at camp1 in great shape. A few minutes later, Phil (expedition leader) and I resume the march to the camp2 to mark the path on the glacier with bamboo. At the foot of the face, we study the way of quickly climbing to the camp2. It is completely different from last year.
1:30 later it is back to camp1, happy with our effort. The bamboo we will certainly be very useful ... I spent the rest of the day lying in the tent to rest, listen to music (especially groups "3 doors down" and "30 Seconds to Mars"), chat with other, melt snow, and finally eat some candy!

June 29: Wally (my tent mate) and I have not heard the alarm clock this morning. Instead of 4 hours, it has opened my eyes to 4:21. It is very cold this morning at 5950m. Boil water, dressing, and make his bag were very unpleasant by extreme cold. Somehow, I'm prepared. The new path to camp2 is steeper, more exposed to falling rocks and ice, but more direct.

The climb goes "nikel Chrome" (3:45), I feel tip top toupee. This is not the case with some of my other companions who come to camp2 to 6500m in pitiful condition. I welcome them with a friendly hug, hot tea and tents.
The altitude is felt ... This morning at 4am, cold does not give us the desire to make a small effort to bf. Wally and I just ate some cookies. Now, in 6500, at 11:50, ensconced in camp2, lyophilized during breakfast is quite appreciated!
June 30, camp2, acclimatization day: I opened my eyes at 5am, it was snowing and the wind was blowing hard. No need to get the sleeping bag to climb, but to go pee! Oulalalalalala Express so the output is the temperature is freezing. Wally and I laugh a situation once back in the tent! The wind grew tenfold in the day. The tent was shaking all over the place. We sat back against the walls to support the pickets to avoid their backbone. We can no longer talk to our tents, the wind is too loud and it's snowing heavily! The return tomorrow could be dangerous ...

1 juilllet, camp2 descent to base camp: at 5am, frozen condensation on the walls of the tent above us fell like rain on our every move to get dressed. The wind was still blowing and the snow continued to fall. Quiet, I'm like "Damn, the descent will be Rock & Roll"!
After 10 minutes of descent in deep snow, the first obstacle: a thin ledge as a razor blade on each side with 500m to empty! Phil came forward and said: "this is fucked up." Basically, sorry for bad words, this is what AC meant "Damn, what's that crazy cornice. No way that I go! " It was the only way possible, so I volunteered. Phil pulled out a rope and hop to make sure I was getting into this magnificent cornice. First step, I set off an avalanche. It starts well! I'm progressing slowly but surely. Halfway, the ledge becomes too dangerous, the snow is so fine that I can not find solid support for my feet, so I decided to emulate my sister who went horseback riding: I m 'sitting astride the ridge and I am progressing well. The passage of this ledge 25m long will take me 20 minutes. The trace is made, the others follow. Here I am now at the fixed ropes (strings that are installed with snow stakes to secure the ascent and descent especially) that are covered with snow. At each anchor, I must dig to find the rope and pull down to remove gradually and thus be able to rappel. At the foot of the face, our valued bamboos show us how. The fog, wind, snow and slow growth make the descent intense and exciting. We will have 4 hours to reach the camp1 instead of 1:30. What a descent! And it's not over, we still have to descend to base camp: 8km with 900m of elevation in the midst of crevasses and seracs. The wind was cold, visibility was minimal, fatigue was felt, and I began to cough up I fold in half. "Mashed peanut is not tip top toupee." Around 13:40, I arrived at base camp in pretty miserable. I hastened to change my business to bring dry and warm, and drink hot tea. Others came gradually to a condition similar to mad downhill ... What took us seven hours!

All the team was back at base camp, hot tea flowed at will and warmed our bodies weakened. Slowly, the silence was replaced by laughs, jokes and discussions. All was well, we were back in the plush base camp. The camp2 was established, we could rest a few days ...
PS: I have not yet joined the high camps with the waste. My cleanup effort was limited to only a few packages of granola bars for the moment.
PSS: Since I have a lot of time to think, I reflect on the future projects of sweeper tops, how to improve interventions in schools, how to solicit sponsors, and many obviously how to make an effort to preserve our environment.
Our planet deserves an effort!

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