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Dispatch 02: Marty and Gia arrive in Kathmandu |
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Written by Marty Schmidt
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Wednesday, 24 March 2010 |
Namaste from Kathmandu, Nepal.
Here again and this time heading for Makalu, 5th highest mountain in the world bordering Nepal and China, Tibet with Chris Warner from the USA. This will be a climb that brings us together in a non-professional way, both being guides and yet not guiding. It is a private climb, going after a new line on the SW face, just us two with no Sherpas or O2, a real mountaineering experience. We are wanting to capture on film what it means for 2 people to come together and climb an 8,000 meter mountain, not having individual goals ahead of our team goal, which is to be ultimately safe, great communication, positive partnership, summit would be nice and to have fun. Something that the Himalayas are lacking.
These dispatches will be a bit different than the past ones in the way
that I will not write everyday, will only put out 1-2 a week. Our Base
Camp will have a set up to do this but we will only be back into BC a
few times for me to write to my trusted contact person Daan at Macpac.
So the thrill will be in the waiting just as much as hearing about our
actions.
Right now Giannina and I are in Kathmandu, figuring out the food buying,
gear packing, permits, logistics, etc. while waiting for Chris and team
to arrive. Our whole team will be very busy with the days before we
depart KTM, which is schedule now for the 28th March.
We'll start our 8 day trek on the 29th and hope to have BC set up by the
end of the first week of April. From then on it is all about pushing
our gear to high camps and checking on the best new line upon the huge
SW face. A lot of unknown arenas to explore and we are looking forward
to making this happen and sharing with you what we come up with.
This is a good start for what we are up to for the next 7-8 weeks. Good thoughts to you all, hoping you are well and looking forward to
being in touch.
All the best, cheers,
Marty and Giannina
PS: Giannina will be in BC sharing her life with the mountains, with Ram
our BC chef and with the shared summit team members who will be putting
out more information as it happens. Small teams are wonderful.
IN THE NEWS: Global Rescue announces Makalu sponsorship
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