Annapurna summit push watch: climbers off, avalanche hits C3 - no casualties

Fuente: www.explorersweb.com/everest_k2/news.php

Edurne's team, Joao Garcia and Mingma Sherpa (climbing independently) are on their final push to Annapurna's top. At first radio call today, the climbers were preparing to go a 4 am local time.

Edurne radioed BC at 3.00am, local time, stating all team members were up, ready and willing to set off in an hour time. “We’ve all got a good rest, spirits are high,” she ensured.

Tracking software on Joao website shows the climber had reached 7,900m at 00.30 am EST today. Edurne tracker places her 1/4 of the way to the top from C4.

Avalanche in C3 - no casualties

Three hours before, alarms raised after an avalanche swept C3. “Details are still scarce,” Edurne team doctor reported from BC. “Apparently, an avalanche has flattened C3 when a number of climbers were resting there. There are no casualties, no one is injured, although it is said that Juanito Oiarzabal and a catalan climber have had a close call.”

On the way to C4 yesterday, a big crevasse and a steep, frozen section took the remains of the leading Spaniards' 200m of rope and the team was forced to set up C4 200 meters below plan. An unsecured, very long free climb from 7,200m to the 8,091m summit is ahead. Joao - acclimatized from Pumori - was forced to skip two camps in order to catch up with the Spaniards.

Find more details in previous stories published yesterday and check back in at ExplorersWeb for updates from Madrid throughout the push.