A few additional snapshots of the Bandarpunch Trek, thanks to the photo sharing that we have been doing. Enjoy!
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| Walking buddy, Zach, and me in front of the frozen river. Photo Cred: Devan |
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| I'm rockin' the mountaineering fashion during the snow skills class. Photo Cred: Okies |
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| Looking down the steep "grassy tufts" towards Base Camp. We climbed this route 2.5 times. Photo Cred: Devan |
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| Sunset sky at Advanced Base Camp. Photo Cred: Devan |
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| High alpine vegetation above the tree line. Photo Cred: Devan |
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| Inflated tents at the windy/rocky Advanced Base Camp. Photo Cred: Devan |
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| View of Advanced Base Camp nestled on the cliff and enshrouded in monsoon clouds. Photo Cred: Mariko |
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| Just before the Ice Fall. Photo Cred: Devan |
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| Switching anchors at a flat spot on the Ice Falls. Photo Cred: Devan |
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| An enormous crevasse at the top of the Ice Falls. Photo Cred: Devan |
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| The summit looking deceivingly close. Photo Cred: Okies |
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| The slow trudge to the summit. Photo Cred: Steve |
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| The elusive view (which I think is towards Mussoorie). I was too dizzy/scared to turn around and enjoy it. Photo Cred: Steve |
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| The summit line-up. I'm somewhere in there - maybe 4 people ahead? Photo Cred: Steve |
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| A close-up of the powerful figure-eight/carabiner/jumar combo. Photo Cred: Steve |
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| This is what it looked like to the left. Photo Cred: Steve |
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| In sight of the summit! I'm the third standing person from the right. Photo Cred: Steve |
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| I saw three friends fall into (slash create) this hole. I learned from their mistakes and crossed it with one large leap. Everyone else just detoured around it, which is not nearly as exciting. Photo Cred: Steve |
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| Just chillin' at 20,722ft. No Big Deal. Photo Cred: Okies |
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| The descent. Photo Cred: Okies |
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The morning after summiting we awoke to heavy snowfall. Our tents started to collapse under the weight - the middle tent has four men in it! Photo Cred: Devan |
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| Queuing for the ropework down the ice falls. You can see specks of people down to the right. Photo Cred: Devan |
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| Descent to Advanced Base Camp included sledding! (Well, without sleds - still a definite highlight of the day...I was laughing so hard I had tears freezing to my cheeks.) Photo Cred: Steve |
After the summit, the Okies took portraits. A handful of the team is not represented (they must have been napping!). Though a little scruffy, these people are the best team a expeditioner could ask for.
