Airlift
Airlift day again. The work has been so steady since our last flight that we decided to take advantage of today’s flight. Because business tends to drop off after the August 15th holiday (Ascension) the bulk of the load was non-perishables for next season. Since the field where we previously did our airlifts was recently closed to preserve wetlands, we are now doing the flights from a different field up the valley where a couple of other huts do their stage their loads from. Since we are now working more closely with the other huts I have been able to see how they are organized compared to us. I feel much better about our operation after seeing how other people run theirs (at least the re-supply aspect). I won’t go into detail about why I now feel this way but I can show you in this picture how nicely packed my helo-bag (the one on the left) is as compared to the one of our sister hut, Dalmazzi. Actually, they had to borrow ours because they didn’t have any. Helo-bags seem like kind of a strange thing to forget before an airlift.
Our snow levels are diminishing rapidly which means that soon we will be out of water in the immediate vicinity and I will have to run 150m of tube to another water source. From previous experience I have deduced that hydrological problems increase exponentially with the length of the tubing layed (I am sure any McMurdo Fuelie can attest to this). Last August it seems like I was up fixing flow problems every other day. Since we have more snow this year I should be spending less time running the line but I am sure the time will come when I will be up there every other day. I have to say that climbing up and down the hose certainly got me into good shape. Toward the end of the season last year I hiked the trail up to Boccalatte in one hour and twenty minutes; a personal record. Today I set out to break the record on my hike up but came up short with one hour and thirty minutes. I did run into some Ibex (stambecchi) on the climb which made it worthwhile.
The reduced snow levels also means diminishing climbing conditions. I was determined to summit on the Jorasses this year. A feat that I have yet to achieve in the four seasons that we have been up here, due more to a lack of time and a climbing partner than anything else. But, my friend Tracy, who we met here at the beginning of the season, came back up without a climbing partner again so I offered to go along with him for an attempt on the summit. The weather forecast was good and we were going along at a good pace when it started snowing just before sunrise. Then the lightning started and a few of the Guides who were also on the route with clients started turning around so we decide that it would be best to do the same. We made it halfway up the Reposoir, the rock in the middle-left of the lead photo, just shy of the mark where I turned around on my last attempt. Now with the deteriorating conditions I will most likely put off another attempt until next year. To make the most of the day, since we were already up on the glacier, it was still early and the weather seemed to be improving slowly I decide to summit on a small peak just of the main route, La Boutielle. Pretty easy, but fun just the same.
Since the weather has been unpredictable lately it is hard to say what will happen with the rest of the season. Usually we close on the 31st of August. This year it falls on a Tuesday. We are going to wait and see how things go over the next couple of weeks before we decide for sure weather to close on the 31st or stay open for the following weekend. Since we fly back to the States on the 21st it doesn’t give us much time in Europe after we close the hut. We were planning on going to Holland to visit friends there but with so little time we might just go to Geneva and then back to Milan to spend some time with Luci’s parents. We have been toying with the idea of coming back to Europe in the spring after Antarctica and taking a motorcycle trip to Greece. But first we need to get a motorcycle. We are talking about looking for one when we are in Milan and maybe taking a couple of trial trips around Lombardia before putting it in storage until next spring. We’ll be sure to keep you all posted on what we ultimately do.
Tags: Rifugio Boccalatte
Luke