The Crack

A big crack woke us up. We all heard it, it was not a dream. Yet we are doing like if it didn’t happen, trying to keep our eyes closed. The glowing light is starting to enter in our snow cave giving it this special atmosphere. It is time to pop our head outside, see if it is a good day.

When we dug out our cave two days ago, the storm was raging. The wind was slapping our faces with the whirling snowflakes. We were tired from the last two hours, moving so slowly, waist deep in the snow, but we had to dig. Putting out the tent was not an option at this moment, and none of us even mentioned it. We knew we had to dig to get ourselves a comfortable place, to rest, and try to dry. Two hours of work, this is all it takes for three men with two shovels to dig out a snow cave large enough to sleep, eat, and rest. A tiny entrance, where you need to get on four legs to get in. A small corridor which give access to the main room. A comfortable wide ledge on the right, the bed, high enough to stay away from the cold which flows down and accumulates in the lower parts. Some storage on the left to put all our mountaineering gear. And the kitchen, a smaller ledge, in the front, close enough to the bed, to be able to cook while staying warm in our sleeping bags. When I say cooking I mean mainly melting snow, and boiling water. When we have this precious smoking liquid, we just poor it in our rations. Quick, efficient, no need for dishes.

We didn’t know exactly where we where on the ridge when we dug our refuge. Somewhere between the summit plateau and the end of the actual ridge, that was for sure. In that part of our itinerary where we are the most exposed to avalanches. But again being in that cave was our safest option. If an avalanche had to occur, it would only ride above us, and we wouldn’t be swiped away off the mountain. The most concerning point to our safety was the proximity of the séracs. We knew they were close, but didn’t know how close as we arrived in the middle of the storm. And this crack that woke us up, which was so loud and clear, without any echo, seemed really close. We heard a few of those big sound as we spent the full day of yesterday in our hole because of the weather. At this point we still have five days of food with us, which would give us enough time to go to the summit and go back down to our base camp, where the rest of our food is cashed. We are at 4200 m, a few 1700 m below the summit and we would need two days to reach it. The light entering in our cave right now is a good sign, it looks like the weather cleared up and if so, we’ll be able to move our way up today.

It is 5:30 in the morning and I have to kick in the snow block which we used as a door to free the buried entrance. I can feel the cold air entering my lungs, and more light is making its way inside our shelter. As I’m stepping outside, I’m immediately astonished by the beauty of the place. I’am standing above an ocean of ice, where gigantic islands are raising from those frozen waters. The sun is not up yet, and the horizon is carrying all the spectrum of colors between orange and blue. Above me the slopes of the mountain are steep, and from where I’am the summit is hidden by some huge walls of ice, defying gravity, ready to fall anytime on the glacier more than 2000 m below. Thankfully we have picked a good spot and we are out of reach of any sérac, on a safe way to the summit.

When we started this adventure 20 days ago, on the shore of Malaspina Lake, we knew that we were about start the adventure of our life. After crossing the tumultuous moraines, reached the glacier, going across a maze of crevasses on the icefall, walking on this ocean of ice  below me, following a bear track for more than 30 kilometers and finally entering the natural amphitheater formed by Mount Logan East face, entangled by MacArthur Peak on the North and Mount ? on the south, the route we planned was finally right in front of us. Our weather window was tight, so we only took one day of rest before starting the ascent. And here I am, not on the top of the world yet, but soon we will be up there, I know it.