16/06/2009
On the morning of Wednesday June 10th, Louis left for Pakistan. The last few days before departure were a little hectic but he managed to leave in good spirits.
He first took the bus to Toronto, in order to catch a flight to Dubai, where he was to meet with the rest of the team. This first part of the journey proved to be quite rich in funny traveling stories...
Once he got to Toronto, a man saw Louis with his 3 hug 23kg –bags and offered him a lift to the airport. Louis was pleasantly surprised to find out that his good Samaritan was a limo driver! At the Toronto Airport, Louis met a heavy metal band that was on tour.
Louis was very happy to reunite with his team in Dubai. Also, there are new faces this year; from Italy, England and Ecuador. They flew together to Islamabad, stayed less than a day and took another flight to Gilgit, where the route to Nanga Parbat starts. He is now on a three-day trek to base camp.
Louis feels good, mentally and physically. He is recovering quickly from jetlag and hopes to write updates soon, as they have a satellite internet connection on their computer. (Thank goodness for technology ;) )
Louis Rousseau has been climbing and mountaineering for 15 years. During his climbing career, he has taken part in many expeditions in North America (Yukon, Cascade Range), South America (Andes), North Africa (High Atlas Range) and the Himalayans. In 2007, he was part of an international team that celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Broad Peak’s first ascension. Their objective was to climb the Broad Peak and K2 without oxygen.In 2007, me and Gerfried, my Austrian team mate, summited Broad Peak (8047m). Our next plan was to use our Broad Peak acclimatization to attempt K2 (8611m) Abruzzi ridge (Southeast spur) without the use of oxygen. Sadly, high avalanche risks on the shoulder stopped our ascent. However, while we were on the Abruzzi ridge, we had a good view of the South-Eastern flank. We took many pictures and imagined a new beautiful line on one unclimbed buttress, to be done in pure alpine-style. This will be our next goal for summer 2009.
K2’s south face is 9 Km wide at its foot and rises above the Godwin Austen Glacier, forming a nearly 3000m steep face. The whole face is intersected by the series of prominent rock-icy pillars and ribs. The most important is the huge South-East spur (Abruzzi Ridge). It divides the face into two flanks, the Eastern flank and South-Eastern flank. The unclimbed buttress we want to attempt in 2009 ascends from 5300m to 7200m on the South-Eastern flank. To climb this buttress without oxygen supply, we will previously get our acclimatization by climbing Nanga Parbat’s (8126m) Kinshofer route. Big summer ahead!
While you’re out there over 8000m, you can’t control the elements, you can’t control the people. The only things you have any control on is how well equipped you are. I therefore want to thank RAB for providing me the down expedition gear I need for this major undertaking. I will be using both Rab’s expedition jacket and salopettes. As we try to forge this new route on one of the most difficult and dangerous mountains, my clothing system will not be a concern, because I know I will have the lightest and warmest altitude gear available, plus the unmatched Rab fit!
The Rab brand is renowned for producing outstanding quality clothing and sleeping bags, suitable for extreme cold environments and high altitude mountaineering.
The original ethos of Rab remains core to current product development; a strong focus on using functional designs and high quality fabrics to produce premium gear for mountaineering and polar travel.
