A warm hello to all who are following us from home.

Yesterday Claudio B., Stefano and Christian left for the high camps; as you already know they must reach camp 3 and help Bruno when he passes through during the night between June 3^rd and 4^th.  Today Claudio R. and I will leave; we’ll be at camp 2 when Bruno gets there at around 9:30 p.m..  Personally, I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time and I hope that the long wait didn’t weaken my legs.  Ten days ago at the base camp I was feeling in great shape, so I developed the conviction of attempting the summit without oxygen.   It’s not a question of principle but, weather permitting it, of personal determination.

The second objective of this expedition is to get someone else from this group onto the summit after Bruno has set his record, possibly without oxygen as Claudio Bastrentaz and Alex Brusca did last year.  Claudio and I share this idea and we resolutely stepped forward knowing full well that we have fewer chances than someone who climbs with oxygen.   After Bruno passes through, we’ll climb towards camp 3 and on the following day, June 5^th, we’ll attempt the summit.  A climb without oxygen involves various risks and in order to be successful, a combination of situations must exist:

1 1) excellent physical condition; any physical impediment, no matter how small, can’t be compensated by using oxygen

2  2) you don’t recover during the night,  you continue using up energy… one must realize that camp 3 is located at 8,300 m and is higher than half of all of the other 8,000 m Himalayan  peaks;

3 3) the cold and the danger of frostbite are considerably increased due to the lack of oxygen at high altitude and the consequential thickening of the blood;

4 4) if the weather conditions (cold and wind) are not acceptable, a climb without oxygen becomes truly difficult and dangerous in light of the problems illustrated above.

 We trust that our preparation as Alpine Guides and  our experience as mountaineers  will  enable us to recognize the moment in which, should it prove necessary, we must decide to turn back  if the conditions become too dangerous.  In reality, once we get to camp 3, we will still have the option of choosing to bring oxygen if the weather conditions aren’t congenial, as the latest reports seem to indicate.  I draw great moral strength from the telephone calls home to my wife and children and from watching the way Bruno is behaving; I’m thankful for the energy that he transmits to all of us.

I would like all of you to send us your blessings and be sure that, if the weather is on our side, we’ll reach our objective.

Rudi Janin