VICKSpedition SKI8000
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VICKSpedition SKI8000 |
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home > the climb > update 23.04.04 |
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The most difficult decision of my life has been made. I am not going up anymore.
After consulting Dutch eye specialists this decision appeared unavoidable. Going higher again means risk of lasting vision damage. That's not worth it for me. There is a life after this expedition, in which I need both my eyes. What happened? I seem to have developed High Altitude Retinal Hemorrhage. Simply said, some small veins within my eye have burst because of low air pressure. In itself, this is not harmful. But the bursts occurred in the center of the eye. Bad luck. I am mad as hell and extremely disappointed. Why? Greg, Herman and I managed this project from the biggest issue to the smallest detail. We prepared a full year for this project. I quit my job end of November to be a (temporary) professional mountaineer. When you do everything you can to succeed it is hard to accept when you get caught by something unexpected and seemingly insignificant. Example of our efforts to prepare thoroughly: To avoid frost-bite we assembled the warmest ski boot possible out of 4 different manufacturer's boots. Result: Cold feet at 8000 m, but no frost-bite. Other example: We sought the help of a top-notch training consultancy. Result: Test data that match those of professional athletes. Other example: To avoid mountain sickness we designed a thorough acclimatization schedule: December - February in the Alps, March in Nepal before going up to Tibet. Result: Nobody sick, a smooth build-up of all the camps. Other example: We used the best ice climbing equipment to open the route on the mountain this year. Result: Other expeditions pay us to use our route and ropes now. Etc, etc, etc. We did everything we could to be successful. And we were until now. From the hundreds of people that try to climb Cho Oyu this year, we are now the only ones that have all camps in place, the only ones that reached 8000 m. I feel strong and I was ready to be successful in our second summit attempt. But what happens??? My left eye stops functioning! Who expected that??? Incredible, unlucky and hard to accept. Anyway, I have to face reality and accept that my limit is now 8000 m. High, but not high enough... From now I will support Greg during his second attempt to 8201 m. He will attempt to ski from the summit on the 28th. I'm convinced that he has a very good shot at it and I will help him where I can to make the VICKSpedition SKI8000 a big success! Thanks for all your support and advice. Joost |