We were packed and ready for the summit attempt at 02.30 in the morning. The weather was not too cold and the sky was clear. The sudden lack of wind and snow and the silence felt unpleasant... was this perhaps the calm before the storm?

Half way up to Pastukhova Rocks it started to snow. The snowfall was moderate but we could now feel the cold wind from the west that started to sneak up on us. We had no problem with the navigation since the weather was clear and the route was well visible, we also had the GPS set on the rocks for backup (and a map).

When we reached Pastukhova Rocks we stopped to strap on our crampons and to wait for Mattias and Maria who were a few minutes behind us. This was planned to be a short break but the weather changed dramatically in just a few minutes and was now worse than before and the fitting of the crampons became hard with frozen hands and winds that knocked you out of balance constantly. The very strong and cold winds in combination with heavy snowfall gave us the feeling the mountain was telling us to stop, we were simply not welcome today. We finally decided to put some warmer clothes on to maintain our body temperature. Yolanda who is more used to the warm Spanish climate had an interesting experience finding herself in this freezing environment, but she seemed to cope fine although we heard a lot of Spanish swearing when the worst wind gusts hit us. We say nothing more than "Welcome to the world of alpinism, we know it hurts".

Could the weather get any worse? Yes of course, the thunder and lightning started! The noise was ear-splitting and it was located just above our heads. When the lightning started to hit the ground above and below us we were forced to take cover by spreading out and squad down to make yourself less attractive for the light bolts...a genuinely scary experiences. This static position meant we rapidly became very cold and when the lightning appeared to be moving away from our immediate proximity we decided to find a sheltered place to huddle up and stay warm. Amazingly enough Altin stumbled over a piece of plastic that was buried under the snow and we took cover underneath it, at least we had some luck that morning. To see a person that just faced a lightning strike at close distance click here, "New pants please!". After another 30 minutes the lightning stopped and we had a brief discussion about what to do next; should we go down or continue the climb?

When the thunder and lightning was on a secure distance it was getting close to morning and the prospect of some daylight and this made it easier for us to decide to continue our climb. However, after gotten out of one unpleasant situation we soon found ourselves in another one; a solid whiteout. A weird weather with wet snow, mist, fog and strong winds reduced the sight to only a few meters. The picture shows Mattias (blue jacket) and Maria (red jacket) during a short break above Pastukhova Rocks.

We were moving painstakingly slow while trying to find the markers for the safe route between the crevasse areas between Pastukhova Rocks and the saddle. We had a break at 5040 m and discussed our situation. The weather did not show any signs of improving, we had spent 6 hours on the mountain already and above all we also discovered that one of us had clear symptoms of HAPE (pulmonary oedema). With this circumstances we all decided to stop and turned around in our tracks (well, sort of, they were covered by snow) and started to walk down as fast as possible. In the picture we can see Yolanda and Marco with Mattias and Maria in the background.

The strong wind created a nasty chill to our faces and we had to put on our balaclavas. When we stopped to check our GPS Marco noticed some white crystals of snow and ice in Altin’s face and asked him if he didn’t feel anything? "Not yet..." Altin replied. It’s easy to get frost bites if you don’t have friends who keep an eye on you... The picture shows Altin and Yolanda geared up for the bad weather.

...as stated in an old song from the eighties (by Rick Astley). The words went through Marco's head and it was very hard for him to accept the defeat when we were back down at our tents. After some research about the snow cats service, weather and so on in the Priut 11 hut, Marco decided to go down to Garabashi and book a transport for a second (solo) summit attempt the same night. Maria who had clear symptoms of HAPE continued straight down to Terskol the same afternoon. In the picture Marco has packed his stuff and is ready to go down to Garabashi. It’s frustrating that the weather is much better at lower altitudes, warm and sunny with a clear sight. Where was all that when we were below the saddle!

Yolanda, Altin decided to stay in base camp and rest before going down the Terskol the morning after, their flight times did not allow for a second attempt. Mattias also stayed and considered to wait one or two days and then try to do a second solo summit attempt. His plan was, as seen on the picture, to relax and enjoy resting for a few days. However, the risks with this approach was that he could miss the flight back to Sweden if he was to knackered to get down to Terskol the same night after his summit attempt... nobody wants to be stuck in Russia without a valid visa, trust us on this one.

Later on, Altin and Yolanda realised that they didn’t want to be trapped at Priut 11 if the weather got worse and decided to move down to Mir the same evening. They disassembled their tent, wished Mattias good luck and set off. They left one of the walkie-talkies to Mattias so he could stay in touch with Marco. Before they left they radioed Marco to tell him they were coming down and by this time he had already reached Garabashi.

The Garabashi camp has a manager and Marco asked him about the possibility of booking a snow cat to Pastukhova Rocks the same night. The guy was very helpful and he eventually managed to find an available vehicle. However, he also tells him that one snow cat costs 200 euros (single journey)!. Marco realises this is way too much to pay for an uncertain summit attempt and his decision is made when the camp manager tells him about the latest weather forecast. He said that the weather was not going to get any better that night, it was actually getting worse. Marco joined the others in finally admitting defeat by the weather. The picture illustrates how small we are against nature... Altin and Yolanda are on their way down to Garabashi.

Marco joined Altin and Yolanda the last bit down to Mir where they put up the tents. When the sun was setting they managed to get in contact with Mattias via the walkie-talkie. We informed him about the weather forecast and the expensive price to use a snow cat (as he was also thinking about using it for his solo attempt). Yolanda seems to be relieved and happy to be closer to the comforts of the civilisation.