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Unfortunately this time the weather has won. The jet stream winds have returned earlier than forecast and with a vengeance threatening to blow everyone and everything off the mountain, so the climbers have retreated as quickly as possible. Everyone is safe and well and they are all now back at ABC. The Swiss weather forecast shows absolutely no break in the weather, so the team have decided to call it a day. The mountain will still be there for those who decide to attempt it another time, but for now the expedition is over. The team will start packing up tomorrow and the yaks are ordered for Wednesday, so they should be back down in Chinese Base Camp on Thursday. Everyone's thoughts are now turning to home and how wonderful it will be to be back there! It's always sad when you put a lot of time and effort into an expedition and you don't reach your goal, but that's the way it is with mountaineering, and every true mountaineer will understand that. The weather is one of the few things we actually can't control. The weather so often tests our patience but at the same time it teaches us to have both respect for Mother Nature and humility when we are confronted with such forces of nature like those we meet on the mountain. It is through failure that we learn... and through failure we come out stronger... And yet we did not fail, we just did not reach the summit.... |
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