Terrible night at the glacier

We climbed from Almaty (800 m) to the Tuyuksu glacier (3600 m) starting at 2000 m high. We went to the 6 lake, to the seismographic station (that was actually a military base) and finally to the glacier.

We tried to camp next to the military station, but we been pushed to go up the glacier where other alpinists had their base camp. And so we did. Although the hike is doable in one day we decided to sleep up there. So we take it easy, we visited different parts and finally we went to the second base camp next to the ice around 5 pm. We made diner and then the storm started. We took shelter inside the tents.  But the storm didn’t stop. During the whole night we had been smashed by heavy thunderstorms and ice. I was falling sleep once the storm was light to wake up again when new lighting and thunders exploded few meters from our heads. Every time I woke up, and when the storm was around us the darkness was so deep that I couldn’t see my hand. It seemed a war between the sky and the ground. The sky was shouting with thunder voices that make everything moves, it shoot with lighting that make for a few seconds light as clear as on the date time. On the other side the ground and the glacier was making noises breaking the ice and creating stones avalanches. The only peaceful place was inside the tent. The tent itself was a wall between the hell outside and the small resistance inside. By time to time I was kicking and punching the top of the tent where ice was being accumulated. I was afraid of having the tent all over me. We were a small insignificant insect between the fight of two giants. Leaving the tent was not an option, the temperature was -10º and the rain and the ice would freeze us to death. Was nothing to do except wait and try to sleep.

I remember my one of my dreams between storms. I was repeatedly awaking up in different countries where I been with some friends, my friends were also there. And I was trying to convince them that this was not my place, that I actually was asleep on the top of a mountain where a heavy storm was smashing my tent. Although I could not convince them I could neither wake up, think that I was trying to do to make sure I was removing the ice from the roof of the tent.  Finally and immense light and thunder wake me up to let me continue my absurd task of removing the ice.

Don’t judge me wrong. I respect the mountain. We knew where we were. We had good sleeping bags and tents, and moreover we camped next to professional Kirgiz alpinists. I knew that this place was safe, however the near avalanches and the thunders were making impossible to have a peaceful night.

Next morning I asked one of the alpinists if they were going to start the climb to the Partisan peak. He answered “No, the weather changed to much, is too bad to continue”. I guess non of us expected it. 

I was on this trip in the middle of different storms. However as I recall this was the most  terrifying one.

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