Wow! Incredible and amazing accomplishment! I just now watched it; I had not seen it before, so my previous questions and comments were ‘blind’, not having viewed it until now. Thanks for this @N9IWP .
I took these notes as I watched it. Maybe the time stamps will be helpful. They will help me when I go back to watch parts of it again.
My notes follow, to the end of my post —
The notes say it took him longer than expected to negotiate the Hillary Step, and the South Summit.
t = 10:17 — he fell
t = 12:20 — at Camp IV; he’s still above the death zone
t = 13:04 — paused, laying down, coughing fits; this looks like the South Col
t = 13:27 — gets back up, resumes
t = 14:25 — it’s darker now; headlamp is on
t = 14:41 — the film caption says he’s reached Camp II, spending the night, going to negotiate the Khumbu Icefall in the day when it is stable — interesting; because in everything I’ve read about it (Krakauer, Braeshears, Coburn, Gammelgaard, Weathers, etc), the icefall is decidedly unstable in the daylight when the sunlight hits it; but from what I remember in my reading that might be more towards the afternoon, and this is usually in the month of May, not late September when Bargiel skied down
If memory serves, the monsoon season is in the summer months …? That snow would fill in many of the seracs and crevasses.
t = 14:53 — it’s morning, he’s at Camp II, it’s 0700 hours, he resumes
t = 18:48 — broader drone overview of the icefall, large seracs and lots of snow; it looks like many of the typical crevasses seen in the May summitting season are covered with snow but still this looks very treacherous; soon after we see numerous crevasses
There was a note that said Bargiel’s brother, Bartek, flew a drone and guided him through the icefall. That was crucial guidance for him.
t = 22:45 — film caption mentions his brother and the drone, and a safety supervisor Jan Gąsienica-Roj guiding Bargiel through the icefall
t = 23:01 — Bargiel radio comm with his brother, Bartek, that the route they had spotted had collapsed and was no longer there
Yes, these images of the icefall are drastically different from the pictures and films I’ve seen of it, typically during May; there is much more snow covering the massive seracs and deep crevasses usually found in the earlier climbing season each year
t = 23:30 — more radio comm; their planned route through the icefall is gone
t = 24:33 — Bargiel nearly falls between crevasses; he’s at the edges of exposed seracs
t = 25:11 — Bargiel is at a big wall / cliff / ledge
t = 25:25 and the following 10-15 seconds — it’s amazing how footage from the drone disguises how steep some parts of the icefall descent is, but from the helmet cam it is extremely steep
t = 29:05 — Bargiel arrives at and surveys a massive, steep ice and snow ledge; he begins to negotiate his way down it; he’s basically glissading down it on his butt and his skis; very treacherous going
t = 29:54 — he’s now past that steep ice and snow ledge
t = 30:19 — his descent is complete; an amazing feat! It has taken him 1hr 45mins to descend from Camp II, through the icefall, to the end of the snow
It’s time for a celebratory beer!
t = 30:45 — he’s now hiking down on foot, to EBC
t = 30:49 — receives an orange Buddhist blessing scarf
(interestingly, just last week I observed Tibetan Buddhist monks create and then dissolve a sand mandala, and I received a green Buddhist blessing scarf from them; it was my first time to watch such a ceremony; I posted that here ➜ Sand Mandala last week in San Francisco - #2 by pjd ■ )
t = 31:00 — why is he drinking a Red Bull? This should be a beer! (rhetorical question) It certainly helps tremendously to have sponsors!
SMH — wow, such a fantastic feat! And, it’s interesting to see the South Col and Southeast Ridge route in the September season. I usually see imagery from in the May season.