Yes.
I am back from my 4th trip to Shkara on the border with Russia and Georgia. Since this was the Grand Final I will bore you with all the details:)
I left Norway last thursday from Oslo. After a quick stop in Moscow I headed to the domestic terminal to fly to Mineralnye Vody. There are something very reassuring about domestic flying in Russia. The planes smell like public toilets, mobile phones keep going off and everybody applaud when the plane lands. In Min. Vody I was supposed to be met by someone, but off course there was no one waiting. So I spent half an hour dodging corrupt police and annoying taxi-drivers before Nika, my saving angel from last year, came and picked me up.
After a quick stop to steal some sunflowers we drove up to Bezingi Mountain camp. Got there at about 2 am, so I headed straight to bed. Next day I met Alex, my guide(not to be confused with Alex or Alex, my guides on my previous attempts). According to the other guys at the rescue-team he was a Bezingi legend and the best guide you could get. Strong climber and bad english.
So, the guide seemed good, but the weather was not. Next day was spent in camp in heavy fog and light rain. We planned to go for an acclimatization-trip the following day, but since the weather did´nt improve we abandoned that plan as well.
Out of sheer boredom I decided to go for a trekking-trip next to camp the next day. The weather was still shait, but I felt like doing something. I headed up into a valley and followed a path untill it hit snow. It was hard going at first, but when I warmed up I felt great. The body felt ready and I felt very optimistic. I felt so good I rushed down the mountain and this is when things started to go wrong. My right foot slipped on some mud and got stuck between two rocks. As the other foot slipped as well I fell over my right foot with all my weight and twisted it what seemed like 180 degrees. There was a cracking sound from inside my foot and a fair amount of pain. I was convinced that it was broken, but after some waiting I could put some of my weight on it. I made my way back to camp(going down about 2km) and headed for bed. Iced my foot down and elevated it. The doctor came and told me that I was very lucky. It was not broken. I had to ice it down and keep it elevated and it would be okay in 2-3 days. Hurrah hurrah!
So I turned my attention to my books. Next day another doctor came, said I was very lucky, it was not broken. But I had to keep it still for 4-5 days. Bummer. When Alex asked about Shkara he just laughed and shook his head. So, with a bad foot there was no use for me to stay in Bezingi. I would´nt be able to climb Shkara anyway and there would not be any world-record for me. After two more days the foot felt good enough to start moving and I headed for Norway. Got back to day.
To sum it up: I lost. Bigtime. I have let you all down and for that I am truly sorry. And what an embarresing way to go. Rookie mistake.
Many people have asked me since these news leaked if I am disappointed. Now, lets see. I have spent over 10.000 euros and 4 attempts to climb this one crucial mountain without succeeding. Disappointed? Maybe just a tad bit.
On the other hand. At least 11 people just died on K2 and when I was in Bezingi a belarussian got killed in a rockfall on a mountain nearby. His friend broke his leg on three different places. I don´t really feel like I can complain.
Anyhu. It was really phun while it lasted. We should do this more often.
Got to go now. SuperSindre will return to his normal life. For now...
Ta tah.
PS. What next? I have no idea. Got to get rid of that short-term loan first:) Maybe Marathon the Sables for starters??
