IN SEARCH OF REFUGE

They seek refuge in a nearby small ice cave and wait for the weather to calm down. As soon as the weather permits, Luka Lindič shovels his way through the masses of snow in search of their equipment - without it, they are trapped on the mountain. Two long hours later, they are able to retrieve the equipment from the completely destroyed tent and begin their descent.

Ines remembers that, despite their experience, they are not unimpressed. "We were in shock for days, but we decided to continue the expedition. We are climbers and mountaineers, the reason can't be explained rationally after such an experience. But how to deal with it without constantly panicking? Many discussions followed, which led to the conclusion: We're staying. But our actual goal, the Shishapangma, was already receding into the distance," Ines tries to put it into words. Papert and Lindič will not attempt Nyanang Ri again: their new goal is Pungpa Ri.

"We decided to set our sights on a new goal and attempt the unclimbed west face of Pungpa Ri."

NO LUCK ON THE WAY TO THE SUMMIT

But the second goal, the summit of Pungpa Ri (7450m), which is also connected to Shishapangma, does not bring the athletes any luck either. Almost daily snowfall makes planning extremely difficult, even in advance. In a small weather window in mid-May - which predicts less snowfall but high wind speeds and icy temperatures of around -28 degrees Celsius at the summit - the team climbs up to 6500 metres, skipping the ABC. The remaining 1000 metres of altitude were to follow the next morning, but in this case too, nothing came of it.

"As soon as I put on the climbing harness, I lost what little feeling I had in my fingers and wondered how I was going to make it to the summit. Nevertheless, we climbed a little higher. I soon realised that I wasn't going to make it. A terrible feeling of total powerlessness spread."

DIFFICULT CONDITIONS ON THE MOUNTAIN

For their own safety, Papert and Lindič also decided to end this ascent attempt - the experienced athletes did not want to risk another moment like the one on Nyanang Ri. After their experiences on Nyanag Ri, the unstable weather conditions throughout the expedition and the fact that they were unable to acclimatise sufficiently, Team Papert and Lindič ultimately end the entire expedition prematurely.