August 17, 2022: Marek Holecek and Radoslav Groh are now safely down from Masherbrum west face. After seven nights of very slow progress on the face, they tried different ways to gain altitude toward the summit ridge.

The two Czech climbers are tired, frustrated, and very far from safety. Below them, 3,000 vertical metres of a steep face in dangerous conditions.

Ma 1
Image Source: Marek Holecek

Marek Holecek said in social media”

I drill a glacial clock and insert a loop into the created ice tunnel. I hang the rope in the loop and we abseil again a little closer to the bottom of the valley… I don’t know how many abseils we’ve done and it doesn’t really matter. We’re still in the game for our lives until we get all the way down.

Hours of tension grew into two days of zigzagging in avalanche slopes, climbing over serac breakaways and abseiling rocky, also steep thresholds. Finally, after nine days, we are at the foot of the mountain again. We throw off all the climbing stuff and the lungs gratefully enjoy the feeling of relaxation. A smiling Tom is already coming towards us, whom, as we later learn from him, was resurrected from his health problems by antibiotics. A warm embrace followed, to the uninitiated it might have reminded that we hadn’t seen each other for many years. But it was just a few dirty days. A few hours later we are all in BC. Galas was the only one to take the reunion celebrations seriously, but Liaison Officer Aadul already beginning to protest that whiskey in the head was not welcome in the land under the crescent moon. The answer was simple, because Allah cannot see into the tent. Despite the fact that it is only a rescue medication for the average European, deprived of any fire water for more than four weeks. What to add to the end. Enormous efforts were made to succeed at Queen’s, supported by everything that could be squeezed out of us at the time. We have not made a visible mistake anywhere. Nevertheless, we burned like paper, and the dream of the top suddenly disappeared into nowhere. So what was all the martyrdom for? Simple. We gave it a valid try and it didn’t just stop at bullshit. It’s time to organize our experiences and take it easy back home. After all, other stories are just waiting for us to start writing them..