Himalayas

Himalayas 1994

'"Gari, the Captain wants to see you....something about an expedition to the Himalayas."

I was on patrol in HMS BRAZEN down the Falkland Islands and an expedition to the Western Himalayas was the last thing on my mind.

Unknown to me, Paul Hart - Green Beret (Royal Marine), Red Beret (Para), kayak champion, expert climber, robo schoolie, all round good egg and good friend - had been selected as 2 i/c of a Canadian Expedition to the Himalayas. But they were short of a team photographer and ski specialist ! The signal that Paul sent to the ship made it appear that my presence was absolutely pivotal to the success of the trip. It worked...in fact, so well, that I almost believed it myself ! Two months later, we flew into Delhi for the adventure of a lifetime.

We took a taxi from Delhi to Manali (Himashal Pradesh) in the foothills of the Himalayas. There we met Feruk, one of the porters, and continued by Landrover along the Chandra River, high into the Western Himalayan Range, to a drop off point approx. 10 miles from the bottom of the Great Bara Shigri Glacier. Getting to base camp involved crossing several swollen glacial rivers by some very dubious methods (pic).

Base Camp itself (12,000 ft) was set in majestic scenery against a wonderful backdrop (pic). We spent 3 days acclimatising to the altitude and took the opportunity to explore some of the glacial pools nearby. Refreshed and ready, we set off up the glacier for Camp 1. My image of a glacier, from geography lessons and ski trips, was of a wide, white glistening tract of smooth snow and ice.

What met us for the next 5 miles was a quarry of loose rocks and boulders(pic) - it would be several days before we walked on snow.

(This terrain resulted from the extreme freeze/thaw effect, causing rock to break off from the adjoining mountain side and falling onto the glacier; it made walking very difficult and very treacherous.)

Eventually, we reached the snow line and although the terrain became easier, the effect of the altitude was taking its toll. Even Feruk was starting to feel the strain (pic), but he is carrying a massive rucksack - over 100lb.... I am struggling with my lighter load (60lb) and the rarefied atmosphere is not helping the breathing. Worse, I have lost my appetite and am feeling very weak. Every step is an effort, every rest more welcome.....and this is only the 'walk-in' !

We finally hit Advance Base Camp ABC (18,500ft) after a total of 4 exhausting days. There waiting for us is the remainder of the team, headed by Adrian Legadno, the team leader. We exchange pleasantries and I get my head down. Remarkably, after a day's rest, I feel almost human again and have regained a little of my appetite. Lentil soup...yum!

Paul is suffering as well, but his resolve is amazing and he is very strong (pic). We rest for a couple more days before heading up to the start of the climb proper. The work/rest cycle is effective; we have regained some strength, but deep down we know that our reserves are dwindling inexorably; as with most climbing expeditions, it is a personal race against time.

As we reached the head of the glacier, the crevasses became more ominous. Luckily, the lack of snowfall in the area had left the gaping cracks visible. Even so, we came across a large, wide crevasse and decided to 'jump' across rather than skirt around. After arming Paul with a camera, he lowered himself into the crevasse before taking this photo of a flying Welshman ! (pic)

We have 2 objectives on the expedition - to climb Bara Shigri (23,500 ft), meaning Big Ice (it has only been conquered once) and to put the first route up an adjacent, un-climbed, un-named peak (22,500 ft).

The weather has been mercifully fine, and Paul and I are feeling relatively good. We camp overnight in a sheltered col and hold a meeting to decide upon the plan of action. Both peaks are now visible and we agree to make the attempt on Bara Shigri the following day. We estimate that it will take 2 days to climb and get back down to ABC. Paul & I will team up, Ferouk will team up with Adrian, and the final pairing will be Butka (porter) & Will ( fellow British climber).

We head off in high spirits and bright sunshine. Paul and I adopt the 10 steps and rest strategy...repeated ad nauseum. It is slow but steady going (pic). Adrian and Feruk have dashed on ahead but Butka and Will are struggling.

We crossed a very wide, steep snow slope; above us was a cliff face, armed with overhanging slabs of snow and ice, below us, the slope steepened further before plunging over a 3,000 Himalayan ‘wall’. We found a tenuous route up a couloir, but the going was slow as we had to rope up and tread carefully to avoid falling though some ominous looking ‘holes’. We made it to the ridge above, but the effort took its toll. Now at 20,500 ft, both Bukta and Will are starting to suffer from altitude sickness. To make matters worse, the weather has worsened and visibility has reduced to a couple of feet. We had no alternative but to set up camp and consolidate our position.

Surprisingly, both Paul & I felt fit, despite having lost about a stone each, and we settled down for the night after some more lentils ! Conditions in the morning have improved a little but the clouds look ominous. Bukta and Will have had a restless night and they are not looking or feeling well; they are going no further. Paul and Adrian assess the situation and decide that the remaining four of us should make an attempt on Bara Shigri immediately – a sound decision since we are feeling strong and at the moment, the weather is stable.

We rope up and head up the ridge. Paul and I work well as a team (he tells me what to do, I do it !) and made good, if slow overall progress. By mid afternoon, we got to within approx. 700 ft of the summit (pic).

Then, suddenly, it went very dark. Behind us we could see the late afternoon storm clouds gathering. There was no sane decision to be made. As quickly as we could, we retraced our steps and just made it back to the camp on the ridge as blizzard conditions descended. Exhausted by now, we were able to muster enough strength to rig extra guide ropes to the tents, check on the other two ( now ghostly white and very lethargic ) and cook a quick meal. All night, the wind hammered the tents and I was convinced that we going to be blown off the ridge.

Next morning, and again the conditions had improved slightly (pic). The priority was to get Bukta and Will down to ABC so that they could recover. As Adrian and Feruk were also feeling drained, they decided to escort Bukta and Will. Unerringly, both Paul & I felt ok, so we decided to stay put and wait for Adrian & Feruk to return in two days time to make another attempt on the peak.

They left the remaining rations (approximately 4 days food) with us and we watch them leave. Little did we know what lay ahead, and that we would not see them on that ridge again.

During the course of the day, the weather got progressively worse. The wind again threatened our tent and the snow was blowing horizontally through every gap and crack. At night the temperature dropped to –28˚ C and despite our down sleeping bags, we were never warm enough to sleep properly. It was so cold that out breathe would freeze on the top of the inner tent and in the morning, as temperatures soared to just above freezing, this condensate would melt and drip on us for the next few hours. It was not pleasant.

The blizzard lasted for nine long days.

Every day, one of us (Paul !) had to go outside and scrape the snow off the tent (pic) to prevent it sagging under the weight. Sanitation was also interesting and there is one thermos flask that will forever remain in the Western Himalayas. We kept our spirits up by seeing who could come up with the most elaborate celebration, if and when we got off the mountain; it was eventually won by Paul with his suggestion of a shower….which I seconded !

As the days dragged on, we doubted whether we would ever make it out. By now we had each lost a quarter of our body weight and had rationed ourselves to a couple of hundred calories a day (the recommended daily intake is 4000).

On the tenth morning there was eerie silence. We emerged from the tent into bright sunshine (pic). The storm was over. We quickly packed up, intending to head down to ABC, but the elation of the moment overtook us. We decided to make an attempt on the unclimbed peak.

After 5 hours of unremitting slog, we made it (pic). With barely enough time for self-congratulation and picture taking, we started back down to ABC. The ski’s that we had taken with us were now put to good use as we skied down to the ridge and beyond. Then it all went horribly wrong.

We managed to clamber down the couloir but to our horror, the wide, steep slope (which we had to cross) was now thick with fresh snow and on the point of avalanching.

I suggested to Paul that we forgo roping up and cross one at a time. We both knew what that meant. Paul decided to go first and took a chance by traversing the slope on ski’s to lessen the time that he would be in the danger zone. It was not a good idea. After 400m, a huge slab avalanche was activated exactly where Paul’s skis had cut the slope. He was spun around but managed to clamber to the side. We both watched as the avalanche, a slab of snow 200m wide and several meters deep, sweep down the slope and disappear over the 3,000 ft drop.

Now it was my turn. What followed was the longest 20 minutes of my life as I dropped into the avalanche crater and edged along slowly. All Paul could do was watch. Shaking and very weary, I made it across without further incident. We both put on our skis and descended at a rapid pace (pics).

We soon met 2 porters who had been sent by Adrian to recover our bodies ! They had seen us through the telescope in ABC and thought we had been caught up in the avalanche. We gladly gave them our rucksacks while we skied the 2,000 ft descent to ABC.

A bottle of whisky miraculously appeared and we ate a proper meal for the first time in 11 days. But no peace for the wicked. Early the next day, we all trekked back to Base Camp (over 50 km), arriving after dark.

On waking, we packed all our belongings, bid farewell to the porters and walked to the road. Then we made our way back, via open top bus, to the best hotel in Manali for that well earned shower.

Postscript

We registered the first successful ascent of the un-climbed peak with the Indian Mountaineering Federation, and in the best climbing tradition, we got to name it. Ferouk had asked me one day why I called Paul 'fine' ? It transpired that Paul's nickname, Tigger, sounded very like Tikka, which means 'fine' in Indian. We took inspiration from that and called our mountain Tikka Parbat......or Fine Mountain.

We returned to Delhi with 7 days before our flight home. Paul knew all about Hafiz from earlier tales. We headed to Connaught Square, where Hafiz had his office, and sure enough, there he was. We embraced like long lost brothers. Needless to say, Paul, I and Hafiz headed up to Kashmir, on his fathers houseboat, where we enjoyed several days of reminiscing and R&R before flying back home.

I vowed to Paul that my next high altitude venture would be the coastal footpath around the UK ! ..............not true, unfortunately...., I have subsequently climbed Mt Blanc three times with Andy, Paul & Graham Williams and Mt Kinabalu (highest mtn in SE Asia).......but that is another story.