mountEverest Expedition

Ian in his "professional dress"

DISPATCH #4 HIMALAYAN GUIDES 2003 EVEREST EXPEDITION

Everest Base Camp 13th April 2003

On 11th April we climbed to the top of the Khumbu Icefall and returned to Base Camp as an acclimatisation exercise. We left our Base Camp at about 5.30 am so that most of the climb would be undertaken before the sun appeared over Everest West Ridge and turned the icefall into an oven.

The first obstacles to surmount before reaching the foot of the icefall are the scree mounds that top the glacier at Base Cap. The energy sapping scramble over the scree can take anything from 15 minutes to half an hour to the bottom of the icefall. At the bottom of the icefall we fitted our harnesses and crampons and began our ascent of the icefall. The first quarter is a gently rising slog over snow and ice hummocks easily within the competence of winter hillwalkers. Then gradients steepen requiring jumars (and abseiling on the descent). There are 40 ladders to be negotiated during this year's ascent and the first double ladder (2xladders roped together) spans a crevasse shortly after the incline steepens. The terrain continued with increasingly greater gradients and crevasses. We passed a number of people who were ascending at a slower pace than us and in turn were passed by Sherpas traveling faster than us. About three quarters of the way up the dangers increased dramatically. The blocks of ice grew to the size of 3 x storey houses. They were often perched precariously leaning towards our trail at 60 degrees. Henry cautioned us to move as quickly as possible through the danger zone. Those who had the energy (including most of the Sherpas) ran through this zone with lungs burst in and n limbs crying "enough". After a brief pause to get sufficient breath there was a grade 2/3 ice climb to a series of ledges.

The last major obstacles on the icefall were a triple vertical ladders up a vertical wall followed immediately by triple horizontal ladders spanning a 150 foot crevasse. Then after a gentle 100 foot rise, we reached the top of the icefall. We sat at the top for about half an hour drinking our water and eating sweets before our bottoms got too cold on the ice and we started our descent. On the descent we met many of the people we had passed on the way up. About 200 feet below the top of the icefall a traffic jam developed where climbers attempting to abseil down a face were stopped by those moving slowly up the face. I kicked snow and ice from behind me to make a ledge to sit and wait the jam. I took off a glove to get my figure of eight clipped in for the abseil down and within a split second saw my glove (which I had thought to have been anchored to my sleeve by an 'idiot loop') tumbling down the ledge and into a crevasse - gone for ever! So much for my $200 Black Diamond ice climbing gloves. After a bit of faffing about the jam cleared and we were able to descend to the bottom of the icefall without incident.

On reaching the bottom I met a member of the Indian Army team. He enquired after his team mates. I told him I had passed them half an hour before and they were moving down steadily. His response was to offer me a welcome cup of hot lemon. I have found the Indian Army team to be amongst the most courteous and friendly on the mountain.

The total time for our ascent, stop and descent was about eight and a quarter hours which included the scramble from our base camp to the foot of the icefall. We were pleased at this time which indicated a reasonable level of fitness and bodes well for the future.

The icefall remains as terrifying (in some sections) as all the literature describes. However the dangers can be minimized by the application of good sense and by observing the actions of icefall veterans.

On our return to our base camp rumors were circulating that a young member of the French team had died. I would not report on such rumors because of the distress they can cause. [We agree! Please note EverestNews.com and to our knowledge, ALL expeditions & ALL climbers or others that EverestNews.com is working with held this news. Clearly the ethical thing to do... See here for more.] However I am now aware that this matter has been extensively reported on the internet. That being so we would like to express our sincere sympathy to the loved ones of the team member and also to the French team.

12th April was a rest day. The highlight of which was the arrival of Patrick Kenny and Dr Rob.

Patrick is a craggy faced ex-firejumper who summitted Everest in extreme weather conditions in 2000. I first met him on Cho Oyo in 1999 and looked forward ever since to renewing his company. He is a resident of Salt Lake City, USA.

I had not met Rob before but was immediately struck by his warm and friendly personality.

The rest of our rest day was taken up by the endless sorting of gear. Vicky sewed a saltire on both our down suits.

13th April is our 'Puja' day. The day was judged auspicious by our Sherpas, whose judgement we trust implicitly.

Some people are having lots of problems with their laptop hard drives because of the intense cold. If there is a significant break in these dispatches, this is likely to be the cause.

Ian Mackay QC

Everest Base Camp