Kangchenjunga 2003
Alan Hinkes: Dispatch One

	ALAN HINKES CHALLENGE 8000 ALAN'S AIM TO BE THE FIRST BRITON TO CLIMB ALL FOURTEEN 8000'ERS. ONLY TWO ARE LEFT - DHAULAGIRI AND KANGCHENJUNGA
ŠAlan Hinkes

Dispatch One: No mountain is worth a life; for me returning is a success and the summit is only a bonus. In fact I have been on 26 expeditions to the 8000m peaks and made 12 summits, leaving only two Dhaulagiri and Kangchenjunga, to climb. So far seven people have succeeded in summiting all 14, but no Briton. To climb all 14 8000ers is a quantifiable challenge, just as a four minute mile is a quantifiable record and the number of people achieving that can be counted. Challenge 8000 is now a personal quest, but I never really set out to climb all 14 until I had summited eight and had only six to go.

Imagine if a three minute mile was possible and only seven or eight people had run it, none of them from these shores. There would be quite a few people in training to be the first Brit to break that three minute barrier. Challenge 8000 is my three minute mile and I am on the final bend of the final lap, with only two big peaks left to climb. However, it will be no sprint finish; pacing is essential, while determination and stamina are pre-requisites.

All of these giant mountains are in the death zone, an unforgiving environment where the human body rapidly deteriorates and it is not possible for human beings to survive more than a few days at most. There are no rescue teams or helicopters for help. A helicopter has an altitude ceiling of 6500m (21,000 feet), so you are on your own - in fact you might as well be on the moon. Just to survive takes tremendous effort. All water is frozen as snow and ice so requires melting; breathing and movement is difficult and slow, sleep is virtually impossible and the cold - often 40 below - can freeze fingers and toes solid. To climb one 8000'er is a privilege despite all the objective dangers on such a mountain. I do not have a death wish; climbing enhances my life and I climb to live. To return safely to base camp after tackling an 8000'er gives me an inner sense of elation, well being and pleasure. On top of a peak I know I am in one of the most dangerous places on earth, so I tend to have a feeling of achievement tempered with anxiety and trepidation. Many mountaineers die on the descent when exhaustion can lead to a slip or the weather closes in. The climb is not over until I am back in base camp - that is when I can really relax and let the ascent sink in, as I dig into a plate of egg and chips and chapattis, with a mug of hot milky tea. Some of my ascents have been very traumatic and I have had a few close shaves with death.

At 8046m, Shishapangma was my first 8000'er. In 1987 I climbed a new route on the north face of the mountain in a two person, lightweight, Alpine-style push. On the ascent we bivouacked at 7800m with no tent - an experience I have not been eager to repeat. My climbing partner Steve Untch suffered severe frostbite to his feet and had several toes amputated. (Sadly he was killed on K2 in 1994). My ascent of Shishapangma coincided with Polish mountaineer, Jerzy Kukuczka's 14th. We were together on the same expedition, and he was the second person to complete the Grand Slam of all 14. I learnt a lot on this expedition - never underestimate the conditions, spend time getting acclimatized and don't hang around too high too long. I began to understand why extreme altitude is called. "The Death Zone".  Even though I saw the savage toll that extreme altitude, frostbite and cold can exact on the human body none of this deterred me and I continued high altitude mountaineering.

Since that first successful 8000m ascent in 1987, I have gone on to climb another 10 8000'ers, including K2 ("The Savage Mountain"), Nanga Parbat ("The Killer Mountain") and the world's highest mountain, Everest. Of all of the 14 giants, perhaps the most difficult to summit and survive is K2. Certainly for me this is the first prize. Although Everest is the highest mountain I feel it is only the second prize. K2 is nearly as high so has all the same problems of extreme altitude, but it is a much more difficult climb. It is steeper and more technical, has worse weather, more avalanche and rock fall potential and is more remote and arduous to approach.

Some people take a flag to the summit of mountain, while others just take themselves. I carry a photograph of Fiona my daughter and take it out when I reach the top. This remind me that no mountain is worth a life. Fiona and I have a pact - I trust her to be there when I get back and she trusts me to come home safely. This helps me to focus on getting back down from the summit of each 8000'er, which is often the most difficult part of an expedition.

I am often asked, "Why do you want to climb all of the 8000m peaks?" It is a difficult question to answer. Can I reply, "Because they are there" as Mallory did? Eric Shipton thought that it was impossible to provide an entirely satisfactory explanation for any recreation. That is perhaps even more so for mountaineering with its inherent danger.

My plan now is to complete Challenge 8000. Two summits left, Dhaulagiri and Kangchenjunga, could take me two years depending on conditions and weather. The best season to climb is the pre-Monsoon. Leaving Britain in late march to trek in and acclimatize in April and summit in May before the Monsoon hits in late May, early June. Alan Hinkes is sponsored in part by Berghaus since the early 1980s.

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