Summing up the summit

It appears to be typical for the life cycle of many adventures to have
a long run up to a climax which unravels rather rapidly. And so the
last days of the expedition which hold the summit highlight are told
rather quickly.

We shifted camp to ABC the day after our technical gear had been
ferried. Due to our long acclimatisation period the increased altitude
of 4800m was not a problem, though the camp on top of the glacier was
notably colder than base camp. The new dome tents presented us with a
yet unencountered problem: how to fit four people into one tent to
play a round of hearts. A rather cozy affaire...

The following morning saw an early shift to Camp 1. Of course we
carried all the supplies up ourselves ('we' excludes myself from most
of the heavy lugging). On our way up we saw the remnants from a plane
crash in the last century scattered along the valley. Camp was set up
in the snow with CB13A towering over us.

A round of Scrabble and a plate of maggi 2-minute noodles was the last
we managed before falling into an early slumber, ready to wake up
before the crack of dawn to start the ascent. A cup of tea, a bowl of
PVM instant maize meal and we were rearing to go. Placing good faith
in our abilities, Rinku allowed us to lead the route. We split into
two teams - in the front Matt and I were lead by Jon (who got guidance
from Rinku) for most of the way. Following closely and overtaking us
towards the end were Hannes and Tim lead by Brendan (and guided by
Bhagwan).

Under 'summit' one tends to expect a defined high point, a solid snow
platform on which one can sit for a while, a clear blue sky and a
far-stretching view over snow-capped mountains. Our summit was none of
the above. Half an hour before reaching the summit it started to snow.
Our view was obstructed by a mass of white and cloud. The summit
itself was very undefined and we had to huddle together closely to
make it onto the rocky outcrop at 6239m. Even so there wasn't really
space for everyone and for all we knew there could have been 300m of
rock above us. But that's how it goes, conditions aren't always
perfect and we spent the following seven hours edging down the
mountain little by little in snow and rain.

To the team: pat on the back. We succesfully completed our mission of
summiting a technical peak over 6000m. To Rinku, Bhagwan and Mohan,
thanks for your guidance, patience and instruction.

Some indirect summit quotes from the team (what they did and didn't
say and how I interpreted it):

Glover: "Maybe front pointing 900m of mountain was not the best idea"
(note that Jon lead most of those 900m!)

Tiger Perks: "It was chilled. Can we do it again? Especially the 7
hours of rapelling in the snow storm."

Davey Gra...wait, not allowed to call him that. Didn't say much,
suspect he was tired. Defnitely got his energy back when it came to
bumsliding the last 100m though: "Thank goodness I took my crampons
off before that bump sent me flying!"

Ha(r)nes(s): I didn't see or hear much of him, as he was mostly
speeding up the mountain behind Brendan. Seems like a dislocated
shoulder isn't really an obstacle after all...

Brendan the machine: was seriously lacking oil (ie food) so "let's do
CB14 this afternoon" turned into a hungry silence from which he only
recovered the following day.

me: for the entire summit ascent there was just one thought on my mind
- "walk like a reindeer in winter". Translated this means walk slow
enough to conserve maximum energy so that you can make it back to camp
without collapsing of fatigue (as reindeer may do if they expend too
much energy in winter)

Modest Mix: came to the conclusion that altitude and Indian food
aren't her thing, so she left us to discover Spiti instead.

The expedition may be over, but 10 days of Indian travel and one more
blog post remain. So stay tuned...

--
Sent from my mobile device

How to shoot the moon: Notes on expedition training

Batal to elimentary base camp (just over 4000m):

• Food is absolutely delicious. Moreover, there's enough that Matt & Brendan, who were initially scared about rations, can't finish it.
• Hike today was pleasant - short, not very steep and quite slow (mostly due to my foot which is still weak and Hannes not feeling too great because of the altitude)
• 12 mules are carrying our supplies for the time being. Very kind of them, leaves us with only our personal gear to carry.
• It goes without saying that the mountains are incredible, the scenery is all in all breath-taking and that waking up in the morning feels like an absolute privilege.

Hearts for wizards (base camp, 4400m, gushing glacier river to the right, trickling icey streamlet to the left)

• rope work & knot techniques - nifty, been meaning to put my mind to learning these for ages
• acclimatisation walk to 4800m...up and down and down and up over rocky moraine until we eventually reached what will be the ABC (Advanced Base Camp). Glacier magic like I haven't experienced it before. Turqouise trickles developing into rushing torrents.First sneak preview of CB13a. A beauty!
• snow craft training...getting seriously fit from the steep 1hr hike to the training ground and the numerous uphill runs on the snow slope to practice walking techniques. So out of breath. Will be machines once back in CT.
• plunge into the dark as we launch ourselves head-first down the slope, gaining momentum to then practice self-arrest techniques using the ice axe. We've turned the slope into one enormous slide and have given our gear a thorough waterproof test. Some stuf stood the test, others failed. Review to follow.
• to put their manliness and engineering skills to a test, the guys decide to build a dam in the lower reaches of the icey streamlet on the left. Think I understand a good number of things in life, but the pleasure that can be drawn from building a rock wall in absolutely freezing water for hours surpasses me. Anyways, shot for a great dam, guys (and Mix, who joined in topless to add two boulders to the wall...).
• before tea, after tea, stretching to dinner and until bed time countless hours are spent playing various games. The favourite is Hearts, closely followed by Wizards.

Ice craft...

 

• cramponing on slopes, using ice axes to ascend and descend glacier walls, fixing lines, crevasse rescue...these are some of the skills we've learned in the past three days. Initially cramponing on slopes freaked me out like few things I've done before, maybe because I still need to regain confidence in my foot. Got over it eventually and found the same pleasure as the rest of the team in conquering walls of black, cold ice.
• drama strikes as Hannes dislocates his shoulder. Luckily Matt and Jon know the drill and pop it back in no time.
• energy levels hit a slump, as we've been training on snow and ice for the last six days. Fortunately PVM bars and gels (which have a somewhat disfavourable taste) save the day time and time again as they provide the much needed boost before lunch.

After nine days in the wild, the time has come to move to ABC. The guys will ferry most of the supplies up tomorrow, while Mix and I take a rest day in base camp. Lame, but I have decided to let sensibility win and rest my foot one last time before the summit attempt begins.

--

Sent from my mobile device

The start of a modest expedition to immodest mountains

Ah, what joy to meet up with the guys! Thanks to Tim's SA flag
boardshorts recognising them was easy enough (as I have learned since,
this is only one of seven SA fan items that Tim has packed). Hugs,
greeting, laughter, meeting, mix into Manali morning air. Two days to
make final preparations and explore India's adventure capital. We head
to Kaushal's home to select our technical gear from his store room.
Proudly equipped with mountaineering boots, ice axes, crampons, etc we
set off to discover what else the town has on offer.

On top of the gushing river, splendid mountain views and lush forest
slopes, Manali holds its own surprises and secrets. The hot spring we
find inside a temple is one of them and we grab the opportunity to
take a bath. The abundance of wildly growing ghanja plants that we
pass on our way to the spring is another. On closer investigation we
find that the whole of Manali is covered in weedy Weed. I won't
mention names, but certain team members struggle to conceal their
delight.

The biggest adjustment Mix and I had to make in joining the rest of
the crew is that where we sometimes used to share meals because it was
too much food, the guys order double because they can't eat enough.
And so, at the end of a typical 'so-long-yet-so-short' day, we
conclude the events with a drawn out dinner and open-ended endless
discussion on modesty.

A sunny new day greets us to an early start. Mix and Jon have decided
to rent a motor bike for the day, while Brendan, Matt, Hannes and Tim
join Kaushal for a hike in the forrest. My foot is feeling a lot
better, but Brendan's stern reprimand reminds me that I should still
rest it. So I opt for a lady's day instead and spend the morning in a
beauty salon - waxing my legs, getting a massage and enduring the pain
of eyebrow threading. Following this is shopping in Old Manali, but it
comes to a end when I run into the guys and am swept away to join them
on a river rafting adventure.

We jump on a bus heading to Kullu, with the intention of getting off
at the rafting camp. As the journey gets longer and longer, we start
to suspect that more than one way lead to Kullu and that we caught he
wrong bus. A friendly bus conductor, a river crossing and a hitched
ride later, we eventually find ourselves at the camp. Life jackets on
and off we are to indulge in a short but blissful trip down glacier
river rapids.

The rest is told quickly. A bus ride back, packing madness, midnight
supper and too early a morning. We find ourselves back on Rothang
Pass, stuck in the same muddy traffic jam. On the other side base camp
and no reception await.

--
Sent from my mobile device

Ain't no mountain high enough...

...ain't no valley low enough, ain't no river wide enough to keep our
bus from passing through - this has been our mantra for the past five
days as we conquered pass after pass. Mix and I have taken fair turns
at feeling nauseous - she due to the sheer vertical drops with plenty
potential for immediate death and me due to the endless twists and
turns of the neverending rollercoaster roads. Descends lead to lush
green valleys crossing terrential rivers, turquoise with glacier water
and waiting to be paddled one day, in some future adventure.

Srinaghar then Kargil and on to Leh. Bright prayer flags, shrines and
memorial stones occasionally flagging the roadside. As we climb
higher, the landscape becomes evermore hostile. Hot, dusty,
unforgiving, raw, uninhabitable. Yet human dwellings and monastries
rise out of the mountain side to merge with the dull surroundings.

At 3505m Leh awaits. A new town filled with the hustle and bustle of a
tourist hub. Pashmina shop, Israeli tourist, carpet shop, German
tourist, trekking company, hotel, Tibetan refugee stall, Israeli
tourist, shop. Leh fails to capture our immediate admiration in the
same way that Srinaghar did. We thus decide to devote ourselves to
gaining a better understanding of the fine arts of pashmino and carpet
weaving: knots per square inch, silk on silk, belly hair versus neck
hair - we have become near experts on these topics.

At midnight under accompaniement of Leh's howling stray dogs, we board
a minibus to begin the final leg of our pre-expedition journey.
Expectations are high for this "road that every person should travel
before their death" (quote: a local). We are proud to be coping well
with the altitude even as we reach the road's heighest point of 5100m.
Unfortunately it is still dark and we cannot see much. Day breaks to
unveil a landscape that consumes every fibre of one's being.
Magnificent canyons open up onto mellow grassy plateaus crowned by
snow-capped mountains in the distance. Every shade of brown appears to
be reflected in the scene. I would go further still to say that these
mountains have succeeded in making brown beautiful. As we enter into
Himachal Pradesh we are confronted by sheets of rain for the first
time. A couple of hours to go till we meet up with the guys and
Kaushal...

...dammit. Note to self, never write a blog entry before the evening.
So much for a couple of hours. Little did we expect a 'minor' traffic
jam on the Rothang Pass, only 2 hours away from Manali. Jam being the
appropriate term for this scenario, as the road had turned into one
colossal muddy jam in which every car was getting stuck. Add to this a
landslide and a rock fall and the chaos is complete...but of course
there ain't no landslide muddy enough to keep our bus from passing
through and we're finally back on the road.

--
Sent from my mobile device

Mirage

(dedicating this entry to Mehrage, our persistent houseboat keeper who tried his luck with us tirelessly and to the point of exasperation) 

 

Morning light, whispy mist, shikara bustle on the water and bursts of colour dipped in mountain surrounds. Waking to a new paradise, I soak up the atmosphere from our front porch.

 

At the end of our two day stay in the summer capital of Jammu&Kashmir, I think I can say that it is one of the most traveller friendly places I have ever visited. As in all great places there are two things that stand out: natural splendour and incredibly friendly people. Since the unrests in the region, foreign tourism has been slow to return. Of course everbody is eager for international visitors to come back, as tourism is the main source of income for J&K, but the warmth of the people extends beyond those directly gaining from tourism.

 

We have met delightful people in Srinaghar and I want to pay tribute to some of them. Danesh, Enrique Iglasias-loving school boy who invited us for tea at his home; Faruk, who organised our houseboat stay and went beyond duty to help us with our onward travels to Leh; respectful Ahmed, who is back home for his university holidays and shared his views and city with us for an evening. There are more - people who offered us liftss in town, chatted to us in restaurants and paddled our boat. While bargaining was sometimes done, people honestly offered us local prices for transport, food, tailoring and shopping. It is very rear to gain such an insight into local life when visiting for as short a time as we did. 

 

I fear that as foreign tourism returns to the region, this will change. Yet Mix and I both hope to return to this paradise some day. Maybe you'll join ;)

 

Our journey takes us on to Leh. 422 km, 2 days. We have considered returning to religion and placing our life in the hands of gods as more perilous mountain passes await and the general attitude towards the journey seems to be one of "Inshallah" (if it is God's will)...eventually decided against it though and will clutch each others hands hoping for safe arrival instead.

On the highway to Heaven

Jammu to Srinaghar

 

With Mix still feeling ill, we booked three seats in the jeep so that she could lie down. Thank goodness for PVM instant millie meal, this was the only thing either of us could handle to digest and hold in our stomach (to those budget boulderers that swear by Ace, absolutely no comparison...the nutritional value of PVM wins hands down ;). The journey was prospected to last 7 hours. Considering that it's only 300 km long, this perplexed me slightly. However, the fact that our driver was never exceeding 50km/h seemed to explain it. The signs on the road side provided a fantastic source of entertainment along the way. Here are some of my favourites:

 

After whiskey driving risky.

Life is short enough don't make it shorter.

Don't be silly in the hilly.

Mind you, the tortoise also won the race.

Life is a journey, complete it.

Drink & drive. Eat your peril.

You are driving on a highway not a runway.

 

It surprised me that people took these speed warnings to heart, but they would overtake on blind corners, hooting loudly to warn oncoming traffic. When we hit the first mountain pass, everything suddenly snapped into perspective. Oh, how to put he majesty of the Great Himalayas into words? Suddenly 30km/h turned into a frightening speed when overtaking around blind corners, 1000 m sheer vertical drop to the side. Zigzagging up and down mountains. The previously entertaining road signs now cast a morbid shade on the experience. To the enjoyment of our co-travellers and the dispair of our driver, Mix took a couple of chunders out of the car window. Spectacular mountain views opened onto rice field valley vistas as we arrived in Kashmir. 

 

Srinaghar, City of Gardens, finally welcomes us at 9pm after over 11 hours of travel. Glittering lights and gently rocking shikaras (gondolas) on Dal Lake. Arrival in a magic fantasy land of water, calm and cool, as we are steered across the lake to our houseboat. We melt into our new surroundings, charmed beyond expectations.

Jammu Blues

2008 ** : Kashmir declared most dangerous place in the world by Bill Clinton (for all that his opinion is worth). Our journey a 30 hour train ride (sleeper class, suffocating heat) from Mumbai to Jammu (jammu & kashmir province), on the Pakistani border. Our ticket reservation status RAC - still don't know what it means, but the result is that two people have to share one seat. Still struggle to follow the logic, noone seemed to be able to speak enough engllish to elaborate. very unhappy mikhaela and a restless night. Most vital gear for the ride: Black Diamond spot (headlamp...like all good things available at drifters), used by mix to fend off three freaky guys that had settled half a metre from her and were staring at her sleeping at 1am. Nothing as unpleasant as a 75 lumen light shining directly in your eyes. Good work Black Diamond!

Eventually arrived in Jammu. I was distraught to find the airport closed when I got there...no luck at fetching my bag and getting clean that night. In the mean time Mix had come down with a ghastly flu. Unsure at this point whether we would be able to continue our journey the following day. Delicious fruit shakes, friendly hand shakes (from shijk-like looking men), only non-Indian people in town it seems. Plenty of blatant stares on us, everywhere.

The morning comes, I am reunited with my bag. Mix is down, unable to travel on. Me still hobbling up and down, down and up the dusty, scorched roads of Jammu. The heat is unbearable. In the night I am hit by food poisoning or something of that sort. Spend the remaining hours hugging the toilet.

Finally the morning comes after an unfulfilling night's sleep. We decide to take a Jeep and head north towards Srinaghar.

** author's comment: misread the Lonely Planet. Bill actually said this in the 90s... some two decades ago. Some incidents happened in 2008, but they weren't as bad. No worries, Kashmir is a safe place. Sorry for misrepresenting history.

A tumultous start to a long journey...

Ah, why is there this preconception that mountaineering is dangerous? Damn the people that invented staircases and kitchen floors, on which one can twist one's ankle when performing the simple task of trying to pick up one's luggage. On lives my opinion that the most ordinary tasks result in the most painful accidents. Yip, just a couple of hours before departure I unfortunately twisted my ankle, resulting in a lot of pain and intense swelling. Sigh. The up side was being wheeled around all airports in a wheelchair, thus skipping queues and gathering many sympathy points. On the flip side Mix and I lost quite a lot of credibility when claiming that we were on our way to the Himalayas to do mountaineering. Either way, I didn't imagine arriving in Mumbai in a wheelchair...

...Just as I didn't imagine that I'd arrive without my luggage. The pro of my bag still being in South Africa is that I didn't have to lug it around Mumbai, which would have been close to impossible with my foot. Instead JetAir will send it to meet me in Kashmir. Luckily Mix bought a set of Black Diamond trekking poles (at Drifters ;)which I put to good use hobbling around the streets of Mumbai.

Other impressions of Mumbai: sticky heat and suffocating humidity, smells that "assault the senses" (quote Mix) - interesting insert for climbers, Bombay duck is not a duck but a smelly fish that people dry on the streets of Mumbai for consumption -, cleaner streets and less people than expected and Indians that want to take photos of us. We had a good chuckle sitting at The Gateway to India, a great colonial arch by the sea, as three sets of Indian families discretely sneaked up to us to pose for a photograph with us. Haha.

1 week to go...

Expedition preparations are drawing to an end as the count down starts. Thanks to Matt's patience we have managed to acquire all the required gear at Drifters. He has been a real help in the process and given us great advice and fantastic deals on all our equipment. Snacks for the expedition will be collected from PVM on Monday...already looking forward to chowing an Energy Bar in the Himalayas!

Mikhaela and I are set to leave in 7 days time to explore Northern India and Kashmir before meeting up with the rest of the team in Manali for the official start of the course on 30 June. Drum roll for the UCT MSC Expedition 2011!