Page 16 - 1994 AMA Summer

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Everest! - I must be dreaming
a recollection of thoughtsfrom the DARC Star Expedition
"Well it looks like you're going to Everest Bry" Jon Tinker’s words hit me like a ton of bricks and were to remain fixed in m> mind over the ensuing months. Going to Everest was not a dream, it was real but there was going to be a lot of hard work aheadto make it work. The Dare Star team had just completed a planning/training exercise in Vermont U.S.A. - a hectic 2 weeks in which the expedition had been brought from a some- \\ hat shaky stance to a firm foothold and on the road that would eventually lead to Nepal.
That was February 1992 and some 8 months later we were ready to depart for Katmandu. The intervening months had been hectic enough but the month of October was particularly chaotic, what with press receptions, a farewell reception at Kensington Palace with our Patron H.R.H. Prince Charles, last m inute hitches w ith the oxygen system , and the icing on the cake another daughter arrived just 4 weeks before departure. Looking back. I was fortunate that the expedition departure date had been pushed back as it gave me a short spell to enjoy Jennifer who provided a wonderful escape from the pressures o f the expedition.
Attempting to fit in training however, became quite an adven­ ture in itself. I could often be found trudging over the Brecon- Beacons. before sunrise on many occasions, so that I could fin­ ish early and spend more time at home helping my wife, Hilary. She proved to be an absolute diam ond throughout, rarely com ­ plaining realising that 1 needed her full support to be able to leave home at this moment: you may imagine I wasn't exactly flavour of the month with the in-laws. To add to my problems. I was right in the middle of building an extension to our house so had to ensure everything was going to keep functioning while I was away:-1 can assure you life was pretty hectic. Katmandu - the third world - it hits you the moment you leave the airport term inal - noise, sm ells, pollution, poverty and wealth all mixed in - it was everything 1 had ever imagined it would be and lots lots more. 1had read books and seen films from other expeditions many times but now here I was acting out my own fantasy as a member of an Everest expedition - surely a dream come true at last - 1felt very lucky indeed.
We had arrived as the main party which also included a trekking group made up of wives, friends and spouses who were to accompany us to Base Camp. An Advance Party had already arrived 2 weeks previous to us and were already on the trail shepherding some 15 tonnes of kit, to Base Camp. By the time we would arrive, they should have established base camp and hopefully fixed the ice fall ready for us to start work establish­ ing Camps 1 and 2 straight away, that was the master plan any­ way. Expeditions of this scale are always beset with logistic problems and ours was no exception, despite the meticulous planning.
My own problem came sooner than expected however - at the airport terminal. Nick Neve (ABC Manager) informed me that
B. Stadden
Pie 6th Bln Light Infantry. Bath - Avon
the Russian oxygen hadn’t arrived amid rumours of leakage problems - 1suddenly felt empty unable to enjoy the moment like everyone else.I had arranged for the expedition to purchase 10 titanium cylinders through a distributor in the U.S.A. that were destined to be used solely for the summit bids, so were paramount to the success of the expedition!! In order to make use of these cylinders, I had had to adapt them to work with the regulator and mask sets that we had obtained from B.S.E.E. 92. We were extremely fortunate to have been able to make use of oxygen apparatus they returned to the U.K. and the help and advice offered by their oxygen member - Major Bronco Lane certainly made my life easier in assessing our requirements. So instead of enjoying the sights of Katmandu, I was busy chasing our missing cylinders:- still what was I here for anyway - sight­ seeing or to climb Everest? Believe me, trying to contact peo­ ple in the U.S.A. and Russia is not at all easy from Katmandu; if you manage to avoid the frequent power cuts then either the telephone or fax machine breaking down will eventually get you.
W hen I left for Lukhla the cylinders still hadn't arrived but I had at least obtained firm guarantees that they had been despatched and would arrive shortly. We had arranged for our agents "Asian Trekking” to collect the cylinders and send them on to Base Camp. I left Katmandu now a much happier man and relishing the prospect of the trek to Base Camp and that first magical glimpse of Everest.
The plan was to take 17 days trekking at a leisurely pace to ensure good acclimatization. We would not be burdened with any expedition equipment or hassled with organisation - in other words a little holiday before the real work started. My ini­ tial impression of the Everest Trail was how busy it was. The num bers o f trekkers had obviously contributed to the extensive development of the area, many new lodges, hotels, tea houses had recently been built to accommodate these vast hordes. This didn't detract anything from my enjoyment of the trail, but for someone like Phil Neame who last visited the area in 1976 it was quite a shock. Who were we to grumble anyway, with an advance party escorting some 600 porter and yakloads strung out on the trail ahead of us.
The trail takes you through Namche Bazaar the Sherpa capital, an extraordinary collection of hotels and shops situated in a nat­ ural amphitheatre. Above Namche is situated the Everest View Hotel, built by the Japanese to give that glimpse of Everest in complete opulence complete with draught oxygen on tap in each room. It is totally out of character with the area and at $100 per night wasn’t going to get any of our custom.
Onto Tangboyche and the famous Monastery: here we attended a ceremony to bless the expedition. The ceremony was some­ what bizarre:- it seemed like more of a tourist spectacle than a religious ceremony - it left me somewhat bemused as to its real value: it kept the sherpas happy anyway and that is all impor-
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