Page 13 - 2016 AMA Spring

to Simon, where I found him standing on a ledge the size of a brick, belayed only on his ice axes. The ice had gradually become thinner as we had ascended and now consisted of no more than a few centimetres of ice over a featureless slab. ‘I think we might be off route’ Simon offered. ‘No F***ing shit’ went through my mind, but all I said was, ‘I think we might have drifted too far right’.
I stood below Simon and we both peered into the gloom looking for the route. The very first glimmer of the dawn’s light was now starting to show and I could sense as much as see that the ground to my left seemed slightly easier. I set off carefully, leftwards and slightly upwards. The ice quickly started to thicken and after about half a rope length I round a large boulder frozen into the slope, ideal for a sling and some psychological relief. I could now see more clearly. The crux was directly above me and 20 metres of steep climbing led to a good stance.
From there on the difficulties eased and we made steady progress. After a while we started to move together again and by mid-morning we were on the summit. We sat down, drank and ate and talked about the route and our climbing ambitions. The stress of the climb quickly dissipated and, perhaps because of this, we tarried too long. We knew the descent was technically quite easy and that we had all afternoon to get back in time for the last train from Montenvers. It was not until after midday that we finally began or descent.
As the route was technically easy, we had unroped. Because of the afternoon sun, on what was now a South facing slope, I had taken my helmet off. Using only one axe I was happily descending, facing inwards and kicking big steps into the soft sugary snow. Suddenly I fell into a hole (created I think by a hidden boulder). The weight of my rucksack pulled me over backwards and the lip of the hole took my legs from under me. Before I knew it, I was heading headfirst down the slope on my back and accelerating
fast. We have all practiced our ice axe breaking, and numerous weekends in Scotland, North Wales and the Lakes now showed their worth. Instinctively I put out my axe as a pivot, twisted onto my front and reapplied the axe with all of body weight and effort. Just as I felt myself starting to slow there came a bone juddering impact with some rocks. I was thrown into the air and came down amongst some more boulders, where I instantly made a ‘starfish’ shape which brought me to a stop only some tens of metres from a long drop to Talefre glacier.
By the time Simon had climbed down to me I was sitting up, somewhat dazed. I was not severely hurt, but I had suffered a bang on the head and a nasty cut and some grazes. Of equal concern my left thigh was badly bruised and I had some trouble walking. 1993 was before the ubiquitous now ‘mobile phone’, and our best hope of getting to safety was to walk down ourselves. It was a long journey, mostly roped together and with Simon having to lower me down the steep ladders at the Couvercle hut. Not wishing the ignominy of a helicopter rescue, we continued past the hut and down to the Mer de Glace. This was a decision I later regretted, as I started to tire and stiffen badly.
Much to Simon’s horror I slowed down even more and we were soon benighted on the glacier. Only some desperate route finding eventually brought us to the Montenvers ladders. In 1993 these were not as long as they are now, but it was still a weary climb up to the station and a cold bivouac on the platform waiting for the first train. As I sat on the platform that evening I reflected on Kipling’s poem ‘If’, one line of which goes “If you can meet triumph and disaster and treat these impostors both the same”. I came to the realization that the ‘triumph’ of our successful ascent and the ‘disaster’ of our subsequent descent were indeed both imposters. The reality was the route was about camaraderie and shared experiences, not about triumph or indeed disaster. Perhaps that is why this story has been over 20 years in the telling.
ARMY MOUNTAINEER 11
AMA Spring 2016 text.indd 11
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