Page 35 - AMA Summer 2023

EVEREST OR BUST – MERA PEAK
Chris P
Chris is an Army Reservist from Essex. Having joined
3 Royal Anglian in 2005, he transferred to 3 Military Intelligence Battalion in 2010 where he set his sights on summiting Everest in 2025/26. In Winter 2022, we left Chris at Everest Base Camp. In this edition, he picks up the
Ostory on Mera Peak. n 2 May 2022 I landed at Lukla,
the ‘most dangerous airport in the
world,’ as it is often billed. Almost a year later, I am back. It’s the 3 April 2023, and I’m back in Lukla with a new group of trekkers brought together by Evertrek (a UK based trekking company), about to embark on the ‘ultimate Mera Peak expedition.’ I am prepared – I have my (two) down jackets, my B3 La Sportiva boots, my ice axe, helmet, and crampons. I have spent a month practising at high altitude with hypoxia training, courtesy of The Altitude Centre in London, and working on my overall fitness with F45 training.
The first few days were relatively uneventful. We mostly kept below 3000m, however, we got our first taste of snow on day two amid a dense forest. A clearing appears, after a climb, and we are treated to our first view of Mera Peak. It is spectacular. Three distinct peaks make up the summit – Mera North, Central and South. We would be
climbing Central, at 6461m. On day four, as we descended out of the trees, we crossed a small stream and found ourselves in a beautiful village called Khote, at 3650m. It can best be described as a Smurf village; every wall appears to be a bright blue. The cold started to set in at this point, getting below zero at night-time. The following day, we trekked along a river, with constant rock falls on our left side. Small pebbles, some larger than a tennis ball, but a reminder of the environment we were in. At the end of this trek, we got to Tagnak. Whilst in the teahouse, I spotted a familiar face outside. Hari Budha Magar and Krish Thapa were there with their team, conducting acclimation training prior to their Everest summit attempt. Hari and Krish joined us for dinner, and our team learned a great deal from their experiences.
Acclimatisation is very important at these altitudes, and the next
day we climbed
the slopes
behind Tagnak until we hit 4820m, taking in the view of the valley below. From this vantage point, we could see the route from Base Camp to High Camp that we would be taking in the days to come.
The route to Khare, the last urban area before summiting, was long but gradual. The climb to 5000m was pleasant, with a short tea break in the day. While relaxing, a slab from snow overhang on a nearby mountain collapsed, sending a thundering roar across the valley. Naturally everyone reached for their phones to capture this avalanche, all glad we were nowhere near it. At Khare we spent the afternoon preparing our kit, reducing what we needed to take with us to the essentials and leaving behind what we didn’t need. My Black Diamond axe strapped to my Osprey Talon Pro, my Petzl helmet and harness ready to go. We left Khare the following day after breakfast, taking a relaxing journey to Base
Camp at 5350m, on the Mera La glacier. Our first taste of
Adventure beckons
ARMY MOUNTAINEER / 35