Page 29 - 2006/07 AMA Winter

loads! On arrival at Camp 2 we learnt that our Oxygen supply had been interfered with and one of the precious cylinders has been stolen and replaced with an empty bottle
plateau, but the sun is rising and a huge panorama opens in front of us. Another twenty minutes and we’re there. 8201m! Photos follow back slapping and we take a few moments to savour the view,
skills as a m ountaineering instructor come to the fore as he embarks on a tandem abseil with the incapacitated, but increasingly exposure aware (!) Roberto - a com­ mendable feat of mountain rescue. We are soon safely ensconced beneath the ice cliff and en route to the rela­ tive sanctuary of Camp 1. There, a prearranged ren­ dezvous with Tibetan Porters ensures that a now more com­ posed Roberto is safely evac­ uated to Advance Base Camp and is reunited with his fellow countrymen. “
invited - nobody escapes the generous hospitality of our charismatic hosts. Stories are told and retold, frostbite injuries inspected and addresses exchanged. At the request of our hosts the evening ends with a resound­ ing chorus of the National Anthem with much humming to replace key words where hypoxia or age has eroded the relevant memory banks! We were delighted to have achieved our objective and
Roberto was grateful to be alive.
a despicable act.
Unfortunately this is a sad but
increasingly common incident Exhausted, we descend to caused by more and more Camp 2 at our own individual people without the traditions pace to rest and spend the of mountain ethics being night. It is during our descent
drawn to high altitude climb­ ing, A mediocre weather fore­ cast, increasingly high winds and fatigue from the climb to Camp 2 caused doubt regard­ ing our intended summit bid that night - we therefore decided to delay a day.
Summit Day
“It’s 2300 on the 8 October. We emerge from our tents, shoulder our 'sacks, and turn on the valves on our oxygen sets. A steady hiss confirms they’re working and we set off into the night. The hours pass by and we steadily move ever upwards - a slow convoy of head torches in a sea of snow and ice.
Steep cliffs bar the route, and we clip our jumars onto a fixed rope. Hauling ourselves upwards at just less than 8000m is exhausting work. Some of the ropes are barely worthy of yak tethers, and we exercise extrem e caution. The stops are becoming
more frequent and longer as we reach the summit
that by chance James
Lancashire identifies the lone
figure of an Italian m oun­
taineer, Roberto Marabotto.
He is alone and has all the
symptoms of severe Altitude
Sickness and frostbite.
James assists him to Camp 2,
makes him comfortable in his
own tent and monitors his
progress throughout the night.
The realisation that we have a
complex casualty evacuation stopped by “Maoist” rebels
of our hands begins to dawn.
After an uncomfortable night with interrupted sleep at Camp 2, we awake to the prospect of evacuating an incapacitated mountaineer down a complex face. The team embraces this challenge in the same matter of fact way it has dealt with all of the chal­ lenges over the last few weeks. Roberto is short roped down the first set of ice cliffs and some imaginative rope manoeuvres speed progress. He is still suffering from the effects of altitude and remains
who politely requested a donation to refurbish their local school. We diffused the situation with smiles, hand­ shakes and McVities choco­ late digestives. Politics and principles aside they were awfully polite and even gave us a receipt from the Revolutionary Council of the Tamang Province. Dying for the sake of £2 was dismissed as a potentially over-zealous option! On return to Kathmandu we were invited to Kathmandu’s finest Italian
restaurant ‘Fire and Ice' to cel­
Cho Oyu by five military per­ sonnel serves to enhance mil­ itary credibility in the Himalayas. The Services have much to learn from civil­ ian and commercial ventures that enjoy considerable suc­ cess in the Himalayas. Exercise PRECIOUS AIR DRAGON 2006 is the small­ est m ilitary expedition to attempt an 8000m peak and dem onstrates that such aspi­ rations are achievable within the confines of a small cohe­ sive team with a light logistic footprint without compromis­ ing safety. All team members are very grateful for the AMA’s
Despite numerous expedi­ TheJourneyHome tions in the last 30 years, less than fifteen people have reached the summit of 8000m peaks on service expeditions and the successful ascent of
Our journey back to Nepal across the Friendship Bridge was uneventful until we were
ebrate the ‘return of Roberto'.
incapable of independent Mountaineers, Sherpas, support for this challenging
. It is here that Tibetan cooks and rewarding opportunity.
Flying the flag on the summit.