Page 13 - 2021 AMA Summer

Luka, Tom and Ales after climbing Latok 1. Back on the glacier on day 7 Photo credit: Tom Livingstone
headwall overhung us and we could glimpse an unlikely line through the ‘3D nature’ of the climbing, all corners and fins. It was just like at Gogarth! As the sun came round onto the face in the afternoon, I gingerly pulled on my rock shoes at 6200 metres, and began questing upwards. I bridged between corners, placing encouraging gear as I went, whooping in disbelief at our position. I wiggled out a loose stone and threw it over my shoulder; it tumbled in space for about a thousand metres before hitting the glacier below. ‘Get some!’ I shouted as I tiptoed through the incredible wall. Before long, however, I was sitting on a cam and breathing heavily - my body was fully aware of our altitude!
Ally and I finally made it through the headwall on the fourth day, and reached the summit on our fifth. Hypoxic and euphoric, bent double with heaving lungs, we embraced on the snowy crest of Koyo Zom. White-capped peaks stretched into the horizon of Central Asia, and I imagined long-forgotten deserts, nomads and blank areas of the mountaineering map. It felt like the highest of highs: to climb a tricky new route at high altitude.
Our descent from Koyo Zom is another story. After losing 1000 metres in altitude,
we reached a large glacier and bivied. The following day, Ally and I roped up and walked down the glacier. It quickly became intense, with saggy snow bridges and our feet punching into crevasses. In an unlucky instant, Ally fell through a snow bridge and rattled down a crevasse. I managed to pull him out using a 3:1 pulley system and give him first aid. Despite the remoteness and unlikely prospect of a helicopter rescue, I knew Ally needed attention to a bleeding head wound,
trauma to his leg and his arm. I pressed the SOS button on our Garmin InReach.
In the ensuing 27 hours, I looked after Ally as I’m sure he would look after me. I’ll simply say the night was incredibly long and stressful. I’m glad Ally has a tough head - both figuratively and literally! The helicopter rescue, recovery and eventual reunion with the rest of the team in Islamabad, many days later, was also an experience.
ARMY MOUNTAINEER / 13
Ally’s accident reminded us that the most important thing is to come home safe, and I’m glad our time in the mountains ended well. Overall, our expedition was a very enjoyable experience and we’ve remained good mates.
But now, we have a new dimension to climbing - we find ourselves ‘locked’ in our own homes, fighting the unseen enemy of covid-19. Our freedom, appre- ciation of nature and the outdoors, and the physical and mental challenges of climbing are genuine treasures and I hope we can all enjoy them again soon. It’s been an interesting pause for reflection: ‘how much do I enjoy climbing?’ I’ve realised it’s been a constant chord throughout my life, and especially so in the last decade. I’ve been lucky to have travelled, trained and tried my hardest on some of the most inspiring climbs and mountains around the world. Many of us have taken this for granted. However, I’m sure we will fully appreciate the harmony of these treasures now!