Page 15 - 1993 AMA Summer

three foot wide and one foot down to the far side and required bottle to step across the perfectly smooth-sided crack having come so far we would not be beaten. Safely on the far side the summit was undeniably close. As we crested the summit ridge we could look down into the valley on the far side, 9000 ft straight down into the valley we had walked up days before.
We came to the crevasse described by the Japanese mountaineer and quite honestly could not see what the difficulty was. It was a long step or a short jump, depending on how you looked at it. We were getting blasé about these things now, and crossed without another seconds thought. The way was now clear for us to reach the summit. Ian and I strode confidently onto the domed peak, and looked into the face of the wind coming up the valley. We could only spend a couple of minutes on the summit before the wind and the cold drove us off again.
We had a chance to look down onto base camp thousands of feet below, only visible at the snout of the massive Mera Glacier because of the blue speck that was our mess tent; we managed to take some photos of both of us on the summit holding all the goodluck charms we had been given by people who had supported the expedition; and we had chance to identify the majority of the famous names in mountaineering. All around us were the peaks that have inspired mountaineers for generations; Mount Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse, Makalu and Kangtega, Ama Dablam and Pumori; all laid out in front of us.
Soon the cold became too much and we beat a hasty retreat back down the dome of the mountain. On the way down we met Chris and Tom who had been forced to turn back by altitude problems within striking distance of the summit. Gravity helped
our heavy legs make the weary slog downhill, past all the hazards we had encountered on the way up, but each one now taken with the relief of tired men. We trudged down through High Camp, on to Advance Base Camp and pushed on to Base Camp itself, undoing the work of four days in several hours. We talked little, both deep in our own thoughts.
Safely back in Base Camp, all team efforts concentrated on the next attempt that was to put the remaining six members of the team on the summit. First, a couple of rest days were needed to prepare the team, so on the 11th of March the second wave set out. The plan was to miss out Advance Base Camp altogether and to force the issue by heading for High Camp immediately, so as to save a day that might be needed should the weather turn bad. Time was running short.
The second attempt at the mountain was harder for some team members; they knew what to expect and even their improved acclimatisation did not reduce the sheer physical effort involved. The climb became one of patient determination. , taking each step as it came. The team reached the summit on the 12th of March . They were able to spend over an hour on the summit taking photographs of all the major peaks. The weather was calm but bitterly cold. It was 1230 hrs.
Exercise Mera Diamond had achieved its major aim of climbing Mera Peak and also its secondary aim of getting every single team member to the summit. Each one of the expedition had gained a deep insight into the Nepalese people and their culture, and had leamt many lessons about teamwork under the pressure of high altitude mountaineering. A marvelous experience.
Friday 6th March. 10.30 hours. The first roped pair moving through the crevasse field between advanced base camp and high camp. The pair carry bamboo poles to mark the way through the maze of cracks and crevasses. The small pimple left centre of the skyline is the central summit of Mera Peak. The summit we were climbing to is slightly higher and to the right. In this photo it is hidden by the rock and snow crest forward and right.
Armv Mountaineer 15