Page 26 - 2009 AMA Summer

here to the summit and back we commit- ted ourselves to existing on the bare mini- mum of food and water whilst working in the most difficult environment in the World.
Day four was straightforward as we moved to Camp 4 at approx 7600m. Stu, howev- er, decided that he was not fit enough to continue and started his decent. The remainder of us arrived late in the day; Lara, Molly and I squeezed into one tent whilst the Sherpas went into the other. The routine here was hydrate, eat what we can and rest for a few hours before starting the final push. It was at Camp 4 that we first used a low dose of Oxygen in order to rest for a few hours.
Day five, 18th May, summit day. Strictly speaking we left Camp at 2300hrs the night before and stepped-off into the dark and breaking trail across the glacier leading to the couloir and the summit ridge beyond. This is tiring and time-consuming in the Alps, in the Himalayas it is exhaust- ing; not helped by the fact that due to a leaking hose I had run out of oxygen!
I dumped my sack containing the now redundant oxygen bottle, turned smartly to the right and climbed on. Also in my sack was the small Corps flag I had with me, so no flag on the summit shots I am afraid.
At the base of the couloir we reached the fixed ropes and started the climbing prop- er. It was light by this point but bitterly cold. I kept warm and importantly the circulation flowing by flicking my hands, kicking my feet and scrunching my face, a routine almost automatic as breathing as I made my way higher. At some point Molly and Lakpa had turned back. Several hours later
we hit the knife edged summit ridge and turned right.
On the summit is a small carved post with prayer flags attached. The feeling on reach- ing the summit is hard to describe. I had mixed emotions. I was, on one hand delighted to be at the summit. On the other I was very conscious that I had only done half of the job and still had to make my way down. At this point it would be normal to show summit views. For us, however, there were none - It was completely clagged-in! There were no views of Everest and Lhotse to the West or Kanchenjunga to the East. Oh well, maybe next time! After a quick photo shoot we started down.
It is often true in mountaineering that most accidents occur during the descent. With
8.38 am – Lara moving up the fixed ropes towards the NE Ridge – approx 8000m
and sweets. The body doesn’t metabolise food well beyond 7500m, from here we would be on reserves. This may sound sim- ple is a large mental step to take. From
3.54pm - On Top! Lara Herbert behind is now the 2nd British woman to climb Makalui
1.56pm – Just short of the false summit – approx 8400m
24 ARMY MOUNTAINEER