Page 22 - 1998 AMA Summer

Snow Fun on Mera
By Major Tim Ham
One of the most morale sap­
ping remarks which can be made on a long mountain walk is, “come on, lads, just over the next ridge and we’ll be nearly halfway”. It may sound a little grander, but, and from there we’ll have clear views of Ever­ est” turned out, on Exercise Mera Mercury, to be a phrase from the same stable - it works once; after that, the foolhardy optimist is better served by a shut trap. The aim was to climb Mera Peak, one of those ‘trekking peak’ beasts, whose category suggests som ething taken in one’s stride en route to nobler things. Mera is the highest of these in Nepal, at 6476m/21,247ft (or 6654m depending on which account you believe, or the bluff needed in the bar at the time). It is, also, genuinely straightforward, in that ropes and ironmongery are only really needed in the
unlikely event of amusement at crevasses, or, occasionally where a fixed rope would help confidence. But it is fairly big and remote, and the weather remains in command through­ out. This was a joint venture between 210 Signal Squadron from Colchester, and 218 Signal Squadron from Londonderry and took place in late October to early November 1997.
Our team of twelve (nine young novices, one youngish novice and two ageing confidence tricksters) stared, wide-eyed, down the central aisle of the Twin Otter and out through the cockpit, wondering whether the pilot intended landing the air­ craft using wheels, or sticking it into the ground like an errant dart. Somehow, a few seconds later, we stum bled out, buttocks still tightly clenched, on to the gravel surface which is Lukla airstrip, perched some 2000ft
above the D udh Kosi, and into the adjacent Yeti Lodge. There then followed an industrial- grade kit reorganisation, a bowl of noodles, and straight on our way.
possible. There are two other good reasons for taking on staff on an expedition like this (aside from the rules): first, tourism is just about Nepal’s only source of income and at an individual level, the choice is often between lugging loads around the hills or begging in the smog of Kathmandu, and, second, the cultural link is made through chatting with the Sherpas, Rais, Tamangs and so on, and the true difference between the Hinku valley and Langdale can be milked. A cup of tea in bed in
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We only had 16 days, and we
wanted to acclimatise as well as
possible, and still have enough
energy to ensure everyone had a
good chance of reaching the
summit. So we were ‘fully sup­
ported’ by a platoon or so of
local staff, led by the charismat­
ic Sirdar, Dorje Sherpa. Dorje
had been one of ‘Chrissy the morning is pretty welcome
Bonny’s’ climbing Sherpas on Everest in 1975, and had lost the last 2 knuckles of all his fin­ gers to frostbite on D haulagiri in the 80s, but could still work an axe pretty well. The remain­ der of the staff cooked, carried and cared for us, making sure that we were well and hygieni- cally fed, and able to benefit from the challenge as much as
too. But trek staff bring respon­ sibilities; the expedition leader is their leader too and, with the Sirdar in support, is responsible for their safety and health.
For the following 5 days we trekked with one rest day South to a 3200m pass, down into the quiet and pretty empty Hinku Valley, up the other side and
Ronhiir