British Annapurna III expedition 2010

Reflections by Pete

2010-11-22T19:27:00.001Z

Form and function, one of the huge joints that hold up T5; Refections in boots

The Christmas tree lights dance across the polished marble floor at Heathrow Terminal 5 as I wait for the BA1318 to Aberdeen. Overhead massive trusses, forged joints and gigantic metal pins hold this massive structure in place but while this structure is fantastic, it is insignificant to the natural mountain architecture that we have been privileged to live amongst for the last 7 weeks. Annapurna 3 will still be standing, the wind still ripping at its flanks when Terminal 5 is long gone, when we are all long gone.

I sit alone with my thoughts and the countless other travellers scuttling past, ready and eager to be dispatched in jet-powered metal tubes to the corners of the globe. My team mates have scattered too, back to their own lives, their own homes, their own thoughts.

So what did this trip mean to me? We failed. We failed to get up Annapurna 3 due to high winds that blew almost every day and shut down most expeditions in the Himalaya this season and cost the lives of two brave helicopter pilots who were trying to save two climbers of Anna Dablam*. But we gave it a good shot had a wicked laugh, ate some lovely food courteously of Buddhi and all came back in one piece, friends.

That to me is success enough.

Trying to forge a new route on one of the world's highest mountains is not easy, particularly when you choose a style with no fixed ropes, no Sherpas and no oxygen; it is a straight fight between the mountain and the climbers. I am happy to loose this round; there will be many other skirmishes for sure in the future.

So big thanks to Samsung whose electronic gadgetry allowed us to take fantastic pictures to share will you all and to all the other companies who supported the trip without their support expeditions like this do not happen.

Pete

*After the helicopter crashed, the Japanese climber phoned Japan to tell of the horrifying news. He spent a lonely night on the mountain before being rescued by a second helicopter. Pemba Sherpa (our Air Dynasty helicopter pilot) was flying in the area and quickly responded to the accident and flew close to the wreckage of the Fishtail helicopter and confirmed that there was no way the pilots could have survived. Pemba could not assist in the rescue of the remaining Japanese climber because his chopper is not powerful enough, and is not set up for that kind of rescue. High altitude helicopter rescues are very risky.

I know what you are getting for Christmas....

2010-11-18T19:43:00.001Z

Pictures: Dave and his 'man-bag'; The Art Critics; The Woof's latest fashion wear; colourful rugs.

We have spent the last couple of days rehabilitating to 'normal' life (what is 'normal' life – discuss) hanging out in Kathmandu. Traffic, beer, people and fast internet don't seem so unusual. Our bags are packed, air freight sorted, and whopping helicopter bills paid, which was pretty interesting.

The helicopter money man arrived at our hotel, and immediately got his Visa machine out – this guy means business, but I got one on him by throwing down two stuffed envelopes of greenbacks. "You want to pay cash?" "OK, no problem". Five minutes of cheetah quick counting and they were out of there. I like doing business in Nepal.

Today we went hunting for Christmas presents, and probably got ripped off, but hey it was good fun and Dave found the girl of his dreams at one shop.

Tomorrow we fly home.

Thanks for all the folks who have emailed and texted, it means a lot to us. We will be updating the blog in the future with continuing adventures of Team Samsung.

Pete, Matt, Nick and Dave

Back safe in Kathmandu

2010-11-17T02:39:00.002Z

Pictures: Nick and the ladies; Pete entertains the local kids; Nick is at the bottom of the kiddy scrum; The Team, Back (L to R) Nick, Pemba, Dave, Pete, Front (L to R), Santosh, Buddhi, Matt.

After nearly six weeks of bad climbing weather, the weather gods smile and give us a small window of opportunity to escape from our home for the last 6 weeks...
A nervous Pemba pilot strolls round his aircraft as the early morning sun clears Annapurna 4 warming it's frozen body. He hopes the battery is still warm enough to start the massive rotors; there will be only one shot then he will be calling out the RAC for a jump start.
A call on the phone confirms that Pokhara airport is open - for the moment - the fog of yesterday has evaporated, but the cumulous clouds are building. We must hurry.
I strap into the front seat and gaze in bewilderment at the dazzling array of dials as Pemba throws the switch draining the battery as the electric starter motor takes the load while the gas turbine catches. After 30 seconds or so, the Jet A1 fuel is burning bright in the turbine with the exhaust temperature rising past the 600 centigrade mark – perhaps a bit hot for Buddhi's base camp baking.
We fly close to the 'Ancient Mystics' and over the 'Lost World' of towers and crumbling minarets – this will be the last time I see this fantasy landscape as we quickly loose altitude and as we enter the Seti Kohla gorge, I feel like a small fly in a very large corridor.
Trees! Houses! Oxygen! People! Six weeks of isolation has taken its toll on the senses – even the mundane is now interesting.
I climb out of the taxi and am hit by a wave of heat – I am not sure my thermals, insulated jacket and trousers are quite necessary.
Curious locals start to flock to see what is happening and soon I am mobbed by kids who are fascinated by the movie I shot out the window of the chopper 5 minutes ago. Don't get too close, I haven't washed for nearly six weeks.
Nick gets lots of attention from some girls as Matt steps out of the helicopter. Dave chortles "you better make the most of it Nick, the handsome-one has arrived". The girls do not react; Nick asks why - "he looks like a girl with his long blond hair" is their giggling reply.
We load up the helicopter with some of the gear and all four of us, the maximum load now greatly increased due to the low altitude as we speed to Pokhara airport only a few flight minutes away and onwards to Kathmandu, beer, traffic, international flights, wives, girlfriends, jobs, careers and crappy British weather.....
Pete

We have some guests.

2010-11-14T13:46:00.000Z

Picture: The Base Camp helipad with guest.

I lie awake, my breath adding to the hoar frost on the inside of the tent. It is quiet outside apart from the distant roar of the wind tearing at the summit ridge of Annapurna 3, the very thing that had denied us an honest attempt at climbing this massive hulk of crumbling rock, snow and ice.

The stars twinkle, no cloud; our magic carpet may yet arrive. I wake the boys, it is 5am, and we promised to be ready for first light. We hurry around creasing frozen tents into reluctant bags why do they not make tent bags bigger?

The sat phone twinkles, it is Captain Pemba, he and the magic carpet are grounded due to fog at Pokhara airport, meanwhile we bathe in glorious sunshine looking down on a foggy blanket. And as if to mock our attempts to climb these lofty peaks, the summit ridges of Annapurna 3 and Annapurna 4 eject volumes plumes of icy debris 2 km into the sky in an extraordinary display of raw energy. Go away, you are not welcome they say.

We give up on going home today as the clouds roll over base camp snubbing out the warmth from the sun. We fire up the stove for a coffee, and begin to pitch our damp tents, then all of a sudden, creeping like a lion in the long grass, there in a sky a helicopter! How Pemba managed to find his way through the clouds I do not know, but he is here, and we are going home.

He lands, "two people and one bag" comes the payload order from the pilot. I struggle a big bag into the cabin, and shout across the makeshift helipad for another warm body. The boys are reluctant; perhaps they can see the fog consuming the visibility. I buckle up tight as a breathless Dave climbs in beside me.

We take off into the gloom, hoping Pemba can see more than I can. He can't. I worry. This is going to be one hell of a ride! We circle, and land again at base camp as a puff of cloud totally surrounds us. We idle on the helipad as Pemba jumps outside to examine the situation. Not good. After about 30 minutes he surrenders to the clouds and shuts the engine down as the shriek of the gas turbine drains away.

The lifeless, cold helicopter begins to freeze, ice forming on the blades now I am sure that is not a good thing, but Pemba seems relaxed as we wrap the battery in a duvet jacket to keep it warm overnight. I don't think it is possible to jump start a helicopter by pushing it down a hill.

So we have two visitors for the night, a Europcopter B2 helicopter lurking in the mist, and it's Master Pemba who un-acclimatised is already suffering from lack of oxygen, but he has a bottle of the good stuff which he is going to snort through the night.

Hopefully the morning will bring good weather and that we can defrost our magic carpet to safely get us out of here, but nothing is that simple in these big mountains.....

Time to go home

2010-11-13T10:10:00.000Z

Well that's us just about packed up ready for Pemba to arrive tomorrow morning in his helicopter to take us and our gear back to Kathmandu the only snag is the weather which is not so good for flying. In the past few days, the cloud has quickly built up and by mid morning, base camp has been shrouded in cloud with freezing rain - hardly the kind of weather for happy flying.

We remain hopeful that there will be a weather window tomorrow, but we shall need to see....

Pete

Calling for Pick up. (hopefully)

2010-11-11T14:20:00.000Z

Pictures: 1, Nick, fully loaded on the way down, after 2 grim nights in the snow cave at 6000m. 2, Pete, down climbing after reaching high point, before being beaten back by the gale force winds. 3, Nick and Pete, heading up to Matt at the beley, battling cold hands and feet in the -20 tempertures.

A few days back on the East Ridge we were beaten back by high winds, since then we have spent time in BC, resting and trying to come up with a plan.

After expert forecasts, which predicted a slight lull before the return of the jet-stream, we are not going to get the chance for a second summit attempt. The winds are far too high, and after almost being blown from the ridge and getting frostbite on the last attempt, it really makes no since to wait and go back up. After all our efforts it's gutting to bail from here with "nothing in the bank" summit wise, but with these expeditions this is not what it's all about.

Blue skies have been luring climbers into the mountains elsewhere only to be beaten back by high winds. Epics have been happening across the range. We have heard of a few teams getting into trouble and having to be rescued, one of which, on Ama Dablam, has resulted in the loss of a pilot and his winch man. Their helicopter was flipped by high winds on the return journey to rescue the second member of a team after the first was lifted to safety. The outcome of the second climber is still unknown to us.

We are now waiting for our helicopter to come pick us up, early morning on the 14^th, keep fingers crossed for us to get out as the weather is somewhat mixed and we are running low on food. But don't worry, we have already made a call that we will eat Dave before anyone else if things get desperate, there is still far more meat on him than any of us, even after his Base Camp diet.

Matt

High Altitude Baking

2010-11-11T10:40:00.000Z

For those of you interested in knowing a little more about the magic that goes on inside Buddhi's Cook tent, thought I would reveal the secrets of the High Altitude Baking Oven and have also included some mouth watering screen grabs (from my NX10) from when I was filming Buddhi and Santosh making a scrumptious cake.

Step 1. Find yourself a big flat bottomed pot with a well fitting lid.

Step 2. Hunt around for 3 equally sized stones and place them in the bottom of the large pot.

Step 3. Find a smaller flat bottomed pot / dish with a lid that you want to use for cake mixture/ bread dough balls or some other tasty meal etc.

Step 4. Once the mixture/ dish you want to bake are in the smaller pot, put both pot lids in place and seat the whole arrangement onto a low heat for about 45 min to 1 hour (depending on what you are baking).

Buddhi is cooking on a gas stove but the same arrangement can be placed on a small bead of coals etc. In simple terms, the stones create an air gap to prevent the ingredience from burning. The reason for the well fitting lids is so that the hot air circulating around the smaller pot/ dish does not escape.

I can smell the vanilla essence from the cake wofting through the campsite as we speak J

Happy Baking.

David

Flora and Fauna

2010-11-10T14:28:00.000Z

So for those of you who like plants, I thought I would take you on a little tour around BC and show you just some of the Flora and Fauna that we have been living amongst. I am no horticulturist but I have tried to group the plants. There are a lot more different kinds of grass and some other flower species, but thought this little tour might interest you.

Sorry about the poor light but the urge to grovel around BC only struck late this afternoon.

David.

The winds have shut us down.

2010-11-09T12:59:00.000Z

Pictures: Pretty clouds = evil winds

Today we commissioned via Andy Houseman in Kathmandu a specialist mountain forecast from a meteorologist in Switzerland (the joys of Satellite communications!) which was reviewed by Everest guide and 8 times summiteer Kenton Cool (who should know a thing or two about Himalayan weather), and it is not good.

There is a very active and consistent westerly air stream which is predicted to blow at 50 mph above 7000m for the foreseeable future with only a brief lull in 36 hrs time. Given that the temperatures above 7000m are -20C, you can see why we are not racing back up to get frozen. Kenton says that he has never seen such a consistent and strong air flow, which we have seen for ourselves today while watching the snow plumes blow off Annapurna 3.

Our lift out of here is booked for the 15^th, and we are low on food, so there is no time to wait for the winds to drop; we have given it long enough. There will be no summit for us this time, but an expedition like this is not just about getting to the summit...

Today we went for a wander to look at a line on the South ridge of Annapurna 3 which tops out at around 6000m, but the ice lines are melted out at the bottom and the glacier approach is something out of a computer game with some grotesque giant hurling boulders down the path you would like to climb.

So we have a few days to relax in the sun (base camp is a different world meteorologically speaking to the summit of A3) and take in the stunning scenery of this remote and wild place for the last few days of our expedition.

Pete

Water Boys

2010-11-09T08:21:00.000Z

Pic 1. Our water supply (on a good day)

Pic 2. Filling up

Pic 3. The walk back to BC.

So the last two days in BC have been somewhat interesting. We have been exploring some of the area (searching a couple lines that the boys have had their eyes on over the past month) and of course been having fun along the way. In fact we were so distracted yesterday, we arrived a couple hours late for lunch and as we all expected, Buddhi was not impressed. After apologising to Buddhi a number of times, the team all found a chair and a spot to enjoy the afternoon sun. Of course Buddhi popped into his tent and rustled up some tasty egg fried veggie noodle soup. I chucked to myself, being reminded of my childhood and being told off by my mother for being naughty, I wonder of the boys shared the same sentiment. J.

This morning I followed Buddhi and Santosh on their daily water run to film them filling up the BC water bottles at a nearby mountain stream. I must admit, I was not really expecting anything special but I absolutely loved the experience. The stream itself was very small and in fact resembled more of a trickle from a leaking tap. The way the boys harness this small volume of water is so simple, it is undeniably brilliant! They have cut the bottom off a typical plastic cool drink bottle, wedged it amongst some rocks at a small step in the stream. The large opening of the bottle was facing upstream and the smaller end protruding out over the "step", creating a mini "drinking fountain".

The water containers that they are using are also quite fascinating, the one large industrial blue 35 litre bottle original contained the fuel that Buddhi uses to cook with (we stopped taste the fuel in the water about 2 weeks ago) and the other two 5 litre bottles are those rather common opaque foldable water bottles resembling a musical accordion. (Although common, when emptied into the larger barrel we have at BC, they have a rather satisfying way of shrinking in your hands as the water empties out, so fascinating in their own right).

Perhaps my favourite receptacle is the large curved aluminium jug used for transferring the water from the "mini drinking fountain" to the water bottles. It is thick and solid and almost resembles the kind of pottery jugs you might expect to find in archaeological dig. It too has a very satisfying look and feel about it, especially when watching the shimmering glacial water running off the stream bed and flowing into the bottom of this heavy metallic vessel, listening to the almost metallic echo of splashing water as it fills up.

During the time it has taken to write this blog entry, you might be interested to know that Buddhi and Santosh had built a largish "H" out of rocks in preparation for our helicopter flight back to civilisation in a week or so. I am hoping that it was just an activity to kill time, rather than it being an actual reminder for Pemba the Pilot for where to land.

David.

Back down at Base Camp due to high winds.

2010-11-09T02:58:00.000Z

Pictures: 1) Matt battles to coil the rope in the wind, 2) Pete on the final pitch to the snow hole, 3) Nick's watches the flag from the snow hole, 4) The Samsung weather station.

We played our hand...

It looked like the weather had changed, or at least that the winds would be more favourable after the northerlies that nearly blew base camp away. After that wind event, a calm day tempted us back up to our lofty snow cave advanced base camp at 6000m on the east ridge. Everything was calm and settled when we arrived after the tiring 1500m ascent from base camp, which turned out to be very stressful as the initial snow slope has started to melt out revealing rotten gullies and tumbling rocks which were using us as target practice! Safely installed in our snow hole we went to sleep dreaming of calm weather.

The day dawned bright and very breezy, which started to get progressively worse as the morning wore on forcing us back into the snow cave and the warmth of our sleeping bags. Even with all our clothing on, 5 minutes outside was enough, enough to tell us that at this altitude frostbite would be inevitable and worse still higher up. We dose. Clouds fly by. We rig up a flag outside the snow-hole to monitor the wind speeds from our insulated cave. The flag strains at its violently flutters all day. Not good.

On the radio, Dave relays a weather forecast: winds decreasing, then gale force winds to approach mid week. We sleep, hoping for calm weather.

On the third day, the winds have dropped at 6000m, but our eyes gaze across to Annapurna 4 which is being beaten by savage winds, the plumes of snow detail the abuse.

We question. We talk. We review the situation: a couple of days of good weather, then gales are forecast, probably right on the day we would be summiting, all going well. And then there is the descent - long, arduous and technical, including a 2 km horizontal section back to our snow cave.

Nick, a battle-hardened veteran of 17 mountaineering expeditions around the world sums up the situation as we hastily convene a conference in the snow cave: "we need at least 7 days of perfect weather to try and get up this mountain and off it safely, and on the basis of that forecast (which has been fairly reliable to date) we have, 3 days". We cannot deny the facts: in 4 and half weeks, there has hardly been a day without massive plumes of airborne snow from the peaks, why should anything change? We discuss. We are all driven climbers and after all the time and effort we are perhaps 3 days away from our goal, but the chances of getting there and back look bleak. We are realists.

These big mountains are unforgiving. We will put our project on hold for the moment while we review weather and discuss options and of course eat lots of Buddhi's amazing food.

Pete

Houston

2010-11-07T13:36:00.000Z

Pic 1. Team Down Climbing the Snow Slopes

Pic 2. Buddhi and Santosh waiting to greet the team at the snow line.

Pic 3. The team coming down to BC.

After spending the majority of the morning scoping out the snow hole for signs of life, finally, I spotted the guys alongside their winter home wearing a selection of colours.( Red, Green and Blue) There seemed to be quite a lot of traffic, back and forth, back and forth, 09h00, 09h30, 10h00... The boys should have left by now. "Why are they still milling about the snow cave at such a late hour?"

SPECULATION: They didnt want to spend too long at the base of the Pillar and hence where planning a later start.

SPECULATION: They know the weather starts to reveal what it has planned for the day in the late morning and are waiting for about 10h00 to make a decision.

FACT: 10h15 and they are on the move. Buddhi, Santosh and myself are relieved they are finally on their way. BUT not the way we expected, they where abseiling down the mountain.

Realising that the team are on their way back to BC. I thought it appropriate to once again, mission up the mountain and surprise them with a bit of camera interrogation and bring up something nice for the boys to snack on. So packing my bags with all the toys and some tasty Mango Frooti drinks. Headphones on and scrolling through Matt's MP3 player, I came across "Salmonella Dub" which had a fantastic rhythm matching my mountain plod. Saying goodbye to Buddhi and Santosh, I made my way back to the same spot I greeted the team off from, just days before.

Hanging around the snow line for about an hour and a half, they finally reached us. When I say us, I include Buddhi and Santosh. On my way up the mountain, I was flapping my arms around like a bird in time to one of the music tracks (generally looking like a bit of a tit) turned round to find Buddhi and Santosh right behind me laughing their heads off at my silly wing flapping action. Seems like they figured they might as well come up the mountain and see what the news was. Flip Flops, skipping up the mountain side. How unfit do I feel now?

Well the boys are back, safe and sound and the Frooti drinks I brought up definitely brought a smile to their faces.

I would like to tell you the whole story but I don't want to spoil the other guys fun. They are eagerly waiting for me to get off this netbook to get their story online.

David

Evening Update

2010-11-06T14:34:00.000Z

"Paging Dr Faggot, Paging Dr Faggot" the words echoing across the Annapurna valley this evening as Piglet opened the lines of communication. Of course this is an ongoing joke and originates from the film "Hangover". The team are all warm and tucked away in their cave, having just finished dinner consisting of tea and butter biscuits. Of course it was not long before the usual Buddhi food related questions cropped up. For those of you who are interested, it was a lovely thick tomato soup with popcorn, a massive bowl of tasty veggie noodles and then apple fritters for desert.........."BASTARD!"a very destinctive Scottish accent echoes across the valley!

The guys asked me a bit of trivia based on the film "Victor" they wanted to know the name of the Rugby Captain (Not the actor's name). Embarrassingly, I am South African and could not answer them, so if anyone out there knows the answer, please feel free to drop me an email and I will pass it on.

So the plan is to leave early tomorrow and attempt the long traverse. They are considering alternative options if the wind continues as it has for the past month, but they are limited with both time and food, so their options are also somewhat limited. Only time will tell.

David.

Snow Hole Down Time

2010-11-06T08:46:00.000Z

Pic 1. Location of ABC

Pic 2. Reflections in a Galaxy Tab.

I received an early radio call from Matt this afternoon. He said that they have decided to spend today in the snow hole. Apparently the winds are strong and very cold on the ridge and despite their early morning efforts in starting the long traverse, they chose to turn back and try it again tomorrow.

Again, they were eager to hear what Buddhi was rustling up in the cook tent for lunch. Deep fried chips , fresh bread with.......Matt said they have been rationing the cheese pasties that Buddhi made for them yesterday and although they are tasty and hit the spot, they where all hoping Buddhi and Santosh would pop up the ridge with a flask of hot water and a hot dinner. Normally Buddhi is the first to jump up and sort things out, but after hearing Matt on the Radio, he burst out in laughter and I suspect the Team got the answer they didn't want to hearJ.

Otherwise today I have been catching up with organising my video library and backing up everything. I played around with getting some shots with the Galaxy Tab and ended up getting distracted with the amazing views.

David.

Push to the TOP

2010-11-06T03:49:00.000Z

Pic 1. Setting off from the Snow Line

Pic 2. On the move, still 5 hours till ABC.

Pic 3. Buddhi and Santosh lighting a fire and saying a prayer.

Yesterday morning the team headed off for their final attempt of the East Ridge on A3. The skies are clear, the winds appear to be behaving and the snow has finally settled. This time there was no alarm clock set for some ridicules hour, we had the luxury of having the suns warmth fill the mess tent, while enjoying a good mug of coffee, bowl of oats, an omelette and some of Buddhi's amazing freshly baked cinnamon rolls. J

Being the BC cameraman on the trip, kinda means you got to film stuff, and despite the arsenal of cameras and video recorders that the boys are taking with them up the hill. I felt this specific occasion warranted a mountain side PAP session. Leaving about 20min ahead of the team, I slowly made my way to the highest altitude of my life with all my camera toys, 5030m and I reached the snowline. For those of you, like me, who have mostly only ever been around the 2000m/ 3000m mark, will appreciate the absolutely stunning views you get at 5000m. But only after of course, your lungs stop burning, your heart stops pounding through your ears and you wipe the ridicules expression off your face, trying to suck every available particle of O₂ out of the thin air. Grandpa, Whoof-Whoof and Piglet showed little signs of even breaking a sweat (Which is probably a good thing considering they still have another 2500m vertical height gain and a hell of a lot more traversing ahead of them). Of course their demonstration of fitness prompted me to "man-up", composing my "Hoover breathing antics" and get on with filming and interviewing them while they prepared for the more technical section of the days assent.

After saying our goodbyes, I stayed around the area for a bit, soaking up the scenery and also spotted our two local eagles soaring around the area. Being higher up and closer to the action, I was able to film them with more detail than before and on my return to BC, Buddhi has identified them to be Vultures and not the Eagles we originally thought.

With fewer people in BC, Buddhi and Santosh have also had some time to go out exploring the outskirts of BC. They were both very excited on their returned, carrying a large bunch of Junifers branches. Apparently it is a traditional Buddist and Hindi prayer ceremony, burning branches of the bush in a small built up rock area and praying for those up the mountain to have a good journey and a safe return. Traditionally, the prayer would be accompanied with prayer flags and flags of the nationalities on the expedition, but Buddhi says "not to worry that we don't have any flags, they need all the help they can get from the Mountain Gods".

Had a call from Matt last night, everyone seems to be well and coping a lot better with the altitude than they did the last time they where up there. None of their food has been raided by birds (always good as it has ment the end to many an expedition in the past). There is no wind up on the ridge which is fantastic but they did experiance some scary rock fall as they where weaving through the rock bands (area in the attached picture). The boys are all settling down in the snow hole now in their nice warm down sleeping bags, making dinner and a brew. They will be waking up early tomorrow and start making their way along the lower part of the ridge to the base of the Pillar, where they will be pitching their tent for their second night.

David.

The Lost World

2010-11-04T13:14:00.000Z

Picture: The Ancient Mystics, just part of the Tolken landscape which sits below base camp.

The weather continues to confuse us; either the clouds roll in and sprinkle unwelcome snow, or the skies are blue, but the mountains are full of anger with hurricane force winds above 7000m, their vengeance visible by the kilometre-plus plumes of snow.

Two nights ago, we got a taste of the mountain elemental forecast when base camp was hit by strong winds at 3 o'clock in the morning, which sent Buddhi into a whirlwind of activity storm-guying and dumping rocks on the cook tents for the rest of the night to prevent them from being blown away.

To escape the winds, Matt and I went on an oxygen holiday and decided to explore the landscape below base camp, which sits on a 2 kilometre thick shale band. Over the millennia, the wind and rain have eroded this shale into the most fantastical landscape of immense towers, minarets and other shapes and forms straight from a Tolken novel. Our progress into the oxygen rich environment was stopped at a 1000ft waterfall which had effortlessly cut into the soft rock leaving a perfect pipe to allow the cyan melt-water to charge through.

Beyond the waterfall, we could see a hidden valley, untouched by man guarded by 500 meter shale towers. In the meadows, veloceraptors flocked terrorising their prey, and in the skies, dragons belched sulphurous flames, and all the time the giant ice encrusted mountains looked on knowingly 3 kilometres above. They have seen this all before.

We have been a base camp for 1 month, and the views still impress and terrify. I feel incredibly humbled to think that only a few people have ever clapped eyes on this landscape, and without taking to the skies in a metal dragon, this elemental landscape will only be for the few who have good reason and ambition to venture into this wilderness.

Today, there are no plumes from the summit ridges of A3 and A4 and there are no clouds in the sky. Maybe the jet-stream winds have got bored and are terrorising some other hapless souls on other mountains, or perhaps it is a trap to lure us back into the cold oxygen starved mountain environment.

We have two weeks food left and soon we will have to play our final hand in this ludicrous giant casino.

Pete

Update 17:00hrs: Today the weather has been perfect, blue skies and what look like calm winds in the mountains and we have decided to show our hand... Our bags are packed and we are heading out tomorrow hopefully for the summit of Annapurna 3 by the East Ridge if the weather and conditions allow. We have 6 days of food and gas, and are estimating 5 days to the summit... but we shall see. Dave is going to keep the blog while we are away.

Watching the weather.....

2010-11-02T11:48:00.000Z

Picture: Optimism amongst the snow.

The last few days have been spent mooching around base camp recovering from our wee soiree up the hill and watching the weather.

We have had 3 days of unbroken sunshine, a day of snow, and now, clear mornings with cloudy afternoons. Always when we catch a glimpse up towards Annapurna 3, enormous plumes of spindrift dance around reminding us that it is better to be down here than up there.

We wait. We wait until the winds drop (will they ever?) then we will pack our bags and see where we get to...

Pete

Team Samsung Competition

2010-11-01T19:32:00.000Z

Want to win some Samsung equipment, an Osprey pack, a Patagonia jacket, a pair of Scarpa approach shoes, some Lorpen socks, or some Maximuscle products?

The following links will take you to competitions set up on behalf of the expedition:

http://www.esquire.co.uk/2010/10/win-a-samsung-nx10-camera-and-400-worth-of-climbing-gear/#more-26418

http://www.fhm.com/win/play/win-stuff/win-a-samsung-netbook-and-camcorder-20101025

http://www.realtravelmag.com/news/win-samsung-kit

http://www.sport.co.uk/competition/134/Win_Samsung_cameras__climbing_equipment.aspx

Laura

Paths of Desire by Nick

2010-10-31T08:30:00.000Z

Picture: Paths of Desire from Base Camp

And

once again, I'm sat in the orange gloom of the BC tent. I'm drinking coffee out of a steel mug, coffee that was brewed in my old Buletti Italian aluminium stove top. The tent fabrique flutters. Santosh, Buddhi's brother-in-law, sings a gentle Nepali song while cleaning dishes outside. I shiver thinking of numb fingers. But the stove purrs inside the cook tent. Instant relief.

I look at the sharp light stealing from beneath the BC tent's valance. White stinging light, it pushes into the orange gloom. The brightness signifies snow laying on the dark earth outside. The weather has thrown a curve ball.

I finish my Nepali organic coffee, a rich brew. Then I ease from the broken camp chair. The coffee runs through my body speeding my heart. Unzipping the door of the BC tent, I step outside. Snow flows over the side of my sandal and wets my sock. Socks and sandals. Not so cool Bullock!

A white windy world embraces me. Small frozen pellets fall and twist and spin on the ground. The pellets remind me of hay seeds from a summer meadow while haymaking as a kid on the edge of Huntley Wood in Staffordshire. The seeds would blow and collect in the stubble and highlight the tracks of animals. Buddhi joins in with Santosh's singing, and I'm back surrounded by the mountains. Mountains covered in winter.

Once untouched, our BC camp now shows signs of ware. The ground is rough, its like a million rag worms have slithered beneath the surface of our earth beach, but now there are faint paths. The paths, usually difficult to pick-out, are highlighted and stand proud as they collect the snow like felt-fuzz.

A well trodden white walkway to the veg pit. A white weaving line towards the water source. A large white square in the middle of our personal tents, once the bed of the vomiting trip hazard David, and the whitest line, the deepest walkway, is the one toward the shit tent.

Outside the swaying cook tent, three hessian sacks full of rubbish bow. White weight bends the sacks. I imagine they each need a wooden walking stick. Empty bean, pineapple, mushroom tins fill with snow. An empty Scotch bottle collects snow around its broad shoulder, although its thin neck remains proud. It saddens me to think of the fiery contents we finished off last night while laughing and piss taking and bullshitting. While and planning of the climb ahead. The snow was not imagined then. The snow was not imagined as the four of us, in the dark, stumbled into the frosted star lit night with dreams and emotions and excitement. Tomorrow is Monday, the day before we go.

And as I stand, looking out from BC, looking toward A3, or what would be A3 if it wasn't clouded in, I watch our well worn path grow faint.

Sparring amongst the mountains.

2010-10-29T15:15:00.000+01:00

Pictures: Descending into the clouds; Matt quests out onto the east ridge; Pete cutting a snow bollard.

Crunch, my boot punches through the top-layer of snow revealing the fleshy powder beneath. A jagged mountain crest blocks as the sun ducks low. Yellow, red, brown and blue hues reflect from the cloud while the hips, legs and ankles of the mountains are covered with a cumulous skirt, modesty to cover their beautiful curves. The evening breeze shifts the cloud, stings our skin and waters our wide eyes. BC tents glow in the valley below, then they are hidden once more by cumulous. Stars show themselves and compete to outshine each other in a massive sky. The thin white mist of the Milky Way stretches. And we are so filled with the scene, even the glow of BC and the thought of Buddhi's cooking is placed on hold

Matt, Pete and I have spent two nights in a snow cave at 5900m. We left BC at 1.45 am on Monday morning and reached the ridge at 1.30pm later that afternoon. The ridge was a different world: a world of blasted, freeze dried skin. The searing wind wanted us out of there. This world had minus fifteen and when the wind joined in with the bullying, the chill took on a force as hard as the Tyson hook connecting to the chin of Fat Jesus*.

A hole was dug into the ridge top, which turned out to be the top of a massive serac, a balancing clotted ice monster teetering on the crest. "It will do." It will have to do as the three of us spent five hours digging on day one, and four hours digging on day two. Also on day two, we found our little single skinned tent. Stupidly we had left it on the ridge on our first soiree without marking the position. An avalanche probe search, like looking for a body, eventually located our little tent. In the wind though, I wonder its worth for higher up?

Waking, in our hole, day three, shuffling, turning, stamping, feet are frozen blocks in the bottom of our sleeping bags. The sky, a clear blue frozen pond can be seen through the door, but the wind can not. Pete, the first to brave the minus 10 reports, "FECKIN FREEZING," in a Franky Boyle Scottish guttural. I wish I could laugh like I do at Boyle's hard cutting humour, but I can't.

At last we set off in an upward direction. The wind jabs. Ridge climbing is not the most sensible. We have ropes, but they are not the type that run along each side of the ridge ready to catch us and spring us back. Our ropes lie and flap and twist along the ridge crest. We do need to gain altitude though, so we continue. Climbing, aiming for the massive face on the far left of the ridge, we are half way up the gendarme looking down onto our overhanging serac snow hole, but because of the poor rock, and the howling wind, we decide to traverse the steep fluted snow face we can see from our BC approximately 1500m above.

Fingers are wooden, the wind tears at clothing, it whips spindrift into soft exposed skin, it chafes and blisters lips but we are stood on the ridge now, to the left of the gendarme. We shout at each other just to be heard, "LETS GET DOWN, lets get down, yes, down" Enough is enough, it is, after all, only an acclimatisation trip!

Crunch, my boot punches through the top-layer of snow revealing the fleshy powder beneath. Pete and Matt are dark tiny outlines silhouetted below. They stand close, and on the tip of the snow-spur where we will stash the ropes. Mountains shimmer in the evening alpen glow and the trauma from the last three days of chilling effort pails when compared to what we now look at. The summit of A3 is far away in every aspect, but here we are, fixated and mesmerised and surrounded by savage beauty. And I know this is the reason we climb mountains.

Nick

*Fat Jesus is a character in the film Hangover who steals Mike Tyson's tiger and receives the painful consequences for his actions. Hangover is a film we have been fortunate to watch twice now, here at BC. Thanks Samsung for the download, Hangover has made a big impression on the team.

Coming Back to BC early.

2010-10-27T14:04:00.000+01:00

Picture: Headtorches on the mountain.

About 3 hours ago we got a call from Nick to let us know that they would not be staying in the Snow Cave Tonight. They will be coming down to BC (which I think has a lot to do with the amazing food) but it might also have to do with a bit of frost bite.

Nick did mention that they managed to go along the Ridge but I will let them tell you all about that.

I just thought I would drop you all a line as I am sure, by the time they get back to BC they will not be to keen to write a blog entry. Probably will get something posted tomorrow.

But for now I have included a photo of them coming down the mountain with their head torches.... It is absolutely pitch black outside (no moon)

David.

News from the Boys

2010-10-26T14:54:00.000+01:00

Picture1: Nick on a Stroll (kinda Abbey Road like)

Picture2: Experimental Product shot.

Picture3: After dropping my camera during a night shoot, my next shot looked like this.

I spotted a figure on the ridge this morning around 08h00. I had assumed that they have opted to leave the "lost tent" search for their return journey and advanced along the ridge to the base of the main Pillar. Probably traversing the 2,5km along the Northern side of the East Ridge ( based on the fact that I had not seen them since this morning.)

But like they say, never assume! I received word from Matt at 18h00 with a more cheery vibe from the group than I received yesterday. Nick and Pete where shouting out in the background, and although they had built their cave to small and had woken up to -15deg C, 60km/h winds and where all badly craving salty food. You could easily pick away at the moans to find a very happy team (they are a tough bunch). They where shouting out " steak, chips, salty......., deep fried....., avocado, wine, Woman" their wish list went on and on..... They all insisted I find out what Buddhi was preparing for dinner in BC and after a brief rundown including. Mushroom soup, prawn crackers, spicy vegetable pasta and apple fritters for desert.... the moment I released my finger off the radios button...I heard shouting and laughing as if I had intercepted a call coming from a rowdy bachelor party.

Further enquiries into the day's events revealed that they did go back to the stash point and find their missing tent and a number of other missing gas bottles. They stayed at ABC for the rest of the day and pimped up their snow hole, which apparently is now a lovely, spacious, warm and comfy home. Just after coms, they started sending a series of flashes from their torches down to BC which was a welcomed greeting for Buddhi and Santosh who where both returning the favour, accompanied with their warm and friendly laughing and cheers. Apparently this tradition between Nick and Buddhi of flashing the torch goes back a couple years to previous expeditions.

Tomorrow they will be climbing the tower directly beside ABC (a tower which appears to be a little pimple of a hill from down in BC) and then continue towards the big 1000m high Pillar at the end of a 2,5km ridge traverse. They will be coming back to ABC for tomorrow night and will then make their way back to BC on Thursday for some R&R (with specific instructions to Buddhi on a their wish list dinner menu )

From my side, while the guys are up on the hill, I have had to find things to do to keep busy. Besides attempting to film Matt's rock weight training area in a stylised "Top Gear" kinda way, I have also been grovelling around on the ground filming tufts of grass blowing in the breeze with rather tantalising and sexy backdrops.

I also caught my second glimpse of a pair of large Eagles above BC. Was rather brief compared to the last 45min display of their majestic manoeuvres and flight patterns, but also a reminder as to how incredibly isolated we are up here. We of course have a daily visit from our local Raven (aka. That Bird ) scavenging away in our compost heap. Other than him I have not even seen an insect.

Looking forward to hearing back from the boys tomorrow, missing the banter and constant quirky surprises.

David

Snow Cave at ABC

2010-10-25T15:03:00.000+01:00

Picture: My MS Paint Skills

So the team are out on the mountain today. They left BC at 01h45 this morning. Pete had made a nice brew for the boys and spent the rest of the freezing morning prep time trying to fix his troublesome boot laces. Matt was happily sipping away on his mug of tea while talking to the camera. Nick,mmmm..cameras really do bring out the very best and the very worst in him. This morning might be considered the latter. During the usual "stick the camera in your face routine" out popped a cleaver and a rather unexpected bottle of 2% American Style Maple Syrup...mmmmm... I was out that mess tent pretty quickly!

The boys left in a positive and cheery"ish" mood, head torches weaving a path through the frosty dark landscape. I filmed the bobbing head torches disappearing into the distance and then went straight back to my warm sleeping bag to wait out the arrival of those warm highly anticipated shafts of sunlight.

This morning at a more forgiving hour I started looking for the team on the mountain and it was not until 09h00 I spotted them making their way up a large snow face. I was able to track their movements until 11h30 before clouds block my view, by which time they were about 100m below their first main objective (the start of the East Ridge, ABC).

200m below their current position they had stashed some kit from previous attempts onto the ridge. Their plan (I am sure you know how fixed those are) was get to the ridge early and then spend the rest of the day digging a snow hole and ferry the rest of their kit from the stash point. Hopefully having enough time to watch the sunset with a warm brew and bunking down for night in their homely snow cave.

At 17h20, I spotted the boys again on the start of the ridge and at 18h15 I received word from them. They are all very tired and have had a slight setback by losing their lightweight tent that was left at the stash point previously. The afternoon winds up there are apparently a total nightmare, but for now the guys are settling down for dinner in their snow cave and having an early night. Tomorrow, they intend digging up the mountain side looking for their tent. It has been a long day for them and could sense the exhaustion so didn't want to ask too much. Will keep you all posted but for now I am sure Grandad, Woof Woof and Piglet can all do with a bit of luck, Fingers crossed everyone they can find their tent.

David aka. The Trip Hazard.

Sat phone text update

2010-10-24T14:42:00.002+01:00

Pete has just texted to say that the weather is good but cold. They are deploying at midnight onto the east ridge to ABC and beyond to 6500m then back to BC. They'll be out for 3 nights?

Laura

More snow ... and a bit oif sunshine.

2010-10-23T14:18:00.000+01:00

Pictures: Night time snow, The Big Avalanche, The Elixir of Life

This morning I wake in a dark, ice encrusted tent. This is not how it was meant to be; we had the snow storm and the bad weather yesterday. It was suppose to be all good from the moment we closed our eyes, right until the end of our trip. That's what we were telling ourselves anyway.

I wait for 8am, for the sun to warm the tent and for my cold body to feel able enough to exit. I unzip the door and force the fresh snow back. There is much more snow than the night before and there is even more than night before that. This isn't good.

Buddhi calls us for breakfast. "ooh, ooh". We all sit outside the BC tent in the bright warm sun, watching the snow melt. We enjoy our coffee, the sun dazzles. Buddhi calls "avalanche!" We scramble to our feet and stare. A massive airborne avalanche erupts down the 2500m face of A3, travelling at over 200mph, 1km wide, and 500m high, and who knows how deep. We watch, wait and wonder, is BC far enough away? Amazed by its beauty and power, this was truly the biggest avalanche any of us has ever seen. We were at a safe distance, about 1km away, but at the time we all had our doubts. All of this reminds us why we are not climbing now; this is why we are waiting. Its painful, we want to climb, but in these big mountains you can't push it out in marginal conditions, it's a waiting game, but it's a game you need to play, and play well.

After the morning's excitements, the three of us have been out getting some exercise, trying to stay fit, trying to stay healthy for when the time comes that the weather decides to give us a break. We do after all have the time, food, and loads of motivation to wait this bad weather out until our time comes.

Many thanks to everyone who has been sending us emails and text messages, it's nice to receive friendly mails and to hear what's happening in the big world outside of our tiny one.

Email us: britishannapurna3@googlemail.com

Matt

Shutdown by the weather.... again.

2010-10-22T13:16:00.000+01:00

Pictures: Morning cloud shapes; who Nick wishes was in his tent; a new member of the team... but can he break trail at 7000m?

Last night our cunning plan was to climb through the night to get to our ABC on the East Ridge before the sun started to warm up the snowy slopes which we would have to cross to reach our highpoint. However at around 10pm, a rather violent snow storm hit base camp and after approximately 3 seconds of deliberation we went back to bed.

The weather is starting to become a problem. We are several days behind where we would like to be in terms of acclimatisation, and getting caught out in this kind of weather at 7500m would not be fun. We live in hope that the weather patterns will change and we will get to see the sun for more than a few hours per day.

If the weather is clear again tonight, we may head up to ABC, although there is bound to be a lot of fresh unconsolidated snow which is bound to make things interesting and may force us back again to BC.

Contemplation

2010-10-21T12:36:00.000+01:00

Picture: Just some of the gear needed for the East Ridge attempt.

Base Camp, a random scattering of tents situated in a wide, brown-grass clearing is enveloped. The mist swirls around the jagged other world pinnacles and blows up the crumbling gullies situated below. The mist sneaks in and out and brushes its icy finger against the tent fabric. The cirque of mountains, A3, A4, Machhapuchhre, gleam and then disappear behind the cumulous. Sleet smatters. The stove purrs. Buddhi sings.

Sitting in BC, like the cloud, I drift in and out of contemplative thought, then, like a tube train arriving at Kingscross Station, a rumble, shakes the ground and brings me out of my reverie. A serac, a massive clot of woven compressed ice clinging to the side of the surrounding cliffs has crashed to the ground, a constant reminder that we are small, insignificant and fallible, but we are where we want to be, in amongst the mountains, mountains that are ancient and formidable and unconquerable.

Our trip has caught the imagination of the national press and being detached from what is written in the papers I have concerns. I hate hype and the trumped up terms that the media generally use when writing about mountaineering. Fortunately Ed Douglas is a mountaineer and a climber that I trust and he knows that men and women do not conquer mountains; he knows we do not scale sheer cliffs with superhuman spider-man strength; we do not tread without fear, without thought, without compassion. He knows that an expedition like this one is not a glorious account of conquering and gung ho, and walking past dying climbers while sucking on oxygen. This expedition is what really happens when climbers, that is people who live for the mountains and the environment, the space, the freedom, the adventure and the uncertainty, go to the hills. Sometimes with luck with good weather, conditions, and the fitness of the team, the climbers are successful in their endeavours, but many times they are not. Ed knows all of this and I believe his report that appeared in The Times was honest and true. I just hope that others who choose to write will show a similar amount of understanding.

Tonight, weather permitting, we hope to climb through the night to reach the previously climbed to high-point on the East ridge, before digging in and stocking a snow hole. The intention then is to sleep the night at 5900m and the following day climb along the ridge until beneath the steepening that is the 1000m technical cliff face. Hopefully, we will dig in once again beneath the face, spend the night, and then the following day we will climb half of the 1000m before reversing all the way to BC. We need to do this for acclimatisation, to prepare our bodies for the two and a half kilometre push for the summit, which is above 7000m. This will only happen if we are very lucky, and the weather and mountains are favourable and our bodies are playing the game. It is very much a question of many factors coming together of determination, skill, strength but most of all luck. It will never be a matter of conquering.

Nick.

On weather Standby

2010-10-20T16:07:00.000+01:00

Picture: Waiting out the weather at BC

Last night the weather was pretty bad with a few inches of snow at BC, and although the weather was nice this morning, the usual afternoon cloud and snow returned shutting down our nocturnal activities (we were thinking of heading up to ABC tonight). Hopefully tomorrow will be better and we can actually get out and do some climbing.

If we stay in BC any longer we will get too fat to climb with all the fine food Buddhi is serving up.

Into the furnace....

2010-10-19T14:39:00.000+01:00

Pictures: Heading up to ABC; Matt sorting out the ropes.

Today the weather dawned clear which made for nice views of the mountains however the heat rapidly built and turned the nice and crunchy snow to horrible slush. By the time we got up to 5600m, we decided that the final slope to the ridge would be a tad risky under the circumstances, so we buried the gear in the snow (to prevent a bird intrusion) and slithered back down BC.

The new plan is to make use of the full moon tomorrow night and climb up to ABC before the furnace heats up and then continue our investigations of the East Ridge.

Weather improving. Back up to our lofty ABC tomorrow.

2010-10-18T14:43:00.000+01:00

Pictures: Nepali Master class; Hunting for evening light; Base Camp downtime; Nightime Base Camp

Last night was the first clearish night we have had so far and with the moon nearly full, we were outside till late receiving a master class in nightime photography from Dave.

Today was another reasonable weather day with plenty of sun up high, but alas low cloud plagued BC which wasn't so good for sunbathing or charging the batteries from the solar panels.

We trotted back up to the snowline where we have a load of gear stashed to check out the snow conditions, and the sun has done a good job at encouraging all the fresh snow to disappear and if we get a good frost tonight, we should be able to quickly gain our ABC on the East Ridge.

From there we will dig in to the ridge, and providing all is well we will probably stay the night in our new home, and quest along the east ridge towards the crux headwall the next day.

Pete

Improving weather, lots of snow in the mountains.

2010-10-17T13:43:00.000+01:00

Pictures: Crater Lake, a nearby glacial lake; The Water Gatherers, Buddhi and Santos return from collecting water.

The weather cleared a bit today which allowed us to see the mountains which have been totally plastered with new snow. As the morning sunshine hit, avalanches roared down the slopes I think we will leave the snow to settle for a day or two.

We have played our first move, and located our ABC on the East Ridge; the mountain has shown it's cards with a fresh dump of snow. We will wait patiently to play our next move, which probably won't be tomorrow.

Shutdown by bad weather

2010-10-16T15:13:00.000+01:00

The Primus stove splutters into action with a characteristic put-put put; Buddhi adds his own soundtrack singing happily while fixing our breakfast.

Sleepy climbers wake and are greeted with rain and thick fog hardly the weather for another day of load hauling to our ABC on the East Ridge. We cut our losses and make a dash for the snow line to dump some gear, careful not to leave any food plenty of expeditions have been ruined by pesky birds with sharp beaks stealing what is not theirs.

Back in BC, the sleet tries to soak through the tents and into our bones. A freshly baked cinnamon swirl is the highlight of lunchtime which stokes the fires and keeps the damp at bay.

Entertainment is provided by a matinee showing of 'Cash' starring Sean Bean on the latest touch-screen gadget from Samsung. With no sun to charge batteries we are running on impulse power. Warning - fifteen percent power splashes across the screen. External battery located, power rebooted. Crisis averted. Then just as the film reaches its finale with several intriguing possibilities for an ending implanted into the grey matter, the show stops. Panic. The film has not been downloaded in full. Woof Woof and Grandpa are grief stricken not because they want to know how the film ends, but because the leading lady is rather foxy. Grrr.

It would cost the GDP of Ghana and several days of satellite air time to download the film here. Remind me to go and watch the film when we get back.

And so we wait. We have food, fuel and patience. Power and sunlight may be in short supply, but enthusiasm is not. A quick flick through yesterday's photos reminds us of what beauty towers above us and what we have to do.

Pete

PS, from Nick.

If anyone out there can tell us how the film Cash finishes, it will be most appreciated. Our version ended abruptly at the one and a half hour point, just after they had robbed the bank and the man in the lead roll,(Sam?) who is not Sean Bean, sneaked some bullets from the security guard in the bank...Cheers, it will make me most happy to know and will slightly brighten a very Welsh mingy day.

The Scent of Adventure

2010-10-15T15:27:00.000+01:00

Pictures: A rather snowy scene this morning at BC, Matt and Pete testing their high altitude clothing.

Today has been a rest day, so Matt and Nick have both been busy writing - enjoy

Matt's Blog

Lying in my tent this morning waiting for the warmth of the sun to hit BC to encourage us from our bags as it always does at 8am, but this morning for the first time since we have been here it was gloomy with a fresh dump of the white stuff on the ground.

After a day of needed rest, the weather has cleared for a few hours allowing us to prepare for our outing in the morning. Sorting the climbing rack, clothing and the food for the route, which mainly consists of Maximuscle Viper and Promax bars.

The plan tomorrow is to carry a heavy load to our high point from a few days back, dig a snow cave on the ridge and load this with some of the gear and food we will need to take on the east ridge using the snow cave as an advanced base camp. Depending on time we will hopefully descent back to BC tomorrow night for a good night's sleep before we take it on to the next stage!

That said it's pouring down outside now, which means quite a bit of snow up high.

If you have been following us, you will know that freelance journalist Ed Douglas travelled with us into BC for a few days to write a piece for the Times newspaper. Ed's personal view of the expedition should make the Times this Saturday and I guess we will have to wait until we get back to the UK to see what he has written!

Nick's Blog: The Scent of Adventure

Pre-BC

Post monsoon Kathmandu has the smell of success. When I say success, what I mean is the climbing team are all together in the same city; boots have made it, tents made it, the cameraman David Reeves made it. I threatened Alastair Lee that if David turned out to be a knob I would be hot footing it to Sheffield. But in this new sweet smelling scenario David is a cool guy. The climbing gear is packed - the electronics are packed - the food is packed - the Camera batteries are charged - the climbers are charged - Ed Douglas is charged - the Samsung notebook has Google Earth downloaded onto the hard drive - the helicopter is washed and waiting - the pilot Pemba from Air Dynasty is not only excited to land in a valley he has not landed in before, but he is psyched - and Loben has employed Buddhi, the best cook in the world, who is driving to Pokhara tomorrow with a van full of gear and food and cook equipment. Success is a thousand miles away, but still, the smell of a dream going right is Apple Pie.

A week and a day later.

Its possibly been the worst weather yet today. But as we have hardly spoken of weather this will mean, not-a-lot. Snow fell through the night and after a brief spell of broken cloud and sun, we now have wet sleet. Since changing objectives from the Southeast Ridge to the East Ridge success feels a long way off. A lot of suffering is to come. The East Ridge of A3 is truly a Himalayan giant taken direct from the pages of Venibles and Fanshaw's masterpiece, Himalayan Alpine Style. It is a massive challenge which may have several layers of scent, some will be bitter, some sweet, some sharp, maybe even ammonia, but be sure an adventure will be had.

Bags are now packed, tomorrow, we are ready to repeat the 1300m of ascent, from two days ago. Success will be reaching our high point with a stash of climbing gear, food, gas, clothes, sleeping bags, a shovel, a stove and excess air in our lungs. We hope to dig a snow hole big enough for the three of us, stash the kit and return to BC all in the day.

Tomorrow will only be truly successful and smell Pomegranate sweet when the red glow of our mess tent is spied from the heathery moraine above BC, David's bright light sat atop his camera draws us and the whoop of Buddhi calling us home is heard.

The path to Annapurna 3 unfolds...

2010-10-14T18:26:00.000+01:00

Pictures: Machhapucher from the slopes leading up to the East Ridge; The first sortie onto the slopes of the East Ridge which towers above Matt; Himalayan snow wading with something rather large in the background ; Nick and Matt enjoying Base Camp sunshine after a 13 hour effort the day before.

The scale of the mountains out here are immense, Annapurna 3 and Annapurna 4 tower above us for nearly 3 kilometres, and no matter how many times you look at it, the NE face of Machhapuchher never fails to inspire. What a privilege to spend time among these giants.

Yesterday (Wednesday) it was time to actually do some climbing as we have been here for nearly a week; The initial traumas of flying straight to a base camp at 4600 meters have all but passed.

Always keen for more suffering, Woof Woof, Grandpa and I, wheezed, coughed and spluttered our way up and onto the start of the East Ridge of Annapurna 3, an ascent of 1400m and setting a highpoint for the trip of 5900m narrowly beating the high point of the helicopter ride. This acclimatisation gig is really good fun?

The climbing was actually pretty good starting up easy snowy slopes, weaving up snowy runnels leading to a beautiful snow crest, with the final pitches being particularly fine on perfect snow ice. The usual afternoon cloud had made an early appearance which was actually quite a blessing as on the few occasions when the sun did poke through the mist it was like being in a microwave oven.

When we finally popped out onto the ridge, the air to the north was very clear and we were treated to a beautiful view down towards Humde and over towards Manaslu. I could imagine trekkers on the Annapurna circuit enjoying some chi in a wee teahouse looking up at the northern flank of the Annapurna massive perhaps one day I will feel content to be amongst the mountains, rather than climbing on them with all the stress and hardship that comes with this way of life.

Before the clouds rolled in, we got a good look at the rest of the ridge, which is immense. It will be a very committing venture, with no options to drop height quickly if the weather breaks, or one of us suffers from altitude issues. The technical crux of the route we think will involve a 500m mixed face of snow, rock and ice which looks harder than the headwall on the North face of the Droites in Chamonix and 3000m higher in altitude.

Our plan is to make two or three acclimatisation forays probing ever deeper and higher onto the ridge until we are ready for a final push from base camp to the summit. While the final 2.5 km should not be technically too demanding, it is all above 7000m, so we will definitely be deploying the 4 paw drive traction unit known as the Woof Woof to break trail we might have to put a leash on him to stop him running away.

Today (Thursday) we have spent in base camp, enjoying the sunshine the clouds didn't roll into after lunchtime and some fine food from the base camp kitchen.

Buddhi's base camp secrets part 2.

Whatever next? After restaurant quality food, which has included, pizza, lasagne and banana pie, this morning we were all enjoying an omelette muffin, nothing too unusual about that, until you learn that Buddhi freshly baked the muffins this morning. 'Are they all right', he enquired, 'I can bake some more if you are still hungry?' This guy is a total legend, and good food is so important up here. So throw away your Smeg cookers and melt down your Aga for scrap, all you need is a $15 Primus stove.

Ciao, Pete

Email us: britishannapurna3@gmail.com

Sat phone: 008821668610277 (text us and tell us how you are feeling!)

Acclimatisation begins...

2010-10-12T19:43:00.000+01:00

Pictures: Matt gets to a new level playing 'NOVA' on the Samsung Galaxy Tab; Buddhi excels once again with a delicious base camp banana pie, both taken on the Samsung NX10 camera.

Yesterday was spent looking round trying to get to grips with the topography of the area and coming up with a plan to climb a new route on Annapurna 3. Today has been spent in BC getting kit sorted for the morning, ready for a hit up to the East Ridge on A3 to make a stash of some gas and to acclimatise to 6000m, hopefully! We will return to BC tomorrow evening to rest for a few days or so before we try to get any higher on the ridge; acclimatisation will be the key for this 7.5 km ridge, 2.5 km of which is above 7000m.

Weather is still mixed but predictable, sunny in the mornings then clouding over bringing snow, but thankfully not too much!

Down time is spent either listening to tunes, or watching movies on our Galaxy tabs, how cool are these things?

All team members are well save for a few snivels - trying to shake off a cold is not that easy at 4600m.

Matt

The SE ridge secrets remain..

2010-10-11T20:38:00.000+01:00

Pictures: Glacier trotting, Buddi the wonder chef, Annapurna 3 east ridge, Matt assessing the SE ridge.

Today we trotted across the glacier to have a look at the far side of the southeast ridge, the side you can't see from base camp. It was like a war zone! The glacier is a total mess with house size crevasses guarding entry to the initial 1000 meter rock buttress which is loose, broken with very few climbable lines. Last night's snow was quickly melting in the morning sun, turning the sinuous slices of ice we were hoping would be our express elevator to the main part of the ridge, to mush. Snow, water and rock thundered all around, not the kind of ground which you would, or could climb with massive boots and a 10 day rucksack.

The only other feasible line to the right of the centre of the buttress is severely threatened by massive seracs (ice cliffs) which would be likely to carve at any time flushing any wood-be Annapurna 3 suitors down the sewer. Others could use this route if they dared, but we have too much to live for and nothing to die for.

The route Nick Colton and Tim Leech pioneered in 1983 (they are the only climbers to have set foot on the ridge proper) is now totally impassable and is regularly pummeled by thousands of tones of ice from the rapidly retreating glacier above.

In the style we wish to climb, the SE ridge does not look feasible for us and we have made a decision to change our objective the unclimbed East Ridge of Annapurna 3. While being slightly technically easier, several expeditions have tried this route to the summit and have failed. It will be no picnic and has a long and committing 2.5 km section to the summit above 7000m. The total length from the snow line is 7.5km

We came here to have a laugh and climb Annapurna 3. Our dream was to find a route onto the SE ridge and follow our hearts to the summit. Today we realised that our future does not lie in the SE ridge. However we remain sanguine and our minds are now re-calibrating for the East Ridge.

Perhaps with a different approach, more climbers, more gear, bolts, and more rope you could force a route up the lower buttress of the SE ridge, but that is not what we are about. We have small rucksacks and wish to tread lightly on this magnificent mountain. The challenge of the SE ridge still remains for others, and as for it being one of the last great challenges of the Himalaya, well there is no doubt of that, but looking around from base camp, I can see quite a few more last great challenges..

The Secrets of Buddhi's Base Camp cooking Part One

How do you bake a cake at 4600m in a tent with no oven?

The 'oven' is created in a large pot which has water in it and is placed on the primus stove. The cake is then baked in a smaller pan which is placed in the water sitting on a couple of stones so the cake base is not burned by the direct heat of the stove. Simples.

In the next episode we find out how Buddhi creates such base camp favorites such as cinnamon swirls, thin crust pizza and tuna lasagna.

Unlocking the secrets....

2010-10-10T21:22:00.000+01:00

Yesterday the climbing team headed up to the snow line at 5100m to gain some height passing the remains of previous camp which included a large rusting gas cylinder slowing being eaten and returned to the earth. Other items included a large jar that Nick has snagged as a pee bottle so he doesn't have to get out of his tent at night and a most puzzling arrangement of 3 padlocks that were deliberately left on a flat rock. Perhaps they were placed as a metaphor, and each of the three locks represents the three climbers and we are here to unlock the secrets of Annapurna 3.

Pictures: Annapurna 3, Matt's Birthday cake, the Trip Hazard aka David Reeves. All photos taken on a Samsung NX10.

Matt celebrated his 30^th birthday at base camp yesterday and Buddhi baked a surprise Birthday cake which is pretty incredible given that we are at 4600m and Buhddhi only has two Primus stoves to cook on!

David Reeves the camera man who I'm sure won't mind me saying is not waif, stated before flying in that he would like to lose a tad of weight. Well we are happy to say his A3 diet is on track with projectile vomiting and a lack of appetite. David has even slowed down on the filming and is seen lying prone in various around BC, causing a trip hazard!

Ed Douglas left BC this morning by taking the Dynasty Air express taxi out. It was a big relief for Ed as he has several deadlines to meet. Needless to say we had loads of empathy with Ed's situation, and at no time did we suggest that Ed may be stuck for a long time. In the end, the chopper whizzed in early doors, snow clouds billowed and cut a furrow while we dived to zip tents. The mountain soundtrack we have already become accustomed was swallowed with thudding and in a shot the paparratzi was whisked away. Ed texted us an hour and a half later informing that java cappuccino was being relished. Hmm, me thinks Ed got his own back for the never getting out quips!

Weather seems to have settled into a bit of a routine, clear cold, the cloud build up and a smattering of snow. Tonight the smattering appears to be a little more persistent.

Tomorrow we plan to recce the approach and possible entry onto the SE Ridge, once this has been done we can see even if it possible to access the ridge and start to make a plan.

Shock Horror - Helliker Turns 30

2010-10-09T10:04:00.000+01:00

A wee birdie tells me Mr Helliker turns 30 today and he's been trying to keep it quiet. I've attached a link to his video camera thoughts about turning 30 whilst at Base Camp. It's probably better the 'older members' of the team don't see it.

I'm going to text the sat phone to spill the beans and get the boys to get Bhudi to bake him a cake, even though he'd probably prefer a Birthday Maximuscle shake!

http://www.youtube.com/v/RxP2-Cjh_f4?hl=en&fs=1

A3 Team arrive at base camp

2010-10-08T13:28:00.000+01:00

After a wild helicopter flight somewhat reminiscent of a Vietnam war film, flitting and twisting in the deep walls of the Seti Khola gorge, the team including Ed Douglas and David the cameraman have arrived at their chosen BC without any mishap. The Base Camp, in the end was the higher of the two possible choices at a height of 4600m situated at a large gassy flattening with stunning views of Annapurna 3, 4 and the sacred peak of Machhapuchher.

Pemba the Air Dynasty pilot did an amazing job ferrying 7 people and a tonne of food and equipment up to base camp which had to be done in stages, decreasing the helicopter weight as higher elevations were gained. The views from the helicopter were stunning, first passing over the fertile and lush farmland north of Pokhara, then climbing up into the deep Sehti Khola gorge where the first drop of weight was made. Weighing less, Pemba could then fly the helicopter up even higher to recce the various base camp locations that had been spotted on Google Earth and at one point took the B2 to 5400m flying close to the SE ridge of Annapurna 3 before we settled on a great base camp at 4600m. Pemba made 7 drops at the base camp from the intermediate drop zone before high tailing back to Pokhara as the cloud had started to bubble up. Over here the clouds have big rocks in them!

Pemba landing at the Annapurna 3 base camp

Going straight from 800m to 4600m is not an ideal way to acclimatize and I personally wouldn't recommend it, it hurts, but everyone is now slowly getting used to the lack of oxygen, and the suffering is good practice for the BIG suffering to come.

The next few days will be spent taking it easy and slowing learning and observing the character of the mountain to develop a cunning plan to climb Annapurna 3. In the mean time Bhudi the cook will be keeping us well fed with his fantastic food.

Pete

Machhapuchher at dawn from base camp

Advanced Team at Base Camp!!

2010-10-07T08:57:00.002+01:00

Report from Pete sent by text:

"Weather Good. Three runs to intermediate drop zone with an advanced team already at base camp!! Rest of team and equipment to follow."

I'll keep you updated as I receive more communication. Laura

A3 team are airborne!

2010-10-06T17:33:00.002+01:00

The team have now mobilised to Pokhara and the weather is looking good for flying into base camp tomorrow (Thursday).

The Air Dynasty helicopter flight from Kathmandu was going pretty smoothly until there was a loud bang at the back of the cabin which caused some concern to the occupants in the cheap seats at the back. After some worried looks, the source of the noise was found to be a bungee cord which had come loose and shot across the cabin and was trying to make a break for freedom through the window.


Pete riding up front

The boys after the bungee incident

Just before landing at Pokhara airport, Pemba showed off his piloting skills by diving into a deep gorge, tracking the Eurocopter B2 along the meandering river at 80 mph before smoothly landing at the airport much to the delight and horror of the passengers.

Unfortunately the afternoon cloud was obstructing the mountains, so we will have to wait another day to see Annapurna 3.

Dave has been busy strapping numerous Samsung video cameras to the helicopter so we should be able to get some awesome shots, and if we have time, Pemba has agreed to fly as close and as high to our objective which will be extremely useful for determine our climbing strategy and getting an idea of the conditions on the route.

The master technician at work - Dave

The plan tomorrow is to ferry the equipment and people (4 runs) up to an intermediate drop zone and from there drop some weight in order to get into our base camp which could be as high as 4800m if you believe Google Earth.

It is a clear night in Pokhara so here is hoping....

Nepal from the air

Pete

Satellite Test Blog from Kathmandu

2010-10-05T18:44:00.000+01:00

The team has made significant progress from their previous effort by actually all managing to turn up in Kathmandu safe and sound with all the gear and we have spent the last 2 days unpacking and re packing, testing and re testing and going though all the necessary paperwork at the Ministry - we now have a permit.

We met with Liz Hawley the collator of the Himalayan database which is an authoritative database of every Expedition in Nepal who required us to fill in her forms for this years entry.

We met with Pemba the Air Dynasty helicopter pilot today to finalise the drop zone for BC with the help of Google Earth and there appear to be two options for Base Camp which Pemba spotted on a recce mission a few days ago and the call will be made as to which location on the first flight in.

Climbing team members, Dave Reeves the cameraman and Ed Douglas the Journalist will all fly to Porkhara by Chopper tomorrow afternoon, then if all goes well will fly to BC on Thursday morning. So keep everything crossed for us.

The Team

Its official, no reccy.

2010-10-01T17:54:00.000+01:00

Ian is back in Kathmandu after 2 days of waiting for a clear spell in Pokhara with the Air dynasty crew. To quote Ian, "The weather would be ok for climbing, but its certainly not good enough to take a chopper into an enclosed area". So thats it, no reccy.

Can hardly wait to fly!

God Bless Technology.

2010-09-29T09:52:00.000+01:00

Ian rang a few minutes ago. Stood in the Air Dynasty office they have just managed to check out a possible landing/BC area by using Google Earth...!

Rapidly getting older by the day since becoming involved with all of this, later today, Ian Wall will be flying to Pokhara with the Chopper guys. Tomorrow, hopefully, they will fly into the BC area to mark the landing site, which, if Gooogle Earth is to be believed, is at approximately 4000m and three and a half kilometres from the base of the crag. (Base of the crag is Ian's description, I personally would call a 2.5 kilometre ridge leading to the summit of a 7555m mountain slightly more than a crag!)

Needless to say, they may, or may not be successful!

Reccy, no Reccy...Reccy, no Reccy...Reccy, no Reccy...Reccy, no Reccy..........................................

2010-09-27T17:51:00.002+01:00

The most recent news from Ian Wall in Kathmandu is Pemba at Air Dynasty managed to fly over the BC area yesterday for the first time. Unfortunately he had to stay quite high as there was a thin cloud layer. Nepal has distinct pitfalls when flying in clouds as big solid lumps of stuff,(mountains) tend to be quite high also and don’t move much when hit!

Pemba reports a lake that is not shown on the map and at least one promising BC area, all be it higher than we want, approximately 4500m...(note to myself to remember the paracetamol!) The area we really want to be based is approximately 4000m, and will still mean bumping headaches for everyone apart from Matt who has been guiding folk up Mont Blanc... I'll take the headache any day!

Ian also reports that weather permitting; Pemba and he will fly from Kathmandu to Pokhara and onto the BC area on the 30th. All getting a tad close as we arrive in Kath on the 3rd.

For folk who dont know much about expeditions of this type (not that this type of expedition happens everyday) you could easily think this is not very good organisation... but what you have to remember is this aint no exact science,this certainly isn't a tried and tested route, a well travelled area, an often done jaunt... This is a wild and nearly unexplored area for both people and helicopters alike and the climb will be cutting edge (if we can reach it). So we just have to take whatever comes our way and hope we can sort it, because if we cant, it aint happening!

Nick.

After Tentative Friday, comes Frustrating Monday.

2010-09-20T13:45:00.000+01:00

Just heard back from Ian Wall, that after he travelled to Pokhara and waited three days, there was no chance to fly. His liver could stand no more of the socialising in Pokhara, so now he is back in Kathmandu waiting for a break in the weather and another go.

The road to Pokhara is out due to landslides, but if we stump up $100 for a flight he will be on his way asap. Given Ian's words,

"Please try to let me know what to do within the next few hrs as I have to get flight tickets .. if I don’t hear I’ll go and we can argue later .. if I don’t go then we’re all in the shit .. will need to drop down to mark landing zone or Pemba might not find it again with you guys"

No brainer then..

Tentative Friday.

2010-09-15T09:51:00.000+01:00

Things are now moving at an ever increasing pace...

Ian Wall has just emailed to inform us that he is travelling to Pokhara in preparation for the reccy flight which will take place on Friday (hopefully!).

Loben has just emailed with costing, timing, plans etc... (always fraught this one)

(Just to give the non expedition folk out there an idea... Liason Officer costs, $1800, Garbage deposit, $2000, LO and cook insurance $500, Peak Fee, $1400 (this is an autumn cost, its double in the spring) BC service costs anything between $6000 to $8000.)

David Reeves, the new addition and cameraman working for Posing Productions, now has his plane ticket, as do Matt, Pete and me thanks to my credit card. (even more fraught than the one above, well for me anyway!)

Samsung have now supplied all of the camera gear, filming gear, and communications gear.

The North Face have supplied a couple of tents for Matt and Pete to use at BC which are being delivered to DMM for collection.

An invoice has been raised by Pete for the extra funding which Samsung have very generously given.

And on, and on, and on...

With a bit of luck, no, in fact with a lot of luck by Saturday we may have some pictures of the hill thanks to Ian.

New team member on board

2010-09-12T16:23:00.001+01:00

David Reeves will be joining the expedition team as camera-man for Posing Productions www.posingproductions.com who will be capturing all the stunning beauty of the Annapurna region together with all the highs and lows of a major mountaineering expediton to a remote and seldom visited part of the world.

Posing Productions will be making a marketing video for Samsung our main expedition sponsor showcasing their electronic products in extreme locations and possibly a feature length film if the climbers remember to switch on their video cameras during the climbing!

Monsoon.

2010-09-06T22:23:00.000+01:00

Monsoon is still hitting Kathmandu hard according to Ian Wall and because of this the Air Dynasty guys are grounded so still no reccy, and still no conformation of whether it is possible to land at BC or not... Hey ho...do you remember when expedition climbing was easy and it was just a 3 week walk from Kathmandu to Everest BC!

Here we go again. (Round 2)

2010-09-01T22:23:00.000+01:00

After a few months of wild email contact with each other, sorting out helicopter companies, wild repeated email exchanges with Ian Wall, (who has graciously taken it upon himself to sort out the helicopter side of things, "You want the BC where?? Yes there, just there, no, there, not there, yes there"... etc, etc, etc...), Loben, (friend and sorter of things that need sorting), Alastair Lee, who isn't coming but Ian Burton who may be coming to film, Rob Fairley who has given invaluable info and last but definitely not least, Samsung, who have thrown in more cash and who without their support this thing would not have been happening, we have finally committed to going out for a second attempt. The flights were bought today and we, Pete Benson, Matt Helliker, and myself, fly to Nepal on the 2nd of October.

The helicopter company we have been dealing with are Air Dynasty http://www.airdynasty.com/index.php As it stands they have already attempted to fly a reccy to pin-point a drop zone near BC, but because of the monsoon, they were forced to land on the hillside and sleep in the chopper till the following day where they flew back to Pokhara. Now we are waiting for the second attempt by the chopper boys to get in and make sure they can land. (So that's yet another failure to get in!)

Anyway, there now will be, no-doubt, loads of up-dates on the run up to the second attempt.

Hopefully we will at least see the hill this time.

Nick Bullock.

Reply to the post Changes 2. by Ian Wall Country representative of Community Action Nepal.

2010-05-31T23:01:00.003+01:00

Below is the exact E-mail reply I recieved from my friend Ian Wall, Country Representative of Community Action Nepal and resident in Kathmandu. Ian, or Old Git as i like to call him has made some fairly straight down the line comments and observations about the post below written by me. Ian's comments make very interesting reading, well all of them apart from the first one wondering why I wasnt climbing on a bank holiday. To answer that question is easy, I have just returned from 7 days (6 of them climbing) in Ireland.

Hey Nick .. a few thoughts of mine .. Bank Holiday Monday and you not on a crag somewhere? .. Or is it not BH Monday, have I got that wrong as well?!

Firstly, excellent PDF blogspot.
Shit what about the use of GPS, sat phones, mobiles ..and even map/compasses, research on the internet .. – to do a Tilman/Shipton in the true meaning of the phrase (and you should be in some of ya great granddad’s kit as well) .. then we should abandon GPS and sat weather forecasts broadcast high up the mountains and the depth of knowledge available to us today – all these technologies help individuals avoid danger .. but not heard many people complain about GPS or refuse the benefit of information provided by weather forecasts.

If you want to take it to the limit everyone in exploration history has in most cases gone out of their way to avoid danger or at least minimize it – the appropriate time of day to start a climb, the best time of year to take advantage of the best conditions, even Tilman chose his tides appropriately.

In real terms the majority of small modern technical gismos help us to AVOID danger and I bet many of your critics use them .. and it’s the use of GPS, sat nav etc that actually replace a skill. The use of a heli to get in would not be replacing a skill, it would be like Tilman using the tides and his tide tables to reach the point of max potential danger when everything was in his favour to the best of his knowledge and equipment at that time.

It’s just a matter of size .. a GPS or heli both help avoid danger, one replaces a skill and subjective danger the other objective danger and luck.
So it’s not a question of to use or not it is a question to go or not.

Anyway, onto the thoughts of Chairman Moa! What I wrote was a bit tongue in cheek but if the cap fits… so for me to go further… and dissect your blub ..

The most obvious answer would be to forget about the ridge and move on, move on to something new, but when has climbing ever been about doing the sensible thing? And the ridge is one of the most compelling objectives for an alpinist, made more compelling and intriguing by the mystique and aura surrounding it.

Firstly, you did the sensible thing, you retreated without any harm, I assume, to anyone.
But why forget and move on .. it’s not a good shag .. What if Mallory, Mummery, Bull, Whymper, Scott and even Bullock to name just a few just turned a blind eye .. in 5 years time someone will come along and do just that .. heli in, look .. Greg Child did not turn back at the final pitch on Lobsang Spire - why? .. No, they used bat hooks – to reach the summit.

As you say ‘they’ use to walk in from Kathmandu now they fly to Lukla etc. Before that they would walk from Darjeeling or where ever. Before that it was a boat from Southampton. Where do you draw the line? I contradict your previous statement (above) .. you are doing the sensible thing and climbing is about doing the sensible things, using your skill and knowledge, push it yes, but you try to avoid dropping bollocks .. every time there is an advance in technology whether it be equipment or modes of transport .. it is seen as an advance in the sport and gets used on future trips .. why not this .. heli ski-ing cuts out the ball ache, when we stopped using knots in rope to lop into a crack .. that was not ‘sport’ (and before you say anything yes I also used that technique) .. go through the hole range of developments .. all to give added protection and a safer traverse of the terrain .. whether it be vertical or the Fuchs/Hillary’s tractors across the Antarctica .. they first did that crossing on foot.

The most obvious argument I can come up with for flying is it will avoid the death of a local and I was under no doubt that this would have happened if Matt and myself had not called a halt to the first attempt.

This shows the humility of the guy, not a selfish point of getting to the summit at all costs .. look at the picture in ‘Tigers of the Snow’ – the story of the mountaineering development of the Sherpa people .. consider the two pictures 24/25 – the top one of the posed shot of the Germans on Nanga Parbat in 1934, Aschenbrenner and co .. then look at the bottom one .. a collection of Egyptian Mummies, the Sherpas who were not looked after all hands and feet swathed in bandages ..who got the bollocking in the latter years for not looking after ‘the expedition members’? The expedition is everyone who helps the goal being achieved from the kitchen boy to lead climbing Sherpa.

The Sherpas are risking their lives to fix rope, carry oxygen, carry tents, food, clothing etc, to molly-coddle and if called upon, to rescue… they do this for a wage which gives them a high standard of living in a third world country

These are proud people and deserve the dignity this role (profession and skill) gives them .. why demote them to disposable items of equipment. Why should they not work and earn to their potential .. it is only a crime if they are exploited by whatever means like crossing dangerous ground unprotected .. you could argue that by not going at all you would be doing some guys out of a potential income .. whether Loban, the porter (not sure if you will use any if you go by heli) .. or the local girls!

Also remember the small wage of the average trekking porter not only sustains himself during the lean months but also his family both immediate and extended .. a wage for these guys goes a long way and to ‘kill off the wage earner’ is a devastating outcome for any Nepalese family and a friggin crime against these people. A porter discarded by his trekking group has this season died in Langtang, a criminal act .. and if you are from that trekking group ..we’ll find out!

My main concern here is the precedent we will be setting. In years to come will rich climbers from developed countries fly into all base camps because of me and my decision now?

Precedents have already been set ..as I mentioned heli skiing .. but what about pegs, bolts, chalk, oxygen on Everest, GPS and mountain weather forecasts .. if they want the summit they use them .. Apa Sherpa used oxygen on his 20th summit climb .. so did that little 13 year old .. now there’s a precedent .. apparently now age is no barrier .. the next thing will be conception on the summit .. (remember those words!)

An argument against flying may be our use of a limited resource, (the helicopter), for our selfish reasons and in using the helicopter we are delaying the more important work, of lets say, building bridges.

Bollocks!

it just isn’t very Shipton/Tilman.

No .. but what expeditions are carried out these days in true Shipton/Tilman style

. I’m starting to think that once we are actually climbing, this will be the easy part. (Said very tongue in cheek)

Maybe .. exchange the words ‘easy’ for safer’!

His report has been added to the blog, it’s very thought provoking and has convinced me of my decision for the autumn.

Does this now mean you won’t fly or will fly? OK Shipton/Tilman went in probably with a little knowledge of the area .. but they had a great deal more when they came out .. you could do all this arse about tit .. you fly in over a possible exit route you might come out on .. but the real route finding will be on the way out .. I always think going up is easy from a route finding perspective .. getting down is much harder .. especially if knackered .. or worse.

Is this not like heli skiing down a slope you have not climbed up? Or skiing the Valley Blanche from the cable car? How many times have your critics done that or similar?

As you have covered nearly all these points .. in a nut shell

You achieve your objective (maybe)

You will not put others at risk on the approach route

You will not desecrate the mountain .. like with pegs bolts etc as happens on many other mountains .. what about ladders in the ice fall, and higher on Everest .. do fixed ropes come into this debate?

You may achieve your goal .. rather than have someone else doing the thing in a few years time. Only a few have said .. I can’t climb it I’ll not bolt it/pull on gear etc .. but far more have used the opposite way of thinking to reach their goal .. even if there are good wire placements right next to the bolt.

In reality you are making the right decision for a variety of reasons .. it is just your conscience you have to contend with .. and maybe a rough tongue from a few of the climbing fraternity .. but why .. check them out, have they always played the Tilman/Shipton game .. even going into a crag on a mountain bike, chair lifts in the Alps, GPS and weather forecasts. .. it’ll all break down to the lowest common denominator.

Just about every other sport has rules that safe guard participants – Formula 1, high tackles in football, boxing, even skiing (I believe they breath test you on certain slopes in the Alps now) bob sleigh

I wonder if the guys who came up with the idea of seat belts and drink driving laws .. were drivers?

If porters had the powers to make the rules what would they do .. make heli access compulsory on dangerous approaches, refuse to go even for mega bucks, or just trust to fate? Unfortunately the $ sign has persuasive power for the boys … but you talk to their women folk and families as I do … and you would soon find out their choice.

Whatever you do Nick I guess you will need a LO, and maybe a couple of boys to keep an eye on things while you’re off playing .. if you have a real problem with the porters missing out on wages (which I think is the only real concern) then donate a wedge to KEEP Porter Clothing Bank (see their website) !!!!

Heli in or a few dead porters .. no choice

Go by heli ..and have an epic walking out .. that’ll keep them all happy! If the glacier was there many years ago .. would they use snow shoes or skis .. this could go on and on

You have my support anyway and I’ll defend your corner on the issue if I have to in Nepal
Cheers me young mucker
OG

Thoughts 2 by Nick Bullock and a link For Blog Annapurna 3 Thoughts and Suggestions by Rob Fairley.

2010-05-31T10:42:00.000+01:00

Earth and grass and rock smell of damp. The rain has only just stopped. The hut, my home, is empty. I have been in North Wales for two weeks. The mornings have been crisp and snow lingers on the tops refusing to accept summer. I sleep in my green Berlingo van. The Llanberis Pass is quiet, apart from the sheep. The sheep baa and wake me. I turn and wrap my sleeping bag around my shoulders before yelling “shuuuutuuuup” In desperation after another bout of BAAAA’S, I open the rear doors and throw stones. Wrapping myself again, I revel in the chill and the clear air and the thrill of climbing rock with friends.

Since my return from Nepal I have questioned our philosophy. Is it right to consider going back to Annapurna III Southeast ridge by helicopter? I don’t think there is a day goes by without me thinking about our plan. In fact, I don’t think there is an hour I have not thought about the ridge and the dilemma surrounding the approach. As one of my friends said, “Taking a chopper is not very Shipton/Tilman.”

The most obvious answer would be to forget about the ridge and move on, move on to something new, but when has climbing ever been about doing the sensible thing? And the ridge is one of the most compelling objectives for an alpinist, made more compelling and intriguing by the mystique and aura surrounding it.

The more I think about taking a helicopter to base camp, the more I think it is the correct decision (apart from not going of course). The most obvious argument I can come up with for flying is it will avoid the death of a local and I was under no doubt that this would have happened if Matt and myself had not called a halt to the first attempt. One of my main arguments against commercial climbs of big hills is the use of high altitude climbing Sherpas. This I know is also full of confliction. The Sherpas are risking their lives to fix rope, carry oxygen, carry tents, food, clothing etc, to molly-coddle and if called upon, to rescue… they do this for a wage which gives them a high standard of living in a third world country. It’s a job, but is it a job worth loosing you’re life for. I wonder how many of the people on commercial trips actually consider their dream climb could end up in the death of a local. Do they even care? I would find it very difficult to live with myself if someone had been killed as a direct result of my playing in the mountains.

Is our flying to Annapurna III BC any different than the hundreds of climbers that fly every year to Denali, or any of the other ranges in the Alaskan mountains. Is it different than the climbers who fly to Antarctica, Baffin, Logan, Lukla, Skardu, Everest BC, or climbers that take motorised transport into Greenland, or a skidoo into an ice climb in Canada? My main concern here is the precedent we will be setting. In years to come will rich climbers from developed countries fly into all base camps because of me and my decision now? Did Chris Bonington stop to consider his ethics when he took a plane into the Grand Jorasses? Did Destivelle and Lowe wonder long and hard about flying to the base and from the top of the Losar icefall opposite Namche Bazaar, did Will Gadd think twice before flying a chopper to Tengkang Poche?

Another concern would be the loss of earnings by porters, but I do not think this is a valid concern as the track into the south side of Annapurna III is hardly a trade route. 10 expeditions have attempted to go into this side of Annapurna III since 1981 and at least 3 (maybe 5 but there is some confusion with the info available) didn’t make it to BC. If we had managed to continue on our approach to the Southeast Ridge, 14 of the 20 porters were leaving anyway, (also a common theme for Annapurna III south side) which given time constraints and the way ahead would have made it virtually impossible for us to continue.

An argument against flying may be our use of a limited resource, (the helicopter), for our selfish reasons and in using the helicopter we are delaying the more important work, of lets say, building bridges. This is not the case anymore with companies like Fishtail Air who are a privately owned company and in the business of making money by people chartering their helicopters.

So apart from setting a precedent which I don’t think it is as the few examples above show this sort of thing has been going on for years, my main concern is it just isn’t very Shipton/Tilman. Try as hard as I may to justify and reason with myself, the feeling of not taking on the full challenge is a tad overwhelming. But will it stop me from going to attempt the Southeast ridge? Or to be more clear, will it stop me flying to BC which all said and done is only the start of the difficulties. Talking to Rob Fairley (a member of the 1988 Annapurna III expedition) it sounds like approaching the ridge from BC is also filled with danger, or at least it was in the 80’s. (Let’s hope global warming has worked in our favour here) When he was there he thought the dangers were so real he refused to attempt the ridge but was almost killed by an avalanche crossing at night to try another objective. I’m starting to think that once we are actually climbing, this will be the easy part. (Said very tongue in cheek)

Since writing the above I have received a very interesting and surprising e-mail from Rob Fairley. When I first contacted Rob, on our return from Nepal, I told him we were thinking of flying in to BC in October. Rob’s reply was that he didn’t think flying in was the correct decision. I immediately assumed it was because of some of the ethical reasons I have stated above, but it appears that Rob thinks that taking a chopper in and out again, without knowing the way by foot is too committing. A link to his report has been added below, it’s very thought provoking and has convinced me of my decision for the autumn.

Nick.
For Blog Annapurna 3 Thoughts and Suggestions

At last we see A3. Posted by Matt

2010-05-05T10:08:00.003+01:00

So having not even seen the mountain on our recce, we where treated/teased with a glimpse of Annapurna III from the plane on the flight out of Kathmandu. the SE Pillar looked amazing, can't wait for Oct.

Annapurna III is the highest peak in the picture Camera: Samsung NX10

Monkey Business!! Posted by Matt Helliker

2010-04-29T14:53:00.001+01:00

So after all the shenanigans over the last few weeks, we have been back in Kathmandu trying to savage any costs from this quite expensive but worthwhile recce, we headed to the ministry yesterday and as suspected got nothing back for our peak fee or LO, we didn't go down easily and at one stage were taken into a room, sat down with tea in front of 14 head government officials, explaining the fact that we will be back, but all we need is just a postponement, but things out here in Nepal are very black and white," this is law", he said with a grin on his face, Mmm yeah! so you kept telling us.

So all the equipment has been packed up, logged and been put into storage at Loben's Pad ready for the return match in Oct, whilst doing this Bullock decided to try and befriend a wild Monkey, that appeared on the hotel balcony. Monkey was the size off a Rottweiler and wasn't falling for the bullock charm, Nick soon realised that his David Attenborough approach to attempt to connect with one of our own was going wrong, and fast! Monkey jumped down from his top spot and was on the case to spoil the bullocks day! Nick looked round for a weapon, "Mmm, Mini Gun, no! that was back in his room, Pepper pot, no!" but i could see his thinking! then in a moment of desperation as Monkey was heading in for a cheeky undercut, he grabbed the smallest, most useless, wooden chair you can possibly imagine and proceeded to fend off monkey with chair whilst squealing like a 5 year old girl on the big dipper at Blackpool, all at same time. This was all very funny, as I was viewing this from about 100m away at the time.

So after all that excitement, today we are off to meet with the Helicopter boys, to see if it really is possible to get us into BC in Oct we let you know how we get on later.

We fly back to UK on the 30th April, but watch this space as will be attaching a short film of the story so far, very soon.

A Collection of Clichés by Nick Bullock.

2010-04-28T04:54:00.007+01:00

The trouble with expeditions is you never can tell how it’s all going to work out...

(pic Matt Helliker on the walk-in, day 1. Credit NB camera Samsung NX 10.)

It's the beauty and the pain, the agony and the ecstasy, it's taking the rough with the smooth...

...If it were easy, everyone would do it right?

High above Pokhara, late afternoon the blond god and I reached the dead end of the rough rubble road. The wind picked up and stirred dust into dervishes. The chewed field looked like an inner city football pitch, ragged and raw and scuffed, litter strewn. Tents pitched, brew on, dark descended and with it heavy drops of thunder-rain thud into the dust.

We were on our way. The morning would be the start of the walk in. Well, that was if we had enough porters, three had already bailed and apart from the four who had travelled with us from Kathmandu, the rest were shouting and haranguing Katak, one of our guide/serdars.

The bad feeling I had from the start of this expedition remained. Bracey had pulled out ten days before flying due to circumstances beyond his control. Pete Benson came on-board only to be delayed along with the camera man Ian Burton, Laura, Pete’s wife, Helliker’s boots and all of the electrical gadgetry due to volcanic ash. They were hopefully going to join us at BC but delay after delay after delay and still no take off date.

The rain pounded lifting the dust. The porters shouted and the voice in my head joined in ‘We should have delayed, we should have delayed, it all feels wrong, volcanic dust, Bracey bailed, kit strewn everywhere around the world, climbers strewn everywhere around the world’, but expeditions take a lot of organisation and once they have momentum they are like steam rollers, difficult to stop, difficult to control, crushing all in their path, including ego and ambition and best laid plans.

The morning arrived abrupt; dawn lifted above the surrounding tree covered hills. Our camp sparkled bright and clear and fresh. My mind felt cleansed and the imminent arrival of exercise made me positive. At last we were leaving behind all of the mishap and mayhem.

Paddy fields, ploughed steppe, vibrant purple flowers and cheerful locals… And in the afternoon we stopped in a field bordering the forest. A very steep spur covered in jungle now confronted our band which had decreased by another 7 porters, but that was for tomorrow, for now, the relaxing meadow with chickens and cows, exotic bird song and fresh green grass felt friendly and relaxing.

The second day of the walk-in was steep, humid, and physical. Our band of happy (the cook, the two guides and the four porters from Kathmandu) took on the challenge, smiling and laughing and singing. In direct comparison the local Pokhara porters complained and looked sullen. Later cloud swirled, rain and hail hit, the wind gusted… I shouted and whistled to help guide the porters to our shrouded camp which was a boggy flat spot cut in the spur. A pool of stagnant water was the water supply. Quickly we set up a large BC tent for the porters, then another for the cook and the kitchen boys, then our own. It was like a rough night out in the Welsh hills… Matt and I ate outside with feet lifted off the ground; the leaches were hungry. Matt grabbed the cutlery and popcorn and salt and pepper pots as they blew from the table… We had to laugh, it was a sorry situation but the weather was far from convincing… Helliker had received a text earlier in the day saying the volcanic ash stranded trio were due to fly on the 26th. Another kick in the teeth as this meant they would not reach BC for an age putting our acclimatisation out of sync and the film of the walk-in lost and Helliker without boots for acclimatisation.

(Above pic, The Kathmandu Boys in the jungle day 2 of the walk-in. Credit NB camera Samsung NX10)

Day three started clear, but soon the clouds rolled in and the hail began. Juggernaut, (pronounced juggernat but we thought that Juggernaut suited him better) was a tall well dressed (smart brown cords, stripy orange shirt) wiry porter from Kathmandu who sported a Lee Van Cleef moustache attached to a gaunt face with deep knowing eyes. Juggernaut was as strong as an Ox. He smiled readily even though he was now carrying a double load as the Pokhara porters were ditching gear quicker than seeds blew from a Dandelion head. The caravan of cheerful and sad, of singing and grumpy stretched along a misty cold moor until we found a dribble of water and an exposed camp site. Hail pummelled through the night and thunder rattled the tents.

(First pic above is THE Juggernaut, credit NB. The second shot is Camp 3 looking at the Fishtail/Machhapuchhre morning of day 3, credit MH. The shot below is one of the female porters with the Fishtail behind, credit MH. All shots taken with a Samsung NX 10.)

Day 4.

“STOP, STOP NOW!” Matt screamed at the cook and the local guide (a guy who had been employed as he had convinced our agent’s men,a month previous on their original fact finding mission that he regularly completed the walk to Annapurna III BC) who were cutting steps into a small steep snow patch as Matt and I and several porters stood in the middle of a terminal moraine slope. Boulders tumbled and dirt flowed. Above us rocks rattled. The problem was after the snow patch a smooth steep glaciated wall of rubble continued for another 50 metres. The chances of getting across this safely were minimal, the chances of getting across with a 25 kilo load were impossible. The local guide sunk into soft snow nearly falling and screamed and turned… “Looks like he has eventually come to the same decision as us then!” Both he and the cook decided enough was enough for one day and tomorrow things would look better.

(The first obstacle day 4, the couloir of death. Check out the footsteps in the snow and think of continuing with 25 kilo on you're back while wearing a pair of running shoes! Credit MH, taken on a Samsung NX 10)

WRONG!

In the cloud and the swirling snow Matt and I checked out all other possibilities and decided there were none that could be attempted without fatality. We were then informed that 14 of the porters were leaving in the morning, only leaving six porters to carry twenty-one loads across a death couloir then onto, and over, a steep technical ridge followed by a 4400 metre snow covered col before dropping into the Seti Khola valley and BC… Hmm, game over!

It took 2 days to return to Pokhara from our ice encrust camp. A roof-top bus ride – swaying, screaming, jostling, laughing, ducking electrical cables, singing, mingling with the locals was the highlight of the whole trip…

(Nick Bullock on the roof of the bus returning to Pokhara. Credit MH taken with a Samsung NX 10.)

The sun set red over the shimmering Pokhara Lake. The surrounding hills swayed in the heat haze. Tourists and locals walked the quiet Pokhara street…

“We need to come back in October, it can’t be left like this, we cant just give up?”

(Above, Matt Helliker on the roof of the bus. Below, clearing the electric cables on the roof of the bus. Credit NB and MH Taken with a Samsung NX 10.)

“Yeh mate, but how do we get in to the mountain…?”

“Helicopter, we can hire a helicopter!”

(Matt Helliker in Pokhara kicked and bruised but not down, checking out the prices of helicopters ready for a return match in October . Credit NB taken with a Samsung NX 10)

Back in Kathmandu we will visit the ministry later today. It looks very doubtful they will postpone our permit until October, (it’s against the law they say!) so $2800 for nothing. $2000 for the LO even though he didn’t go in as he was waiting for the half of the team which were volcano affected, looks to be lost also, (but he was booked they say!). £1200 for two flights, £600 for change of flight costs, approximately $14000 for agent fees, (hopefully we will come to some arrangement over a part of this, although travel and cook services and porters and guides and porter insurance and Lobens time, etc, etc, etc has been used)… it’s a pretty big bill for a 5 day reccy that told us nothing apart from you cant get in the original way due to a glacier that no longer exists.

… But hey, never say never and when the going gets tough the tough get going, its never over till its over, try, try and try again, where there’s a will there’s a way… and one of my own, don’t let the bas***ds grind you down… (OK, maybe someone else used that one before)… but watch this space, October isn’t that far away and already we have permission for the express way in!

Ashmageddon by Pete

2010-04-21T15:46:00.001+01:00

So, the whole world has stopped spinning on it’s axis because of a wee bit of volcanic ash in the air, which has now been shown to be perfectly safe, and always was safe.

Pete, Laura and Ian are now scheduled to fly to Kathmandu on Monday, and they will head straight to Pokhara and trek into base camp. As they will be travelling as a smaller party, they should be able to complete the trek to base camp in a few days, which will put them 2-3 days behind Matt and Nick. Well that is the plan. We shall see.

Matt has managed to bounce a mobile signal off a nearby mountain and has sent this update from the trek to base camp.

Matt writes:

Day 2 of the trek to base camp and we have already lost 10 porters, but fortunately the plucky porters from Kathmandu have been carrying double loads, and we have picked up some more local porters to fill the gasps. We have left the very hot and steamy jungle and only have 400m of height to gain till base camp which we should be able to complete in 2 days. Weather is very hot with massive thunder storms each night.

Nick, Pete's stand in and Matt

2010-04-18T16:47:00.001+01:00

bye from us, and Benson get you ass over here!!

Moving Out! Posted by Matt

2010-04-18T16:13:00.001+01:00

So a decision has been made by the team that myself and Bullock will head out of Kathmandu in the morning and start walking into Base Camp without Pete and Laura Benson and Ian Burton the Film guy. They are still stuck in the UK due to flight delays along with my climbing boots, Bivi Tent, solar chargers and sat phone, Mmm. It will be down to Geek Boy to keep you all up to date with progress on the blog, due to the fact that we will be without communcations until the rest of the team get into BC, hopefully this will be sooner rather than later!! and you will know this before we do.
By the time they arrive at least will have got the 20+ Porters into BC, set up, and come up with a bit more of a action plan to tackle Annapurna III, oh and have a massive party! Big Storm here in Kathmandu tonight, but both myself and grandad keen to get moving, I don't know if my guts could take much more, and even tonight Bullock himself started to doubt his own hotel room!!

Matt

Kathmandu, Thamel. Camera: Samsung NX10

Manic Kathmandu!! Posted by Matt

2010-04-17T18:06:00.001+01:00

So as im sure you have heard from Geek Boy (Pete), myself and Granddad Bullock made it to Kathmandu a few days back, before the whole Volcano thing kicked off and totally messed up plans for getting team benson and Ian, the film guy, into town a few days later for us to then all head into BC together. So this leaves us on standby in Kathmandu until Tuesday if they managed to get their flight??
If not which is looking more and more likely, myself and Nick will go on ahead on Monday with some 40 porters to try and get into Base Camp ( I say try! will explain later!) to set up and start trying to get things moving at this end. So as you can tell all a bit manic here.

Landing here on Thursday, i was looking forward to some rest at the hotel that Nick had sorted for us, "Its cheap, but really clean and quite" he tells me. Great! I said. thinking back to my last expedition with him to Peru a few years back, thinking he said the same then, but it turned out to be a hoval! I know he's changed and now being close to retirement im sure he likes a bit of comfort!!! Nope, I was wrong. After Bullock knocked the guy down from $10 to $6 per night the keys where handed over with a checky smile from the owners face, i walked up the stairs, found the door, turned the key to my room, and forced the door open over the blood, mud and cum stained carpet, to then attempt to peel, and yes, i mean "peel" the sheets back off the bed to view more nastiness under the covers, Mmmm think i will sleep in my clothes tonight, oh and a hat! at 8pm a Generator started up outside my window and continued until 4am this morning, it was like sleeping in the arms of a jack Hammer! Nice, thanks Grandad!

After packing yet more kit into duffals this morning, i managed to get onto the roof of the hotel and had a wicked workout, 2.5 hrs of P90X, Google it! its a amazing workout program given to me by my personal trainer Michelle! the guy who runs the session on the DVD is a bit of a cock, but if you can see through that is a great program, this was much needed and helped to clear my mind as exercise always does.

Camera: Samsung NX10

Just been out to dinner with our Agent Loben, to try and make yet more plans with all the hold ups we are having. Also learnt tonight that 3 of Lobens men who went into our BC a few weeks back to figure out the best route in, didn't make it all the way in, they where a day short and stopped due to snow! as nore did the last expedition to this side of the mountain in 2007 make it to BC, mmm could be an interesting few week!!

Also thanks to Rob Fairley who has given Loben some info and Photos, which we now have on our blog.

Matt

A bad feeling while cloud Busting in the land of the blond.

2010-04-17T17:21:00.001+01:00

Let’s not pull punches – bouldering, trad climbing, sport climbing, ice climbing, Scottish winter climbing, alpine climbing, Roller skating, football-cricket-baseball-basketball-rugby-cricket … when would a cloud of volcanic ash affect these activities?

Exactly.

So here you go, how about this…

Gaz Parry climbs the Big Issue, a difficult rock climb in Pembroke, Hamilton fastest in Chinese practice, Liverpool chairman predicts bright future, Chambers refuses to indulge in drugs talk, Maja Vidmar 8b+ on-sight… Effected by volcanic ash? Caused by volcanic ash – shut down, breaks down, closes down because of volcanic ash… NO!

Not affected by volcanic ash we have completed and experienced the following; Ministry briefing completed, permit safely to hand, Liason Officer ready, conditions of expedition signed, bus booked, porters ready, the way in checked out, freighted barrels and boxes safely stored in the hotel and re-packed into porter loads… bitten by mosquitoes, headache from dirty chemicals swilling about in the local beer, sweating in the tropical heat, fighting off the tiger balm-hashish-rafting-bungee jumping-trekking-climbing-chess set-wooden violin-singing bowl sellers …

*

Sitting in the walled yard at the Thorong Peak Guesthouse in Thamel the breeze gently swims through long leaves of the hanging plants. Chatter and the chink of beer glasses. Car horns, beep, beep, beeping… A dog barks, and barks, and barks and yelps, and barks … A bustling street. Liz Hawley sits opposite. Matt Helliker, the blond bombshell to the right and Loben, agent par excellence, to the left. Liz has recorded, interviewed, questioned, logged, commiserated and reported on climbing in the Nepalese mountains for approximately 50 years… We cover some details of our expedition… Then out of the blue she tells the blond bombshell to be his own man and move hotel, (she is always badgering me for staying at the Thorong Peak Guesthouse) and as ever she commends us on our imagination for attempting a climb that is different. Ama Dablam, Everest, Cho Oyo… “I’m so fed up with them; you always choose interesting objectives…”

Liz pushes a piece of paper across the table; it’s a list of all expeditions that have attempted to climb Annapurna III. I look on with slight trepidation…2 out of the 5 expeditions didn’t even make it to BC… I lean back and wonder if they were shut down by volcanic ash?

It’s dark now…dogs bark, cars in the rubble street peep, peep, clunk, peep… generators growl. (The power cuts are for 12 hours every day now) Deep Purple wannabe bands screech out the lyrics, “smo, o, o, o, o, o, o, ke on the wa, a, a, a, a, a, ter, a fire in the sky” (bet that didn’t leave a cloud of dust that stopped Europe’s air traffic in its vapour trails) And the blond bombshell still amazes me with his blondness, (Evidence for my prejudice are as follows… Sends the link for this blog to approximately 500 people but sends the wrong address. He has made a film that features him more than anything or anyone else. Complains about my tried and trusted hotel because it doesn’t smell sweet and he found some crumbs in his bed linen! Gets drunk on one bottle of beer and wakes up with a hang over. Has problems with slightly spicy food after eating in the Mo Mo Star (a classy joint with great food if ever there was one). Has packed several books, most consist of climbing books, ((definitely not want you need on a climbing trip!)) and another book is a self enlightenment thing the type that most of the hippy, cheesecloth wearing, chanting, travellers who walk around the Thamel streets read before ‘finding the true meaning of life’ . He has also freighted 2 intellectual, good read magazines, FHM mag and Mens Fitness mag!) and to top it all, I asked him if he had downloaded any films to his smart little laptop…”Erm yeh mate, yeh, I’ve got 6 workout films, amazing mate, we can get ripped at BC!” FFS, give me strength, (but not from one of the workout movies!)

But…

… But, against all odds he did actually make it to the airport and catch the correct plane, more than I can say for the others… And the excuse they use for delaying the expedition is a volcano has erupted in Iceland and the sky is full of dust…

I’m getting a bad feeling about this one…the planned sociable walk in is looking like it may not happen and the blond bombshell and I will be heading in even before the others land…

Nick.

Satellite Test: Posted by Pete

2010-04-16T16:38:00.002+01:00

This post and picture has been sent via satellite from the bad lands just north of Glasgow city centre! OK nothing new about that, but Pete has cobbled together a system which should allow blog updates and pictures to be directly published to the Annapurna blog using minimum bandwidth.

Providing we can get a signal, we will be updating the blog with all the banter from Base Camp and beyond.

All systems go....well almost.

2010-04-16T12:26:00.001+01:00

Matt and Nick have arrived in Kathmandu and have been busy completing all the chores and buying food but unfortunately the rest of the team have been delayed in the UK due to the volcanic ash that our friends in Iceland have been sending this way. Pete, Loz and Ian should now arrive (!?) in Kathmandu on Tuesday morning and then straight to Pokhara to begin the trek into Base Camp. This only puts us a 36 hours behind schedule, but I will believe that when we all get out there!

This delay does however allow gadget-boy (Pete) to fully test the solar power station and satellite email system that will allow updates from Base Camp and await the arrival of the Bivi tent which is somewhere between Herefordshire and Glasgow.

Team Changes

2010-04-16T12:15:00.002+01:00

At short notice, Jon Bracey will be unable to join the expedition in Nepal, although he will still be part of the team acting as Expedition co-ordinator and meteorologist from Chamonix, France. In his place, Pete Benson will be joining the climbing team for the attempt on the SE ridge of Annapurna 3. Pete has been climbing with Nick all winter and will make a good (but fatter!) replacement to Jon. Thanks to Jon for all the hard work he has done up to now to make the Expedition happen.

Trekking into base camp with the climbers will be Laura Benson and Ian Burton who will be filming and taking photos for Posing Productions who are going to make a short film of the Expedition. They will be staying at base camp for a few days filming before trekking back to Pohkara.

Thoughts... By Nick Bullock.

2010-04-11T14:25:00.003+01:00

Conversations, (most recently with Robert Shauer, a great alpinist and one of the team of two, ((Wojciech Kurtyka being his partner)) that climbed what is for me the greatest ever alpine style ascent in the greater ranges, the shining wall on the west face of Gasherbrum IV) posts on blogs, e-mails and articles have made me think about the forthcoming expedition.

Why Annapurna III and why the Southeast Ridge? Why alpine style? Why live this mountaineering life that provides discomfort, uncertainty, apprehension, on occasion sadness and at times terror?

Alpinism is attempting to climb with minimum impact and maximum commitment. Alpinism gives great rewards both physical and psychological. You learn a lot about yourself when you go out on a limb. In the run up to the climb voices constantly squirm, burrowing into the depth of youre drive and ambition. On the days before the voice speaks increasingly louder. And throughout the climb the voice shouts and nervous glances to the left, to the right, to the horizon and above to snow covered rock and below to the gaping emptyness and into the eyes of partners and into you're psyche are frequent. You learn very quick about who you really are and what is motivating you. Cut loose without a bolt kit, fixed rope, porta ledge – lead as free as you can, second by climbing not jumaring, keep youre sack on if at all possible, give the hill a chance and reveal the red-raw hidden beneath the bravado and ego.

In my case climbing in the greater ranges is me and a mate. On this climb it’s me and two mates. We will walk to the foot of a big hill that is in the back of the beyond, acclimatise, make a plan and set out. The objective is secluded and guarded by rock walls the size of the cliffs of Yosemite Valley. Towering and dark and intimidating. Packing our bags beneath the ridge with a limited amount of food, a limited amount of clothing, we will begin to climb in the hope that our experience and drive and determination will keep us going. Once the ridge is reached it will no-doubt present the usual technical ridge type challenges, unprotected traverses around gendarmes that may or may not be reversed, technical, unknown climbing, the voice shouts, what gear, what holds, what hope?. It doesn’t matter how well you’ve performed in the past, you’re body and mind at altitude can suddenly decide not to cooperate and of course the weather is uncertain.

After the summit, the same drive and determination that has kept us going for a possible 7 days will have to get us back down, and getting back down is not straight forward – no fixed umbilical cord to slide, no bolts for an easy anchor. At the moment we are thinking reverse the ridge (long and arduous and time consuming). Down climb the ridge to the right, (unclimbed and unknown). Down climb the ‘standard’ route, (unknown and leaving us in a different valley with a possible 5 to 7 day walk to BC).

A big part of alpinism is dealing with all of this … all of this, unknown. You can sit and say “well isn’t everyone in their day to day life dealing with this, which of course they are, but climbers and more specifically alpinists who are attempting new routes in the greater ranges, new routes climbed in a style which is giving the mountain a chance, choose to take their unknown beyond the realm of what most are comfortable. If this sounds arrogant, it isn’t supposed too, I completely understand that life is precious and something to be savoured at whatever level, but for me and people like me life is also something to be questioned and pushed and then it becomes rich and full.

Failure on this type of climb is common. The Southeast ridge of Annapurna III has been attempted five times and to my knowledge the ridge has only been reached once! Failure is something that makes this type of climbing what it is. Failure is what makes success something so far removed from what the glossy magazines and newspapers can comprehend they do not report it or want to begin to understand. To the media in general, a label has to be attached to a climb to turn it into an understandable objective. Many people who climb mountains, purely climb, or should i say haul up on fixed rope, to get to the top by whatever means, for whatever means, the thought of attempting a climb that is as unknown, as uncertain as the Southeast Ridge would not be guaranteed enough, it would not be good enough or well know enough to inflate their standing in the minds of the ignorant and easily impressed.

On his blog, The Mountain World, http://themountainworld.blogspot.com/ Dougald McDonald has written an interesting essay about the article in Alpinist 4 that is called unclimbed. Interesting for me is one of the comments written about the essay by Peter Beal who asks, “Do you have the feeling however that while these objectives are interesting to certain climbers, that they are no longer the topic of a larger discussion even within the climbing community?” I’m sure he is right, but have they ever been, and if they were, has mountaineering just turned fast food like many other aspects of climbing?

Successfully climbing, or, successfully failing on the Southeast ridge will be a deeply rewarding and soul seeking experience, it will bring about spiritual growth, it will make the climbers (Pete Benson, Matt Helliker and me) reliant on each other as soon as the first step is taken. There will be no Sherpa’s, no helicopter rescue, no other teams to run for to help, no oxygen, no fixed rope to easily slide back to safety and no bolts for certainty. Memories will last for life and the lives and character of those who have attempted (my mates and me!) will be enriched and changed for ever. This is what attempting to climb in a style where the mountain holds most of the cards is about. It is about putting yourself out there and seeing what you are made of, it is not about desecration, it is not about success at any cost, it is not about ruining the dreams and a finite resource for future parties.

Nick.

The Battle Plan....

2010-04-10T18:25:00.001+01:00

Annapurna 3 on Google Earth

2010-04-09T07:27:00.001+01:00

You can fly around Annapurna 3 on Google Earth if you cut and paste the following coordinates into the search box:

28 35' 05.50" N, 83 59' 24.65" E

The Objective - the SE ridge is just about visible.

A Nice Steady Day Out Then!

2010-03-30T20:18:00.001+01:00

Just recieved a few shots of Annapurna III Southeast Ridge from Loben my mate and agent in Kathmandu...

Easy away, pretty steady and 2 bivvy's came to mind...

(All pics by Rob Fairley supplied through Loben expeditions)

Then I woke up!

Nick.

Change in the Season... By Nick Bullock.

2010-03-26T18:25:00.000Z

Walking out from successfully climbing Chang Himal’s North Face, which is situated in the Kangchenjunger region of Nepal and a long way from anywhere, my head was listing most wanted…

Beer, bread, internet, shower, shave, big-soft-bed, comfy chair, pizza, beer, wine, contact, cake, wine, bread, cheese, olives, pizza, cheese, wine, internet, olive oil, wine, new music… wine… cheese, beer. (Arrange the order to suit personal preference!)

Taking the high track, traversing the heavily forested hillside, we were heading for Sukatar airport, (for airport read rusty barbed wire fenced in field with cattle grazing and children playing). Andy Houseman and I had been in the hills for quite some time and although I craved, I also felt sad. The hills, the experiences, the adventures, the excitement were behind. Turning and shielding my face from the sun I could still see the white finger stub summit of Jannu and the massive bulk of Kangchenjunger. Pangs of wanting and regret of leaving and missing caught on the autumn breeze and blew through my bones.

The afternoon sun had done its best to baste and in the early evening shade the children ran down the steep hill laughing and shouting newly learnt phrase, “Hello, how do you do, what is you’re name, where country are you from (didnt quite learn that one right!)… g i v e m e a p e n ?” and then they melted into the gloom and the trees laughing and shouting... G I V E M E A P E N ...

I was missing the hills and the people even before I had left.
This was my fifth expedition to Nepal and as with the previous expeditions it took place in the post monsoon period of October, November and December. The sun set, lights from hillside villages flickered; smoke and sparks traced a sparking track, hanging flower blossoms swayed. ‘It’s ok; I’ll be back next autumn.”

A noisy but friendly hostel in Sukatar, beers in the dark on the wooden veranda, dogs barking, children playing and the strange sound of a vehicle. Then early the next morning the terror of two internal flights, the hustle and bustle of sheds that called themselves airports and a pick up from Tribhuvan international (!!) airport by Loben in Kathmandu, who soon had Houseman and me in the Thorong Peak Guesthouse situated in the centre of Thamel and already I was planning.

Loben and I leant over the laptop Googling a mountain and specifically a ridge. I was signed up for Gasherbrum IV in Pakistan with Bracey and Helliker, a brilliant objective but the only time I had been on expedition to Pakistan I had found the whole experience a little frustrating and expensive. Bombs regularly detonating in Islamabad was also off-putting. Don’t be fooled, this wouldn’t stop me from an attempt on a mountain, especially one like GIV, but combined with all the other stuff it made other less explosive objectives more desirable.

Loben corrected my spelling and hit the return key for a second time… but still no image… Annarpurna III Southeast Ridge, it must be here…

Eventually hunting the electrical ethereal, Loben and I found a stunning image…

“WOW!”

I e-mailed Bracey and Helliker and with a few image exchanges we were on for Annapurna III. ‘Nice’, I thought, back to my favourite country, ‘Nice’ Loben thought, Nick’s coming back to Nepal…more cash… (Loben has been my agent and friend ever since my first visit to Nepal in 2003.) ‘Bugger’, I thought… another super expensive trip to try and fund and all of this even before returning to Britain from the last expensive trip.

‘Ah well, it’s not until October, loads of time for pondering where to get cash and for recuperation and for rock climbing…’

On return to North Wales, opening my copy of Alpinist 4 that is stored above DMM offices along with loads of other gear I have stashed, I turn glossy pages until stopping at the article that had fuelled my last Nepal expedition, the article is called Unclimbed. Featured are 9 sexy objectives. Since the publication of the article in 2003, four, or is it five of the unclimbed gems have now been climbed. (Chang Himal North Face was one of them.) The opening double page spread of the article is the amazing and very long Southeast Ridge of Annapurna III.

Avidly and nervously I read the piece written by Conrad Anker about attempting to climb the Southeast Ridge… “Every mountain has a line that defines it…Striking and challenging…A simple and elegant line cuts through the Annapurna massif; through the crest of snow… such an elegant line it features in postcards sold with Elvis curios…This is the 2300 metre unclimbed Southeast Ridge…(Actually it looks a lot longer than 2300 metres but what do I know) And he goes on to write, “To climb this route in alpine style the expedition will have to be small, well-acclimatised and highly motivated. The descent will prove a bit of a challenge. (Don’t you just love understatement?) Then the line that stopped me in my reading tracks…

“Having tried this line post monsoon, I would suggest a pre-monsoon attempt…

‘Bugger’, I thought for a second time in a few weeks. The rain hit the large wire re-enforced glass windows of the DMM offices, it ran like a million mini rivers in spate. I worked out the weeks remaining… 18 and counting… So much for rock climbing, back to back Himalayan expeditions, bugger, I’m going to be as bad at climbing rock as Graham Desroy after this!

The road to a change in the season has been at times stressful, especially when Bracey booked the flights before we had any cash for the trip… (For once the first thing I checked on the Quatar Airway site was not the baggage limit, which I’m very miffed to say they have changed and quite stingily reduced to 20kilo and refused to give us a bit extra, but the cost for cancellation, £100 not that bad then.) But now with the expedition just weeks away we appear to be solvent thanks to some very generous support from SAMSUNG, PATAGONIA, MAMMUT and OSPREY. We have yet to hear if the MEF and the BMC are going to help-out, but I suspect they will… Phew!

Here’s to fresh shoots, Daffodils, Crocus, baby lambs and the settled weather of spring.

Nick.

Sponsorship Proposal

2010-02-13T14:32:00.000Z

2010 British Annapurna III Expedition

Objective: The unclimbed southeast ridge of Annapurna III (7555m)

Loaction: Annapurna Region, Nepalese Himalayas

Team: Jon Bracey (leader), Matt Helliker, and Nick Bullock.

Dates: 14 April – 30 May 2010

Summary:

“Every mountain has a line that defines it; this line becomes the goal for climbers. For Annapurna III this is the unclimbed 2300m southeast ridge”, Conrad Anker (one of the world’s most respected mountaineers)

Alpinist Magazine proposed this ridge as one of the greatest unclimbed objectives in the world. British climbers have had a long love affair with this mountain and no less than four expeditions have been to attempt the southeast ridge in the 1980’s.

Our team of three of Britain’s most talented, respected, and motivated alpinists will attempt this objective in the purest ‘alpine style’ with an integral minimal impact ethic.

Team details:

Jon Bracey:

32 years old, IFMGA International Mountain Guide

12 expeditions to the Greater Ranges(FA ‘Silence the Seracs’, Tupilak N face- Greenland, 2nd ascent of ‘Extra Blue Skies’,Kwande N face-Nepal, FA ‘Artic Discipline Wall’, Kennedy N face-Yukon, Hunter N buttress repeated 2 routes, , FA ‘Snotty’s Gully’, Dawa peak N face-Nepal, FA ‘for whom the bell tolls’, Mt Church + FA ‘Meltdown’, Mt Grosvenor N face-Alaska) 4 routes on the N face of the Grandes Jorasses, ’38 Route Eiger, Droites N face 2 routes, Grand Pilier d’Angle, Omega, Vol de Nuit, Beyond Good and Evil.

Matt Helliker:

28 years old, IFMGA International Mountain Guide

5 expeditions to the Greater ranges, 60 Scottish winter routes at grade V to VIII, UK rock up to E7 onsight, Sport climbing to F8b, 30 alpine summits, 40 alpine routes up to ED4 .1st ascent Huantsan Sur NE Buttress, Peru and 3 new routes in Alaska one of which ‘There’s Moose Loose aboot this Hoose’, Mooses Tooth E face-Alaska.

Nick Bullock:

44 years old, Ex-Prison Service Physical Education Instructor. Full Time Climber and Freelance Writer.

16 expeditions to Peru, Nepal, Pakistan and India. Many 1st ascents including Fear and Loathing on Jirishanca in Peru, Quitaraju Central Buttress Peru, and most recently the Central Spur of Chang Himal in Nepal. UK rock to E7/8, Scottish IX, and water ice 7.

Ethics:

Alpine style, without the use of: fixed ropes, high altitude porters, supplementary oxygen or bolts.

We will abide by the UIAA (Union International des Association d’Alpinisme) ‘ethical code’ for International Expeditions.

A latrine will be dug in Basecamp.

All rubbish will be removed to Pokhara for disposal.

All batteries will be taken back to the UK for recycling.

Sponsorship Proposal:

We are looking for financial support for this groundbreaking expedition. In return a sponsor would receive a whole array of public exposure for their organisation by being associated with the expedition.

Press exposure:

Daily Telegraph

Mens Fitness

Mens Health

UkClimbing website

Planet Fear website

Planet Mountain website

Alpinist Magazine

Climb Magazine

Climber magazine

Desnivel Magazine

Vertical Magazine

Kendal Mountain Film Festival

High Sports Lecture series

Royal Geographic Society lecture

UK wide Expedition lecture series in autumn 2010

A short film will be produced after the expedition and entered into mountain film competitions (Banff, Kendal, LLamff)

The expedition blog will be updated throughout and followed avidly by thousands of people.

This is an ideal opportunity for a brand in the outdoor adventure world and high tech/ communication field to launch new product.

Sponsors will have exclusive access to the expedition photographic material.

Achieving this objective will undoubtedly be the greatest accomplishment in British Mountaineering in the 21^st century. Don’t miss out on this unique chance to help re-establish Britain in the mountaineering world.