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.
Showing posts with label nick bullock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nick bullock. Show all posts
Sunday, 11 April 2010
Friday, 26 March 2010
Change in the Season... By Nick Bullock.
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.
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.
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