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Exercise AMA Ascent '95,
An Introduction to Himalayan Climbing
In October of 1994 I received a newsletter from the Army Mountaineering Association, of which I am a member. In it was an invitation to apply for AMA Ascent, an expedition to the Annapurna Himal region of Nepal, the objective being to climb three trekking peaks: Tharpu Chuli (5663m), Singu Chuli (6501m) and Hiunchuli (6441m). I decided to apply.Much to my surprise I received notification that I had been selected as one of the sixteen strong team. We met each other for two training weekends where we did some climbing and pre-expedition administration. Ready for the adventures to come we left the UK early in October.
After a lengthy flight we arrived in Kathmandu to be greeted by Boona Sherpa, our Sirdar, who was to become not only a great asset but a friend to us all. The next two days of chaos saw the completion of our expedition administration, and our departure for Pokhara by bus.
After the bus ride from hell and a day lost in Pokhara waiting for our trekking permits to arrive we were eager for the hills. It was then a five-day trek up a busy and well-trodden trail to Annapurna Base Camp (4100m ASL). Thirty-two porters were employed to carry our climbing equipment and food this far.
From ABC the expedition broke down into smaller groups to attempt our first peak, Tharpu Chuli. Due to the varying rates of acclimatisation in the party, the summit attempts took place over a period of five days, all sixteen reaching the top. The mountain proved to be technically quite easy, though still technical, and gave us an idea of what to expect from so called "trekking peaks". Not a walk in the park as the term might suggest.
Moving round to our next objective, Singu Chuli, took a further three days walking with 60 - 70lb loads. The expedition was alpine style so we took no porters past ABC. From a common camp at 5200m we made several attempts on the mountain. Our group's plan was the South Face, but after a bivvy at 5850m I had to leave the fray due to a severe sore throat, and went down to our previous camp with another group member who had been hurt by a falling block of ice. The remainder made good attempts with high points of about 6200m on the South and North East faces of the mountain. Unfortunately the snow conditions were very poor and the objective danger in places was too high so attempts had to be abandoned. A number of other expeditions to Singu Chuli also failed during our stay which helped to console us.
Our final objective, Hiunchuli, was next. Once back at ABC we started up a couloir we had thought to be unclimbed. We were therefore disappointed to be told by locals that it had actually been scaled once last year, and we found evidence of this in the fixed rope that was visible now and again during the climb.
After one pair had fixed rope over the bergschrund at the base of the route, and climbed the first 200m fixing abseil anchors, it was my turn. Chris, my climbing partner for this peak, and I climbed to the previous high point by midday and continued for another 400-500m. The higher we went the slower our progress became as the ice got steeper and the powder snow deeper. We thought we must be close to the top of the couloir where we intended to camp, but as it was now dark we radioed ABC. They could see our headtorches and we received the message, "I don't wish to be the bearer of bad news, but you're fucking miles away".
Having no hope of finding a suitable bivvy site we made the decision to go down. As soon as we started our descent Chris got a bad dose of the squits and managed to coat every abseil post and all his kit, bar his headgear, with diarrhoea. Thirteen abseils down the snow and ice, and a short walk saw us back at our tent by midnight, eighteen hours after we had started. This epic day ended the expedition's efforts on the mountains as we no longer had enough time to mount any more serious attempts on any summits.
A few days rest in Pokhara and Kathmandu and it was time to go home. Or so we thought. A final sting in the tail was our flight home. A twenty-five-hour stopover in Karachi turned into a fifty-one-hour stop. Pakistan International Airways, not renowned for their efficiency and quality of service, proved their lack of it by cancelling our first flight, breaking the cargo doors on the second one, and finally sending us to Heathrow on a third one with fewer seats. A slight anticlimax, but not one that could mar an otherwise excellent expedition.