In Some Lost Place
Page 19
We had done it, and come back.
Life was the sweetest thing.
– Acknowledgements –
Thanks to my family, and to the many climbers who have helped me over the years and become close friends along the way – you know who you are! Thanks in particular to Douglas Scott CBE for introducing me to the Mazeno Ridge and so many other mountaineering adventures.
I must thank Rick Allen for his friendship and another great climb. And Cathy O’Dowd, Lhakpa Rangdu Sherpa, Lhakpa Nuru Sherpa and Lakpa Zarok Sherpa, without whose help, loyalty, determination and camaraderie we would have never reached the summit. My thanks to Muhammad Ali and all his staff who were so professional, efficient and acted so swiftly – and some of whom travelled a huge distance on foot through the night to meet us at the Kinshofer Camp 1. And Marek Holeček and the late Zdeněk Hrubý and their base camp team for the drinks, lighter, snacks and dry sleeping bags and friendship. Thanks to Voytek Kurtyka for talking and understanding what it’s like to live such an adventure, and for helping me to open up and find confidence to talk about my hallucinations.
Helen O’Neill, Dr Eunice Atkins, Andrew Greig and Gabriela Kühn for their encouragement. Thanks also to Andrew for permission to reproduce an excerpt from his poem ‘Three Above Namche Bazaar’.
Thanks to the Mount Everest Foundation and the British Mountaineering Council, and Mountain Equipment and PHD design.
Thanks to Cathy, Rick and Rangdu for taking such great photos which help to illustrate the story of our climb, and also to those climbers and friends who have supplied additional photographs for this book: Steve Razzetti, Markus Walter, Jochen Hemmleb, Robert Schauer, Doug Chabot and Pascal Tournaire.
And finally to Ed Douglas, my editor, and all at Vertebrate Publishing especially John Coefield, Nathan Ryder and Jane Beagley for taking the chance and for their outstanding work and attention to detail. It’s been an amazing experience.
– Photographs –
(L–R) Gregor, William, me, Mum, Eunice and Max.
Photo: Sandy Allan collection.
Greg, Eunice and me at the Balmenach Distillery.
Photo: Sandy Allan collection.
Me and Greg hillwalking in the Cairngorms.
Photo: Sandy Allan collection.
Mark Miller and Ewen Todd in Skardu.
Photo: Steve Razzetti.
Me climbing on the early part of the Mazeno Ridge on Doug Scott’s 1995 expedition.
Photo: Rick Allen.
Voytek Kurtyka close to the ‘point of no return’ during our attempt on the Mazeno in 1995.
Photo: Rick Allen.
Climbing with Voytek in Poland in 2014.
Photo: Sandy Allan collection.
Doug Chabot (left) and Steve Swenson at Base Camp after their ascent of the Mazeno Ridge to the Gap in 2004.
Photo: Doug Chabot collection.
The Mazeno Ridge of Nanga Parbat in profile, with the Mazeno Pass on the far left,
and the Rupal Face below the summit on the right.
Photo: Markus Walter.
Lhakpa Rangdu Sherpa, Lakpa Zarok Sherpa and Lhakpa Nuru Sherpa at Tarshing.
Photo: Sandy Allan.
Nuru and Zarok joking around at Base Camp.
Photo: Lhakpa Rangdu.
Coming up with a plan for the climb at Base Camp.
Photo: Cathy O’Dowd.
Cathy at Base Camp.
Photo: Cathy O’Dowd.
Sorting food for the climb.
Photo: Cathy O’Dowd.
Rangdu and Zarok calling home on the satellite phone after our arrival at Base Camp.
Photo: Cathy O’Dowd.
Rick acclimatising on the initial ridge above Base Camp.
Photo: Cathy O’Dowd.
Rick and me descending to Base Camp after an acclimatisation foray.
Photo: Cathy O’Dowd.
The Mazeno Ridge, with key features and routes marked.
Photo: Markus Walter.
Our initial climb and camps from Base Camp.
Photo: Cathy O’Dowd.
Approaching Camp 1 from Base.
Photo: Lhakpa Rangdu.
The site of Camp 1.
Photo: Sandy Allan.
Packing up Camp 2, our springboard on to the ridge, on the morning of 4 July.
Photo: Rick Allen.
Nuru and Zarok climbing up to gain the main ridge from Camp 2.
Photo: Lhakpa Rangdu.
Looking along the ridge to the summit.
Photo: Lhakpa Rangdu.
Breaking trail along the ridge, shortly before Nuru’s fall.
Photo: Rick Allen.
Zarok and Nuru at our forced bivvy, after Nuru’s fall.
Photo: Lhakpa Rangdu.
Rick leading along the ridge.
Photo: Lhakpa Rangdu.
Rick pictured at the same location as Voytek in photo 6, just before the ‘point of no return’.
Photo: Sandy Allan.
Rick on one of the cols between the many summits along the ridge.
Photo: Rick Allen.
Nuru and Zarok break trail towards the Mazeno Gap.
Photo: Lhakpa Rangdu.
Hard going in deep snow on the Diamir side of the ridge.
Photo: Sandy Allan.
Looking back along the ridge, with the Gap in the foreground.
Photo: Lhakpa Rangdu.
Our last bivvy before the Mazeno Gap, just before the pinnacles.
Photo: Lhakpa Rangdu.
Rick climbing above the Mazeno Gap.
Photo: Sandy Allan.
(L–R) Cathy, Zarok and Nuru part way down the Schell route.
Photo: Lhakpa Rangdu.
Rangdu, before his descent from 7,160 metres with Cathy, Zarok and Nuru.
Photo: Lhakpa Rangdu.
Cathy at their bivvy during the descent of the Schell route.
Photo: Lhakpa Rangdu.
Zarok during their descent.
Photo: Lhakpa Rangdu.
(L–R) Nuru, Zarok and Cathy pick their way through unstable terrain.
Photo: Lhakpa Rangdu.
Me breaking trail on the traverse of the Diamir west flank, the day before we summitted.
Photo: Rick Allen.
Looking back along the ridge from the Diamir west flank.
Photo: Sandy Allan.
On the summit.
Photos: Sandy Allan/Rick Allen.
The Diamir west flank, from the Mazeno Gap to the summit.
Photo: Robert Schauer.
The Diamir Face of Nanga Parbat, showing the line of our descent.
Photo: J. Hemmleb, Lana (Italy).
Our snow hole below the summit at 7,720 metres.
Photo: Sandy Allan.
Rick using the sat phone.
Photo: Sandy Allan.
Rick at our snow cave near the Kinshofer Camp 4, the morning after our descent from the high snow hole. In the background, our footsteps from the previous day’s descent are more or less obscured with fresh snow and avalanche debris.
Photo: Sandy Allan.
Rick descending steep and deep snow from our snow cave.
Photo: Sandy Allan.
Rick, feeling the effects of almost two weeks’ climbing. The Diamir glacier in the distance.
Photo: Sandy Allan.
> Rick sets off the avalanche on the Kinshofer route.
Photo: Sandy Allan.
Rick sorting out the bivvy ledge, above Kinshofer Camp 2.
Photo: Sandy Allan.
Me settling down for the night at the bivvy ledge above Kinshofer Camp 2.
Photo: Rick Allen.
Czech climbers Marek Holeček (top) and Zdeněk Hrubý, who were so kind to us at the top of the Kinshofer Wall.
Photo: Sandy Allan.
Me on the last abseil off the Kinshofer Wall.
Photo: Rick Allen.
Our welcoming committee at the Kinshofer Camp 1.
Photo: Sandy Allan.
Me and Rick, with Samandar between us, and the rest of the porters at Kinshofer Base Camp.
Photo: Sandy Allan.
A good cup of tea at the Kinshofer Base Camp, thanks to the generosity of the Czechs.
Photo: Sandy Allan.
Samandar Khan, a good man to have on your team.
Photo: Sandy Allan.
A tea stop on the Karakoram Highway, on our way home.
Photo: Sandy Allan collection.
(L–R) Me, Catherine Destivelle, Christian Trommsdorff and Rick at the 2013 Piolets d’Or.
Photo: Pascal Tournaire.
Me and Rick in Chamonix, 2013.
Photo: Pascal Tournaire.
In Some Lost Place
Sandy Allan
First published in 2015 by Vertebrate Publishing. This digital edition first published in 2015 by Vertebrate Digital, an imprint of Vertebrate Publishing.
Vertebrate Publishing
Crescent House, 228 Psalter Lane, Sheffield S11 8UT
Copyright © Sandy Allan 2015.
Cover photo: Lhakpa Nuru Sherpa and Lakpa Zarok Sherpa break trail towards the Mazeno Gap. Photo: Lhakpa Rangdu Sherpa.
All other photographs as credited. Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 opening photographs by Lhakpa Rangdu Sherpa, Cathy O’Dowd and Sandy Allan.
Map illustration copyright © Simon Norris 2015.
Sandy Allan has asserted his rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as author of this work.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978-1-910240-37-3 (Hardback)
ISBN 978-1-910240-38-0 (Ebook)
All rights reserved. No part of this book covered by copyright herein may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means – graphic, electronic, or mechanised, including photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems – without the written permission of the publisher.
Every effort has been made to obtain the necessary permissions with reference to copyright material, both illustrative and quoted. We apologise for any omissions in this respect and will be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in any future edition.
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