Issue 13 August 2002
FEATURESYoung Brit Climbers all out on AmmaDablamMembers of the 2001 British AmaDablam NW Ridge Expedition were Sam Chinnery, Alasdair Coull, John Bracy, Richard Cross, Julian Cartright, Andy Sharpe, Dave Hollinger and Owen Samuel. Jules Cartright and Rich Cross were successful on the first ascent of the NW Ridge. This huge line involved a continual alpine style push of ten days to complete. This ascent is possibly the best achieved by British climbers in the past few years. The Scottish based members of the team made attempts on the ridge but later changed objective to the neighbouring peak of Kwangde Lho and their story is described below. John Bracy and Owen Samuel also managed the second complete ascent of the French route on the North face of Kwangde. Kwangde Lho By Sam Chinnery and Ali Coull After retreating from the right hand variation on the NW Ridge of AmaDablam, Alasdair Coull and Sam Chinnery climbed the second ascent of the Lowe/Breashers route on the North face of Kwangde Lho between the 12th and 17th of November. The line had been attempted by Andy Sharpe and Dave Hollinger three weeks previously but they had to retreat after 300 metres due to dangerous amounts of powder snow. We found it in much better condition, with all the loose snow having fallen off to leave good neve. As far as we can tell the conditions in the lower runnel were similar to those on the first ascent. Mainly good neve/ice with the 7th and 8th pitches being very thin ice. Average angle was 70-80°. After biving at the base of the face we managed to climb the whole runnel on the first day, about 600m. On the 2nd day we continued to follow the Lowe line finding mainly straightforward steep snow but a couple pitches were quite exciting due to unconsolidated snow and sparse protection. On reaching the middle rock band the smear of ice that Lowe found to be the crux was not properly formed. Instead we traversed 100m to the right to bivi below a much fatter parallel band of neve. The following day we climbed through the 80m rock band at about Scottish IV and exited onto the upper snowfield. The first half of this turned out to be perfect neve but the upper half was composed of very steep unconsolidated runnels. We managed to find another bivi site at the top of the snowfield and in the morning five more pitches of chest deep powder brought us out on to the ridge. We continued up the ridge for two more pitches before contouring around just below the summit to the SW ridge. The upper rock was descended on in-situ anchors for 180m to reach the snow ridge, which led easily down to a hanging glacier. We had our fifth bivi here and spent the next two days descending the normal route back down into the main valley to emerge at the village of Ghat. The descent involved very complex route finding and careful studying of Bill O'Conner's "Trekking Peaks of Nepal" is recommended!
Summary
North Face of Kwangde Lho 6187m. 2nd ascent of Lowe/Breashers route. |
Life Through a Head NetBy Scott Muir We were all feeling pretty psyched to get climbing, having just passed under the spectacular 'Thumbnail' wall and spotted another British team on this, the biggest sea cliff in the world. The Cape Farewell area appeared saturated with excellent climbing objectives, from big walls to alpine style peaks. We passed some huge icebergs entering Kangikitsoq Fjord that momentarily hid the delights to come. The old fishing boat came to a halt well off shore. As we approached the shore in the smaller speed boat, I wondered why the others, Graham Little, Mark Ritchie, Mark Wilford and John Porter already had their head nets on and were dancing around like madmen, waving their hands wildly in the air. I was soon to find out! As soon as my feet hit dry land, fly's started swarming around my head. It soon became impossible to sit outside and absorb the immense walls that dwarfed our camp for the constant buzzing. The blackfly swarmed, hiding the real bloodsuckers in there thousands. It wasn't until later, once my ankles began to swell in great welts that I realised that the mozzies were viscous, with proboscises that resembled Black and Decker drill bits. They could even drill through denim. Later in the trip I became very adept at catching their proboscises between the tweezers of my Swiss army knife and pulling their heads through the fine mesh of the inner tent; Zen and the Art of Mozzie Management. As the boat departed back down the Fjord, I couldn't help wondering whether the local Inuit's had actually understood our date of departure, would they ever come back! We all suddenly felt quite committed and certainly very isolated with a distress beacon as the only means of raising an emergency rescue. The following morning Graham and I headed off with huge sacks for a few days to attempt a huge wall that we had seen on our approach. It looked like the best objective in the area. Navigating with an AA Road Atlas sized map, we seriously underestimated the distance and seven hours later we arrived, having ploughed through glacial moraines and dwarf willow that had forgotten to be dwarf. Swearing and sweating profusely only seemed to attract more flies. The wall and peak looked awesome and twinges of both excitement and anxiety began to flow. We decided to call the summits Titan 1 and Titan 2 after the god of the deep sea. The tents were erected in a flash and we dived in to maintain some degree of sanity before a massacre left the tent smeared in squashed blackfly and mozzies. With the head nets off, the inside of the tent still looked like a matrix. It sounded like it was raining, but it was just the fly's bouncing off the tent, no wonder there was no wildlife, just mad climbers. 300 metres of easy soloing on immaculate slabs led to the foot of the difficulties. The cloud inversion in the fjord slowly crept up the valley hiding basecamp. The orange rock towered for 900 metres or more. The blue arctic sky heralded stable weather for the day at least as we started up several 60 metre pitches on immaculate rock reminiscent of Dun Mingulay in the Scottish Islands. After a precarious slabby traverse, we cunningly managed to avoid an unprotectable off-width corner crack by some perfect finger cracks at about 5b. This "desert island" pitch led to the foot of a corner system which contained the most heinous overhanging offwidth I've ever seen. This time the walls either side were completely blank, we looked at the crack and then back at our lightweight rack, our biggest piece of kit was a No4 'Friend'. We'd hit a cul de sac. Briefly, sitting back at the bottom of the wall, looking up at our high point, we had hardly dented the peak, it was huge and certainly a bit ambitious for an alpine style ascent and we felt deflated at having been beaten on our first peak. As the sound of bouncing noise on the tent intensified, it became obvious that it had begun to rain as well. It was impossible to leave the tent low down, for fear of being eaten alive. We had to keep moving at the same time as going for a pee, in order to prevent the mozzies landing and causing untold devastation to the privates. Getting onto a cool glacier was the best option for more involved toilet activity. It was 10.00pm and getting dark when we stumbled back to base. Chris, John and the two Marks were in the middle of a drunken game of cards, having just eaten a fantastic meal of fried Arctic Char, which had just been caught in the fjord. The area was proving extremely difficult to penetrate as the receding glaciers had made access to the peaks impossible, the dwarf willow impenetrable and the flies, the flies, the flies . After a days reading and relaxing, we packed again and headed for some snow adventures and a cirque of unclimbed peaks up one of the glacial valleys we had passed. After a full days walking we still hadn't reached the glacier and resigned ourselves to another night in a Gemini tent but whose poles had accidentally been left at base. We improvised with a helmet and three trekking poles and successfully erected a fairly solid, if not strange looking shelter. The following day dawned perfect, and the evaporating moisture swirled mysteriously around the walls before disappearing. The glacial air was cool and at last we left the flies behind. In a high glaciated cirque we re-erected the tent, using an upside down dolmio pot instead of the helmet to stop the end of the pole puncturing the tent roof. It was nice at last to be able to lie outside on a nearby boulder and plan for the next day. At 5.00am the alarm went off and I rolled over to put the stove on. There was no hurry as the daylight hours were still long and it was misty. Judging by our previous observations we hoped that it would burn off by mid morning. At least it was cool, plodding up the glacier and onto a low subsidiary outcrop that stuck out of a huge plateau of ice and snow. The sun looked haloed through the thin cloud but stubbornly wouldn't clear. Undecidedly we continued, unsure of our whereabouts on the useless giant scale map. We came across an ancient rotting antler at a col and wondered on its age; it must only just have come out of the ice after perhaps hundreds of years? There was no sign of the rest of the body. We sat and rested, waiting for a clearance. When it came, we were greeted by an awesome sight and were speechless. We sprinted off up a couloir which linked to the ridge of the first summit. The ridge was never very hard, but exceptionally scary with no belays, no gear and no possibility of retreat. The granite was so granular that it almost took an axe pick. Precarious, upward balances made for steady progress and after what seemed like a stressful age we arrived on the summit, glad that the weather looked like remaining good for the day. We continued the traverse, descending down granular choss to a wide col and started climbing easy snow slopes to the next top. The fine ridge narrowed to some spectacular, gnarled pinnacles and soon led to the second spectacular summit. Ulamertorsoaq, Ketil and Kirkenspire over in Tasermuit fjord were easily recognisable, as well as a million other peak's that stuck out of the cloud. It was amazing that almost all of them are unclimbed. We sat on the top for a while absorbing what had been a fine alpine outing. The rock had not been brilliant, but the view made up for it. We hoped that the rest of the team were on summits, rather than lying at base in the mist. Looking around it became difficult to decide what to do next, as we talked about the huge potential for easily accessible exploration that still exists outside the more popular mountain ranges! Greenland 2000 Jim Lowther Scott Muir Graham Little Chris Bonington John Porter Rob Ferguson Mark Wilford Mark Ritchie 12 New Peaks Climbed and a thirteenth by a new route. Thanks to the Mount Everest Foundation, Gino Watkins Memorial Fund and The BMC.
This issue included the feature Walking Wild Around Mull by Irvine Butterfield. Mountain Hostels RefurbishedScottish Youth Hostels have recently undertaken a refurbishment programme at a number of their mountain Hostels. SYHA claim recent research has identified the need for Hostels to reflect the requirements of their core users. In practical terms this means adapting facilities, dιcor and colour schemes, lighting and creating an atmosphere to suit the main group of hostellers that uses each Hostel. As outdoor enthusiasts are a vital customer group for SYHA they have targeted a number of hillwalkers' Hostels for priority overhaul. Hostels which have recently revamped include Glenbrittle on Skye, Braemar, Inverey, Loch Lochy, Crianlarich, Loch Morlich, Pitlochry and Ullapool. During 2002 a number of other walkers' Hostels will be targeted for upgrades including, Glencoe, Glen Nevis, Killin, Cannich and Torridon. Two of the key components of the refurbishment have been the reintroduction of character features such as Raeburn style stoves and an appeal for mountaineering memorabillia, such as vintage ice axes, skis, maps and photographs, which has been very successful. At the end of last year SYHA announced the sale of a number of Hostels: Strathpeffer, Ayr, Perth, Ardgartan and Glendoll. These Hostels have experienced a significant downturn in usage over the last ten years. This trend has been exacerbated by foot and mouth disease, but it is the results of changing patterns of customer demand. SYHA Marketing Manager Jason Clark commented 'The SYHA has always continually reviewed its network of Hostels in the light of usage to ensure that it is meeting the needs of its customers. We have a duty, as a not-for-profit organisation with charitable status, to make best use of our resources. We are completely committed to our Hostel network, including those in remote areas like Glen Affric and Loch Ossian, which would not be viable for commercial operators. The Association reinvests any funds generated from the disposal of surplus properties to back into the Hostel network.
RentaHostel.com Marketing Manager Jason Clark said that he was delighted that SYHA's efforts have been recognised. The RentaHostel.com campaign combined targeted marketing with new technology to tap into a real demand from outdoor clubs and groups for exclusive Hostel use in the traditionally closed season. RentaHostel.com is also making a vital contribution to the rural economy outwith the main tourism season.' Another innovative marketing initiative, the SYHA Reward Card has also attracted considerable attention. The Reward Card offers one night's free accommodation in return for collecting seven overnight stamps and it has been a extremely popular with hillwalkers. The stamps can be collected over the course of the year and can be redeemed on any night except Friday and Saturday- ideal for that bank Holiday walking break. Scotland's original Hostel provider has been a target for criticism in recent years. However there is no doubt that competition from the private bunkhouse sector has forced SYHA to take a long hard look at itself and that the organisation is becoming more customer focused. These new initiatives that have resulted must be welcomed by all outdoor enthusiasts. For more information on Scottish Youth Hostels visit www.syha.org.uk For exclusive Hostel rental visit RentaHostel.com or call 08701 55 32 55 GUEST ARTICLEThe National Library of Scotlanda reference centre for mountaineers.The NLS, based in the George IV Bridge Building in deepest Edinburgh, is our National Library of Record; that is, it collects all the significant material being published to form its collection. It has a legal claim, under the terms of the Copyright Act, on a copy of anything being published in Britain. MCofS books, such as "Heading for the Scottish Hills" appear in its catalogue, and so do some of our advice leaflets. As well as this, the library has many special collections of books and papers donated by benefactors. One of particular interest is the Mountaineering and Polar Collection. While this includes many recently published books, it is based on donations from three eminent figures of the 20th century (Thomas Graham Brown, and two of his friends, Robert Wylie Lloyd and James Mann Wordie), which makes the library an important centre for the study of mountaineering and polar exploration. Professor Thomas Graham Brown was an eminent Edinburgh physiologist who died in 1965 at eighty-three years of age. He did not begin his climbing career until he was over forty, but he remained active into his seventies (his only ascent of the Matterhorn came in 1952 at the age of seventy). His library comprises a wide-ranging survey of Alpine climbing and exploration from the 16th to the 20th centuries; it also contains many books on mountains and mountaineering in other parts of the world, including the Andes, the Caucasus and the Himalaya. The collection (c. 20,000 items) also includes periodicals, an important set of press cuttings, maps, postcards, photographic slides, a vast range of photographs, and copies of the Alpine Journal of which he was editor from 1949 to 1953. Among his personal papers his climbing notebooks are of particular interest, as are his diaries for the period from 1898 to 1960. Robert Wylie Lloyd was a successful businessman from Lancashire who amassed important collections of Alpine prints and drawings and mountaineering books. An accomplished climber, he was a vice-president of the Alpine Club and served for many years as treasurer of the Mount Everest Committee. His book collection of some 2,000 items covers not only the history of mountaineering in the Alps, but also includes many early works on the history, topography and antiquities of Switzerland. There are also a small number of 19th century manuscript journals of Alpine tours and some personal correspondence. Sir James Mann Wordie first came to prominence as a geologist on Shackleton's famous Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914 to 1917. He was President of the Royal Geographical Society from 1951 to 1954, and Chairman of the British Mountaineering Council from 1953 to 1956. He also became the first chairman of the Mount Everest Foundation. His collection contains over 4,600 printed items. They are devoted primarily to the discovery and exploration of the polar and sub-polar worlds. As well as his collection, Professor Graham Brown left the capital from his estate as a trust fund for the Library to use to supplement the collections. As the library routinely obtains all British published material, the fund has been used to obtain many foreign works. The Alps and Himalaya are best represented. The Library is open to those requiring access to material not readily available elsewhere, and there is a system of obtaining a readers ticket to gain admission. All post-1800 book and journal acquisitions are now listed on the Library's Online Catalogue and are searchable by author, title, subject and word. The Online Catalogue can be accessed via the Library's homepage on the worldwide web (www.nls.uk), where there is also information on gaining admission. Also, 'Mountaineering; a Catalogue of the Graham Brown and Lloyd collections' is available for reference in many libraries.
The Map Library The Library is particularly keen to publicise its acquisition of a large collection of new maps of Nepal. These fine maps were produced by Finnish surveyors for the Government of Nepal. Southern/eastern Nepal is available at 1:25000 scale and northern/western Nepal is at 1:50,000. Among the Scottish maps available are many original manuscripts including those made by Timothy Pont in the 1580s and 1590s. These were the first detailed maps of Scotland to be drawn, and formed the basis of the first atlas of Scotland. Others include a collection associated with Field-Marshal George Wade (1673-1748), Commander in Chief in Scotland from 1724 to1740, relating to the building of forts, barracks and roads in the Highlands during that time, and a further set prepared by the Board of Ordnance in the 18th century for government troops during the Jacobite period. There are many more recent items, including many published or used for reference by the Edinburgh mapmaking firm Bartholomew during the 19th and 20th Centuries. The fragile Pont papers are obviously not available for general viewing, so the NLS has published them on their website, where they can be viewed in detail, in conjunction with background reading. Steer your web browser to the Pont Maps Website at www.nls.uk/pont/ and use the technological wizardry to look over this fascinating piece of Scottish history. The Map Library has it's own reading room and staff on hand to advise on what's available. There are also facilities for tracing, licensing and copying material. The National Library of Scotland is always interested to hear of relevant private collections of books or papers which may be available for gift, deposit or purchase. If you possess, or know of, such collections, you are invited to get in touch. |
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