Trip Reports

Lhakpa Ri and Everest North Col 2016

Ice axe and crampon practice above Everest ABC, Lhakpa Ri expedition
Trip Report

Written by Leader Alex Langdon, May 2016

Our team consisted of: Jo, Nicola, Derek, Charlie, Geoff, John and myself; along with Sherpas Dawa and Darinji, Sirdar Pema and Cook Argan with his 2 hardworking assistants Sonom and Tsering.

ëItís Everest! Look itís Everest! Look! Itís really Everest... itís really close... look!í

The one-sided conversation in base camp appears satisfactory to the person speaking and it continues in much the same fashion for approximately another hour. It would be fair to say that when Jo gets enthusiastic about something, she gets really enthusiastic!

She was right in fairness; we were indeed camped at Everest Base Camp (North) with one of the most unmistakable mountain views right in front of us, a truly spectacular location. Of course what no-one happens to mention is that itís also very high, very cold and very, very windy... all the time!

Just getting to Everest BC is a small expedition in its own right. Although in our case it was somewhat extended with a minor detour 1000km in completely the wrong direction, courtesy of some bad weather, via the airport pandas in Cheng Du; we didnít have time to see the real pandas.

Eventually we found our way back to Lhasa and adhered to the more traditional tourist pastimes of visiting the ancient Potala Palace, photographing the numerous rooms, candles and Buddha poses.

Driving through the Tibetan landscape for two days was incredible; not just because the landscape is beautiful and unique, but because somehow we survived the local overtaking custom of waiting for an oncoming car before pulling out. After nearly a week travelling in parallel with the team heading to Cho Oyu, we took photos of them with ësome hillsí in the background and waved them off. Iím not sure which team finally won the ëwho had the most ill peopleí prize. I suspect it was a draw... certainly all of our team had spent a considerable percentage of their time in Tibet in the toilet by the time we headed to BC.

At Everest BC we knuckled down to the serious business of resting. Intermittently we managed some drinking (juice) and occasionally some eating, then, exhausted, we were forced to do some more resting. This routine lasted, sadly, for only one afternoon. Then the peace was interrupted by useful expedition things like rope-work practice, use of the PAC bag and oxygen cylinder and learning of knots (Geoffís favourite pastime!)... thankfully still punctuated with some quality resting!

Several days later, by now feeling properly sandblasted by weather conditions, we were acclimatised, ready to leave BC and move on upward.

ëYaks, look weíve got loads of yaks...í enthusiasm levels for the arrival of the yaks was not dissimilar to that for the Everest view. It was more entertaining to watch though as Jo got braver in her endeavours to get the íperfect shotí of her snuggled up to a cuddly beastie. Iím sure half of Johnís memory card got used in the process.

Even with yaks carrying our main baggage, movement upwards was extraordinarily slow and any exertion a huge effort. Huge respect to Nicola over these days as, despite succumbing to a new variation of feeling horrendous, she kept on going.

We worked our way up through the various wild camps and through the famous, spectacular and indescribably enormous Rongbuk Glacier. Our Advance Base Camp was set up at 6,600m, 500m away from and out of sight of, the main Everest ABC. It was quiet and peaceful, with a perfect view of Lhakpa Ri.

Finally, we were able to unpack our spikey toys for playing on the glacier. Spikes proved too tempting for Geoff who eventually gave himself the classic crampon war wound... stitches needed... with which he will no doubt horrify his dinner guests at a later date. The team still think he was just chatting up the lovely Veronica, team doctor for our Argentinian friends who were attempting to summit Everest. Johnís reaction to spikes was less common, given that he was on a 35í blue-ice slope; he managed to kick off both crampons simultaneously (accidentally apparently)... awesome skills for that and for somehow managing to stay on the slope!

On our summit day attempt for Lhakpa Ri, we were lucky with the weather. It was a perfectly clear, relatively mild night, with amazingly no wind. Iím not convinced everyone was fully appreciative of these conditions at 3am, given the mutterings going on, but we set off anyway. A few hours later found us across the glacier and on the slopes of the mountain itself. Mountain conditions were unfortunately nothing like as helpful as the weather - bullet-hard blue ice underfoot. This meant our crampons were skittering on the surface and an ice-axe arrest in the event of a slip would be futile. Our lovely Sherpas had fixed some ropes to keep the team safe, but even with these it became apparent that we were not going to get to the summit. We reached about 6,800m, then headed back to ABC. In fairness, with Geoffís choice of summit-day clothing, Iím not surprised the mountain gods didnít smile on us.

Although we were disappointed, the great thing about this trip was that we had a potential second goal... the North Col of Everest!

We had enjoyed the 3am start so much, we did it all over again for the North Col. It was worth it, as by the time we reached the fixed ropes, there were very few people around, only 4 Sherpas ahead of us and they very rapidly disappeared into the distance. Iím not sure what I can write here that would convey how much effort everyone put into this day. The team have all told me that it was the hardest thing that they have ever done. It was an incredibly physically tough day in a beautiful, harsh, unforgiving environment... at altitude.

For Geoff and Derek, despite a huge effort, this wasnít to be their day. They reached 6,800m and made the right decision to turn back. They had their own adventure on the way down and no doubt caused Darinji all sorts of problems! Charlie, Nicola, John and Jo did make it to the top of the North Col. Awesome effort, well done! I know at different times that day, everyone told me that they never thought that they could or would stand there. I hope you are all incredibly proud of yourselves. As we descended, we were reminded that we were not alone on the mountain, by the queue of 20 people scrabbling to get up the rope we were trying to descend. It created an interesting few minutes! Happily, the further we descended, the quieter it got. Eventually we met up with our Argentinian friends again as they set off for their summit bid. It seemed a long way back to the tents at the end of a 14 hour day.

Next day Derek managed to relocate all of his ëlostí kit, which remarkably, turned out to be sat in his very own tent! Over the next days, we retraced our steps back to BC and then on through Tibet, back to Lhasa and eventually back to Kathmandu. Getting back to the Summit Hotel felt fantastic and to have clean sheets, a hot shower and burger and chips an unashamed luxury.

My thanks go to our local team from Nepal, all of the staff in the Jagged Globe office and especially to all of my team for the help and support given to both myself and to each other during this expedition.

In memory of Charlie MacAdams.

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