An Attempt on Tharpa Chuli

The Trek In

In Phase 3 of the expedition, from the 1st to the 15th of January 2001, I led two groups on a trek to Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) and a subsequent aborted attempt to climb Tharpa Chuli (Tent Peak), 5663m.

The two groups involved were Group 3 (Dr. Matthew Keys, Alex Holmes, Geoff Denyar, Rachel Fogarty, Bill Goussas, Jamie Harris, Gemma McBride, Andrew Pintar, Jodi Morrell, Caroline Vale, Jacqui Young) and Group 7 (Dr. Michelle Woolhouse, Janelle Chamberlain, Gabrielle Harvey, Nuran Higgins, Caroline Hodges, Andrew Maiden, Nektaria Achimastos, Jennifer Powell, Nathan Eddy, Alexandra Read, Ryan Ruddick, Caroline Stobart). In addition to myself, we were accompanied by the Expedition Projects Coordinator, Greg Andrews, and a cameraman, Luhsun Tan.

The Climbing was led by Shambu Tamang, the youngest man to have ever climbed Mt. Everest, and Kaji Sherpa, the Expedition Sirdar. In addition there were 4 climbing Sherpas (Tek Tamang, Bishnu Gurung, Sumba Sherpa, Sandesh Sherpa) and 2 cooks (Sangay Sherpa and Sm Tsering Tamang) each of which could also climb.

Although we had planned to leave early on the 1st of January, a general strike, or Bandh, was called in Nepal for the 1st and 2nd of January. As Kaji indicated , "Nepal is Closed".

This left us with barely enough time to make the acclimitisation, but after discussion with the climbing sherpas, medical staff and a subsequent reshuffle of the schedule, we decided to press on with the climbing plan.

During the delay we took the opportunity to train the expeditioners in climbing techniques. We set up a number of fixed ropes to practice rappelling and prussik and jumar ascent. Dr. Matthew Keys gave a series of lectures on climbing techniques including ropework, walking together, use of the ice-axe, self arrest and avalanches.

The groups moved from base camp to Beshisahar on the 2nd of January and chartered two buses which left at 7am on the 3rd. Unfortunately, a driver had broken the bandh the night before and been beaten up. The drivers had blockaded the road out of town to have a meeting. We finally got away at about 9am and took the long trip to Pokhara and Nayapul (the roadhead closest to our mountain).

Over the next 4 days, the groups moved up the trekking route from Nayapul to the Machapuchre Base Camp (MBC) and finally the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC).

One expeditioner had to be left behind at MBC due to a combination of injury /illness (including mild AMS) but mostly the party reached ABC fit and well.

Annapurna Base Camp is in a beautiful location in the middle of the Annapurna range. It has the giant mountains Hianchuli and Annapurna South to the South, the Sacred Mountain Machapuchre to the East, and Annapurna I (8091m) to the West. To the immediate North , a great valley cut by the Annapurna South Glacier runs East-West. Beyond this the ground moves up to the intermediate peak, Tharpa Chuli (Tent Peak), our target, and beyond this a great range of 7000m + peaks.

The Climb

On the way back to base, a big queue of cold expeditioners formed at the exit to the valley, waiting to prussik up and return to ABC. One expeditioner suffered from mild hypothermia and had to be warmed in their sleeping bag.

The weather had moved from being fine all day long to now a pattern of being fine in the morning with cloud moving in in the afternoon. often accompanied by snow.

Feeling that our best chance was to get to the mountain asap, we decided to immediately form a base camp over the valley at the base of Tharpa Chuli.

On the 8th we set off in the morning to carry loads and move to Tharpa Chuli Base Camp. 3 of the party were now suffering from mild Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) and could not proceed higher. This left 22 Australians in the climbing party including just 3 experienced climbers (Dr. Keys, Greg Andrews and myself). The movement to Base Camp (4300m) was easy enough but the practical training planned for the afternoon was cancelled as the weather closed in. Light snow fell continuously for the next 12-18 hours. This also prevented the sherpas from doing a thorough recce of the route.

I spoke at length to Kaji Sherpa and Shambu about the possibilities in the morning. They felt that heavy snow overnight might end our chances, and snow in the morning might similarly stop, or at least delay, our climb.

Most of us spent an uncomfortable night in out tents, our own breath condensing as frost on the inside of our tents and raining down on us inside. Although it was undoubtedly colder during the night and outside, my thermometer showed -12 deg C inside the tent in the morning.

The morning of the 9th of January dawned fine. We all got up at 7am for breakfast and I again conferred with Kaji and Shambu. Of our options, I preferred to try and form a lightweight high camp at about 5000m and from there either try for the summit the next day or spend the next day acclimitising and training, and allow time for the Sherpas to fix ropes over the most difficult sections.

We loaded up with dry food and personal kit (tents, bags, clothes, climbing equipment) and 6 porters also loaded up with our kerosene stove and fuel to melt ice, a large kitchen tent and more food. The Sherpas carried the bulk of the ropes and specialist climbing equipment (Pitons, Stakes) as well as their own personal kit.

One of our strongest expeditioners, Caroline Hodges, was found to be suffering from Dehydration / Hypothermia / AMS and had nausea, weakness and presyncope. She had to return to ABC, distressed at missing out on the clmb. 2 other expeditioners also returned to ABC, one too weak from previous illnesses and one simply not feeling up to it.

The group moved up the mountain at a slow pace, with a rope fixed over a difficult section. The Sherpas moved ahead.

At about 4700m, the group congregated at the start of a difficult traverse on snow for several hundred metres. The gully below the traverse sloped away steeply to the bottom of the mountain and a fall here would mean almost certain death.

Sherpa Tek Tamang led across and fixed a number of stakes and a rope across the first difficult section. He then continued on and the rest of the Sherpas followed on to fix further ropes.

During this time, the expeditioners sat at the start of the gully and put on warm clothes. Eventually there were 19 in all. Dr. Keys expressed his concern early that the climbing was already looking too technical for most of the group.

We waited for the further lines to be fixed. As there was no room on the mountain for further queues to develop, all of the roped sections needed to be fixed before we could begin the traverse.

It was now about 1pm in the afternoon and the novice climbers waited anxiously, looking at the climbing ahead, and wondering how long it would take to get to high camp.

The first clouds of the afternoon started to be seen coming over the surrounding mountain tops. Greg Andrews, Dr. Keys and myself conferred about the situation. I then moved to the beginning of the traverse and conferred with Kaji Sherpa.

In discussion with Kaji, it seemed that the risks on this day of the climb had increased beyond what we had expected and the consequences of mistakes far outweighed the return.

Our concerns at this point were:

• The climbing had become more dangerous and difficult than we had expected before high camp. The problem this posed was that any retreat from high camp would be non-trivial. With such a large party, some would probably be required to come down.
• The weather was closing in. We did not like the possibility of being caught on a difficult section when the snow started.
• The movement to date had been too slow, and such a large party over difficult terrain was likely to remain slow.
• We had a limited number of ropes. After traversing, the ropes would need to be recovered for use on the summit (which we already knew to be a very technical climb). This led to the final problem which Kaji especially highlighted, namely
• The porters could cross now using the rope but would be required to go down again later with no rope. Also, the snow later would be softer and more dangerous later in the day.

I asked Kaji Sherpa whether this mountain might be too hard for our current group? He felt that the risks were becoming serious.

Wanting to lose neither expeditioners nor porters, I called out in English that we would now retreat from the mountain.

This moment was complicated a little by the fact that the expeditioners had only just started climbing across the traverse, using fixed ropes and Prussik loops to ensure safety. I called them all back and collected them at a flat area near the start of the traverse.

Here I explained my decision and felt the disappointment of the group. Most took it positively and well, and understood the decision. One expeditioner looked at me in disgust, stabbed his ice-axe into the snow and asked, "Is that it?!".

The Retreat

When the decision became known to the Nepalis, the porters began to sing, dance and cry out to each other in delight.

Greg Andrews moved to me and mused on the nature of climbing and the life and death decisions that need to be taken, "I don't think there is another sport that requires such hard decisions". The climbers turned around and started down the mountain. With a call for caution on the way down, I started after them, and accompanied some of them down the way we had come. It was impossible not to notice that some of them had only the most basic of skills and moved down over the terrain cautiously and shakily.

The sherpas recovered the gear, escorted expeditioners and deconstructed base camp. As ever, they did the bulk of the work without complaint or the need for direction. They also largely hid their disappointment at missing out on a climb of a new mountain.

Back at Tharpa Chuli Base Camp we briefly discussed some further options for another attempt. These were discounted as impractical and it seemed that the full momentum had swung to the retreat.

I moved away from the group, sat down and briefly forgot that I was the Expedition Leader and remembered that I was also a climber. I cried. Shambu came over to reassure me about the decision.

The whole party moved through the worsening weather to ABC, arriving wet and cold. The ill members from the day before assisted near camp with hot tea, an indication of the level of teamwork and cooperation that had developed in the group.

There was no hero's return or welcoming crowd.

Conclusion

This time, we didn't reach the summit of Tharpa Chuli, but none of the expeditioners gave in, and they are all still heroes to me.

I hope that they have all received a valuable lesson in climbing, risk assessment and decision making.

I believe them when some say they will return to Tharpa Chuli and beat it next time.

Maybe I will too.

Bruce Poon
Expedition Leader