A
forest of icicles, a rainbow of colour. A burning impatience - which
direction?
A
plan of attack – Attack Annapurna! Beasts of burden and hard words
as the ascent, in earnest, begins.
On
we go...
*
From
a Lilliputian camp (Camp II): in the distance, a mountain of crystal;
Annapurna, far above, one's head tilted back to see her, dominated
all.
*
To
Camp III: feet numbed by the cold; air warm. On left, ridge of bare
ice, an intense transparent blue; on right, Cauliflower Ridge,
immaculately white; above, a huge roof of ice, a livid green. A
rickety snow-bridge to a snowy platform; Camp II seen below. Then, a
snow-covered ledge and axe blows; steam-engine pants and serpent-like
wiggles. Heart thumps and sweat. Up!
*
Back
to Base. Back to creature comforts: chicken in aspic and a bottle of
rum; a wash and a shave. Calculations made and letters written: a
final note from the leader to the President of the Expedition, with
the details of the camps already and yet to be established. Then a
loading up with equipment, clothing and provisions, and a plodding of
feet, in extremely hot or terribly cold conditions. Forwards,
backwards between camps. Deteriorate and recuperate.
*
Tent:
Warm in sleeping-bags, while outside snow fell thick and fast. Smoke
curled up from cigarettes; faces hid in shadow. Rest from exertions;
from ills due to altitude: the headaches, the stomach cramps etc.;
and from the sun: burnt lips.
A
new day: bedding extricated from; an eiderdown jacket, cap and
glasses put on.
Will
the weather hold? Or will the monsoon come?
*
'On
to Camp V!' Zigzagging upward tracks; a jagged ice ridge which a
snow-laden wind blew through. Above, a towering rock, rose-red, the
shape of a bird's beak; and a thin rib, a spear-head. The going
exhausting, but 'On to Camp V!'
*
Camp
V a wretched place! A relief to climb, each in his own closed and
private world; though every step a stuggle of mind over matter. In
terror of frost-bitten feet. The sun blinding, beating straight on
the ice: a world of crystal. Sounds indistinct; atmosphere, cotton
wool. A band of rocks the final obstacle.
Yes!
On top of Annapurna! 8,075 metres, 26,493 feet. Victory!
Written December 2021.
Picture credit: Maurice Herzog at the summit, 1950.
For the
subsequent harrowing, long and painful descent see Annapurna
by Maurice Herzog.
