Tagne 2001

<< previous day

contents

next day >>

Dan's Diary

Day 22 - Thursday 19th July 2001

see also Alan's Diary for today

Sunrise near ABC

The zip to our tent opened at 5am. It was Alan wanting to light a stove. Jon got up and started to cook the porridge for breakfast while I managed to grab an extra half hour's lie-in. Alan came and raided the food bag and I knew then that my rest had come to an end. I had no option but to get out of my sleeping bag, put on my down jacket and stop them taking all the food. As I was the only one who knew how much food we had I had self-adopted the unenviable task of rationing out the food, for I knew if I didn't do this it would be a free-for-all. The food would be eaten in the first few days and then they'd complain that there wasn't enough left for the other days.

I helped Alan and Steve sort out their food supplies for the next couple of days while dealing with Andy's requests.

"Have you got and accessory cord or shoe laces?"

Of course I had. I was the equipment officer. "Yes" I replied unhelpfully

"Can I have some please?" I went and got him some and returned to sorting out the food.

"Can you get me a gas canister?" I didn't reply I just got him one.

"Can I have a lid for my pot?" and so the requests went on. I was frustrated, as all that should have been done the previous night. Individuals should have made up their mind as to what they wanted to do a lot sooner so their was time left for everyone to pack and get organised.

Narinder and Andy took down their tent and shook the ice off it. I gave them some rotis and cheese for lunch. They left Advanced Base Camp at 6:30am to set up camp one on the side of the South Tagne Glacier for their attempt to reach the top of Tagne.

Steve and Alan took down their tent and packed it away while Jon and I ate the remainder of the porridge. We watched as they headed of up the valley and disappeared into the nearby pile of moraine. Advanced Base Camp suddenly seemed remote with just Jon and me left and only the one tent. Jon set about washing the pots while I sorted the food out so the others wouldn't raid it all when they returned to ABC. Then I cleared out all my things from the tent and put the items into two piles, one pile for things I needed to take down to Base Camp and one for things to leave behind. I put big rocks in the corners of the tent so it wouldn't get blown away and then put everything that I was leaving and the bags of clothing that Alan, Steve and Andy had left inside. Jon and I then packed our rucksacks and left camp at 7:30am.

Heading back down the Yongma towards BC

We tried to follow the river, not wanting to cross the unstable scree slopes but before long the river entered a gorge as it cut through a pile of moraine and we were forced to clamber around the boulders. Before long we got tired of walking up, down and around the large boulders and headed for the scree slopes on the valley side. I got a stone in my boot and had to stop to remove it. A major operation was undertaken as I undid all the laces and straps to remove my boot. To save time and make it easier to bend my ankle I only did the boot half up. A bit further on I tripped over my shoelace, so I stopped again to tie the boots up properly. The scree was as bad as ever. We slipped down-slope on the small rocks and twisted our ankles on the larger rocks. We were relieved to get on the grassy slope knowing the worst of the scree was behind us. We descended the rubble-laden slope and crossed the two streams that ran down the side of the Topka Yongma valley. The streams were much lower than when we'd crossed them on the way up and posed no problems. We climbed up the boulder-strewn far valley side, being careful not to dislodge anything. Although only some ten metres in height it was very tiring to climb. A rest at the top of the slope would have been nice but we knew we had to press on to cross one more river before the water rose and made it impassable. We headed across the gently undulating slope, over piles of rocks and down into small gullies. After some forty minutes came to a grassy patch with rocky crags up above us. This was where the shepherds had been camped when we passed them on the way up and we knew the river that we had to cross wasn't far. We found ourselves above the shepherd's shelter and dropped down in between two rocky crags towards it. Two dogs came running furiously towards us barking loudly. Jon stopped dead in his tracks but for some reason I kept walking towards the fast-approaching dogs. Whether it was because I had had my rabies jab and Jon hadn't or whether I thought they wouldn't actually attack us and if they did I could ward them off with my walking pole, I don't know. Then the shepherd appeared up the valley side and called the dogs back. Jon and I kept walking and thanked the shepherd for controlling the animals. We descended the steep slope to the river, half-glissading as the rubble beneath our feet started sliding down the slope. The stream was still very low and we were spoilt for choice for crossing points. We ascended up the tiring boulder strewn slope on the far side of the river. At the top we stopped for a drink and I ate my Kendal Mint Cake. There was no need to rush anymore: we had crossed all the rivers, and could take as long as we wanted to get back to Base Camp. As we sat there we looked at the views. It took a while but then I realised there was not a cloud in sight. Very soon it would get unbearably hot and suddenly we had a reason to get going again. We put our rucksacks on and headed off over the never-ending rocks.

After another forty minutes of walking over the undulating terrain, covered with scree and patches of grassy hummocks, we reached the second shepherds' shelter. We stopped briefly to regain some energy and prepare ourselves to cross the three gullies. We descended the rocky ledges into the third gully and crossed its bottom before climbing up the far side of the gully. The usual rattling of stones cascading down the gully from beneath my feet didn't alarm me anymore. My concentration was fully on getting across quickly before I had time to follow the stones down the slope, but carefully so I wouldn't trip or overbalance. I counted the gullies down until there were no more to go. Safely across, we followed the path. It soon disappeared and we found that the cairns we'd built were ten metres higher up the slope than the path. We dropped down to the path and followed it along to the top of the rocky staircase, which we crossed and descended the far screes to Upstairs.

Jon pauses on the way back to Base Camp

We stopped at Upstairs for some twenty minutes while Jon played with the fuel and the MSR and I did a stock take of what food was left. Once we'd packed everything away and retrieved our walking boots, we left and descended to Base Camp.

A Porter saw us coming back across the screes, still some way off and had raised the alarm. I could see Sonam frantically getting dressed, the chef lighting the stove and a porter rearranging the inside of the mess tent as Base Camp sprung into a hive of activity. They quickly got ready for our arrival, a porter went to collect water and the pots were washed in the river. Sonam came out to greet us and the porters followed. We shook their hands and explained that only the two of us were coming back today. Sonam asked if everybody was all right and we confirmed that they were.

Jon and I unpacked and I put my sandals on. My feet were as wrinkled as if they'd spent the last week submerged in water. I put my clothes out to air. Tea and biscuits were brought to us, a whole packet of biscuits between the two of us. I was already thinking we had chosen the best option by coming back to Base Camp early.

Lunch was served at 1pm and consisted of rice, dhal and pizza. I did think of Alan, Steve, Narinder and Andy eating their rations of a few nuts and a cereal bar, but somehow I couldn't quite feel sorry for them. Jon and I played cards after lunch although with just the two of us our choices of games were somewhat limited. By 3pm we had had enough of cards and we read our books. Time passed slowly now there wasn't much to do. An hour later crispy-battered-bits were brought to us along with a cup of tea. This alone was worth returning to Base Camp for. I read some more of my book and did some crosswords while we waited for dinner to arrive.

At 6pm Sonam brought us green-grey soup. We had several bowls each knowing the importance of replacing the fluid our bodies had lost. I took in my aired clothes and sleeping bag as the sun dipped below the horizon and a chilly darkness enveloped the valley.

We ate rice and curried eggs for dinner at 7pm. Apple custard was for pudding. Jon and I sat and talked for a bit as we drank our tea. We decided on a 9am breakfast and told Sonam this as he cleared away our bowls.

We watched a fly as it got attracted to the light of the flickering candle. It got a wing covered in the hot wax and was struggling furiously on the tablecloth. I buried it in more hot wax, putting it out of its misery.

Jon and I retreated to our tent at 8:30pm.