Words and Images by Guy Cotter, CEO of Adventure Consultants

AC CEO Guy Cotter once again proves that epic adventures and our most treasured experiences don’t always come from standing upon the summit of a mountain but sometimes simply in the process of trying to. His recent attempt on the seldom summited Mount Nuptse gives an insight into the arduous task of high altitude mountaineering and rarely seen perspectives of its much-loved neighbours Mount Everest and Lhotse.

2 May 2018 – I have been here in Nepal with a private client to attempt a series of climbs that make the Triple Crown trifecta, that is Mt Nuptse, Mt Everest and Mt Lhotse; the three peaks overlooking the Western Cwm.

I am now just back in Base Camp from an attempt on Nuptse which was our initial objective. The idea was for us to climb Nuptse and utilise that climb as an appropriate acclimatisation ascent for Everest and Lhotse. After several weeks of preparation on the lower mountain to establish Camps 1 and 2, followed by several intense days of rope fixing on the route by our talented Sherpa team, the Nuptse attempt began in earnest when we left Base Camp for Camp 2 on April 29. We departed at 1am so we could climb though the Khumbu Icefall through Camp 1 and on to Camp 2 before it got too hot. Not far from the top of the icefall we saw an icecliff well above us detach itself and begin to come our way. Conscious of the devastating power of these events we ran for cover but were lucky to be spared serious injury and as quickly as the altitude allowed moved through to Camp 1.

We rested at Camp 2 (6,400m) on the 30th, then moved to Camp 3 (6,700m) on May 1st in a snow storm. The forecast had indicated the following day was going to be the only good day for some time and the next good window looked to be well over a week away. If we’d come just to climb Nuptse we may have waited but the timing didn’t seem too bad and with good weather next day it was worth the effort. Our Sherpa team had done an extraordinary amount of work putting ropes in place over the previous week pushing the ropes progressively higher up the mountain to within a few hundred metres of the summit.

My climbing partner, Kah Shin and I reached Camp 3 late in the afternoon, then settled in for a few hours’ sleep so we could leave at 1am. It was probably about 1.30am when we left our cosy camp to start the route. Immediately we were on steep terrain, a short slope took us to a snow and ice arete that we climbed for several hundred metres. Near the top of the arete the pitch increased, and the snow turned to very, very hard ice that our crampons struggled to penetrate. Even by this stage I was marvelling at the effort and skill of our lead rope fixing Sherpa team of Prakash Sherpa and Nima Tsheri Sherpa. Kah Shin and I climbed with our climbing Sirdar, Passang Bhote, who was a pillar of strength in setting the trail ahead of us. Above the arete the route steepened again, and we climbed through a small rock chimney, reminiscent of the Moonflower Buttress on Hunter in Alaska with beautiful granite. The recent snow had loaded the slopes above and with an increasing wind the terrain became blanketed in soft unconsolidated powder over rock slabs and bullet proof ice. Even though Prakash and Nima were climbing above us, the growing breeze drifted the steps in and we were forced to plug new steps, almost every one collapsing on the weight of the following climber. It was slow and miserable work.

The dawn slowly lifted its veil and the views across to Everest and Lhotse were revealed incrementally, which gave some excitement to the toil. As the sun began to illuminate the world around us the wind also began to pick up. Soon we were being lashed by sheets of blowing snow and we could see Everest and Lhotse were streaming plumes hundreds of metres into the air.

More snow was being loaded onto our climbing route and visibility was reduced to metres at times, as waves of snow were blown into our faces and lashing at us constantly. Visibility dropped to the point our lead team of Prakash and Nima were forced to stop fixing the route ahead and hunker down to shelter. It was uncertain whether we could continue as conditions were so harsh it would have been foolhardy to do so.

I called by radio down to Anthea, our Base Camp Manager some 2,000 metres below us to get an updated forecast. She responded by informing us that the winds should drop as the day went on. Considering there wasn’t supposed to be any wind here in the first place we didn’t have full confidence in this outlook. By this time, we were met by Tim Mosedale and John Gupta and their mates Steve and Adam, who were also intending to summit with us and had left Camp 3 a couple of hours after us. Snow that was being dropped out of the atmosphere in sheets kept falling on the slopes around us and when the sun finally hit the slopes, began to slide in small sloughs then bigger ones all around us. Not necessarily dangerous when small we wondered whether they would build to larger avalanches, in which case we’d be very exposed out here on the open slopes. Fortunately, for us the sliding soon stopped, and we could at least relax on that front. Still, there was plenty else going on to keep our senses alert.

After what was a wait of close to an hour, we got word from above that Prakash and Nima were going to forge ahead. Tim and John offered to plug the trail when we got started again and we were thankful of their help. The route was unrelenting. We kept climbing, yet still seemed to be a long way from the summit after every pitch. There was no point on the route where we could stop to rest or put a pack down, so we just had to keep climbing. The wind died off some and we caught up with Prakash and Nima around 9am. The pair forced another 200-metre rope length higher then with the impacts of the challenging conditions and deep snow they finally decided we could go no further. Slab conditions had formed and equipment was running out. We were only 200 or so metres from the summit but to go on would have been too risky for a team who had given it their all just to get too this point. While we would have loved to have reached the summit, the intensity of the situation and massive adventure we experienced thus far was significant.

A safe descent became the next priority. Dodgy collapsing snow with loose rock or bullet proof ice or hard rock slab was a potential hazard under every step down we made so we had to progress carefully. We abseiled, and arm wrapped the ropes slowly and carefully. It was no time for reckless abandon as a twisted ankle here could spell disaster. All the way down I had to pull our ropes out of the snow as they had been buried by the drifting snow from the incessant wind. Finally, we unclipped the final rope and could walk the short distance to Camp 3 on the only flat ground we’d encountered all day. Climbers and Sherpas alike looked haggard and relieved. The descent back to Camp 2 didn’t prove easy either. Lucky for us John and Tim had gone first and had to plug a new trail giving us steps to follow, and 18 hours after starting out that morning we arrived back into the relative comfort of Camp 2.

My respect for the task the Sherpa team had accomplished was phenomenal. It is certainly the hardest route led by a Sherpa team I have climbed on before. And the views! To have spent so much of my life here in this region and not seen this perspective of Everest and Lhotse has been rewarded by this experience in abundance. We came here with a quest to climb Nuptse and we have not been successful. However, I can say that I am incredibly satisfied with our achievement and will hold it as one of my most treasured mountain experiences. I cannot express enough respect I have for the commitment and raw strength and talent of our Sherpa team made up of Passang Bhote, Prakash Sherpa, Nima Tsheri Sherpa and Dawa Bhote in making this adventure happen.

Kah Shin and I will rest some days and make plans for our next foray onto the mountain.

For more information on climbing Nuptse and other high-altitude adventures visit the Adventure Consultants Website.