DofE Silver
The story of the first ascent of the NW face & NE ridge of Mt.Emily, by James Monypenny
I am by myself and climbing alone, on an icy face of an unclimbed mountain in the Pamir range of Tajikistan. It’s about 5am, the sun is yet to rise and at the limit of my vision, looming ominously several hundred metres above, somewhere in the darkness is a large serac band, the dangerous ice cliffs threatening and menacing. I wouldn't normally be willing to climb under such objective danger, but in this particular basin its actually one of the safer lines, nor would I normally be climbing alone, but on this occasion, having had my partner bail early on, I’m very glad for the extra speed afforded. The less time spent belaying and placing screws will mean less time under the dangerous seracs. I traverse rightward, weaving my way through a maze of bergschrunds with fading light from my dim head torch. As the sun begins to turn the horizon from dark black to ocean blue the wall kicks back to roughly 65 degrees. The softer snow runs out and I am left climbing cautiously up brittle black ice. Whilst I have spent a lot of time soloing on rock, and a lot of time roped on ice, this is first time I have soloed something technically involved on ice. Surprisingly I felt confident and quite safe. Occasionally the ice would facture quite badly so I took care to place each tool well and slightly further apart than Muzkol 2015 Expedition - Tajikistan - Page 17 normal. As the horizon turned a mixture of pinks and orange I begun following a thin strip of neve, wrongly thinking it was thick enough to ease my upward progression. This mini strip of neve leaned slightly leftward, taking me further from my intended course, and gradually steepening. As I ascended, and day fully broke, the convexities of the slope revealed the challenge ahead: a long (perhaps 500m) traverse on black ice. The thought of traversing un-roped, on black ice, for so far, was draining. I began this process by doing a series of horizontal abseils: I would ab the full length of the rope, traversing as far as possible, lock off, then ascend up wards and rightwards. After repeating this process several times I realized that it was neither enjoyable nor very fast. And so I decided on a complete change of route plan and followed a direct line up to the ridge. Emerging onto the ridge and into the sun I felt a sense of relief, knowing that most of the technical climbing was behind me. However there was still allot of ground to cover and it didn’t look easy. I left behind a jacket and my rope and skirted under the large rock buttress. The terrain was now at an easier angle, perhaps 50 degrees, but a dangerous 50 degrees. Patches of hard ice lay hidden, waiting to trip a tired climber, not allowing me any respite. Then began the slog: 50-60 degree snow and ice for perhaps another 1000m. Muzkol 2015 Expedition - Tajikistan - Page 18 I got down to business. After taking a short rest to re-fill my water bottle from a drip I set off and ten minutes later a volley of falling stones passed by my rest spot. At around 5000m I heard a trickle from the snow, could it be? I dug down and sure enough I eventually found a small stream of replenishing glacial water. The final summit ridge was around 500m long and a balancing act between the large cornice to the right, the avalanche prone slope to the left, and the occasional crevasse. Around fifty meters from the summit I knew that all the difficulty and dangers were over and I suddenly looked around. It was as if the previous mental stress and intense focus had blinded me. Because surrounding me now, was an indescribable view. Himalayan giants filled the vista. My sudden appreciation for the beauty of the scene was over whelming. My mind was filled with a kaleidoscope of emotions. Initially it was the sheer awesomeness, the thought that I was, more than likely, the only person on the planet experiencing this incredible view. Then a feeling of loneliness. The feeling that this incredible beauty should be shared and that whilst alone such experiences are special, but that no-one else can ever understand unless they are with you, having that same experience.
Emily reports on the entire trip here:
http://emilyroolearnstorun.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/barefoot-dancing-at-5000m-british.html
Full expedition report here: https://www.muzkol2015.co.uk/files/British_Muzkol_Expedition_2015_Tajikistan.pdf
I am by myself and climbing alone, on an icy face of an unclimbed mountain in the Pamir range of Tajikistan. It’s about 5am, the sun is yet to rise and at the limit of my vision, looming ominously several hundred metres above, somewhere in the darkness is a large serac band, the dangerous ice cliffs threatening and menacing. I wouldn't normally be willing to climb under such objective danger, but in this particular basin its actually one of the safer lines, nor would I normally be climbing alone, but on this occasion, having had my partner bail early on, I’m very glad for the extra speed afforded. The less time spent belaying and placing screws will mean less time under the dangerous seracs. I traverse rightward, weaving my way through a maze of bergschrunds with fading light from my dim head torch. As the sun begins to turn the horizon from dark black to ocean blue the wall kicks back to roughly 65 degrees. The softer snow runs out and I am left climbing cautiously up brittle black ice. Whilst I have spent a lot of time soloing on rock, and a lot of time roped on ice, this is first time I have soloed something technically involved on ice. Surprisingly I felt confident and quite safe. Occasionally the ice would facture quite badly so I took care to place each tool well and slightly further apart than Muzkol 2015 Expedition - Tajikistan - Page 17 normal. As the horizon turned a mixture of pinks and orange I begun following a thin strip of neve, wrongly thinking it was thick enough to ease my upward progression. This mini strip of neve leaned slightly leftward, taking me further from my intended course, and gradually steepening. As I ascended, and day fully broke, the convexities of the slope revealed the challenge ahead: a long (perhaps 500m) traverse on black ice. The thought of traversing un-roped, on black ice, for so far, was draining. I began this process by doing a series of horizontal abseils: I would ab the full length of the rope, traversing as far as possible, lock off, then ascend up wards and rightwards. After repeating this process several times I realized that it was neither enjoyable nor very fast. And so I decided on a complete change of route plan and followed a direct line up to the ridge. Emerging onto the ridge and into the sun I felt a sense of relief, knowing that most of the technical climbing was behind me. However there was still allot of ground to cover and it didn’t look easy. I left behind a jacket and my rope and skirted under the large rock buttress. The terrain was now at an easier angle, perhaps 50 degrees, but a dangerous 50 degrees. Patches of hard ice lay hidden, waiting to trip a tired climber, not allowing me any respite. Then began the slog: 50-60 degree snow and ice for perhaps another 1000m. Muzkol 2015 Expedition - Tajikistan - Page 18 I got down to business. After taking a short rest to re-fill my water bottle from a drip I set off and ten minutes later a volley of falling stones passed by my rest spot. At around 5000m I heard a trickle from the snow, could it be? I dug down and sure enough I eventually found a small stream of replenishing glacial water. The final summit ridge was around 500m long and a balancing act between the large cornice to the right, the avalanche prone slope to the left, and the occasional crevasse. Around fifty meters from the summit I knew that all the difficulty and dangers were over and I suddenly looked around. It was as if the previous mental stress and intense focus had blinded me. Because surrounding me now, was an indescribable view. Himalayan giants filled the vista. My sudden appreciation for the beauty of the scene was over whelming. My mind was filled with a kaleidoscope of emotions. Initially it was the sheer awesomeness, the thought that I was, more than likely, the only person on the planet experiencing this incredible view. Then a feeling of loneliness. The feeling that this incredible beauty should be shared and that whilst alone such experiences are special, but that no-one else can ever understand unless they are with you, having that same experience.
Emily reports on the entire trip here:
http://emilyroolearnstorun.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/barefoot-dancing-at-5000m-british.html
Full expedition report here: https://www.muzkol2015.co.uk/files/British_Muzkol_Expedition_2015_Tajikistan.pdf
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