THE ASCENT OF BIG WHITE PEAK

AKIRA TAKAHASI

AT last I find myself in Camp 5 at the height of 18,000 feet above sea-level. Today is May 2, 1962. Looking back over the past days, we have been compelled to go on climbing continuously. It was only yesterday, however, when we finished the transport of stores up to C5, C6 and C7, which will be more than enough to support the members in the final camps for 15 days. The arrangement of the members in each camp is supposed to be ideal. Camp 7 is occupied by the youngest boy, Yasuhisa (23 years), with Morita and the deputy leader Nakano and Sherpa Tenzing Girmin to support the former two, and Camp 6 by Dr. Ishida and Akiyama. The former had gone up there by himself saying 'The doctor's duty is to go up to the final camp. Don't worry'. At Camp 5 there are Takashima and Katoh, the expected attack members, with the other Sherpas and myself. Both Katoh and Takashima are to climb up to Camp 6 today.

At seven in the morning Nakano told me over the walkie-talkie that Yasuhisa and Morita had started at five to make the route to the summit, fixing ropes on the ice-wall on the Nepal side, and that he himself would accompany Tenzing Girmin to assist them. He asked me not to switch off the receiver so that I might catch his call at any moment.

Now having nothing particular to do, I took a late breakfast. As an hors d'oeuvre I enjoyed the pickles I had made at Kathmandu, tempura of dried vegetables. A sip of morning wine is like a taste of paradise. The young members are devouring bacon. I admired their ravenous appetite at this height. Takashima found me admiring them, and said to me smiling, ⁶ Terusan (the leader), look at your belly, you've lost weight.' The air around here is so dry that the water in my body has evaporated somehow, I replied. But how to conceal my exhaustion only God knows.

The Sherpas are now singing in chorus:

It sounds like a common impromptu but it is as melodious as our mountain songs in Japan.

I, for one, should like to take a rest today, I have nothing to do, though other members have to risk their lives against the blue ice.

About a week ago I had a talk with Nakano, who was then on his way back from Base Camp after sending mail runners to Kathmandu.

We came to the conclusion that we should settle in Camp 7 during April and reach the summit on May 5. In order to accomplish this schedule, the members, in twos, must advance 300 feet per day as their ‘norm’ Each couple would take its turn every three days, to come back to Camp 5. Which couple can then scale the summit depends upon the situation, that is, the lucky team which happens to be near enough to reach the summit may make the assault. After this direction was announced, each couple has worked according to the schedule we both made.

One of my roles during this expedition is to take movie films.

Usually I go out of the camps with Sardar Ang Tsering, myself carrying the movie camera and its big tripod about eleven in the morning. The wind is usually very strong. We make big steps in the ice to sit down. Sardar makes it a rule to tell me about his adventurous life in the Himalaya, about the expedition under General Bruce, or about the tragedy with IIerr W. Merkle on Nanga Parbat.² I look at his shoes in spite of myself, being sorry for his frost-bitten toes. He says the climbing in the Himalaya nowadays had got much easier on account of the remarkable improvement in equipment. I cannot help smiling, for this is just what I often tell my young members in Japan.

 

After taking pictures for some time of Dorje Lakpa armoured with blue ice, I look back and find several dots climbing on the 600-foot ice-wall inclined at 60-70 degrees. They may be Taka- shima and Katoh with Sherpas on their way to Camp 6. They look like ants, scarcely moving. The sound of cutting ice echoes sometimes. It is a fantastic scale. With the telephoto lense, I take some shots.

How long has past since then, I don't remember. The tiny dots on the ice-wall have gone without knowing. The silence has come back, when suddenly, the wireless set in my rucksack makes a big sound. I find the voices are those of Yasuhisa and Nakano. It says Yasuhisa has succeeded in reaching the summit ridge at last. Nakano is suffering from coughing. I wish to join their talk but dare not. Yasuhisa says that both he and Morita started from Camp 7 at 5 a.m. with 300 feet of rope for fixing, and climbing equipment. They were on a 120-foot nylon rope to climb the ice- wall. Up to the foot of the ice-wall there was deep snow. One step in the snow exhausted them very much. With the snow up to their bellies the lack of oxygen demanded many breaths to proceed one step. They began climbing the 70-degree ice-wall, traversing it to the centre, where you can command a 3,000-foot drop to the offspring of the Dorje Lakpa Glacier. They changed places to be first on the rope at the spot where the last expedition team decided to give up their climbing in 1961.

As the foot-deep snow upon the blue ice was so unstable, their crampons were of no use there. Ice-pitons were not reliable, either.

They had to pause here. Changing the route, they had to stop again because of the knife-edged ridge. Re-changing the route, they climbed by means of the ice-axe and five ice-pitons ; to climb up only 90 feet took them several hours. They took their turns at leading many times and at last Morita cried to Yasuhisa to suggest that they should go back but he did not agree, going on and on.

The condition of ice and snow was the worst imaginable, it was extremely unstable. They might have fallen at any moment.

At last they were near the border line between Tibet and Nepal, it was such a narrow ridge that only one person could ride on it- its width was only one foot.

Yasuhisa dangled two legs in the air, one in Tibet, the other in Nepal. Suddenly the wireless cried, 'No! It's not the way to secure your partner.' It was Nakano who had been watching them through his binoculars.

Nakano was right. But there was no other way but dangling one's legs on both sides. Along this narrow ridge they would be able to scale the summit. Along this ridge, then traverse again on to the summit—'Yes, it's full of hope, and promise', he cried.

They are now coming back to arrive at their camp about seven in the evening. Yasuhisa and Morita are to try the summit tomorrow, because the attack members are now in Camp 6. We can't possibly miss the chance. I send my directions to every camp. Let them go to bed early. It's better to give up the 7 p.m. talking.

In the evening the Sherpas cook a dinner for me. They lack delicacy in their cooking—it never gives me an appetite; thief slices of bacon and canned salmon in one bowl. It may be nourishing but it is never to my taste. Then I chop deliberately Katsuobushi, dried bonito, to make a soup for myself. Adding a little ginger and pickles with rice, I make rolls with dried sheets of seaweed.

My tent looks vacant with no comrades in it. Drinking loxie, I imagine the scene of the summit to be scaled tomorrow. If the first trial should fail, the members of the final camps would be changed during the daytime. The sooner, the better. Takashima and Katoh will try the day after tomorrow. Should they fail, Nakano and Morita can go back again. There is enough food in Camp 7 to support these members for 15 days. This expedition should be the final one to this peak, how many days will it demand of us ? At Camps 2 and 3 there is still some food to be carried up by Sherpas.

Enough fuel, enough porters. ' O.K.' I cry, in spite of myself, when Nawan Gundi appears. This Sherpa was registered in the Himalayan Society after he was fired from the priest world. He has no climbing talent but is honest and well-mannered; moreover, he is able to write English and to calculate. He is the only porter that has not yet climbed higher than Camp 5. He asks me to take him higher than Camp 5. I permit him to come with me tomorrow. He thanks me effusively. A lovely man he is, yet he will be my burden. I overhear Sherpas praying to Buddha. Now it's time for me to fall asleep, trusting our luck to destiny. It is an experiment-how we human beings can overcome our weakness. Those who can do this may enjoy the victory themselves. Tomorrow, two men are to try. It is a difficult job for the leader to decide the attack members.

Everybody wishes to scale the summit, if he is a mountaineer. But everybody can't. Here, too, is struggle against the human weakness.

Good luck, Morita, Yasuhisa.

May 3rd is the celebration day for our new Constitution.

After a sound sleep, I feel fine today. I ascend up to the High Pass. It is nine o'clock. Through my binoculars I find them riding on the border line, which means it has taken them only three hours, instead of one full day as yesterday. And soon the two dots disappear beyond the Tibetan side, to be seen no more.

Just around two in the afternoon, the wireless set in the tent is making a big sound, which says, ^‘ A]he, Ajhe, we are the attack members. We reached the summit just two minutes ago . . I switch on the tape-recorder at once; it will record for one hour from now. The members of each tent exchange their congratulations through the wireless sets as if they were in one tent.

I inform the Sardar of our success. Sherpas are now all around me to shake hands. I want to drink a toast but no loxie is left, to my sorrow. I ask them to boil some sweet Sake and drink the toast with Sherpas. I direct the members to interchange their tents tomorrow.

The attack members are to Camp 5. Takashima, Katoh, Akiyama and Dr. Ishida to Camp 7. Nakano and Tenzing Girmin to stay at Camp 7. Myself to Camp 6 with some Sherpas to carry the goods down. However bad the weather may be, interchanges should be done.

Yasuhisa reports the success as follows:

^‘I felt rather disappointed when I was ordered to try the summit the next day, for I was almost exhausted then.

^‘I could sleep well, thanks for my exhaustion, but felt no appetite this morning. I ate very little and went out of the tent. The summit was glittering already. I wore crampons in the bitter cold. Nakano and Tenzing Girmin were ready to start to assist us. In my small rucksack, I took with me 300 feet of nylon rope for fixing, some wafers, tins of Yokan, Yudeazuki, sweet peas, rice for our lunch and a tiny walkie-talkie, a 16 mm. movie camera, a 35 mm. still camera, a 60 X 60 mm. still camera and a high-altitude anorac. I put on high-altitude trousers and over-trousers, sweater and wind- proof anorac.'

Japanese and Nepalese national flags as well as that of the Federation of All-Japan Mountaineering Unions were wrapped around the axes. There lay deep snow towards the ice-wall on which the rope had been fixed. We began to climb one at a time. The steps made previously were full of fresh snow.

At nine, we found ourselves riding on the knife ridge, again dangling our legs. We ate some Udeazuki here. Nakano came up nearer. On the Tibetan side beyond the gorgeous Nyanam Glacier there rises Gosainthan (Shisha Pangma) 26,291 feet just as high as we are! We could not believe it to be higher than us by 3,000 feet. Two peaks of Dorje Lakpa (20,967 feet) are lower at least by 1,200 feet. Our altitude meter indicated higher than 21,000 feet—it is not accurate.

We started again to climb, after 15 minutes' rest. On the Tibetan side, the cliff is made of several thousand feet of ice-walls. We were following along the very top of the ridge. Avoiding the danger of snow cornices we then traversed, I made steps with the other axe in the right hand. It was a nice pitch in good condition. After every 120 feet advance we took turns to lead.

After five turns we stood on a small dome. The summit seemed to be very near. I put on the high-altitude duvet coat, feeling severely cold. We went on climbing 240 feet more, and there we found a hard snow face inclined about 50 degrees. It was Morita's turn to lead. The points of our crampons went in well enough. He made steps elaborately. A number of icicles fell from the infinite blue above my head. Any further ? Any more difficulties ? I was unconsciously wondering when Morita said, ^‘ Come up here.' I asked, ^‘ How is it? ' ^‘ This is the summit’ he said simply. I went up to him to find just above us a table-like snow-face. Arm-in-arm, both of us stood upon the summit at the same instant. No more to climb up. Nothing around us to prevent our sight, nothing but ininitely blue sky. The time was three minutes past two.

I sent my success through the walkie-talkie immediately. Nakano cried his directions to take pictures after short congratulations. Good heavens! Go to hell with this civilized equipment. Cheers with our national flag—we were too exhilarated to obey this order.

In front of us, beyond a glacier, there stand the Gosainthan ranges. To the right we could command the endless heights, reddish-brown Tibet, literally as far as we could see. Kun Lun mountains were seen far beyond. Towards the west, along the border line, there lies a white pyramid, Langtang Lining, next to White Dome. The clouds are rising up from the Langthang Valley.

The summit of Big White Peak consists of a rectangular shape of solid snow, inclined to the Nepal side. I think of myself as a conqueror of my weakness.

We stayed on the summit for one hour and forty minutes.

I came to myself again. I had something more to do. I left three flags, empty orange cans and a bottle of orange juice on the summit. At last we began descending. Fixing 300 feet of rope, I started to go down. We were climbing one at a time. Then I realized I was awfully tired and suffering from coughing. When we reached the knife ridge, it was already evening, getting darker and darker. We found some food left by Nakano, the supporter, to our relief. But instead of eating this we went on to arrive at the camp at 6.45 p.m.

We could hardly sleep that night.

There was a heavy snow-storm on May 4. But we dared to exchange the tent members. I had to encourage the Sherpas who would not at first agree to move, saying, ⁶ Very danger, sir ! '

When I reached Camp 6, I found no one but Nirna Tenzing, who had been extremely scared, alone in the tent.

On May 5, the boys' festival day in Japan, it was the expected attack day. The wind was blowing hard, yet it was a fine day. Takashima and Katoh scaled the summit at 9.40 a.m. And the third attack members Nakano, Dr. Ishida and Akiyama at 11.30 a.m.

From Camp 6 I directed all the Sherpas in Camp 5 to come up to Camp 6 the next day to remove the final camps.

On May 6 it was foggy in the morning and stormy in the afternoon. But Camp 7 was recovered fortunately. Nawan Gundi returned alone with nothing on his back; he was so scared stiff, almost weeping. He said, only, 'Sorry, sir, sorry sir'. I said ⁶ Good' to him.

In the storm we all descended on the ice-wall to Camp 5. This took us a long time, because of the Sherpas.

Note

The reason why we prefer the name Big White Peak to Lonpo Gang, suggested by Dr. Toni Hagen, is that Lonpo is simply the name of a small hamlet; the mountain has many different names, even at the foot of the mountain, from which point, curiously enough, it cannot be seen.

During our eleven days' approaching tour from Kathmandu to Pemsal, there were a few places where we enjoyed the whole sight of the Jugal Himal. They were Tindere La, 25 km. distant from Kathmandu and the small pass near Jalbire Bazar, 150 km. far from Pemsal. We have, therefore, come to adopt the name Big White Peak in honour of Monica Jackson's party, the discoverers and pioneers of this district.

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