Annapurna IV

Himalayan climbing is challenging, pioneering in this great range is an even more daunting proposition. The mountain has spoken to us, it is all around us, it is inside of us as we melt and drink it to sustain ourselves. This is the awareness and connection I come here for. It is not what everyone wants and feels.

It has been a few days since the last e-mail dispatch and we are alive and better than ever, without the summit. The three of us made a deliberate and exhausting foray onto the upper flanks of the mountain reaching deep within ourselves and high onto the peak. Sometimes the rewards of climbing mountains are reached well below the summit and for our enthusiastic teammate Tim Clarke, this is the case.

Upon reaching camp one at 17,700′ we were exhausted. The climb had been a difficult series of long steep skintracks–tracks laid moving uphill on our skis–on a 30-35 degree slope of shoulder deep and wet corn snow. It felt like entering hell uninvited. This track then led to a 45 degree slope of avalanche debris that we quickly climbed to the broad shelf where we made our home for two nights. Tim began coughing.

Laying awake for much of the night with what must have felt like a wool covered throat, Tim was having a rougher time than Josh or myself. We elected to wait a day there to see if conditions improved–they did! Upon the morning of the 10th we Began moving upward at a steady clip with a frazzled Tim I’ve been through this before as a guide, a climber and a friend…you know when it is over. I dropped off 26,788′ Dahualigiri under similarly inexplicable circumstances in my early twenties. Tim is so great a friend and supportive teammate that he confidently told both of us what we already knew..it was time for him to go down.

Josh and I both know Tim is stronger than any other teammate we could have come here with and most importantly-he is wise and a hell of a good guy. Folks, if you discover cancer before it spreads you can often save a life. The same is true here, if you discover that it isn’t for you, better to send off healthy. I have had many friends melt off the alpine roster over the years for many reasons, I’m truly psyched for the adventures Tim and I have already had and the future ones we will have on smaller peaks.

We descended in style, armed with even better knowledge than before. Oh baby did we enjoy the turns down that terrible deep face. It was like waterskiing-three feet ofcorn and sugary textured snow-staying up meant going fast.