Impasse For Army Teams In The Himalaya

30 years after the summit success of “Brummie” Stokes and “Bronco” Lane, and one year ahead of the Army Mountaineering Association’s 50th Anniversary, the Army have sent 3 teams out to Nepal this season. The main team are aiming for a first British ascent of the imposing and dangerous West Ridge of Everest. Meanwhile, a Development team will aim for 7045m Lhakpa Ri and a lucky group of 16 year old recruits will be heading for Island Peak.

Although the teams all managed to get away from Kathmandu before the latest blockade and curfews, in which at least 4 people have been shot by the Police, they are all snowbound and making little progress due to extreme snowfall in the region. The junior team can’t even attempt Island Peak, with snowfall of 30cm a day at present making its slopes unapproachable. The Development team are also snowbound in similar conditions, at 21,000 ft, at the base of Lhakpa Ri. They are still hoping to make a bid for the summit if the weather relents.

The main team were taking on Everest from the Tibetan side, via a route pioneered by the legendary team of Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld in 1963. Unfortunately they are now back in Base Camp having been turned back on the approach to Camp 3. The chosen route has seen more deaths than successful summits, and 2 failures by previous British military expeditions.

In addition to the difficulty of the chosen route, what makes this expedition so different is the level of media coverage. The expedition’s website at www.armyoneverest.mod.uk not only has daily updates of their progress, but also daily blogs from the team members. The expedition is also being professionally filmed for both news updates on satellite TV and an eventual 90 minute film of the attempt. The team are also sending back both photographs and video footage via satellite, which can be viewed on the website's gallery.

The 'armyoneverest' website doesn't only follow the expedition, it also gives details of everything from nutrition to the specialist training and team selection that have taken place over the past 2 years to prepare for the attempt. There are also major contributions by OM’s Routes Editor:-) If that's not enough, there’s a full history of previous attempts on this treacherous route, along with a potted history of climbing on Everest, the geography of the area and even games for children. One of the major new features is the Google Earth page which shows the entire route, along with information on each of the stop off points and camps on the way to the summit.