The Mother's Necklace

by Matthew Horan

  Still, it’s an interesting statistic. In retrospect my decision to go for the top was probably a little reckless, but I made the decision with good information and weighed the risks, and I’m still comfortable with it.

  November 30 – Namche Bazaar

  We hit a leisurely pace from Namche, heading for Lukla. Again, the thick air is enticing, washing away our exhaustion as we get lower and lower. It’s still a slog. We stop off for morning tea and lunch at various tea houses. At lunch, we run into an Australian trekking group, who’ve been to Everest Base Camp. They’re seriously impressed at our climb – Ama is one of the major photo stops along the trail. And now, away from people who are doing the same thing we are, and among “mortals” once more, it begins to sink in that what we’ve done is pretty amazing.

  After lunch, Dan and I amble off together, deciding to stop once or twice for a beer. Our proposed pub crawl ends up being just one beer and some Pringles by a gorgeous waterfall in the afternoon, chatting amiably and finding out more about each other’s families. It’s an enjoyable way to eat up the kilometres. Still, it’s dark again by the time we get to Lukla. The downside of having a lodge next to the airport is it’s right at the other end of town. Some kids follow us for a couple of the last kms and we get a bit worried that they need to be back home for dinner and it’s dark. They disappear into the night as we enter town.

  It’s been another massive day, despite the joys of oxygen-rich air, and we kick on for a bit with some more drinking before retiring for the night. No-one wants to leave the lodge. This is the last night in the hills with the whole team together.

  December 1 – Kathmandu

  Our plane is, predictably, delayed by fog in the morning. This is a bit of a worry to a few people who are hoping to get away on earlier flights. Now that the expedition part of the expedition is over, emotions turn to home. No-one wants to hang around Kathmandu for longer than is necessary if there’s no goal at the end of it, as there is at the start of a trip.

  We eventually get on board after a long wait in the terminal where the TV is incongruously playing Australian music videos. The flight is short and bumpy – I absentmindedly watch a couple of mountaineering short films from the Reel Rock festival. I finally feel I have earned my way into this amazing climbing community I’ve really been a part of for almost 30 years.

  In Kathmandu we race for the showers. I head into town with Dan and we get a haircut and shave at a below-stairs barber. The end of expedition shave, especially with a straight razor, is always worth it. You feel like you don’t need to shave for another week. Jon disappears for the morning to pay his respects to Thundu’s family at his private funeral.

  I head into the locals’ part of town, where there’s no Westerners, to buy my daughter a pink sari. Lunch at Fire and Ice, the awesome pizza joint in Thamel. A few of us go and get the full spa treatment at a place just outside out hotel. Massage, foot baths, tiny Nepalese women walking up your spine, the business.

  We meet up with the Geordies, Steve and Ray, and Emily, eating steaks and drinking on a rooftop bar. Where Dan falls asleep. We send pictures to his wife of him exhausted against a wall. There's a message from Adam on Facebook - he’s safely at home in New Zealand, feeling a lot better at sea level. Ciaran's in Kathmandu as well, out of hospital but needing further surgery on his hand back in the UK.

  Our Steve’s not there. He manages to get an early flight home to Perth. We promised to catch up in Brisbane when he next visits his brother. Steve confides that Ama’s been part of his “warm-up” for his real adventure, what he’s calling Project 7in4. He’s going to try to climb the highest peak on every continent in less than four months. It’s never been done and for very good reason. Logistically it’s insane – just two days of bad weather on one mountain could derail the whole carefully constructed itinerary. But it’s crazy ambitious and in Jon, he’s now found a willing accomplice for some of the bigger peaks who’s just as cheerfully crazy.

  I’m on the plane myself tomorrow, for what promises to be an awfully long and smelly ride home. For me, it’s been the culmination of a life-long dream. A dream I nutured and trained for and then actually went and did. The dust, the cold, the fact that it’s probably going to take a month before I can feel the big toe on my left foot (not to mention the tingling in my finger tips – guess I wasn’t as warm as I thought in my night out at 2.9). All of it worth it. I tried to suck in the memories throughout it, trying to burn them into my brain, knowing that I’ll forget a lot of them. Andrew Lock’s advice to enjoy the view isn’t just advice for a mountain, it is advice for life.

  It is interesting coming back to “life” after an experience like this. A month away from family, work, normal life stresses, where your focus is on – has to be on – the mountain and what you’re doing. I’m coming back changed, if just four weeks can change you. I’ve lived life a little fuller than most in those four weeks. Had to rely on my judgement – rely on it to survive – rather than walk unseeing through life.

  T.E. Lawrence – the famed “Lawrence of Arabia” spoke of the “dreams of dangerous men”. The “dreamers of the day” who don’t just dream, they put those dreams into action. I’m still not sure I can put myself in that category, because for all that I did have a dream and accomplish it, I still feel as if I fell into it by circumstance rather than one of those management case studies where you set a goal and plan it.

  Maybe it’s just that the mountain humbled me a little. I accomplished so much on it – physically and emotionally – but I know that as with all mountains, I didn’t conquer it, the mountain kindly allowed me to climb it. And I’m grateful to the mountain gods for the chance.

  Ama, I think, isn’t for everyone, in the same way that Everest isn’t for everyone. Everest certainly isn’t for me. It’s way too high and too expensive. Hell, Everest Base Camp isn’t for everyone, as my family reminds me when my eight-year-old says he wants to go. But we all have an Ama Dablam somewhere. Some sort of dream of a challenge. We just need to realise what that is, then make the decision to try it.

  In Steve’s words, I made the decision that led to a good story.

  Getting there and a gear list

  Climbing any mountain requires a certain amount of experience and specialised gear. Climbing a mountain almost 7000m high in the Himalaya requires a whole new level. There is an investment required, in time and equipment, but thankfully for most climbers it’s gear that’s accumulated over time, as you progress from overnight bushwalks to week-long treks, from bouldering at your local climbing gym to doing a mountaineering skills course in New Zealand or France, from walking the Everest Base Camp trail to tackling a trekking peak.

  None of these are recommended pathways. Plenty of people try Everest Base Camp as their first trek – indeed, almost all of the clients on my first 6000m trekking peak had never climbed before, certainly in snow and ice.

  My advice to any people inspired by this account, or simply inspired by the outdoors is this – just get out there. Take the kids for a walk through the bush. Volunteer to help out on school camp. Try out your local climbing gym. If you like it, and I’m sure you will, then look for education that takes your passion further.

  For a “simple” Everest Base Camp trek (or Macchu Picchu, or Tasmania’s Overland Track or something similar), go with a respected trekking company. And prepare for it with training from about six months out. There are specialised fitness companies which can help with this. I used Chase Tucker’s Base Camp, based in Brisbane, but with online courses too. (https://www.basecamptraining.com.au). Chase hosts a lot of small one or two-day walks in South East Queensland so you can get a feel for what it’s like on the trail. Most similar companies do the same thing. For a trek like Everest Base Camp you don’t have to be superfit (although it helps), so don’t stress!

  For education, basic bushcraft is always worthwhile. While experience can help here, look for things like basic first aid, especially in Australia where poisonous bi
tey things can kill you before help arrives. I’d recommend an orienteering course - they’re definitely not essential, but fun and it’s always useful to be able to read the topographical map you bought in Kathmandu. For climbing, the easiest thing is to find a climbing gym and simply try it out. You’ll soon meet others (via the gym’s Facebook page these days) who are doing outdoor climbing and next thing you’re at a local crag. There are usually local climbing shops who will run courses on lead climbing, setting anchors and so on. For $100 or so you give yourself a lot of confidence, safety wise.

  A Mountaineering Skills Course in New Zealand (or the Alps, or the Rockies) is a must if you want to progress with actual mountaineering. Skills such as glacier travel, setting anchors in ice and crappy rock, self-arrest techniques (what happens if you trip over) and basic avalanche awareness are essential. Depending on where you go, they can be around $3000 to $5000 for a 10-day course. That’s a 10-day holiday in some of the most beautiful mountains around, and usually climbing a few peaks too, fed and watered for around $300-$500 a day. I was trained by Aspiring Guides in Wanaka, New Zealand and keep going back to them every couple of years for a fresh adventure. (www.aspiringguides.co.nz ).

  In terms of experience, I’d previously climbed Kwange Nup, one of the harder “trekking peaks” in Nepal, and summited Mt Aspiring in New Zealand. It actually took me four goes, given the weather in NZ is so unpredictable, which meant a bit of extra experience on crampons. That’s probably the minimum amount of experience you need to climb Ama, and in my opinion I probably needed one more serious climbing trip. Tim would probably agree. However time and circumstance meant my window came earlier than I’d planned. Steve had similar experience – technical mountaineering course, Mt Aspiring and then Mt Alpamayo in Peru. His superb fitness meant he was way more ready than I was (and in fact, five months after standing on the summit of Ama, Steve stood on the summit of Lhotse, his first 8000m climb).

  When you’re ready to try a bigger mountain, I highly recommend Tim Mosedale (www.timmosedale.co.uk) for Ama. Jon Gupta runs regular trips to Kilimanjaro and various Russian mountains and I fully intend to go on one of his expeditions in the future. If you’re in the UK, look him up for Scottish trips (www.mountain-expeditions.co.uk).

  Your biggest expense in all this is gear. You will collect it over time (and the biggest regret comes when you hit “Peak Gear” and can no longer walk into a outdoor store and think “yeah, I need another jacket”). Tim Mosedale’s website has an extensive gear list for Ama – so extensive, in fact, that many other expeditions don’t bother to list theirs, they just use his.

  My gear list for Ama Dablam was:

  Clothing

  Footwear

  Scarpa Moraine GTX low-cut hiking shoes. These went all the way to Camp 2. In retrospect I would have rather used my current ones, which are Scarpa Zen Pros. They have a straight edge, rather than the flared ones on the Moraines, which make it easier for rock scrambling.

  Scarpa Phantom 8000 mountaineering boots. Warmer is better up high and these triple layer boots incorporate an outer gaiter. Scarpa tend to have a wider toe box. Other brands clench my foot a bit too much, which leads to loss of circulation.

  Icebreaker merino inners and thick outer socks. I also used some Mund synthetic socks for the walk in, which I love.

  Down booties. Bought a pair in KTM for about US$5. Keep your feet warm at Base Camp.

  Bottom layer

  Icebreaker merino leggings and long-sleeve top. I also had a Helly Hansen merino top which was a bit more lightweight and allowed me to keep the icebreaker fresh for the summit push.

  Icebreaker boxers. Seriously, Icebreaker is the bomb when it comes to next-to-skin clothing. Worth the extra expense.

  Mid layer

  North Face stretch trekking pants. Not convertible, as they look a bit poxy!

  Macpac merino t-shirts (2). Old favourites these. DON’T take cotton anywhere into the outdoors. It smells and when it’s wet it makes you cold and doesn’t dry fast.

  Lowe Alpine softshell trousers. These are about 10 years old and while they’re not proper WindStopper, they’re comfy and warm.

  Outdoor Research Cirque softshell trousers. Weight-wise, I probably only should have brought these, as they’re awesome, but the old Lowes allowed me to air these out.

  Mountain Hardwear thin windstopper pullover. I love this top, and they don’t make them anymore. Just warm enough for exertion and thin enough not to get in the way.

  Outdoor Research softshell hooded jacket. A big enough hood to go over a helmet.

  Icebreaker quilted hoodie. This was my go-to Base Camp jacket. Not as warm as a full down jacket but far less bulky on and allowed me to leave my down jacket up at higher camps.

  Outer layer

  Mountain Designs Alpettes. I’ve had these Gore-Tex climbing overalls for 15 years. They keep on keeping on.

  Mountain Designs Pro-Elite down expedition jacket. The classic yellow 8000m jacket. Mountain Designs has gone downmarket in recent years but they still make the odd piece of seriously good expedition gear.

  Mountain Hardwear prima-loft overpants. Not as bulky as down, but almost as warm. Your legs don’t need quite as much insulation and at 7000m you certainly don’t need the full down suit.

  Mountain Hardwear lightweight Gore-Tex parka. Didn’t even leave my pack. There as insurance for seriously rainy/snowy days. The great alpinist Mark Twight once said if you need to pull on the Gore-Tex up high, you really shouldn’t leave your tent.

  Mountain Hardwear Conduit shell pants. Lightweight rainwear – again, didn’t leave the day pack.

  Accessories

  Merino Buff. Awesome for keeping your neck warm and un-sunburnt.

  Outdoor Research Fleece neckwarmer. Summit day only

  Icebreaker thin inner merino gloves. Summit day only.

  Mountain Hardwear Hydra Pro iceclimbing gloves. Leather outers, soft fleece inners. My go-to glove above Camp 1.

  Outdoor Research Alti-Mitts. Filled with prima-loft these outer mitts keep your hands toasty in the extreme cold. Being mitts, you can stick a chemical hand warmer in the end to keep your fingers warm. In retrospect though I probably should have gone with either gloves or a “lobster mitt” that would have allowed better dexterity with ascenders.

  Berghaus beanie.

  Old Mammut boonie hat.

  Oakley Flak Jacket 2.0 sunglasses. Mine have prescription lenses. I’d never use anything but Oakley in the outdoors. Awesome protection and they stay on.

  Oakley Crowbar goggles with red iridium lenses. If you’ve read the account, you’ll know I regret not actually taking these to the summit.

  Climbing gear

  Black Diamond Bod harness. This is hands down the best harness around. Forget sporty climbing harnesses, this one goes on over thick mountaineering clothing, or shorts at your local crag. (Don’t use the Alpine Bod though, it’s not as good).

  Locking carabiners x5. Various brands, although I liked the new DMM ones because they’re matt black and look tacti-cool.

  Petzl helmet. Adjustable over a beanie.

  Grivel Air-Tech 55cm ice axe. Didn’t come off the pack at Ama, but never leaves my hand in NZ.

  Grivel G-12 New Matic crampons. Have a rubber “Y” fitting at the front instead of a wire bale, so they’re easier to put on. The wire bale ones come off, in my experience!

  Petzl Myo head torch. For the helmet.

  Black Diamond Io head torch. A tiny back-up torch that fits in your pocket.

  Petzl ascenders. Left and right-handed. You only need one, but two are highly recommended for vertical hauls.

  Figure 8 descender. I also took a Black Diamond ATC belay device, which can be used as a descender as well. As with head torches, always have a back-up for things that can save your life…

  Suunto X-Lander watch. Has an altimeter, and the batteries last a year, unlike the more modern GPS watches which need to be recharged every day or so. The crack in the face was rep
laced under warranty, and I’ve never heard of it happening before.

  Essential expedition gear

  Mountain Hardwear Diretissima pack – 55 litres, and you can take the top and big hip belt off for summit day. Some of the guys had bigger packs, but for an expedition like this with gear being ferried higher, 55l was – just – enough. Any more and you fill it…

  Berghaus Freeflow 30-litre daypack. One of the most comfortable packs I’ve ever used. It uses a mesh system to keep the pack away from your back, which makes it much cooler to hike with. 30l was enough for a couple of jackets (shell and warm), a bit of food, phone chargers and so on for the walk in. A small pack makes the walk in easier. For pure trekking in the Khumbu this is all you’d use. A Camelbak bladder (don’t go for cheaper versions) is essential for trekking, even though they freeze up high.

  Mountain Designs White Limbo sleeping bag. Named after the awe-inspiring route on the north face of Everest first climbed by Australians, this is a seriously warm bag. I couldn’t even trial it properly in the heat of Brisbane. Maybe a little tight for some. I hired a local bag from Tim for down low and left my MD bag up high. Less weight for the load carries.

  Mountain Designs silk sleeping bag liner. Bit of extra warmth and comfort.

  Ridge Rest folding sleeping mat. Easy to carry on the side of your pack. Bombproof compared to inflatable mats, which can deflate or puncture up high.

  Inflatable down pillow. Bliss. A small touch of luxury, compared to sleeping on stuff sacks full of dirty clothes.