Considering how little time he had to acclimatize since leaving base camp, Dick was climbing amazingly fast. Soon, though, he began to feel the telltale fatigue of hypoxia, but he was confident he would reach camp 3 with no problem. He wasn't so sure about his partner, as Frank was dropping further behind.
About 1:00 in the afternoon Dick saw the tops of the two tents at camp 3, and in a few minutes he stepped onto the snow bulge that formed a small flat area on the otherwise steep face. He unshouldered his pack, unzipped a tent and sat in the doorway. This was a room with a view: from his aerie he gazed down the length of the Western Cwm, Everest on the right, Nuptse on the left. Past the mouth of the Cwm he looked down on the summit of Pumori, and beyond, several valleys removed, the massive Cho, Oyo, the worl's eighth—highest peak.
The first adventure: Africa, 1955. The plane didn't make it, but Frank (right) and his Oxford classmate did climb Kilimanjaro, where Frank first had the seven summits dream. (Credit: Frank Wells collection)
Dick Bass, Aconcagua 1983. (Credit: Rick Ridgeway)
Frank on the first Everest attempt, 1982. (Credit: Jim Wickwire)
Marty Hoey with a guanaco friend, Aconcagua, 1982. (Credit: Jim Wickwire)
The memorial cairn to Marty, under Everest's North Wall. (Credit: Jim Wickwire)
Lou Whittaker evacuates a frostbitten Larry Nielson following the unsuccessful summit bid. (Credit: Jim Wickwire)
Aconcagua, 22,834 feel, highest peak in South America. (Crerdit: Jim Wickwire)
At the start of big year, Frank signs his will while his wife Luanne watches.(Credit: Rick Ridegeway)
Battered, bloodied and breathing hard: an out-of-shape Frank Wells following his near-fatal slip above the Vacas River. (Credit: Dick Bass)
The indefatigable Steve Marts, cinematographer on all seven summits. (Credit: Rick Ridgeway)
Rick Ridgeway (left) and Frank still have trouble with swollen rivers even on the easier ‘ruta normal.’ Aconcagua 1983. (Credit: Dick Bass)
Ice-climbing seminar. Yvon Chouinard (left) coaches Dick on proper ice-climbing technique near base camp, Aconcagua ‘83. (Credit: Rick Ridgeway)
Taking five at 16,200 feet, Camp I on Aconcagua. (left to right) Dan Emmett, Frank Wells, Rick Ridgeway, Gary Neptune. (Credit: Dick Bass)
Days end as seen from Camp I on Aconcagua, 16,200 feet. (Credit: Dick Bass)
Dawn light at 20,500 feet, Aconcagua. Dick (left) and Frank take a break on the first summit bid. (Credit: Rick Ridgeway)
Almost there: Gary Neptune (yellow) and Yvon Chouinard near Aconcagua's summit. (Credit: Dick Bass)
Success at last! Aconcagua, Dick and Frank's first summit as a team. (Credit: Dick Bass)
The big one. Everest, 29,028 feet. (Credit: Galen Rowell/High and Wild Photo)
The ’83 Everest team: (bottom) Rodney Korich; (first row, left to right), Jim States, Steve Marts, Peter Jamieson, Yogendra Thapa, Ed Hixson; (second row, left to right) Dick Bass, Phil Ershler, Larry Nielson, Gary Neptune, Frank Wells; (rear) Gerry Roach. (Credit: Jim States)
Trekking to base Camp, just beyond Tengboche Monastery. (Credit: Dick Bass)
Chorten memorials to Sherpas killed in the Icefall on previous expeditions. (Credit: Dick Bass)
Sherpa cook prepares dinner at the ‘84 Everest base camp. (Credit: Dick Bass)
Ice-climbing practice near Everest Base Camp. Frank rests on top of a large serac. (Credit: Rodney Korich)
ABC cameraman David Breashears with his 25-pound video camera-recorder. (Credit: Ed Hixson)
The Sherpa puja ceremony at Base Camp, to guarantee “good luck” on the climb. (Credit: Dick Bass)
Crossing a crevasse in the Western Cwm at a little over 20,000 feet. (Credit: Rick Ridegeway)
Ascending the fixed ropes on the Lhotse Face with the Western Cwm in the background. (Credit: Jim States)
Color commentator Rick Ridgeway gets Frank's reaction on learning the first team made Everest's summit. (Credit: Ed Hixson)
South Col Sunrise: second team heading for the summit. (Credit: Gary Neptune)
Frank and Dick meet Sir Edmund Hillary in Kathmandu, June 1983.(Credit:Dick Bass Collection)
Mt. McKinley—Denali—20,320 feet, The West Buttress on the right skyline.(Credit: Dick Bass)
Arrival at the Kahiltna International, McKinley. (Credit: Robie Vaughn)
With Steve Marts on board, Susan Butcher mushes up the Kahiltna Glacier.(Credit: Dick Bass)
An evening break in the storm at the 17,200 foot camp. (Credit: Dick Bass)
Postholing through deep snow at 18,000 feet on summit day, McKinley. (Credit: Dick Bass)
The summit ridge of McKinley. (Credit: Dick Bass)
The highest point in North America, Frank and Dick on the summit of McKinley, 20,320 feet. (Credit: Robie Vaughn)
Kilimanjaro, 19,340 feet, highest peak in Africa. (Credit: Leo LeBon/Mountain Travel)
Roughing it in the proper British tradition. (Credit: Dick Bass)
Dick and Marian Bass.(Credit:Kevin Wells)
Safari lunch, a pleasant interlude before returning to rock and ice.(Credit: Dick Bass)
Kilimanjaro Approach: The climb starts in equatorial forest and ends in perennial snow. (Credit: Dick Bass)
Frank in front of Kilimanjaro. (Credit: Dick Bass)
Scrambling on the Machame Route, approaching the crater rim. (Credit: Dick Bass)
Where the dream was born. Nearly 30 years later, Frank (left) returns to the summit of Kilimanjaro, with Dick (center) and Danny Bass (right). (Credit: Dick Bass)
The highest point in Europe, Mr. Elbrus, 18,510 feet, in Russia's Caucasus Mountains.(Photo: Norman Benton/Peter Arnold)
The inimitable Peter Jennings and his nurse, Dr. Olga, only partially recovered. (Credit: Dick Bass)
Frank and Luanne Wells with Elbrus in the background.(Credit: Dick Bass)
Five down, two to go. Lenin and comrades on top of Elbrus. (Credit: Frank Morgan)
Vinson Massif, Antarctica, 16,863 feet (by the old measurement). (Credit: Dick Bass)
TOP LEFT: The man who made it possible, Giles Kershaw. (Photo: Rick Ridgeway)
TOP RIGHT: Refueling the Tri Turbo at Rothera Base. The drums were dropped by parachute from a Chilean C130. (Credit: Dick Bass)
The Vinson Team (left to right) Chris Bonington, Sandy Bredin, Rick Mason, Captain Frias, Rick Ridgeway, Giles Kershaw, Frank Wells, Steve Marts, Yuichiro Miura, Dick Bass, Tae Maeda. (Credit: Chris Bonington)
All business class aboard the DC3 Tri Turbo.(Credit: Chris Bonington)
At the landing site near Vinson, it's warmer to set up tents than sleep in the plane. (Credit: Chris Bonington)
Dick Bass (left) and Frank begin the steep gully above base camp, Vinson. (Credit: Rick Ridgeway)
Temperature 30 below, wind 40 knots. Frank nursing a frostbitten nose, just before turning back on the first attempt at Vinson's summit. (Credit: Rick Ridgeway)
Rick Ridgeway digs the “bolt hole,” the snow cave they will bolt to in case high wind should demolish the tents. (Credit: Rick Ridgeway collection)
Premier British climber and expedition leader Chris Bonington.(Credit: Rick Ridgeway)
The modern-day samurai. “The Man Who Skied Down Everest,” Yuichiro Miura, prepares to ski down Vinson. (Credit:Rick Ridgeway)
The third time works the charm. Dick on top of Vinson Massif, highest point in Antarctica. (Credit: Rick Ridgeway)
Dick Bass trickle-charging shortly after take-off from Vinson. (Credit: Rick Ridgeway)
35 feet under ice. Frank emerges from the catacombs of Siple Station, Antarctica. (Credit: Rick Ridgeway)
Along way from the presidential office at Warner Bros. Frank's shining moment, the summit of Vinson. (Credit: Steve Marts)
A walk in the park, the stroll to the top of Kosciusko, Australia.(Credit: Dick Bass)
On top down under. Dick (left) and Frank on the summit of Kosciusko, 7,310 feet. (Credit: Dick Bass collection)
“To strive, to seek
…” David Breashears (in the lead) and Sherpa Ang Phurba leave the South Summit toward the Hillary Step. (Credit: Dick Bass)
“To find …” Breashears in the Hillary Step, elevation 28,800 feet. (Credit: Dick Bass)
“…and not to yield.” Seven Summits fulfilled, Dick Bass on top of Everest April 30, 1985. (Credit: David Breashears)
Safely back in Base Camp, the Icefall behind, Dick and Breashears toast to success.(Credit: Dick Bass collection)
Dick follows through his promise to throw a no-holds-barred bash. Snowbird, August 1985. (Credit: Rick Ridgeway)
Victory is sweetest to those who have tasted defeat. (Credit: Rick Ridgeway) (Mickey Mouse Character ©Walt Disney Productions)
The Impossible Dream. (Credit: Rick Ridgeway)
He found a packet of powdered lemonade to doctor his water bottle, then looked around the tent for lunch. One plastic food bag produced a packet of M&M’s and a granola bar, another a handful of mixed nuts, Rye Krisp crackers, and a can of tuna. It wasn't caviar, but to Dick it was a king's feast. With lunch finished, he lay back and took a nap, waking about a half hour later. He looked out, but no sign of Frank. It was time to head back. He strapped on his empty pack, clipped a safety link to the fixed rope, wrapped the rope around his arm and behind his back to brake his descent, walked to the edge of the platform bulge, and lowered down the forty-five-degree slope.
A hundred yards below camp he met Frank coming up the rope.
“You're not far now, Pancho.”
“Don't think I can make it. Too tired. I’m turning back.”
Frank rested his arms on his knees. He was breathing deeply and rapidly, and Dick could see the red scarf around his neck was soaked with sweat. Frank had pushed himself as far as he could go.
“Don't worry about it, Frank. We'll just consider this an acclimatization exercise. Next time you'll zoom right up.”
“Hope you're right.”
At camp 2 Phil Ershler had followed through the telescope Frank's snail's pace up the ropes, and his failure to reach camp 3.
“Two things bother me,” Ershler told those standing around the telescope. “First, if we go to the trouble of putting in another high camp, Frank will never get that high to use it. Second, if somehow he does get that high, there's a good chance he's going to kill himself.”
“He really has no business going above the South Col,” one of the others said.
“But I can't tell him he can't go. We all agreed everyone gets a chance on this climb,” Ershler answered.
“At least we're obligated to tell him how we feel. Maybe we can even talk him out of it.”
“I guess it's worth a try,” Ershler said. “Let's have a meeting tonight.”
Frank and Dick returned late that afternoon, and although Frank was obviously pooped, after a couple hours’ rest he seemed recovered, even feisty. Ershler announced a meeting after dinner. Following the meal, then, everyone stayed in the mess tent waiting for Ershler to open the discussion. Looking around, it was easy to spot those on the team who had just returned from the summit. Cracked lips, chapped cheeks, drained faces. Nielson was the worst. In addition to his general fatigue and his cracked ribs, he had sustained further damage to his already frostbitten feet, so he was planning on descending the next day to base camp. The others on the first team were planning on going down, too.
“Let me start by saying you guys turned in a poor performance today,” Ershler told Frank and Dick. “You didn't even get out of camp here until after eight.”
“How could we leave on time when the cook sleeps in?” Frank countered. “That one's hardly our fault.”
“Okay, but the fact remains you couldn't get to camp three, and I don't think it makes sense to ask our Sherpas to carry supplies to a camp five if you can't get up there to use them. And that's only half of it. Even more, and I think all the others in the tent here agree with me, if you guys go above the South Col, there's a good chance you won't come back. Look at these other guys. Nielson's half-dead, Roach and Jamieson hardly have the strength to get from their tent to here. And these are tough hombres.”
Dick winced. He was being included in this critique even though he was sure it was Frank that the criticism was directed at. He decided it would be more politic, though, not to say anything, at least for now.
Frank was also quiet, staring at the makeshift table littered with dinner leftovers, not angry but pensive.
When Ershler was finished Frank looked up, and in a calm voice said, “Fellas, you may not fully understand what this climb means to me. I’ve sacrificed a lot for this, in terms of money, job, the strain on my family. But I’ve figured it was worth it all because it was a dream I’ve carried now for thirty years. A lifetime dream, to reach the top of Everest, to climb the highest mountain in the world. Now it's even more, it's a double lifetime dream because it's part of the whole Seven Summits. So you fellas have got to keep that in mind, you've got to know that I only want one thing from you, and that's my fair shot at the summit. And now that we've got this far, you just can't pull the rug out. We made a deal at Snowbird. I’ve volunteered to go last, without any other climbers than the Sherpas.”
There was a silence, then Ershler said, “We're not trying to make it easier on ourselves. We're saying these things out of a concern for you two. We're saying, Here are two guys who have been very good to us, and we don't want to see them get hurt.”
“It's our duty to make you aware just how dangerous it is up there,” Nielson added. “If something went wrong, if a storm came, or you ran out of oxygen, you don't have those years of experience that lets you instinctually get out of a tight spot. And we're afraid if you try to go above the Col, that might happen. We don't want to take your dream away, but we want you to know how risky it is up there.”
“I know it's risky,” Frank said, “but I’ve already considered that. If there's a one in thirty chance I might not come back, I’m willing to accept those numbers.”
“I’d say the odds are worse than one in thirty,” Ershler said.
Then Ed Hixson spoke: “There's another point, Frank. It's not just yours and Dick's neck, but if either of you do get in trouble, then those who have to go up and attempt a rescue are also at great risk. So there's an overall responsibility here.”
“Now we're getting to the heart of the matter,” I said, “whether a climber is justified in taking risks when he might be risking the lives of those who have to rescue him should anything go wrong.”
This question also happened to be at the heart of the controversy surrounding Nielson's decision to push to the summit in spite of illness. Now, perhaps sensing the common ground, Nielson was the first to offer his views in regard to Frank and Dick's case.
“I’ve already said I feel it's our obligation to make Frank and Dick aware of the dangers, but having done that, I would also say it's their right to take the risks if they choose. After all, it's that right that draws most of us to the mountains—the right to make our own decisions, draw our own lines.”
“I agree with that too,” Gary Neptune added. “I might be reluctant to go with Frank on his rope, but we all have the right to take our own risks. That's what climbing's about.”
To this, everyone nodded agreement. For this, everyone in the tent was drawn to mountaineering. Because of this, everyone found the freedom to measure against the indifferent peaks a personal standard that was theirs and theirs alone.
“Just promise me you'll be careful,” Ershler concluded.
“And know we're saying these things because we love you guys,” Nielson added. “And we want you to come back.”
Later that evening Frank and Dick were snug in their sleeping bags, talking about the meeting.
“At first,” Dick said, “I thought everybody not wanting us to go above the South Col was really everybody not wanting you to go, but I figured nobody wanted to come out and say it that way because they didn't want to hurt your feelings. But then as we were leaving the tent Ed
Hixson got me aside and said he was not going on our summit attempt because ours was such a weak group. Now I know he wasn't referring to the Sherpas, or Yogendra Thapa, because they have a lot of experience, so what he's saying is the weak link on the team is me.”
“I can't understand why Hixson would say that,” Frank said.
“I can't either,” Dick said. “Especially after he saw me last year on Everest carrying those heavy loads all the way to camp five. He knows I’m strong.”
It wasn't Dick's strength, however, that Hixson questioned as much as his experience. Even before the meeting Hixson had discussed his worries with some of the others.
“I know Dick has lots of guts and really good endurance,” he had said. “And Yogendra is supposed to have good experience, and so do the Sherpas, but nobody else, including myself, has much technical mountaineering ability. I’m afraid that if we were to get in trouble up there we wouldn't have anybody to know how to get us out. I bet if you look through the records you'd find we are the weakest, most inexperienced team that has gone up against Everest.”
Seven Summits Page 20
