The expedition was a great success, no one died and all the L’Esprit d’Equipe climbers made it to the top and back without frostbite or other injury. Bull Computers was very pleased with the publicity and decided to continue the funding. The mountain was first climbed in 1956 from the north side by a Japanese expedition. As an added bonus for me, 33 years after that first ascent, I had become the first Brit to reach the summit.
On the summit of Manaslu, 15 May 1989, holding a photo of my daughter, Fiona. This was my second 8000m peak. I never imagined then that I would go on to climb them all. In this photo she is only a child; by the time I had finished all 14 she was grown up and had her own little boy.
REINHOLD MESSNER
Italian mountaineer Reinhold Messner is an icon of almost mythical status. His contribution to mountaineering, especially among the Himalayan and Karakoram 8000ers, is unequivocal. His achievements are a benchmark.
In 1986, he became the first person to have climbed all of the 8000m peaks, one year ahead of Polish climber Jerzy Kukuczka.
Climbing all 14 peaks is a quantifiable and inspirational goal in mountaineering, just as the four-minute mile, first run by a Briton, Roger Bannister, paced by Chris Brasher and Chris Chataway, is in athletics. More than a thousand people have run a four-minute mile since 6 May 1954. So far fewer than 30 have climbed all 14 8000m peaks and it will be a long time before a thousand people have managed it. Running a four-minute mile takes dedication, technique and tremendous effort; climbing all the 8000m peaks requires all of the above but also carries a high risk of death.
Where’s my pint? With iconic Italian mountaineer Reinhold Messner, the first person to climb all the 8000m peaks.
Messner pushed the boundaries of stamina and determination as well as overcoming tragedy and setback to achieve success. He is a survivor and has inspired many mountaineers. He broke many psychological barriers during his mountaineering career, not least surviving many days in the death zone above 8000m.
As a young Alpinist I was influenced by his books, his climbing style and his ethics. He is an exponent of climbing fast and light and made daring rapid, solo ascents of big Alpine faces. He held a speed record on the North Face of the Eiger for some years, climbing it in ten hours with Peter Habeler in 1974. In the Himalaya he endured a traumatic descent on Nanga Parbat during which his brother Günther was killed; Reinhold survived the experience but with severe frostbite and had all his toes amputated. Nevertheless he went on to climb all the 8000m peaks.
There is no doubt that Reinhold Messner is one of the world’s greatest ever mountaineers. Distinctive looking, with a thick mane of hair, he is outspoken and has strong opinions on mountaineering and many other topics. I met him at the British Embassy in Kathmandu when he was a Euro MP for the Italian Green Party and we talked as much about European Politics as we did climbing.
Messner has a dedicated mountain museum in the Tyrol and is pretty much a household name in Europe. I have chatted with him at several mountain festivals in Britain and at Buckingham Palace, where we joined a gathering of fellow adventurers. It was salutary to realise that Messner, an Italian, was flattered and honoured to meet our Queen.
3 CHO OYU
8201m, 1990
Categorising any 8000m peak as ‘easy’, or referring to an ‘ordinary’ or ‘normal’ route to the summit, is a contradiction in terms. There is nothing easy or normal about any 8000m mountain. Each of the 14 giants represents a serious undertaking, with different characteristics, dangers, difficulties and local weather patterns, and none should be underestimated. However, Cho Oyu is generally regarded as the easiest and safest of the 14 and to safeguard the climb rope is fixed along the best route. It also has less avalanche and rock fall danger, fewer steep slopes and relatively easy access from Tibet.
Squat rather than pointy, Cho Oyu is a giant, snow-plastered whaleback, a huge Thunderbird 2 of a mountain but as impressive as any other 8000er, with a vast presence. Once fixed ropes are in place on the steeper sections it is a relatively straightforward ascent and the technical climbing difficulties are minimal. Unlike a lot of 8000ers there is no tricky, exposed final summit ridge to fall from – it has a large undulating summit plateau. The final section is like an extreme altitude fell walk to the summit. Cho Oyu attracts a number of teams every year and a well-marked route to the summit is created, making it a favourite for expeditions. It is a good first 8000er to attempt and is regularly guided.
Cho Oyu, sixth highest mountain in the world and possibly the easiest and safest 8000m peak… although there are no easy or safe 8000ers.
Cho Oyu was to be the first of a double bill of two 8000m peaks in one season. We would climb Cho Oyu then go directly to Shisha Pangma, driving across the Tibetan Plateau. It almost felt as though we were using Cho Oyu to acclimatise. I was happy that we had gone to Cho Oyu first as I had already climbed Shisha Pangma. The original plan was to climb a new route on Cho Oyu and ensure all members of the L’Esprit d’Equipe climbing team reached the top together although I realised that our leader Benoit Chamoux would probably have an agenda to make sure of the summit himself, thus moving closer to completing all 14 of the 8000ers.
Tingri, a stark and dusty village at 4300m on the arid Tibetan Plateau. Chinese development has seen the village expand since this photograph was taken in 1990. When I was last there coal was being brought in by truck from Chinese coal mines, to burn on stoves instead of dried yak dung. Coal gives a hotter and cleaner fire than dung and the increase in the village’s population means the yaks can no longer keep pace with demand.
After a team launch in Paris, we flew to Kathmandu to organise the expedition kit before heading up the Friendship Highway north through Nepal to Tibet. Thankfully the road was free of landslides and we were able to drive all the way up to the Kodari Zhangmu border crossing and up to the Tibetan Plateau. I knew the road well by now, having been along it several times on expeditions to Tibet, such as Shisha Pangma with Jerzy Kukuczka and Menlungtse with Chris Bonington. To save time and money, as everyone had to pay a daily fee for each day they were in Tibet, Benoit insisted on pushing straight on to Tingri, high on the Tibetan Plateau at 4300m. Tingri is a dirty, bare, dusty, inhospitable mud-walled village. Imagine Clint Eastwood and the film High Plains Drifter, in brown and grey dust and yak dung. It’s usually a good idea to stop for a few days in Nyalam, a thousand metres lower down, for the chance to acclimatise gradually and safely. Going too high too quickly causes serious acute mountain sickness (AMS) leading to cerebral and pulmonary oedema, which can rapidly be fatal.
Benoit Chamoux and a friendly Red Guard of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in Tingri.
I was not happy about going straight up to the Tibetan Plateau. On previous expeditions I had always had an acclimatisation stopover in Nyalam for two or three nights, which adds