Ulysses Trust Reports

Mountaineering, Trekking, 'Dragon Venturer Eagle', Nepal, Khumbu, Oct 2010, ID 905

Derbyshire ACF

Introduction

Dragon Venturer Eagle was a trekking and climbing expedition to the Everest region of the Nepalese Himalayas which took place from the 8 to the 28 October 2010 to mark the occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the Cadet Forces. The Expedition team consisted of 20 Army Cadets aged 14 to 18 along with 7 Adult Instructors from Derbyshire. The remainder of the team consisted of 3 ML's, 2 Alpine Mountain Leaders, an expedition Doctor and 2 welfare/logistics support staff.

The expedition was based on a two level approach. The first level focussed on novice trekkers by providing an opportunity for them to experience high altitude trekking. The second level of development focussed on the experienced trekkers/climbers in the team to ascend Island Peak. Our overall aim was for each team to achieve their maximum permitted altitudes which were:
   Junior Team 4600Mtrs (sleeping no higher than 4250Mtrs
   Senior Team 5500Mtrs
   Island Peak Team 6189 Mtrs

Expedition

The team departed from Derby on the 8 October to London's Heathrow Airport for the onward journey to Kathmandu. On arrival the staff attended a briefing at the British Embassy before joining the remainder of the group for the pre expedition dinner.

The plan was to get straight out to Lukla the next morning to try and beat the weather problems forecast ahead. After three days of waiting in Kathmandu and visiting all the natural heritage sites, 13 of the team managed to get the first flight of the day to Lukla and await the remainder of the group. This was not to be, due to low cloud which resulted in the remaining flights to be cancelled yet again.

The only option now was to charter flights in Helicopters to bring the remainder of the group onto the mountain. This was unforeseen - apart from the expense, it was to keep the Expedition alive. The decision was made to press on and the next morning the remainder of the team were to experience their first ever helicopter flight. With this knowledge, the first 13 moved off to Phakding where they stayed the night to await the remainder of the group.

Notice was received that the first chalk had departed and that they were landing at the HLS in Phakding. Once all the team had arrived and caught up over breakfast we departed for our next location and first acclimatisation base, Namchee Bazzar. Here we spent two days carrying out various excursions to gain altitude and then descend to sleep. Our next day was to move on up to Tengbouche.

The weather was not kind and rained most of the day. After visiting the monastery it was time to prepare for the next day with a further height gain to Dingbouche. Here we took another day for acclimatisation. This included an excursion to the highest point before again descending to sleep a further night before moving on. Due to the loss of days at the beginning it was decided that the Island Peak team would not be able to visit Everest Base Camp and would leave the main group at Dingbouche for Chukkung to meet the climbing support team.

The junior team had reached the maximum permitted altitude for sleeping so they moved to Pheriche to conduct their programme with SMI Paul Moffett whilst awaiting the return of the senior team from EBC. The seniors moved on towards EBC with Lt Andy Smith and the Island Peak team moved off to Chukkung with Maj Kevin Edwards.

A brief summary of the remainder of the expedition from each of the three teams can be reviewed below:

Junior Team

The junior team consisted of five cadets aged between 14 –15, with 1 female and 4 males all of similar fitness. During the move up to Dingbouche the junior team acclimatised well throughout with only a few issues regarding the affects of altitude. When the teams all went their separate ways, the junior team accompanied the senior team as far as ‘Dughla’ - the highest point the team was to reach due to the restrictions on altitude gain. We said our goodbyes and wished the senior team good luck and we returned back down the hill to stay at ‘Pheriche’. Whilst there, we conducted further acclimatization with treks to ‘Dingbouche’ and the surrounding area.

On day three the team headed back up towards ‘Dughla’ to meet the returning senior team and to have lunch. This gave both teams the chance to catch up and chat about their amazing experiences over the 48hr period they where apart. Overall the junior team were well motivated and very fit. They proved a lot to themselves and thoroughly enjoyed their time in the Himalayas.

Senior Team

The Senior team maintained their focus from the onset, never allowing the delays and sickness within the team to impact on their objective. Their test was to get to Gorak Shep and Everest Base Camp (EBC) with enough daylight hours to ensure a safe journey. It was now that their 2 years of training would be relied upon. As the team gained height and distance it became a long and gruelling walk across the moraine filled paths along with the cold icy wind stealing each breath. EBC was soon in sight and before the team knew it they had arrived, the Cadets and Adults then all phoned home. After a quick group photo, the team set off back to Gorak Shep.

The descent back to Pheriche was just as hard as the ascent: everyone in the team was tired and needed rest. When the team was chosen 18 months ago we all agreed that we needed characters that would work together and would adapt to each situation or day as needed. This was achieved, everyone had a part to play and they all played it well.

Island Peak Team

The trail up to Chukkung was a fairly short, pleasant trek. Here the team met the climbing guide and everything required for the ascent was checked and packed. The guide briefed the team on a few top and handy hints for life at higher altitude and then did a final check of crampons to ensure they fitted the boots correctly. Departing after breakfast they made a steady ascent up to Island Peak Base Camp (IBC). IBC was swamped with various international commercial teams.

After breakfast the team embarked on the short ascent up to HBC for acclimatisation.

Activity around the mess tent at 0030hrs roused them from their tents. It was mild with a star studded sky and no wind – perfect summit weather. The first stage of the route was over familiar ground up to HBC which we covered in good time, each step illuminated in our head torch beams. The next part of the route followed the left side of an open gulley which we crossed at mid height heading rightwards toward a broad spur of rock. When we reached the top of the rock spur where there was a substantial platform for a well deserved rest, take on some fluid and gear up for the start of the glacier section.

We roped up in 2 teams, each led by one of the climbing guides. The team now got their second wind and with renewed vigour crossed the glacier in good time with the summit goal now clearly in sight. There was a well marked trail across the glacier which posed no significant technical problems as the few crevasses were easily circumvented. The next and most technically difficult part of the route now lay open to us. Spaced out evenly we clipped onto the fixed rope with our jumars and a safety line to ascend the 150mts of a 40⁰ snow/ice slope to reach the summit ridge.

Having surmounted the ridge a further fixed rope led us up a steady incline to the summit which we all achieved within 15mins of each other. We were the last of the teams to summit at 0945hrs and had the mountain all to ourselves with an unobstructed 360⁰ view of Lhotse and Makalu, both over 8000mts. We remained on the summit for half an hour clicking away with the cameras and congratulating each other on our achievement. Despite the physical exertions we were all in good shape and prepared ourselves for the descent. We rapidly regained the top of the fixed line, and reunited on the level glacier, once again taking on fluid and food.

Summary

Once all back together in Kathmandu, the team visited an orphanage and were guests of the Ambassador at the British Embassy. At the orphanage we delivered learning materials such as books pens etc and the cadets spent individual time with the children teaching them games and english words. This worthwhile activity was cut short from the original plan as the end of the expedition was much later than anticipated.

It is to be emphasised that many of these cadets would never have been in a position to visit Nepal without the Army Cadet Force. They all faced and overcame many different physical and psychological challenges along the way such as being away form home for the first time for some and in most cases for a length of time never experienced before. A different and challenging diet combined with living in close proximity with others and learning to rely on each other and dealing with both the climate and altitude. For the Island peak team, the continuous exertion required to get to the summit and return to base camp were additional challenges.

The Expedition succeeded at all levels and we would like to thank the Ulysses Trust and the Berlin Infantry Brigade Memorial Trust Fund for the financial support they gave to Exercise Dragon Venturer Eagle which played a major part in the success of this expedition.

Christopher I J Young, Lieutenant Colonel, Expedition Organiser