Set out with Tom Fitzpatrick in Bertha. Parked her at usual LoE, 8km up the Zara Valley from BC.
Rivers flowing in from E side had dried up in intervening time since last visit so TF descended to fill Nalgenes before we committed to the high/dry ground. He disturbed a herd of 22 Tibetan asses in the process - beautiful creatures.
It was hard slog climbing out of the valley - approx two hours to reach the barren col at 5500m.
We dropped out of the wind and shared a tin of tuna, biscuits and Britannia cheese cubes.
I recced across the col in order to better see our potential rte. It looked viable but certainly not assured.
By 1330hrs we started the steep ascent to gain the ridge, initially on loose stuff and then via a few nice climbing moves on good rock (though always with some loose blocks about)
We hollered with joy and excitement on gaining the true ridge: good rock, great setting: all set!
Tom kept saying "This is cool!"
And it was. We stayed on the ridge "crest is best" wherever poss. Only on one occasion did we decline the true line, skirting marginally left, still climbing but less steeply and on better rock than staying right.
Beyond this difficulty we stopped for some water, flapjack and peanut butter. The next step looked tricky. TF skirted it to the right. I took a direct line: steeper but on good rock.
Around mid-way along the ridge we got a Yellow Brick message from the group on Tanglang: they had a casualty and were descended. That evolved to `casualty deteriorating. Stretchering cas on steep ground`. So we didn`t hang around.
After 2 1/2 hours we were on all fours, hauling our fatigued bodies up the black triangle ... and offering prayers to the descent Gods. At 1600hrs we stood on top of the BT at 5800m, surveying all we had done and all we`d like to have done given more time: a continuation via two 6000m peaks. As it was, we descended rapidly down a huge field of scarily big and loose blocks. In the space of an hour we descended the 700m to the valley floor and then yomped along it back to Bertha.
The cas was Euan - who`d succumbed suddenly and violently to norovirus. When we arrived he was wrapped in foil, on the valley floor and Dr Lucy was trying - in vain (da doom!) - to get an IV in. Of the descent, Jamie said (in his glorious Scottish accent)
"We tried every carrying method in the ML Handbook and they were all shite!"
By dusk we were back at BC and got Euan to bed. Pretty annoyed that throughout this CL had been sat on his arse, anticipating nothing and hadn`t even got the kettle on: lesson in how not to do things.
Cooked up an epic slap-up, TF and I. Great, great day.
