Nuptse Tragedy. The aim of the Joint British Army-Royal Nepalese Army Nuptse Expedition was to climb that mountain as a final work-up and testing ground for our next spring’s expedition to Mount Everest. Nuptse was our second choice, the first being Cho Oyu, but this was denied us for political reasons. Nuptse (25,850 feet) had been climbed once before, by a British party in 1961 which used the central ridge of the south face. No party has attempted it since. The main difficulties had been reported to be low down. The ridge, which is narrow, steep, very rotten and exposed, is the key to the upper reaches of the peak. Above this a vertical band of rock, 1000 feet high, barred the way to the upper icefield, along which we would have to traverse for over a half-mile before climbing a 2000-foot couloir to the summit ridge. By March 28 the whole team was at the Acclimatisation Camp at Dingboche at 14,350 feet, having walked in from Kathmandu. We spent a week at that altitude, packing stores to Base Camp. In early April Base Camp was established at 17,060 feet on the west bank of the Nuptse Glacier. Following the lateral moraine and crossing the chaotic, ankle-breaking glacier boulderfield right under the vast south face of Nuptse, we established Camp I at 18,000 feet on a small snowy glacier underneath the ridge. Employing normal Himalayan tactics of “carry high, sleep low,” we fought our way up the ridge. There were very few sites either large or flat enough for camps. The ridge itself was intricate and exposed. Sometimes we were on the crest, at others 60 feet below it. At times we actually had to pass through tunnels in the ridge to get to the other side to make progress. By April 27 we had established Camp IV, a kind of Advanced Base, at 21,000 feet at the end of the ridge where it abuts the south face. Camp V was made on April 30. The final obstacle, the rock band, was overcome and on May 5 Camp VI was established at 23,350 feet. On May 7 the four lead climbers made the route along the half-mile traverse and established Camp VII at 23,500 feet. The first summit attempt was made by Major G.F. Owens and Captain R.A. Summerton on May 9. They left Camp VII at 7:15 and were roughly two-thirds of the way up the summit couloir when they fell. No one saw them fall, but a team member at Camp VII was hit by stonefall on this day and so the possibility of falling rocks can not be ruled out. A later helicopter search revealed the two bodies at the bottom of the mountain at the head of the Nuptse Glacier. Despite our severe shock at the loss of two such fine and capable climbers, we determined to continue the assault. Four fresh men were at Camp VII for a bid on May 12, but the weather, which had never been good now turned much worse. On May 13 after a day of continuous snowfall and high winds, I resolved to evacuate the mountain for a spell to allow the weather to change. The withdrawal began on May 14. The night before, Camp V had been avalanched and one tent flattened by hundreds of tons of snow, fortunately without injury. It was during the withdrawal from Camps VII to VI that Lieutenant D.A.J. Brister and Rifleman Pasang Tamang fell to their deaths. They must have fallen from about two-thirds of the way along the traverse, over the rock band and onto the steep snowfield below. The helicopter search carried out later identified the bodies. Because the weather never let up, I decided to withdraw. We built a large cairn to our fallen companions at Base Camp, which we left on May 20. The other members of the team were Captains C.H. Agnew of Lochnaw the Younger, N.F. Gifford, M.T. King, E.C. Walshaw and M.H. Kefford, Lieutenant J.D.C. Peacock, Majors A.J. Muston and E.A.N. Winship, Surgeon Lieutenant Commander P.N. Dilly, Chief Technician G.P. Armstrong, Corporal M.P. Lane, and I, as leader, British; Lance Corporal Basantakumar Rai, Corporals Kagendrabahadur Limbu, Narbu Sherpa, Nandaraj Gurung, Angphurba Sherpa and Rifleman Kubirjang Rai, Gurkas; and Major Bhagirath Narsingh Rana, Sebedar Krishna Bahadur and Corporal Bishnu Bahadur, Royal Nepalese Army, with Sherpas Sonam Girme, Tensing and Pasang Tensing.

Jonathan W. Fleming, Major, The Parachute Regiment