Jumaring below the Steppes

When Tony & I started on these pitches, Bob & Graham had only arrived at the Steppes, and had decided to set up camp there. The climbing had gone slower than expected on mixed free and aid climbing, and jumaring with our huge sacks had proven to be very hard work.
When Tony & I left our comfortable perch in the morning, we grunted up the same pitches to the Steppes campsite at 5300m.
The next day we climbed several pitches to reach the Terraces camp site at 5500m. When got as far as the bottom of the Flake Pillar, the crux of the route, and could see that conditions were still far from optimal. Ice and snow still plastered the steep rock, and little sun penetrated this dark corner.

The airy campsite at the Steppes

We established two cramped camp sites for our tiny two-man tents by excavating and levelling the loose rocks. It was just as well that we made a good job as this was to be our home for a few days.
The next morning, Tony and I jumared up to the high spot established by Graham the previous day. Though not a very great distance had been achieved, each foot had been hard won. The steep snow and ice covered rocks had slowly succumbed to a mixture of aid climbing and cunning moves with ice axes and crampons. Our next attempt to advance the climb did not proceed any easier. Even if the rock seemed clear of snow from a distance, the cracks which were crucial placement of our aid equipment were choked with ice.

Graham hangs out in the afternoon snow

We continued with this slow and painful progress for two whole days, returning to our tiny perches in the evenings for much needed food and sleep.
During this time Bob became sick. He was suffering from high-altitude bronchitis, and made the difficult decision to return to base camp. This, unfortunately, left us not only short of one team member, but also of two ropes, since these were required for Bob's descent.
The remaining three now had to combine as one team and try to push on through from our high spot on the ropes through to the next bivouac. We did not have enough rope to 'fix' all the way through, so we had to proceed 'Alpine Style' and get to the 'Disappointment Bivouac ledge' before darkness.
We passed a difficult section, the so-called 'aid-pitch', with relative ease.

Tony Hunter, after the descent

We thought that we had the climb in the bag now. We couldn't be more wrong. The pitches that followed proved every bit as hard as the previous on the pillar. In fact, the higher we got on the route, the more shady the pillar became, and hence more snow and ice filled.
Light was now fading fast as we battled with huge sacks. I found myself perched on a ledge the size of a tea tray, thousands of feet up, with my sleeping bag at the bottom of the sack and not much hope of getting it out without spilling the contents all over the Gangotri Glacier. I volunteered to climb on by torchlight, rather than shiver on the ledge.
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