A reflection on my Mustagh Ata climb in July 2007....
My face feels like an apple crumble. There's a perpetual burnt flaky layer peeling off. The result of being toasted in the relentless sun and snow in the mountains. I'm now back in sunshine Singapore. Happy to be snuggling under duvet blankets instead of goose feather bags. Happy that I can control the aircon instead of being blasted by sub-zero winds and shaking ice flakes & snow off tents. And most importantly, happy that I've achieved my aim of reaching 7,000m on this climb.
After we rested in the town of Tashkorgan, we headed back to Basecamp to prepare for our summit attempt. It was 3 days each of 9hrs upward plodding from Camps 1 to 3. Thank goodness for the bright sunshine - warmth gives strength and always helps us take a few more steps forward. We'd done Camps 1 & 2 before so we were confident of reaching them. The route from Camp 2 to Camp 3 was new though, and it was sheer mental that took me through. Not to mention a necessity, or there would be no place to sleep if I did not reach the tents! Throughout the climb, I was moving along on a 4-count pacing. Each 4-count cycle translated into 2 trekking pole 'steps' + 2 footsteps, which meant.... 2 steps forward. Last I measured, each 4-count rhythm took abt 10-15secs! That was how slow I was moving....
On summit morning, we woke abt 5am to prepare. It was a squeeze - 3 girls in one tent - to eat, get dressed and be ready. Buckles and straps that normally clicked-on were suddenly jammed by the cold. Feet refused to squeeze into plastic boots, snow shoe straps that refused to catch.... Finally we were ready to move. It started off without much winds, but we were moving on an exposed snow slope. It was not steep or treacherous etc, it was just super super cold. Around us, the other mountain ranges basked in the rays of sunrise. I watched with envy as the sunrays warmed our surroundings.... everywhere else but our slope!
Mustag is 7,546m. I wasn't aiming for the peak - it was too much misery. I reached 7,000m on that summit morning, the magic number that brought me to a new threshold, and decided it was high enough. That "little" extra vertical 546m would have translated into 6-7hr of trudging. My 3 friends summitted after a gruelling 9h upward climb in the cold. I figured I wouldn't last that long in the blistering cold. I was down to zero internal insulation. I'm not sure how to describe, but it's the sort of cold that emanates from inside. Despite wearing 4 layers of all the right clothing, I was shivering involuntarily even on the move. After I made an early descent to my tent, I was still shivering while sitting inside it. Milo to the rescue! Yes, milo 3-in-1 sachet powder (no water) tasted excellent.
A good friend's gem of wisdom - going up is optional, coming down is not. Too many people underestimate and over-push, forgetting that they need energy to descend. I'm the kiasee-kiasu type. I prefer to leave a bit of reserve for emergencies. I prefer to be able to think and walk down the mountain, instead of being on a stretcher. As I was descending to Basecamp, there were 2 rescue ops alongside me. One was a Swiss lady skier who was in bad shape at Camp 3, apparently very bad Altitude Mountain Sickness. They had to bundle her in a sleeping mat and dragged her down the snow slopes. The other was a Korean body they had to bring down the mountain. A Korean team ran into trouble at Camp 3 last week - they were climbing without guides, alpine style. Three members were rescued from the tents after 2-3 days of no food & water. The 4th member (team leader) was later found frozen dead near the summit.
I've learnt a lot from this climb, never mind if I did not summit. People at Basecamp tried to justify my "failed" attempt and asked if I was sick or something. I simply replied that I've reached my personal goal of 7,000m and that was enough. I don't think they quite understand, for they seemed surprised. Like it was blasphemous to come to a mountain so high and not aim for the peak. Perhaps it wasn't meant to be a conquest of the mountain - be humble! - but a conquest of oneself. The mountain would embrace you if it so wished to. I am totally thankful for the wonderful weather throughout the climb, that allowed us to keep to our planned itinerary. And I am happy to be tested at 7,000m with very little AMS.
Til the next adventure :))
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