From a newsletter sent to Crabtree members in early June 2005
Cambridge Blue Richard Staite has been on an expedition to climb Everest since the start of May.
"Dear All
We finally reached the summit on 4th June.
For those that are interested I've written down the basics of what took place over the last few days.
The last two weeks of May were spent in our tents at Advance Base Camp at 21,000 feet wondering if we would abandon the whole attempt or if we tried whether we would have the energy to do it in our weaker state. Finally a lull in the wind was forecast for 4th and 5th June. Our group was split into two teams and the fast team set off on the five day summit push on 31st May. On day one we climbed to the North Col at 7000m and on day two to camp 2 at 7500m. We had covered this ground previously and it not particularly stressful. As we left camp 2 the wind increased and after 50m as we rounded the corner onto the north face it turned gale force. The 400m climb to camp 3 at 7900m became utterly exhausting as I was regularly knocked over.
The wind made breathing much more difficult and I felt as if I was suffocating. I'd left the rest of the group behind and they were now out of sight below me. I began to wonder if everyone else had turned around. I tried to eat and drink but found it surprising difficult. The liquid blew away as I poured it from the bottle into my mouth and froze on my gloves. Eating is equally difficult when one is breathing flat out. I arrived in camp 3 first and found our tents had either been shredded or looked uninhabitable. After some time a couple of other team members arrived and we tried to rebuild the tents. This was not entirely possible and finally I ended up sharing a two man tent with three people. All I had to eat that night was Pringles and muesli bars and this was all I ate for the next three days. Most of that night was spent worrying that the tent would tear apart in the wind. The noise, the shaking, the altitude and the lack of space ensured I didn't sleep at all.
The next day we put on our oxygen masks and climbed to camp 4 at 8300m. The wind died down and it was in fact easier than the previous day. We arrived at camp at about 3pm and focused on melting snow to drink. Departure for the summit was planned for 11pm.
By this stage I was getting a little nervous. I felt good despite the lack of sleep and food but there was still the chance that the wind would prevent us from reaching the summit. At 10pm I started making final preparations. I'd written down all the things i needed to do on a piece of paper. The brain doesn't work particularly well at that altitude and I didn't want to make a mistake. I double checked my harness, strapped on my oxygen mask, wrapped my Cambridge blue scarf around my neck and got out of the tent. The scarf was not entirely necessary, but I wanted to wear it on the summit.
The first few hundred metres of the climb is directly up the north face. Its almost entirely on rock but we had to use crampons due to the odd ice patch. The terrain is like a steep scramble up boulders. Technically its fairly straightforward however the bulky heavy clothing and oxygen mask ensure you can't see your own feet. The darkness also doesn't help. Its easy to make small slips which waste a lot of energy and some of the moves require a sustained amount of effort which leaves one gasping for air. There were many times when I though I was going to suffocate. Breathing through an oxygen mask can feel like breathing through a straw. Initially, when I felt desperate for air, I would ripe the mask off and suck in huge amounts of air but soon found that this made things even worse. In part it was my own fault for trying to go too fast and eventually I learned to do just one small move at a time. After climbing directly up the north face we eventually reached the long north east ridge some distance from the summit.
The route from here to the summit pyramid stays just to the right of the sharp ridge line. On the left there are overhanging snow cornices with several thousand meters drop below. The ridge is intersected by three "steps" or rock walls. The first is relatively high but not vertical. The second is split into two sections, the first part was close to vertical but had some good ledges to stand on. The second part is close to vertical and smooth. Its virtually unclimbable in mountaineering clothes which is why the Chinese put a ladder there in 1975. A ladder at over 28,000 feet seems odd but has become an accepted part of the route. After we'd climbed the second step it began to get light. We looked down on complete cloud cover at about 7000m with all the 8000m peaks visible.
The third step is relatively small and easy to negotiate however on top of it we were forced to step over the body of a climber who died a couple of weeks ago. I'd managed to avoid looking at the many other bodies on route but this one has not yet been shifted to one side. Beyond is the final summit pyramid, up a snow slope, a traverse around a narrow ledge looking straight down the 3500m North Face and then onto the summit at about 6.45am. I must admit I found the last 100 metres quite hard. I could take two steps and then needed some time to get my breathing back under control. Being on the summit was a relief but there was little feeling of elation. The view was of low lying cloud at 7000m with the other 8000m mountains clearly showing through. I asked my team mate, David to take a couple of pictures of me waving an SG flag. I had then intended to tie a piece of light blue ribbon to any pole I could find but there wasn't one. I just had to make do with wearing a light blue scarf and having a small St Catharine's flag on my right chest pocket. We stayed on the summit for 20 minutes and then it was time to get going. We were concerned about our oxygen running low and my vision was starting to blur.
I found myself going slowly for the first couple of hundred metres down due to the difficulty of breathing but my legs felt strong and as I got lower I accelerated and ultimately reached Advance Base Camp by 4pm the same day. A descent of 2500m. David also made it to ABC but the rest of the group were forced to stay at various other camps on the mountain. On the way down the only piece of drama was on the second step when I came close to disaster. The ladder stops about 6 feet short of the top of the rock wall. In order to reach it one has to lower oneself over the top of the wall onto a ledge and then make a awkward move to the left onto the ladder. Easy at sea level and in normal clothes. However I managed to get a crampon caught on one of the numerous old ropes that hang over the edge. I found myself unbalanced, unprotected and grasping for a handhold on the rock face with one foot caught in the rope. If you fall at this point you'll go straight to the bottom of the north face with one or two bounces if you're lucky. I spent what felt like an eternity trying to get a handhold but all the rocks were smooth. The effort sent me into severe oxygen deprivation and I must admit I almost panicked at this point. Eventually I got stable but the effort left me fighting for breath crouched on the little ledge. After several minutes I recovered enough to descend the ladder. It was a stupid mistake but typical of what happens on Everest.
A Japanese woman died in this place doing something similar last year. On the rest of the way down I passed various other climbers, some going up, some down and some slumped in the snow. I checked if these people were OK and they all said yes. However one of those climbers died later that day next to the route, probably through exhaustion. Many of the deaths on the north side this year seemed avoidable but as everyone is in a hypoxic condition mistakes are easily made. For my part, as I descended I realised something was wrong with me when I started hallucinating. Rocks and other objects seemed to take on human forms. Even as I descended below 7000m I thought a rucksack in the snow about 30 metres away was was a person lying down. I asked the Sherpa that owned it if this person was OK. Not surprisingly it became a somewhat confused conversation. I guess he thought I'd gone mad.
I'm now back to Kathmandu, somewhat relieved to be going home. Immediately after the climb I made the comment that it was harder than I expected and I'd never do anything like it again. Strange then that within two days I've already forgotten all the pain. I am very grateful for the support I've received from friends, family and colleagues and look forward to seeing you all soon.
Richard Staite."
(One of the guides on the trip reported that in 20 years of mountaineering, their night at Camp 3 was the worst he had experienced in a tent.)