Kagebo/ Moirigkawagarbo
The little Tent City packed up and moved. We left the detritus
of Mountaineer hangers on behind us - Sig had already set up
the real base camp near the base of the mountain. They had been
doing practicing climbs, and scouting of the routes. Some sherpas
had started taking supplies even higher into the mountain, to
a high camp. They had reported several large landslides caused
by the rocket strikes. As we arrived, we witnessed an avalanche
high up near the peak. A plume of white smoke seemed to grow
out from the crest.
"Wow, that was the South East valley giving way."
Chip radioed us from his observation post at photographer's out
post. He had been exiled there after his incessant demands to
start the climb now had finally got to Sig and Helmund.
"What the hell does that sign say, Lilly?" Zach
asked pointing to a banner put up by the Chinese military contingent.
"Moirigkawagarbo, the Chinese name for our mountain."
And then she translated the rest, a propaganda message about
international friendship and Chinese mountain superiority.
"Hell, why can't we find one name for this piece of rock,"
he mused, not pleased that someone else had beaten him to the
punch of putting up a sign, over his operations. Nominally the
Chinese were in control of the climb, as time went on it seemed
Lilly was not only the mouthpiece but in some ways running it.
Since no one could understand Chinese, she was believed. Sometimes
the local communist party leader came by, to gawk and gander
at all the Western technology, and probably to get close to Lilly,
but as she started to hang out with the climbers, even going
on some of the stage, doing a couple of pitches on the lead rope.
Everyone was happy with her presence, as she could explain the
more technical stuff to the Chinese climb team.
They had been forced on us, a political move, same guys who
we had met in Yunnan.
At this real Base camp, real climbers started to show up,
even a reporter for one of the climbing magazine with a photographer.
His name was Scott Barry, turned out to be friends with Jason,
going back to climbs in the New Zealand Alps.
"Looks like there are a lot of pitches on rock and then
you hit the ice field, will you go around it, or try ice climbing?"
"You know me, I hate ice, crampons give me the willies,
since my accident." Jason was more loquacious with his buddy
than with his team. He also was more open. We were sitting near
a bon fire, a few days before the climb.
"What do you think of Diosa?" Scott was referring
to Mary.
"As a woman or as a climber?" Jason smiled; everyone
lusted after the Argentinean. "We have done some short climbs
together, and she is getting used to the ropes. She is a free
climber, so likes to be by herself."
"Are you going do it Alpine, or fully equipped?"
rumors had gotten out to the climbing world, especially with
the presence of Chip and Marie, two hotshots in sports climbing
who liked to do solo climbs.
"Mixed, probably. Low weight, fast climb." He added,
almost as an afterthought, " this might be my last mountain."
Scott looked at his photographer, a strange look full of premonition.
"Going to retire, are you buddy?" Scott asked, thinking
of how few old climbers he knew, and how many obituaries his
magazine carried each month.
"Me, I will never retire, I want to climb till 80. I
want to be killed by a jealous husband." Jason got off one
last shot then begged off any more questions, wanting to rest
in preparation for the climb.
But I had questions for Scott after Jason retired.
"Is this the Last Mountain for him? What does that mean?
He can't cut it anymore?"
"Mr. Worth, everyone in the climbing world admires Jason
and the other people on this team. The two Germans have climbed
the Eger several times, if not a dozen other mountains around
the world." Scott wanted to lecture me, having been told
about my job. "Jason will go up the mountain, but will he
come down, is the question? He has had several close calls; he
had a climbing buddy fall on his head. They were doing an ice
competition and they were wearing those wicked ice crampons,
Jason has been in constant pain since."
Scott looked around the sleeping camp, under the high stars,
and reflected.
"Climbing is the art of enduring pain. If you climb you
will hurt, gravity guarantees you a fast fall and maybe death.
Very few people climb, even as it becomes more popular, because
it tests your endurance, strength and ability to stand pain,
more than any other sport. No one is around applauding you, you
are on your own, unless you are attached by a rope, and then
you have this intimate relationship with you buddy. The French
guy, Herzog, who climbed Annapurana only, was able to make it
through the effort of his team. He lost his fingers and toes
from frostbite, but if he had not been for Lachenel, the other
guy on the summit, he would have probably not made it and probably
lost his digits anyway."
"You mean, climbing brings people together?"
"Yes and no, Lachenel said it was an affaire du cordée,
an affaire of the cord, that enabled them to get to the top.
Herzog made it to the top because Lachenel would not leave him
to die they almost die die on the way down, both loosing toes
and fingers to frostbite. But from what I have read, they were
not really friends, except for Lachenel and Terray. They were
a cordée."
The photographer interjected, "The brother hood of the
cord."
"Like Hillary and Tenzing."
"Yes, true heroes. Now we live in the time of narcissism,
the me generation, no one wants to help the other, maybe that
is why marriages fail, so the new sports climber wants all the
glory for himself or her self as the case may be. It is about
how fast you are, who you can beat, getting there at all costs."
I thought long and hard about that conversation that night
and later too after reading books on different climbs and the
controversies that followed. Lilly came to my tent that night,
after the lamasery she had warmed up to me again as if seeking
a safe harbor in the growing chaos of the preparations. I was
glad she would be with me while they climbed, so that I could
share my thoughts with her. We were forming Lachenel's "cordée"
couple, and it felt good, like it would last beyond this moment.
Next morning Sigfriend gathered us around, with Zach playing
elderly grandfather with his grandchildren, he looked like he
could bounce us on his knees.
"We have the OK to go for the climb."
Chip asked the obvious question," but I thought we needed
a Chinese climber? God, we can't go with one of those bumpkins,
if they go I don't go, no way."
Michel the lawyer brought him up cold, "Listen up sonny
boy."
Sig continued, " We will have the best Chinese climber,
the Black Orchid will be joining us."
The stir that caused rippled amongst the group, smiles broke
out, backs were slapped. Optimist replaced the growing gloom
caused by the thought of the Chinese army brats, as they were
called.
"So, where is she? We need to train together to form
a team? There is not much time, with the monsoon season approaching.
"Why she is right here," Zachery smiled, acting
like the wizard of Oz, his role was to give each of us something
that we already had. He really had a surprise for us. I will
let our Chinese guide explain.
Lillly stepped forward. "I am sorry but the Chinese are
very secretive and not very trusting of foreigners. Question
of history. But I have observed you for almost a month, now,
and I think you will be the team to reach the top. It will be
a great victory for mountaineering, almost a hundred years ago,
the first people tried to climb this mountain. Many have tried,
and many have died. It will not be simple and will require the
highest effort and only those of extreme ability will make it."
They all nodded in ascent, their egos big enough to handle
the reality behind the words. All of them were ready to go, but
the Chinese problem hung over the climb.
"So the Chinese government has asked our best climber
to come with you, to help and guide you. She grew up in this
area, she knows the mountains like the back of her hand, she
has even climbed several routes up half the mountain."
Murmurs of astonishment passed amongst them, while my own
mind started to understand. I fashed back to the room in Leigiang,
to Lilly's father, the botanist, who loved flowers so much he
named her Lilly. But all climbers had nicknames. The Chinese
took English names when they went west, leaving their Chinese
names behind. Jason was smiling as well. The Germans were stoic
as usual. Chip and his girl friend were bemused, too young to
understand that life was not as simple as they wanted it to be.
Marie was looking at Lilly with hate, her jaw trembling. Maybe
Doc and I were the only two in the team, other than Zach, who
knew what was coming.
"So, I am sorry to have had to put up this charade, but,
yes I am called the black orchid." She finished and then
looked away, everyone followed her gaze, expecting to see someone
new appear, but she was only looking at the flags flying at the
lama shrine.
"Lilly, you are the famous Chinese climber?" chip
asked, stating the obvious, "Cool.'
Other reactions went from joy to bemusement. Mitigating circumstances,
the team had come to understand the Chinese need for control
and obfuscation in their dealings. My reaction was one of disbelief
and abandonment. She was going away, Like the snow leopard, she
was returning to her lair leaving me behind.
The woops of joy,"we are going, we are going." Rung
in my ears, but my eyes were filled with tears as she was surrounded
and hugged by her new family, the team had bonded leaving me
out. I wandered off to where Scott and his photographer stood
trying to contact their offices via satellite phone with the
good news. A scoop for them.
Just in from our roaming reporter, after checking out the
conditions in Katmandou, Scott was lucky enough to find out the
big story of the day, Kagebo, the 100 year virgin mountain.
A Sino intentional climbing team organized by Zachery Taylor
Weatherspoon, will start the attack on mount Kagebo today, using
a new climbing technique, spider cords, rocket supplies, the
mixed team of men and women will include the famous Black Orchid,
of Chinese climbing fame. On the anniversary of the first attempt,
a hundred years ago, this last bastion of mountaineering will
soon fall. We will carry the climb via Internet and when appropriate
with live video feeds form helicopter and via mini video cameras
on special climbing hats.
Around noon, The Llama arrived, to bless the climbers who
now were roaring to go. My stance was noted by all and ignored,
that my emotional relationship with Lilly, now the Black Orchid,
had been the source of gossip ever since Leiging. No doubt they
considered me another climbing widow, like the French girl Chanteloup.
She was hugging and kissing Chip, her body entwined with his,
making me want to envious. Lilly looked at me several times,
her face was both sorry and joyful. Or that was what I thought
I saw.
She came over to me, pressing a piece of paper into my hand.
We did not kiss, but gave each other a hug. The Chinese way.
"Garry, my stone, you have to be stoic, and send me your
strength."
Funny now I understood how she could do the sexual gymnastics,
why under her soft skin I had felt the hardness of her muscles,
how her flexibility had been there all along, and I had not seen
it. Some of the others had, as they did practice climbs with
her, saying she would be a good climber if she really tried;
she kept her game under wraps even with them.
"Work on your book, if you get bored. I want to read
it when I return." She promised.
After the blessing the Llama came over and we had a cordial
conversation, him telling me how she had roamed the hills and
mountains with her father, gathering botanical specimens. Later
she had worked as a ranger, trying to cut down on the rustling
of endangered plants and butterflies.
"What she does now, she does for all China. We would
loose face if it were a foreign group who conquered our mountain.
Do not worry, she is like Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess, wife of
Vishnu. She will come back alive." Did the lama know something
no one else knew, and what about the others? Why did the Chinese
worship different gods? He told me that the "middle"
kingdom meant they followed the middle way, embracing all, and
keeping a balance between Yin and Yang.
He told me about his Song Zhangling Monastery.
This Large Yellow Hat (Gelupa) Tibent monastery has returned
from the ashes and destruction that swept southeastern Tibet
in the late 1950s and 1960s . Songsenlin was founded in the 17th
century during the reign of the Great Fifth Dalai Lama , when
the yellow Hat school came to full ascendancy in Tibet . It lies
a few kilometers beyond the north end of town and welcomes visitors
who behave respectfully.
The monastery once had as many as 1200 monks before and now claims
many hundreds, though most of these stay at home and work with
their families, only coming together as a single body on area
festival occasions. In 1980 the second delegation sent by the
Dalai Lama to investigate conditions in Tibet stayed in Zhongdian
, and since then there has been steady reconstruction at this
sacred site.
He told me of the previous ill fated climbing expedition:
On January 3, 1991, the Allied a mountaineering Team of China-Japan
met with such an unexpectedly violent snow avalanche at night
that the campsite vanished without any trace the next morning
and all the 17 mountaineers died in the accident. This proves
to be a tragedy rarely experienced by man in the mountaineering
history.
98.6°E and 28.4°N
At 6740 meters above sea level, the winds are harsh, and
cold; the summit waits, untouched, a sacred place. It waits patiently.
Climbers risk altitude sickness any time they venture above
8,000 feet (2,400 meters).
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