Speaker: Alan Wade

 (Photo by Martin Jernberg on Unsplash)

Conquering Everest was the subject of a superb illustrated talk by Glasgow man Alan Wade to Kilrymont Rotarians.
A member of Cairnban Mountaineering Club, Alan has a passion for winter climbing and has experience in high mountains with summits in the Alps, Andes and six climbs in the Himalayas.
In 2011 he was accepted on a team of 12 for Everest via the South Col route.
The Everest climbing season is March-May and he was away for over 70 days on the expedition. Alan said the climbing permit cost US$100,000 and also $10,000 per person.
Arriving at Lukla Airport in Nepal, said to be the most dangerous airport in the world, it took two weeks to reach Everest base camp with all the team’s equipment and provisions carried by Yaks and porters.
Alan said the trip to base camp using a high passes route allowed the climbing team to acclimatise to the high altitude. They went high during the day and lower at night which gave their bodies time to produce more oxygen-carrying red blood cells and thus avoid altitude sickness.
Before the ascent of Everest climbing groups have to take part in a blessing ceremony by a Tibetan Buddhist lama priest. Local Sherpa mountain guides will not climb without the five-hour ceremony having taken place.
Alan then described the route of the climb from base camp and through the Khumbu ice fall area to camp 2. This was climbed at night when the ice was hard and Alan’s pictures should how precarious that first part of the climb was navigating crevasses and dangerous ice crops.
He said the continuing ascent to base camps 3 and 4 was particularly steep and arduous. With careful monitoring of the weather, the final climb to the 8848m (29,031ft) summit and back to camp 4 was undertaken in 18 hours.
Alan said the descent was tricky as his sight had been affected by the wind and glare.
He said his next challenge was to climb Ama Dablam in the Himalayas before he turned 60 and he also wanted to complete the Scottish Munros having done over 200 of them.
Alan gave a fascinating and amusing insight into high altitude climbing. Rotarian Stephen Bennie, a long-time friend of Alan, proposed a vote of thanks.