Ripcord Adventure Journal 2.3
Our seventh issue of Ripcord Adventure Journal and the first for 2017 brings us on some very intriguing journeys of adventure and discovery. In our Guest Editorial, Mark Evans recounts the crossing of the famed Rub' Al Khali of Arabia by his team as they followed the footsteps of the almost forgotten Bertram Thomas who had crossed it back in 1931 guided by Sheikh Saleh bin Kalut al Kathiri. Jacki Hill Murphy follows Isabella Bird's Guidebook to find that adventures are indeed timeless. In 1889 Isabella Bird ventured into Ladakh region of Kashmir to experience these remote lands and cultures. Rory Golden, a man of many talents give us a glimpse of the world of undersea exploration, the discovery of the Titanic and the life and times of the original 'Ripcord' adventurer Ralph White. In the first of a regular slot, explorer and photographer Jeremy Curl remembers his journey to witness a Donga Fight in the western side of the Omo Valley where manhood is tested and tribal feuds settled. In our final article in this issue, Jimmy McSparron finds hospitality and enjoys the dangers of an unconventional hike to Machu Picchu.
Our seventh issue of Ripcord Adventure Journal and the first for 2017 brings us on some very intriguing journeys of adventure and discovery.
In our Guest Editorial, Mark Evans recounts the crossing of the famed Rub' Al Khali of Arabia by his team as they followed the footsteps of the almost forgotten Bertram Thomas who had crossed it back in 1931 guided by Sheikh Saleh bin Kalut al Kathiri.
Jacki Hill Murphy follows Isabella Bird's Guidebook to find that adventures are indeed timeless. In 1889 Isabella Bird ventured into Ladakh region of Kashmir to experience these remote lands and cultures.
Rory Golden, a man of many talents give us a glimpse of the world of undersea exploration, the discovery of the Titanic and the life and times of the original 'Ripcord' adventurer Ralph White.
In the first of a regular slot, explorer and photographer Jeremy Curl remembers his journey to witness a Donga Fight in the western side of the Omo Valley where manhood is tested and tribal feuds settled.
In our final article in this issue, Jimmy McSparron finds hospitality and enjoys the dangers of an unconventional hike to Machu Picchu.
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22<br />
Baruntse - A World Apart<br />
Alex Staniforth<br />
Grassy alps of alpine flora were soon replaced by foggy high passes<br />
and bleak moraine as we pushed up towards the snow line and our<br />
first high pass, the Surke La. A boulder-strewn river brought us<br />
deeper into the tranquil Hinku valley. Here we would ‘warm up’ by<br />
climbing the popular Mera Peak, at 6,476 metres altitude. Her<br />
imposing north face loomed ahead as a moraine ridge cut through<br />
the debris fields of the Dig glacier to Khare village. I had no idea<br />
what this ‘straightforward’ trekking peak had in store, until two<br />
dishevelled burly Aussie climbers dragged themselves into the<br />
teahouse dining room, and collapsed onto the benches.<br />
“What was the worst part?” I asked quietly.<br />
“All of it”, they muttered – completely broken. Purna interrupted<br />
the anxious silence with an impressive steamed cake – with cherries<br />
on top.<br />
“This Mera Peak summit cake!” Thoman grinned.<br />
Their charisma, resourcefulness and hospitality was truly humbling.<br />
Sadly, the cake left less of an impression the morning after, when the<br />
pong of rotten chicken overpowered the scent of Yak dung burning<br />
on the stove. I wretched. Purna hadn’t changed the cooking oil from<br />
the week earlier, and ‘Kentucky Fried’ Cake is something I never<br />
want to quite experience again in my life!<br />
Feeling nauseous, for a different reason, we pushed straight to high<br />
camp, the oppressive heat and exertions sticking the clothes to my<br />
back. My un-acclimatised body screamed for respite. Ascending<br />
almost one thousand metres was a significant height jump that<br />
concerned me.<br />
Endless zigzagging slopes brought a relentless white expanse<br />
through my glasses. Growing weaker in each step, I crashed into my<br />
tent, repulsing the heat, too tired to acknowledge the impressive<br />
panorama outside. I was fast learning how altitude is like horseracing,<br />
you have bad days for no real reason – and it can cost you a<br />
fortune.
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