Evening star., 1953-06-19

cRAMPoNS-MetoI frome with spikes,
fitting the soles Of boots, for use on
hard snow Dr. ice.
4ToN-A metel spike with ring in
the heed. which can be driven into
rock or ice.
BELAY-To secure the climber to q
projection with the rope.
knew the hardest part still lay
before uS-we hagan the descent.
Cautiously we moved down in
turn, placing pitons whenever
possible. for the rock was far
from good. It was scorchingly hot
in the sun, but in the shadow the
cold was intense.
We traversed across the slope,
then started on the great ice
ridge. This time the snow no
longer held-it was loose and
treacherous: we would rather
have been On bare ice.
Terray started off; I Delayed
him with pitonS, but the limited
number we had with us forced
me to take most of them out. So
I had to 60 down by myself, with
no belay. under the watchful eye
OF Terray, who knew very well
that If I slipped I should in
evitably drag him off, too.
When it was his turn I
watched him go down face out
ward with slow, carefully stud
led movements so that he should
always be in perfect balance.
He told me later that twice he
had begun to slip and twice been
able to pull himself up.
A Balancing Trick.
My technique was different: I
went down face to the slope,
using my hands as much as my
feet. With my right foot I felt
the ice, searching for a good
hold, and putting my foot in
position without being able to
see what I was doing; my left
foot held, in spite of the soft
snow, by the two front points Of
my crampons. With my left
hand ! pressed the wet snow
against the ice, using this as a
sort Of little hold; with my right
hand I used my ice-ax as an
anchor. with the pick stuck a
few millimeters into the rock
hard ice.
When my right foot was in
position and my balance re-
established on three points of
contact. such as they were. it
was the turn of the left foot to
repeat the operation. It was an
extraordinary reptilian progress,
a kind of balancing trick, in
which I held the mountain very
gently without jolting it either
by speed or movement.
Hello, you up there!" It was
Schatz' voice. He was coming
up to help us. Terray. who was
nearer to him, called out that we
were giving I'D.
Hi, Schatz, take the tent
down. we're going back to base
camp"
Others Found q Way.
At base camp we were greeted
with sensational news. Lachenal
and Rebuffat had sent back their
sherpa with a note: The right
bank of the glacier was prac-
ticable; they guaranteed to reach
the plateau which they had so
far not been able to see. On
the other hand they had been
able to see nothing of the upper
part of Annapurna.
From the point Terray and I
had reached on the spur, at q
height of about 10000 feet, I had
been able to see the whole Of the
section which had remained in
visible to them. I knew that the
plateau was level and would
present no difficulties.
For the first time during the
expedition, we had real grounds
for hope.
Early the next afternoon we set
off carrying enormous sacks. !
felt in grand form: the morn
ing off had completely rested
me after the last eight days
of uninterrupted action. The fine
weather held.
In High Spirits.
Dusk had fallen when at last
we came to the foot Of q big
wall of ice where the first party
had pitched their tent at q
height Of about 16.700 feet; this
was to be the future Camp I.
Every one welcomed us In the
highest spirits. We could see
nothing at this time Of night, but
they told us:
There's not q shadow Of
doubt: We ought to be able to
get up Annapurna."
TOMORROW - The attack
begins. The expedition finds q
possible summit and makes .
difHlcult climb to establish the
first advanced camp on q high
plateau, in dangerous avalanche
terrain.
CFrom the book "Annapurna." by
Maurice Herzog. Copyrisht, 1852 by
E. P. Dutton & CO.. Inc.)
distributed by the REGISTER and
Tribune SyndicRte.b
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