Evening star., 1953-06-14
Snow undI Exhausted
Continued From First Page9
or gloves. and only one crampon,
he gazed vacantly around him.

or gloves. and only one crampon,
he gazed vacantly around him.
A Gesture Of Despair.
MY feet are frost bitten. Take
me down take me down, 50
that Oudot can see to me-"
"It can't be done," said Terray
sorrowfully. Cant you see we're
in the middle Of q storm? .
It7l be dark soon."
But Lachenal was obsessed by
the fear Of amputation. With a
gesture Of despair he tore the
ak out Of Terray's hands and
tried to force his way down; but
soon saw the futility Of his &C
ton and resolved to climb up to
the camp. While Terray cut
steps without stopping, Lachenal,
ravaged and exhausted as he
was, dragged himself along on
all fours.
Meanwhile I had gone into
Rebuffat'S tent. He was appalled,
at the sight Of my hands and, as
rather incoherently I told him
what we had done, he took a
piece Of rope and began hicking
my fingers.
Then he took of my boots with
great difficulty, for my feet were
swollen, and beat my feet and
rubbed me. We soon heard Ter
ray giving Lachenal the same
treatment in the other tent.
The Storm HOwlS.
For our comrades 1t was .
tragic moment: Annapurna was
conquered. and the first eight
thousander had been climbed.
Every one Of US had been ready
to sacrifice everything for this.
Yet, as they looked at our feet
and hands, what can Terray and
Rebuf1at have felt?
Outside the storm howled and
the snow was still falling. The
mist grew thick and darkness
came.
AS on the previous night we
had to cling to the poles to pre-
vent the tents being carried
away by the wind.
The only two air-matresses
were given to Lachenal and my
self while Terray and Rebuffat
both sat on ropes, rucksacks and
provisions to keep themselves
on the snow.
They rubbed, slapped and beat
US with a rope. Sometimes the
blows fell on the living flesh and
howlS arose from both tents.
Rebuffat persevered; it was es-
sential to continue painful as it
was.
Gradually life returned to my
feet as well as to my hands. and
circulation started again. La
chenal, too, found that feeling
was returning.
A HelIish Night.
The night was absolute hell.
Frightful onslaughts of wind
battered us necessarily, while the
never r-ceaSing snow piled up on
the tents.
Lying half unconscious, I was
scarcely aware Of the passage of
time. There were moments when
I was able to see our situation in
its true dramatic light, but the
rest of the time I was plunged
in an inexplicable stupor with no
thought for the consequences Of
our victory.
AS the night wore on the snow
lay heavier on the tent, and once
again I had the frightful feeling
Of being slowly and silently as
phyxiated. I tried, with all the
strength Of which I was capa-
BILE. to push of with both fore
arms the mass that was crushing
me.
These fearful exertions left me
gasping for breath and I fell
back into the same exhausted
state. It was much worse than
the previous night.
"Rebuffat! CASTOR! Gaston!"
I recognized Terray's voice.
Time to be off"
heard the sounds without
sraSping their meaning. Was
1t light already? I was not in
the least surprised that the other
two had given up all thought of
going to the top, and I did not
at all grasp the measure of their
sacrifice.
The Storm Increases.
Outside the storm redoubled in
violence. The tent shook and the
fabric tapped alarmingly. It
had usually been fine in the
mornings; did this mean the
monsoon was upon us? We knew
1t was not far off-could this be
its first onslaught?
Castor! Are you ready?"
Terray called again.
"One minute" answered Re-
buffat. He did not have an easy
job; he had to put my boots on
and do everything to get me
ready. I let myself be handled
like baby.
In the other tent Terray fin
ished dressing Lachenal, whose
feet were still swollen and would
not At into his boots. So Terray
gave him his own, which were
bigger. To get Lachernal'S on to