Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
changed. Many people take up climbing with a completely different perception of
what it is about. It is assumed that going to the Himalaya is expensive and com-
mercial expeditions are the norm. Mountaineering on the highest peaks thirty
years ago was far more affordable than it is today and there were many more un-
climbed mountains and new lines to attempt. Now the high-mountain nations
have grasped that mountaineering is just another branch of tourism. Peaks and
their routes are priced accordingly. The price tag carries with it a star system based
on either high demand or the remoteness of the peak. In this system, Everest has
become like Monte Carlo, and to visit Dolpo is an experience to be sold as being
unforgettable, as unique and as expensive as staying in an ice hotel in Sweden.
Ironically, the 1982 Shisha Pangma expedition had some of the features of a
modern commercial expedition. It was made up of disparate members both in
terms of mountaineering skills and their reasons for being there. Getting the
money together for a lightweight attempt meant that some members were seen by
Alex at least as just part of the essential package to make an attempt by the lead
climbers possible. Alex was being an opportunist and the opportunity came to him
by chance, as Alex wrote, 'in the more obscure regions of the mind of a young man
from Belfast. Nicholas John Prescott is a tall eager, agitated Irishman possessed of
fair, aquiline features. An irrepressible buoyancy, eyes framed in gold-rimmed
spectacles, a brash and sometimes misplaced confidence and a method of speech
that can reduce all but the most hard-nosed listener to a confused resignation.'
Prescott, a modest alpinist with no Himalayan experience, had been trying for
several years to get permission to climb in China. Very unexpectedly and many
months after making an application to climb Shisha Pangma, a large envelope
landed on his doormat granting him permission from the south. His elation was
soon tempered by the costs and size of the undertaking, and by the assigned route.
He had expected that if permission were granted, it would be for the much easier
voie normale from the north. Prescott initially persuaded Bristol-based climber
and filmmaker Jim Curran to come and help finance the trip by making a film.
When this fell through, he had little time to find a replacement team capable of
tackling the completely unknown face. In April 1981, he phoned Doug Scott to ask
Doug to take over the permission and organisation. Doug accepted immediately.
By chance Doug had bumped into Alex at Makalu base camp in the autumn of
1981 . [3] He had never climbed with Alex but knew his record. 'Alex had earned him-
self a fine reputation as a young and innovative Himalayan face climber but his
contribution to climbing was also seen in other departments, principally in helping
to establish a solid connection between Polish climbers and ourselves. He had also
 
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