British Mountain Guide heads to Annapurna 3
The Battle Plan for Annapurna 3
BMG member, Matt Helliker, returns to Annapurna 3 for a re-match
What do you do when your dream of scaling one of the world's greatest unclimbed lines is thwarted without even reaching base camp? Well, if you're Nick Bullock and Matt Helliker, you consider that if you can't go around the rubble covered cliffs barring progress then you'll have to go over them ... by helicopter.
That was the conclusion Nick and Matt came to after returning to Kathmandu following their unsuccessful attempt on Annapurna III's (7555m) lengthy south-east ridge . They resolved to return this autumn but take a helicopter ride into base camp. Clearly this was going to be an expensive option, about $15000 expensive as it turns out and having already lost the $2800 peak fee along with $1800 for the liason officer on the first attempt they were going to need a major sponsor to get back.back in April this year
Fortunately Samsung, mainly known for their hi-tech electronic goods, came forward as the main sponsor. Pete Benson, best known for his Scottish winter climbing exploits, will be joining Nick and Matt. He was part of the team back in the spring but fared worse in some ways than the others as he didn't even get to Kathmandu, because of the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud. Cameraman David Reeves will also be flying out with the climbers for Posing Productions who hope to put together a film of the ascent.
The plan is to fly out from the UK on October 2nd then go overland to Pokhara where the team will get taken by helicopter flying Air Dynasty to an intermediate drop zone just below a 4400 metre col. The weight is too much to get over the col in one push so it'll take a couple of trips to get into base camp from there.
We'll keep you posted with their progress on these pages, and wish Matt and the team the best of luck in climbing one of the 'last great problems' of the Himalaya.
