My Buddy Lost 8 Fingers and I Got to the Summit - Stephen Venables' Insane Bivouac at 8,600 Meters on Mount Everest

Stephen Venables became the first British mountaineer to climb Mount Everest without the use of supplementary oxygen in 1988, establishing a new route on the Kangshung Face with Ed Webster, Robert Anderson and Paul Teare. 

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Transcript

Thom Pollard: 0:00

Welcome to the happiness quotient. This is Thom Pollard today I have with us a legendary mountaineer of epic proportions. His name is Stephen Venables. He's a British climber whose career I've been following for decades. He climbed Mount Everest, with a very close friend of mine who passed recently, Ed Webster, who lived in Maine passed away unexpectedly over Thanksgiving. And coincidentally, I had just interviewed Stephen Venables with the intent to interview Ed about their epic ascent of the kangshung face the east face of Mount Everest, during which time they became the smallest team ever to put up a major new route on the mountain. This interview is also in video form on my YouTube channel called Everest mystery. The link to this interview will be in the notes to this episode. Thank you for being here. I appreciate you. And now for my episode with Steven Venables. One of the most audacious successful ascent ever of Mount Everest came at the cost of eight fingertips of the trip leader it put the first Briton ever to summit Everest without bottled oxygen on the summit. The year was 1988. The team was only four men, the unclimbed Kang Shang, or east face of Everest was their formidable choice of routes, a 12,000 foot wall of ice and snow with some steel and the conviction to embark on an expedition that very well could cost them their lives. The men set out to attempt the impossible. I caught up with Steven Venables recently to talk with him about what he calls an intense and occasionally terrifying experience on Everest, which he remembers as one of the most fulfilling and happy experiences of his life. I'll bring you my convo with Stephen shortly. But I want to ask that if you haven't done so already, please hit that subscribe button and at the end of this video, I'm going to share with you a video that I know you will want to watch so stick around to the end and before we go any farther I want to tell you about my sponsor, Musa masala. They are an incredible organization. I've provided a link in the notes of this video and want to share with you so you can learn a little bit about this incredible organization. Thank you to Musa masala for your sponsorship, it means the world to me and now back to the regularly scheduled programming. George Lee Mallory from the British Everest expedition of 1921 filed the first report ever from the cangshan face during the reconnaissance, deeming it far too involved for consideration was a nice way to say No way in hell. We're getting up that thing. It was almost 60 years before the next team even approached the kangshung face and then in 1983 and a siege style expedition by the Americans three stood on top in October of that year. Carlos Bueller Kim mom and Lou Reichardt on the very next day, George Lowe, Dan Reid and J. caselle. summited and in 1988, a four man alpine style team, two Americans at Webster and Robert Anderson, a Canadian Paul tear and a Briton whom they had never met from Edinburg, Steven Venables made an attempt without oxygen. They were self reliant with no Sherpa support, no radios and no chance of rescue. If one should be hurt or killed. friends back home wondered how many of the expedition would actually return. And it's been called one of mountaineering finest a sense, the 1988 International Everest expedition. It's to this day, the smallest team ever to pioneer one of Mount Everest major routes, Stevens said, We did all the leading rope fixing and load carrying ourselves with no porters working for us on the mountain. And at that stage, only 18 People had ever reached the summit without oxygen, and four of those had not returned alive. As it turned out. Stephen was the only person to reach the summit on that expedition, and became the first Britain to do so without bottled oxygen. Getting there late in the day, he was forced to spend the night alone in the open at 8600 meters in elevation. Stephen said in an article not too many years ago, I was forced to spend the night alone in the open at 8600 meters above sea level before I could continue down in daylight to rejoin my companions on that bitter cold morning at Webster who himself had endured a bivy at about 28,000 feet, removed his gloves to photograph the alpenglow of morning sunrise in a series of photos he forever called frostbite sunrise. In the legendary story, Edie lost eight fingertips to frostbite, Sir Chris Bonington hailed this expedition as one of the greatest survival stories in history of Himalayan mountaineering. And and today with us here on Everest mystery is mountaineer author, speaker guide extraordinaire Steven Venables from his home in the UK. Here's my conversation with Steven Venables about the 1988 kangshung face expedition. I want to say that the image is being used in this story are from Ed Webster's book snow in the kingdom, my storm years on Everest, as well as Stephens book called Everest kangshung face, both of which are books that you should read and have in your collection, a thing I wanted to talk to Steven most about was the incredible bivouac he did at over 8600 meters in altitude surviving the night, I'd read accounts of Doug Scott bivouacking out very close to the summit of Mount Everest, and wondered what was going through his mind trying to survive the night alone out there without oxygen. Here's my conversation with Stephen enjoy.

Stephen Venables: 5:56

I was although it was terrifying to get to catch your face. I was delighted that we we were getting there because I knew as you go to this beautiful valley, the karma Valley, and hardly anyone ever goes, we'd have the mountain to ourselves. It was I knew it was going to be a great adventure. And then I met I didn't meet Paul and Ed until I got to Katmandu. And you know, they were incredibly welcoming this weird Brit suddenly dumped in their midst. And I just thought this is this is going to be a really good expedition,

Thom Pollard: 6:27

just ascending the Kangshung face and getting to the south. Col. It seemed to me almost beyond that, that exceeded anybody's expectations.

Stephen Venables: 6:39

Well, I thought we might pull it off. But I think we were all I think we all thought we could actually get there. And think this is crazy or impossible. This is too dangerous. So we can't do this and turn around and go home. So it was very thrilling when we when we did get there after many delays, begin to sort of piece together a route which was really Ed's idea that the idea of climbing that batteries and begin to think well actually, you know, that looks climb aboard that galley looks clickable. And if we can link that up, and you know, this, this could actually work. And and one thing I did think was that if we could get up the lower buttress the slopes, but there wasn't any anything very difficult there. It was just scary, because big snow slopes are inherently dangerous. About 6000 meters above six and a half 1000 meters. There's not any, you know, really very hard climbing is, as Robert kept saying, it's just high altitude wallowing.

Thom Pollard: 7:40

And so when you pulled up over the cangshan face into the southco, didn't you just get slammed by bit?

Stephen Venables: 7:49

The wind, the wind? It was horrendous. Yes, yes. Because you get lulled into a false sense of security in these faces. Generally, we were there in the spring. So it was generally quite benign and very little wind. And suddenly you need just get hit by this blast. Which as we all know, when there's nothing wind is just so sapping of not just the energy, but of your sort of optimism. It just, it's so daunting, the wind it just, it makes you you nervous, uncomfortable,

Thom Pollard: 8:22

Stephen. So, you know, this is the thing that always really fascinates me because you're there and it. And it seemed, you know, looking back it was you did all the right things and you went up, but it's just, it's incredible. So you dug deep and went for it. And that, to me is like one of the gutsiest moves when you're, you know, pretty tapped. You've been working your, you know, your, your keisters off for days and days just to get to the South Col on site. Well, let's go. And up you get, like, what how do you dig deep like that? What was

Stephen Venables: 9:01

it? I don't think it's gutsy. Tom. I mean, it's, it's, it's, it's selfish really. It's it's self gratification, you know, something you want very much so you you try very hard. And I think I did feel that it had been a really good expedition, we'd had a lot of fun. We've done some great climbing, we'd all led some great pitches, and we made such an effort to get to the South Col but while we haven't come this far, it'd be really nice if we could go the the whole way. And the the the the received wisdom is that you can't recuperate or, or recover. Well, it's 7900 meters, the South Pole, but actually after a day we were delayed a day at the South Pole because it was too windy. And actually after day just sitting around lying around the cycle I did feel actually a bit better a bit. Bit Bit rested a bit stronger and Feeling Yes, I think I think we can give this a go.

Thom Pollard: 10:03

And so up you go and oxygen less all three of you at this point in time. And I would imagine the conditions weren't optimum but not enough to signal to you to go down. And

Stephen Venables: 10:19

we set off in perfect conditions, it was still might, it was completely calm, no wind, no moon, so very hard to see where we were going. But it was the kind of good day that people generally choosing me to go to the summit.

Thom Pollard: 10:34

So without trying being so simplistic, you are on this summit bid without oxygen, only a few people had successfully done the mountain without bows. It's only been 10 years since Aberlour and Messner did it. The digging deep the emotional wrestling it how long? Were you at war with this? Or was it just one of those things like that, as you said, that selfish desire, I'm gonna frickin pull this thing off. And I'm not stopping until I either die or fall off. What's going on in your brain?

Stephen Venables: 11:08

Oh, well, what's going on the brain all sorts of things. When we set off from the South Col I, I was very optimistic. I think I'd thought about it a lot. You know, I felt quite well prepared mentally. And I had been, I'd been on quite a lot of Himalayan peaks. Not that high, but they've been quite high. So I sort of knew roughly what to expect. And I felt quite strong. And I felt Yeah, I'm managing to move. Yeah, I'm actually to take 20 steps at a time. That's not too bad as managing to breathe. And so I felt Yes, but I think I think maybe we can do this. So that was how I felt we set off. And then as the hours passed, I got more and more tired. It was very daunting being in the dark and not sure exactly which route to take. Because it's not like now they have ropes all the way. I kept leading the others in the wrong direction and then coming back and not being sure exactly where to go. And, and there's there's something about being in the dark. It's so discombobulating and you can't judge distances and you feel so lonely and sort of forlorn. But then then we had sunrise because that lifts the spirits. And that was thrilling. That gave gives us a new lease of life. But But then as the morning wore on, I was just getting slower and slower and weaker and weaker. And were late during the day later in the morning. Ed's caught up with me and I realized he was even weaker than I was even slower than me and clearly struggling. Certainly, as much as me, if not more, I think at that point, I thought, well, no one's going to do this for me. It's not going to come and break trail for me. So I've got to make one more effort. Because I have a terrible fear of disappointment. I think you know, I didn't I didn't want to come back and think, Oh, if anyone tried a bit harder, I think it's quite a motivator because because you get given these opportunities. And I thought I'm really got to take this opportunity.

Thom Pollard: 13:19

But you the photos taken of you back down near the South Col

Stephen Venables: 13:25

our next morning. Yes.

Thom Pollard: 13:27

It looks like seriously like you can't even conjure a vision like that up in your mind. Old Man Winter just appeared nowhere your cake in rhyme ice or breath frozen on your face. And you must have been wiped out.

Stephen Venables: 13:50

Yes, I have to say it and Robert didn't look much better.

Thom Pollard: 13:54

Yeah, I certainly didn't mean to pick on you.

Stephen Venables: 14:00

I was slightly Yeah, obviously was slightly worse condition. Because there's you know, they'd spent the night in a tent. So they had a sort of modicum of shelter. Yeah, so I am well, you know, you spoke you mentioned Doug Scott. And when I when I decided to move away when it became sort of obvious that that sort of I had to do I was very encouraged by the thought that well Doug and Dougal's Spencer Knight even higher than this, and they were okay. Doug didn't even have a down jacket off for God's sake. And then I then well of course, you know, Tom O'Brien and, and the other three you know, in 63 they spent the night out the I think there was there a little bit lower down nearly that high, and that they were all Okay, so, you know, I knew intellectually it's possible to survive a night out here provided it's not too windy. Which it wasn't. It was a it was a calm night. I wasn't really. I didn't think I'm gonna die. I didn't feel frightened. I just felt very cold, very lonely, rather pathetic. This sort of lost so thinking this is miserable. I was back at home. Just gotta get on with it and you know, survive it.

Thom Pollard: 15:16

Yeah, that's what Everest is like, I want to go home I suppose. Stephen, it's such a good story of to me the perseverance and the desire to go as far as you possibly can and not fail. But the teamwork in the in the friendships and relationships. i You are very close with everybody to this day on that. Yeah,

Stephen Venables: 15:41

yeah, it is. It is some Yeah, I think I think tales of people surviving in extreme situations are always moving. I rather wish I'd hoped that we would do this great new route, and get to the summit, and get down again, without enforced bivouacs. Without frostbite without nearly dying, hoping we do the whole thing a bit more swiftly and efficiently. And as it was, we didn't you know, we overextended ourselves. So I was slightly sort of annoyed that, you know, the thing turned into such an epic when it, I felt it shouldn't have done you. And if, if we've been a bit faster, a bit more efficient, bit stronger, we could have got up and down more quickly. You know, the plan was to get up and down in five days, and it took us nine days. So I felt slightly embarrassed by the fact that we only just sort of crawled down half dead. Rather than just casually strolling back down. From the summit.

Thom Pollard: 16:47

I see you've never lost even a one iota of that love that thrill of wild, vast places. You know, mate, what is it that you've loved the most? Like? What really was like the essence of this is why I come to the mountains, was it being most alone? Or the togetherness with people, the cultures? What's What was that kernel that kept you going back?

Stephen Venables: 17:13

Well, often I'm thinking, What the hell am I doing here? This is horrible. I wish I was. But I think usually when you when you are in those sort of moods, you have to remind yourself that was gonna get better. And actually, there will be moments that I feel the complete opposite. And I do remember a particular moment of what the lots of moments like 19 1980 we were attempting a mountain called kanyang Kesh in the Karakoram. I think it's the 22nd highest mountain in the world. It's a big, it's a big peak. Anyway, we didn't get up, we're attempting this new route. And towards the end of the expedition, we were going back up, I think, for our final attempt, I was walking up the glass here, and I just sat on a rock to have a rest the way you do. And I was just sitting there in the middle of this vast glass here, looking up at the surrounding peaks, evening, often in sunlight slanting down through the peaks. And I just sat there and just thought, actually, there's nowhere else I'd rather be right now. And that that is a wonderful feeling. And you get those moments and, and that was just one example. And certainly on that Everest trip. I mean, there were many moments like that. And I thought, Gosh, how lucky I am to be here. That's beautiful. But I don't I don't I'm not like I mean, there's so many people who do back to back expeditions and, and constantly traveling, constantly doing more and more ambitious, harder. Wilder climbs, and I'm afraid I just don't have that drive. You know, I like going on trips. And I know that when I get there. I have a wonderful time. It'll be really captivating. And moving. But I don't want to be doing it all the time.

Thom Pollard: 19:03

Yeah, yeah. This is much of an appreciation of home and stuff. Yeah. No,

Stephen Venables: 19:10

I think it's very much about contrast, isn't it? And it's, I mean, most mountain people actually live in the mountains who often live, you know, on the borderline of what's possible and live quite economically poor lives. They don't go climbing for fun. It's it is very much not entirely but it's very much a sort of a luxury of people from well off, urban stroke, suburban lives, lovingly the different pneus of going and doing something very physical, very demanding in a in a very wild place amongst beautiful mountains. And that then the contrast between that and everyday life is I think a big part Springfield, certainly for me,

Thom Pollard: 20:02

Reinhold Messner has said that the best moment of an expedition is the moment you stepped down from a climb. We are so glad that Steven made the summit successfully and even more happy that he made it down to share his story with the rest of the world. It is a great honor that he was here on this channel to talk about his experience. Steven, thank you. I appreciate you and when you are in New England next time you make sure you let me know because there's a place to stay for you here in New Hampshire. My friends hit that subscribe button. I will see you real soon be well stay safe and peace out