Astonishing Everest achievement

Thirty years ago on Friday, Tim Macartney-Snape and Greg Mortimer became the first Australians to reach the summit of Mt Everest.

Though they were the first Australians to do so, since the first ascent in 1953, 161 climbers had repeated the feat.

What was big news about the Australian ascent, and which rocked the international climbing world, was that the five-man team climbed the peak by a new route up the north face, without supplementary oxygen, in an alpine-style ascent, spending time to acclimatise.

At the time Mt Everest historian Walt Unsworth described it as "an astonishing achievement, one of the greatest climbs ever on the mountain". What's more, the Australians climbed the peak when it was covered with unusually heavy snow. Most photographs of Everest's north face show it as black rock, mostly free of snow because it's so steep. In 1984 it was white and ripe for avalanches.

Nearly all previous assaults used the traditional climbing plan where a small army of climbers and Sherpa porters carry tonnes of food and equipment gradually up the mountain, taking many weeks, stocking a series of camps until the fittest climbers make a bid for the summit breathing bottled oxygen.

An alpine-style assault refers to the method used in the much lower European Alps (the highest is Mont Blanc at 4810m) where a small team, often just two people, climb a peak carrying all their own food and gear without porters or supplementary oxygen.

Italian Reinhold Messner was the first to climb Everest (8848m) without oxygen in 1978, then did it solo in 1980. (Macartney-Snape soloed it in 1990 but outdid Messner by beginning the climb at sea level in the Bay of Bengal and walking all the way to the peak - literally climbing all 8848m of it).

I interviewed Messner in Sydney in 1981 when he was on a lecture tour and was most impressed, realising why most other climbers, including Macartney-Snape, held him in such high regard and, like him, wanted to climb higher and harder peaks.

Around the same time Messner was in the Himalayas, Macartney-Snape began bagging his own high peaks with a few friends using alpine techniques. They climbed Dunagiri (7066m) in 1978, the first major Himalayan summit climbed by Australians, then Ama Dablam (6812) in 1981 and Annapurna II (7937m) by a new route in 1983. Macartney-Snape began planning to go for Everest the following year.

I first met Macartney-Snape in 1991 to invite him to star in a documentary film about the first ascent of a 391m-high rock mesa named Mt Trafalgar in the Kimberley. He was the obvious choice for the climb because before taking on Himalayan peaks he had made his name in Australia as a climber of extreme rock.

For the climb, with Perth ace rock climber Roland Tyson as his second, he was in peak physical condition; tall and slim, almost skinny, but muscular and possessed not only of an extraordinary power-to-weight ratio but a quiet self-confidence in his abilities. He hadn't changed much physically from the boyish character who led the successful 1984 Everest ascent.

But back then he was more self-effacing, at least in public, and did not seem too perturbed that during the trek into Everest Base Camp he appeared to have lost his high-altitude climbing boots. He hadn't but did so later in an avalanche and ended up summiting in cross-country ski boots, which speaks volumes about the man.

He now lives near Bowral in NSW from where he runs Sea to Summit, a business making climbing gear, with Tyson. He told me last week the business allowed him to follow his chief interest nowadays, which is giving lectures to improve the quality of life and education for young people in remote communities.

"I wasn't a great student at school but I had endurance and when I started to climb I found I was good at it and this gave me self-confidence," he said.

"I began dreaming about big mountains and when you dream you develop a perspective which helps you achieve great things. It's small steps at a time but when you do realise a dream you feel compelled to talk about it to inspire others, especially youngsters."

His tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of his Everest climb will allow him to do just that.

REFLECTIONS ON ADVENTURE

Tim Macartney-Snape presents the trials and tribulations of the first Australian ascent of Mount Everest in his lecture 30 Years from the Summit, at the State Library of Western Australia, in Perth Cultural Centre (off Francis Street, Northbridge) on Thursday, October 23.

On a national tour for World Expeditions, a small-group adventure touring company, Tim Macartney-Snape will recount his adventures and also touch on themes such as man’s relationship with nature, the changing definition of adventure as a result of advances in technology and gear, and the importance of leaving a positive imprint on the locals people and natural environment. Tickets are $20, with all proceeds going to the World Expeditions Foundation. Doors open at 6.30pm and the presentation starts at 7pm. Arrive early to meet Macartney-Snape, grab a drink, enter the lucky draw, and see gear from Paddy Pallin and Sea to Summit.

Visit worldexpeditions.com or call 9486 9899 for further details and to register for tickets.

For many years Tim Macartney-Snape has worked closely with World Expeditions, developing and guiding many of their journeys to challenging parts of the world.

After more than three decades of trekking through the mountains of Nepal, Tim Macartney-Snape is passionate about working to improve the quality of life and education for young people in these remote communities. All proceeds from the 30 Years from the Summit National Tour will be donated to the World Expeditions Foundation to support our its community project in Nepal.

Also visit timmacartneysnape.com.