FEATURES
Sir Edmund Hillary said: “Makalu is without doubt one of the hardest propositions of all.”
The first successful ascent of Makalu was made by a French team in 1955 via the North-East Ridge, now considered the standard route to the summit. The first ascent by the South-East Ridge (route joined at 6880m) was made by two Japanese climbers in 1970 and the second (route again joined at 6880m) by a three-strong Spanish/Czech team in 1976, one of whom perished on descent. The Makalu 2014 team will climb the South-East Ridge from its very beginning at 5800m. For a video clip of the ridge from one of the tri-service team’s previous attempts, please see: https://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=BTRoQ8M0CY4
Members of the Makalu 2014 team have long supported SOS Children's Villages International, a global, non-governmental social development organisation that helps to improve the lives of vulnerable children.
www.sos-childrensvillages.org
The expedition is working closely with the School of Geography at the University of Leeds (through Dr Duncan Quincey) with the aim of conducting research into glacial movement and with the University of Sheffield (Professor Andy Holden & Dr Aga Nowak) to examine microbial lifeforms above 6000m. On the trek to base camp, 3-D imagery will be acquired of key glacial landforms within the expedition area. This data will be sent back to the UK with the long-term goal of quantifying the
surface lowering of glaciers.
www.geog.
leeds.ac.uk/people/d.quincey
Little photo and video footage exists of the upper reaches of Makalu. Team member Tim Taylor, Royal Marine Reservist and professional adventure travel photographer, hopes to contribute to existing documentary archives.
The Makalu 2014 is largely self-funded with generous grants – The Ulysses Trust and The Royal Air Force Charitable Trust.
For regular updates, visit:
www.makalu2014.com. Video clips will be available on youtube under Tri-Services Makalu 2014:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/ UCOMH5lAQ1W7IS30ZKrIDSkg.
22
Envoy Autumn 2014
www.raf-ff.org.uk
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