SAMAYA x AURÉLIA LANOÉ

 

 

In October 2023, Aurélia Lanoé and five other rope-mates set off to the heart of the Himalayas, on the border between Nepal and Tibet, to explore and descend virgin peaks on skis. Immersed in a pristine, untamed ecosystem, our six guides with their different personalities found harmony. Aurélia tells us in detail about their exploration, which was marked by team spirit and commitment.

 

"It's the kind of expedition where, really, everything just clicked.

 

The weather and conditions were perfect: the snow was really pleasant to ski, rather hard and "grippy", perfect in the steep, with no sluff and no avalanche risk. The terrain was very stable, not too windy, so the snow wasn't frozen.

 

We've been incredibly lucky compared with the last two years, which saw heavy late snowfalls, known as monsoon tails, which produced large quantities of snow in a short space of time and considerably increased the risk of avalanches.

 

Our objective was the Ratna Chuli, whose exact altitude is indefinite. Estimates range from 7040 to 7135 meters. It's a little-known and little-visited protected area on the border with Tibet, located in the Nar Phu valley behind the Annapurnas. We wanted to explore an area of Nepal that hadn't seen many visitors, let alone skiers, and be the first to put our spatulas down on untouched peaks, while experiencing high-altitude skiing.

 

Our expedition was an exploratory one, filled with adventure and limited risk-taking. As all six of us are mountain guides, we have the know-how, skills and knowledge of the mountain environment to be at ease even in unfamiliar environments.

 

What's more, the six of us got on perfectly. Firmin Fontaine, Bastien Lévy, Damien Coelho Mandes and myself formed the first expedition team, and Maud Vanpoulle and Victor Colombie the second. We were going to relatively the same place at the same time, and decided to join forces and share the expedition costs and the permit to base camp. We quickly got on very well and ended up doing the whole expedition together.

 

After spending two days in Kathmandu to settle the last administrative and logistical formalities, we left by bus for Besisahar, where we spent the night. We then took a jeep to the village of Koto, on a road that was completely potholed and where our heads touched the ceiling of the car when the shocks were too violent. We thought we'd be able to do our e-mails and make calls on the way, but we weren't! There was nothing we could do but hold on. It was pretty grueling, but the scenery passing before our eyes was well worth a few head-butts. At Koto, we left the main road and entered a narrow valley where only a footpath provided access to the villages further up the valley. We walked for two days to the magnificent village of Phu. Perched on a rocky promontory, this village is the last sign of civilization, with houses blending into the surrounding rock and Tibetan flags contrasting with the lunar landscape.

 

We spent a rest day there, where we did a bit of crabbing in the surrounding area to start acclimatizing, and the next day, a final day's walk took us back to our base camp at an altitude of 4,700 metres.

  

The acclimatization phase was pretty good for the whole team, except for Bastien who suffered a little MAM (mountain sickness). We may have climbed a little too quickly to 5600 meters, where we set up our advanced base camp, without quite respecting the acclimatization rules. Firmin and I took him back to the last village, where he spent two nights before rejoining us.

 

We took the opportunity to climb Upche, a virgin summit at 6150 metres, all in powder. We rested for 2 days at base camp, then headed back up to camp at 5600 meters with all the gear needed to set up camp at 6000 meters. Here we set up the Samaya3.0 in a moraine. It was very spacious, with a really cool weight-to-surface ratio. It was the "luxury" tent, which we had set up on a small promontory previously prepared with flat stones, and in which everyone wanted to sleep. We were obliged to organize a rotation to sleep in this tent.

  

From this 6000-metre camp, we set off for the icefall, a steep 600-metre slope, with sections that had to be climbed with crampons, winding under seracs and between giant crevasses. A fairly rugged section, in short, which we climbed in one day and which allowed us to acclimatize, rising from 6,000 to 6,600 meters.

 

We returned to camp to sleep at 6,000 metres, and the next day we headed for a summit at 6,687 metres, Hulang Go, also still untouched. The descent on skis was magnificent, very aesthetic, with an incredible view of Tibet. These four days of acclimatization had taken their toll on us, and we headed back down to our base camp to rest for 3 days and regain our strength before making the final assault.

 

We spent our first night at 5600 metres, then climbed to 6000 metres. From this camp, we set off at 2 a.m. to climb the icefall at night. We reached the top of this section as day was breaking, at around 6:30 am. The golden lights of daybreak blazed across the sky, silhouetted against the pristine white of the glacier. It was a magnificent sight. From the top of the icefall, we had to descend through a steep, crevassed 250-meter technical zone, leading to a flat traverse over a magnificent hanging pass. We then had 600 meters of ascent to the summit of Ratna Chulli, a steeper section, in crampons, with skis on our backs.

  

We all reached the summit at the same time. It was a very powerful moment. To find ourselves together at the summit of this mountain that dominated everything: on one side, the arid high plateaus of Tibet; on the other, the immense glaciers of Nepal. Achieving the goal we had set ourselves, all together, had a very special flavour: that of team spirit, of roped party spirit.

  

The descent was extremely pleasant, with just the right amount of commitment. You had to stay focused and not fall, especially at the beginning when the snow was very hard with passages at 50 degrees. It was great to ski in such incredible surroundings, with Annapurna and Dhaulagiri in the background.

  

The mission wasn't over yet, because after those first 600 metres, we had to climb another 250 metres to the top of the icefall and then descend again to our camp at 6000 metres. It was a good romp, just the way we like it!

  

At 6000 metres, we dismantled our camp and headed back down to the 5600-metre camp. From here, we packed up again and reached our first camp, loaded like mules, at 8pm in the dark of night.

  

Our logistics team of three Nepalese were waiting for us at base camp and had prepared a king's meal. Unfortunately, we didn't eat much because we were so exhausted. The next day, however, we had a feast and celebrated our ascent with them in style, with beer and rum! It was a lot of fun.

  

It was a successful expedition in a really great atmosphere. The communion between us, the perfect understanding, the energy created was really very pleasant. We're all different, but we complemented each other perfectly. I'd never been on an expedition with so many of us, and I was a bit scared, but in the end, for an expedition of this style, which doesn't go looking for steep, exposed slopes, but rather virgin summits, it was great to be with six of us, and very rich in human terms.

 

I feel quite happy, and proud of what we've achieved. We didn't go out looking for a Piolet d'Or, but we did some great first ascents without getting scared, we forged strong bonds and, above all, we discovered some incredible corners of the planet.

 

When we return home, we rediscover the comforts of our society: hot water running from the tap, electricity working perfectly, paved roads. We don't realize anymore that these little things we're used to in our daily lives are so precious and not part of the daily lives of everyone on this planet. We're really lucky."