The Quick Way Down

by Mick Cottam

The first peak of a trip to the Alps is always hard work as you battle with the Altitude. Our ascent of the Hohbarghorn had been no different and we were now enjoying the luxury of downward movement, descending a snow gully. The day had been overcast as had our bivvi the previous evening and the snow was soft making our movements something of a cross between a step and a slide, but it made
for an easy descent. We were moving together on about 30ft of rope and making rapid progress. Soon I could see we were nearing the level of the top of the rock buttress that we had ascended before reaching the upper snow slopes so knew we only had about six hundred feet to go to the glacier.

Something made me look up - as I did I let out a shout to warn Gary. I don't think he heard me as he was doing the same. A blast of wind and then a wall of snow knocked us both flying. I remember going head over heels several times, hitting some rocks at least once and being overwhelmed by snow for most of the time, but all I could think of was 'get an axe in get an axe in'. I assume Gary was doing the same but wasn't in a position to stop and check. One axe was ripped out of my hand and I let it flail around on the wrist loop while I wrestled with the other. Suddenly the axe bit, not in the snow but on rock protruding from a buttress we were tumbling over on the right side of the gully I looked at the placement, the tip of the pick had caught on a tiny edge and was holding us both, probably more because the force of the avalanche had eased than the security of the placement.

No sooner than I had eyed the axe placement than the snow came again and again I came off. Gary says I passed him at least once. We slid again, more head over heel tumbling, more bouncing off rocks, more axe flailing, more attempts to get the remaining axe in. Gary was doing the same, we were lucky we didn't collide during our acrobatics in the confines of the gully. Snow seemed to be everywhere and we were moving fast. Eventually I found myself tumbling towards the left side of the gully again and a little out of the force of the snow. I seized the chance, threw my axe in and leant on it for all I was worth. We slowed and eventually stopped. This time I wasted no time in getting to the side of the gully, out of the fall line of any more snow.

Once I had convinced myself that I was out of further danger, I stood up, or tried to but my crampon had been ripped off, so had my glasses. I looked down at Gary and we checked each other out from our precarious stances. We had landed in our original positions, me about 30ft above him. Gary had fared no better and had blood all over his face from a knock on the mouth from his flailing axe. We shook ourselves down. Gary had also banged his knee and one of my fingers was beginning to balloon up. Apart from that, and a few rips in various items of clothing, we appeared to be remarkably unscathed. I looked down. We were only about two hundred feet from the bergschrund guarding the glacier. We both began to laugh half hysterically at our predicament. 'Oh well' I said, 'At least it's not far to the glacier now'.