John Roskelley - The Roskelley Collection: Stories Off The Wall, Nanda Devi, and Last Days

THE ROSKELLEY COLLECTION

NANDA DEVI, LAST DAYS, AND STORIES OFF THE WALL

THE ROSKELLEY
COLLECTION

NANDA DEVI,
LAST DAYS,
AND
STORIES OFF THE WALL

JOHN ROSKELLEY

Foreword by

JIM WICKWIRE

THE MOUNTAINEERS BOOKS is the nonprofit publishing arm of The Mountaineers, an organization founded in 1906 and dedicated to the exploration, preservation, and enjoyment of outdoor and wilderness areas.

1001 SW Klickitat Way, Suite 201, Seattle, WA 98134

2012 by John Roskelley

Foreword 2012 by Jim Wickwire

All rights reserved

Nanda Devi: The Tragic Expedition was originally published in 1987. Last Days was originally published in 1991. The introduction and first thirteen stories in Stories Off The Wall were originally published in 1993. Drakes Nemesis, Generations on Everest, and Slipstream 2012.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Distributed in the United Kingdom by Cordee, www.cordee.co.uk

Manufactured in the United States of America

Cover and book design: Karen Schober

Layout: Emily Ford

Cover photograph: John Roskelley checks the weather the morning after bivouacking just below the summit of Cholatse, 1982. Photo by Galen Rowell.

Frontispiece: The Northwest Face of Nanda Devi, viewed from the Sanctuary

All photographs by author unless otherwise credited.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Roskelley, John.

The Roskelley collection: Nanda Devi, last days, and stories off the wall / by John Roskelley. 1st ed.

p. cm.

Last Days first published in 1991; Stories Off the Wall first published in 1993; Nanda Devi first published in 2000.

ISBN 978-1-59485-664-8 (pbk.) ISBN 978-1-59485-665-5 (ebook)

1. Roskelley, John. 2. MountaineersUnited StatesBiography. 3. MountaineeringIndiaNanda Devi. 4. MountaineeringHimalaya Mountains. I. Title.

GV199.92.R67A3 2012

796.522092dc23

[B]

2011042984

Printed on recycled paper

ISBN (paperback): 978-1-59485-664-8

ISBN (e-book): 978-1-59485-665-5

To my mother, Violet May Roskelley,
who I suspect is the real Mary Poppins;
To my father, Fenton Samuel Roskelley,
who shared with me his love of the wilderness;
To Joyce, for giving me the time and support
to pursue my dreams;
To Chris Kopczynski, Kim Momb,
James States, and to the many others
who shared with me the adventures of the rope.

CONTENTS

by Jim Wickwire

John Roskelley at Camp II on Menlungtse, 1990. (Photo by Jeff Duenwald)

Jim States rappeling off the buttress of Nanda Devi, 1976

Lou Reichardt breaking trail on the ridge to the summit of Nanda Devi

Nanda Devi Unsoeld at Nanda Devi base camp

Jim States enjoying another bad weather day in the mountains

Lou Reichardt and Jim States enjoy the warm and windless summit of Nanda Devi.

Bullet tracks of a Chinese machine gun wreaked havoc on this Buddha in the Chuwar Monastery in Tibet.

Taking a rest at 19,500 feet, Jeff Lowe surveys the deteriorating weather that is approaching Tawoche, 1990.

The South Face of Ama Dablam, 22,349 feet, seen from the Khumbu Valley during the trek to Tawoche.

Tawoches upper rock band proved to be dangerously loose as we finally made the top of the wall on the eighth day.

The west summit of Menlungtse as seen from base camp

Jim States carrying a load on fixed lines between Camps II and III on the West Ridge of Makalu, 1980

The northeast face of Tawoche towers above Pheriche, Solo Khumbu, Nepal

Ron Kauk mesmerizes three Balti girls from Askole with his youthful charm during the trek into Uli Biaho, 1979.

John Roskelley practicing aid techniques in the Washington Cascades, 1967 (Photo by Chris Kopczynski)