Tribune Freeport Reporter
Grand Bahama, Bahamas-
FREEPORT- Mountaineer Dave Mellor has again successfully planted the Bahamian flag atop one of the highest mountains in the world, braving intense cold and treacherous conditions in the Himalayan mountains of Nepal. Mr Mellor was a member of the British/ Canadian expedition on September 28 that climbed Manaslu, which peaks at 26,781 feet - the eighth highest mountain in the world.
He left a large Bahamian flag, along with some Bahamian coins and a packet of sand from Lucayan Beach at the top of the mountain.
With the success at Manaslu added to his "bucket list," Mr Mellor has been invited for another attempt at Everest in the Spring of next year.
"I am thinking about it . . . the bucket list gets bigger," he said, on returning home to Grand Bahama after an arduous journey in the Himalayas.
The Manaslu expedition that Mr Mellor was apart of has broken four world records. It contained both the youngest climber at age 21 - Bonita Norris of England -and the oldest at age 68 - Dave Mellor.
Dr Guy Willett and Emma Jack are the first two people to actually climb the mountain and then ski all the way back to base camp.
After arriving in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, Mr Mellor and his team members journeyed for nearly nine days to base camp for their climb to Manaslu, which is located in the wild part of the Himalayas on the border with Tibet.
"A relatively comfortable four hour ride in a bus was followed by a really uncomfortable, bone jarring pounding for six more hours in a four-wheel drive Chinese truck on what must have been one of the worst roads in the world," Mr Mellor recalled.
The next morning, he said, the group walked from a tiny village about 200 feet above sea level along a series of beautiful river gorges.
"There was mile after mile of breathtaking high waterfalls crashing into the valley fuelled by the monsoon rains which were still very active. The monsoon season is similar to the hurricane season in the Bahamas, except that it is probably a lot wetter.
The expedition team encountered leeches during their hike along the trail and camped in tea houses, which were cramped and infested with parasites. They kept warm by dung fires.
At base camp, the British/ Canadian expedition joined other expeditions from China, Switzerland, Chile, and Slovakia, as well as a big international expedition.
Mr Mellor said the expeditions worked together to establish a safe route up the mountain.
According to Mr Mellor, Manaslu is beautiful, but the remote and high mountain has a serious reputation.
He noted that the fatality rate of climbers was one in four until just a couple of years ago.
The intense cold, 100 mph winds, massive avalanches and treacherous glaciers riddled with hidden crevasses, accounted for most of the deaths, but falls, exhaustion, and illness also took their toll.
In preparation for the climb, the six expeditions stocked four additional camps and waited for the weather to settle. After receiving a four day forecast of good conditions, they moved quickly to the top camp, where they rested for a couple of hours. They made their attempt at 2am on September 28, which was supposed to be final day of good weather.
"It was a long, hard slog. The oxygen level at 26,000 feet is only a third of what it is at sea level, so it compares to running flat out on a treadmill ... breathing through a straw!
"We had to use head torches to light our way over the difficult terrain until the day began to dawn at 6am. Fortunately, there were no complications and by 10am we were all on the summit on a glorious sunny day.
"I left my usual calling card, a Bahamian flag, a set of Bahamian coins, and a packet of sand from Lucayan Beach," he said.
Mr Mellor's expedition team made it safely down the mountain, missing a storm by a few hours. However, he said the journey down the mountain for the Slovenian expedition resulted in the death of one climber, who was killed by falling ice.
The expedition travelled back to the first village just as the weather changed and climbing season was closed for the winter. Mr Mellor noted that four feet of snow had already fallen up where their base camp had been.
The team were very fortunate to get a ride back to Kathmandu in a Nepalese Army helicopter, a huge Russian M17 Troop Carrier.
"The nine days that it took us to walk in were reduced to just 45 minutes on the way out," he said.
Mr Mellor, who has been a resident of the Bahamas for the past 45 years, has been called a true ambassador - taking the Bahamian flag to the highest peaks in the world.
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