My first expedition to an 8000m peak was to Kangchenjunga, the world's third highest peak (8586m). The North Face is difficult and dangerous. We had the face to ourselves (a luxury I didn't appreciate at the time). We didn't get a summit weather window until late May, and only Stu Findley and Chriss Grasswick were in position to use it. Paul and I were a day behind and hoped to try for the summit the next day. Sadly, Chris fell while descending from the top and died. By the next morning the monsoon had arrived and Paul, Stu and I headed down, Others came up and waited for a day to no avail.

A sad end to my first real expedition.