An attempt on Lobuje East, 1991


Thursday, 24 October 1991 – Our Lobuje East summit attempt: The day that we failed to reach the summit of Lobuje East was Ralph’s 32nd birthday, so – after we had all arrived back in base camp – Ralph shared a small bottle of Jim Beam with us, and at dinner the cooks presented him with a surprise birthday cake. As I noted in my diary, “we were in bed by 6:50 pm – our earliest night by far in a trip full of early nights, and I had an excellent night’s sleep … 12 hours’ sleep.”