Mt Everest next up for Mark
A former Cardigan Secondary School pupil has become the first British and second ever person to make an ascent of the West Ridge to the true summit of Trisul 1 – one of the great peaks of the Uttarakhand region of the Indian Himalaya reaching 23,359 feet high!
And there’s no stopping Mark Thomas, a native of St Dogmaels near Cardigan, son of Raymond and Gill Thomas, as he plans to climb Everest next April with one of his clients from Japan. Mountaineering is up there with the most dangerous of sports, but Mark, father of three year old Kristyna and six year old Jasmine, spends his time at the family home in Llangoedmor and at his base in the European Alps. He is a well respected and highly qualified mountaineer, and his partner Katerina is also an avid climber.
With a BSc degree in Outdoor Studies, Mark went on to gain 10 years experience of mountaineering and skiing in the European Alps, followed by a five year training and assessment course with the British Mountain Guides Association before being awarded the highest qualification within the outdoor industry, the IFMGA International Mountain Guide. He has climbed mountains all over the world, including America, Greenland, India, Japan, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and New Zealand, including many new ascents and new ski descents, but Trisul 1 was a huge challenge as it was the first 7000m peak mountain in the world to be climbed back in 1907, and has a reputation for attracting extreme weather.
“Nerves couldn’t take any more”
Mark remembers the anticipation as he tackled the peak: “My nerves couldn’t take any more, and I sat bolt upright from the warmth of my sleeping bag. No words were needed as I turned to Ian, just to make sure we weren’t over-reacting. As the canvas of our fragile tent bellowed and contracted in the roaring maelstrom engulfing us, every gust threatened to whip us into the midnight hour, down the West Face, and into the jaws of the Nandakini Valley over two thousand meters below.” After a month of serious climbing, extreme weather conditions and lack of oxygen, Mark arrived at the peak. “Right up until this point, we did not know if we would make the summit, and for the first time in a month, I felt we could do it. The final summit slopes go on for an eternity, with false summits and huge cornices, until finally there is nowhere else up to go. We made it to the true summit of Trisul at 7145m. We just sat and absorbed the moment.”
Climbing Cemaes Head
Mark’s love of mountaineering comes from his childhood experiences of climbing on Cemaes Head as a 13 year old having borrowed an old tow rope from a friend, to access the steep cliffs off Pen yr Afr. At 15 years old, he went on a work experience week at Llanrwst with Jeff Forster and was introduced to rope, rock shoes and doing it ‘properly’. He hasn’t looked back. “It’s a profession for me not just an adventure sport. I look for remote locations with un – climbed peaks and new lines, and it’s all physically, mentally and emotionally draining. You need to stay focused and be in the zone. I get anxious when I start the climb but when I get to the peak it’s sometimes more relief than happiness of having done it,” said Mark who takes clients from all over the globe on mountaineering climbs of big walls and high altitude peaks. In 2010, Mark, who is sponsored by Jottnar Clothing, faced his most gruelling mountaineering challenges to date at Baffin Island, the largest island in Canada. There he climbed a new route ‘Arctic Monkeys’ on a 1500 metre vertical rock wall in snowy conditions sleeping on porter-ledges, enduring temperatures of minus 20 for three weeks.
Cardigan school teachers a huge inspiration.
But none of this would have been possible without the encouragement he received from Cardigan Secondary School teachers. “Two teachers at the school, Hywel Williams and Eurfyl Reed were such massive inspirations to me. They were real role models. They toughened you up and if you were not keen on the academic side, they understood it and supported you in the sporting circles,” explained Mark, a former rugby player for Cardigan RFC and a lifeguard at Llangrannog, Aberporth and Tresaith.
The fitness fanatic, whose father Raymond was former Chair of Cardigan RFC, was also Junior Captain at the Poppit Life Saving Club, a National Paddling Champion and a member of the Welsh Schools Rugby Squad where he captained the County Team. He also adventure raced for team Wales in a World Series for four years together with fellow team mate Aled Rees. But even with harder challenges, more remote finds and severe weather problems in his path, Mark now 42, feels he’s at the peak of his career. “I’ve reached a niche within my work. I work at the high end where things are a little bit more dangerous, but I won’t be able to sustain this forever at this level. I give myself 10 years if I play my cards right, then I can chose easier routes and climbs.”
Written by Anwen Francis and Andrew Clarke.
