‘Ecstatic’ after scaling deadly heights of fearsome Everest
He passed three dead bodies, saved a man’s life and nearly fell down a ravine while conquering Everest – but adventurer Jeff Smith said nothing stopped him wanting to carry on.
Apart from the chilling reminder that he was risking his life when he saw two dead climbers taken down the mountain and passed another on the frozen ground, the 53-year-old narrowly avoided a deadly avalanche on the last day as he returned to base camp.
“I nearly died on the last day. It really is knife-edge stuff. You have to be focused all the time,” said father-of-two Jeff, who returned home to Cardiff at the end of May.
Of the estimated 1,000 people who attempt to climb the world’s tallest mountain each year, only around 500 make it to the summit. The challenge should not be underestimated, warns the former Cardiff Devils ice hockey player.
Jeff, who has had two hip replacements and knee surgery, spent years preparing for the climb after a previous attempt three years ago was abandoned when an avalanche killed 16 sherpas.
When he set off for Nepal in April he said he knew just what a challenge he would be undertaking.
Apart from climbing up to eight hours a day, sleeping in tents clinging to the mountainside and living off powdered food, Jeff and his team-mates never changed their clothes for the entire sixday climb, which saw them ascend for four days and descend for two. To save on weight, they wore the same snowsuits night and day.
All litter, including toilet waste, had to be taken with them and carried off the mountain in bags.
“There was a lot of death. I saw three people dead,” said Jeff. “Two were being lowered down past me as I was climbing up and the third was when I was coming down. There was just this guy dead on the ice.
“It really affected me. It was a real stark image that told me death was prevalent on this mountain.
“You are trying to concentrate on every step you take to make sure you don’t trip. On either side is death.”
This came home to Jeff when a climber fell in front of him.
“We were on a very thin 2ft-wide pathway. This guy walking in front towards us literally just fell off.
“He was a big lad and he slipped. He was on a rope that was going down and I just grabbed it and pulled him up.
“I don’t know where my strength came from. He was very shaken.”
Living off bags of dried food rehydrated with snow melted on gas stoves, Jeff lost a stone and a half during the adventure, despite snacking on his favourite Twirl bars and Werther’s mints.
Reaching the summit early in the morning on the fourth day, he was first in his team to step on top of the world.
“It was peaceful and extremely beautiful. The vista was mindblowing,” he said.
Staying 20 minutes in the thin air, with oxygen masks on, the team took photos and Jeff phoned daughter Chloe at home in Wales, as well as scattering the ashes of his friend Gary “Big Moose” Cloonan, from London, who died of cancer.
Gary’s early death was the inspiration for Jeff’s Big Moose project to get people to take on challenges to help others.
Feeling “ecstatic”, the team then headed back down.
“Coming down, there was a huge avalanche. That scared us. Luckily it stopped 50m away.”
Worse was to come. “There was a mound and a rope you pulled on to climb it. I pulled my weight on it and the ice picket it was screwed in with came out.
“I flew backwards and landed 2ft away from a crevasse. I looked down and saw I could have been dead.”
Home in Cardiff with wife Tania and daughters Chloe, 22, and Tiffany, 26, the adventurer is already planning his next feat.
“I have got more in me but I’m not sure what yet,” he said.