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BC at slightly above moraine of glacier
C1 at east end of ridge of point 6140m on Schneider map.

British Services Makalu Expedition, High Altitude Development Team, led by Andrew Hughes - 6 June 2008

This team was associated with the two British armed services team to Makalu's NW and SE Ridges, and was designed as a training exercise for less experienced climbers.

The original plan was to attack Pethangtse in a fast climb with only one camp above BC. On 12 May they arrived at their BC (5650m), and two days later placed C1 at 6100m south of Pethangtse at the east end of the ridge of point 6140m (on the Schneider Khumbu map, 1999 edition). They then sent small parties to look for a feasible route on Pethangtse's South Ridge or somewhere in that area of the mountain. But they found that there were many seracs above C1, and they would need two or three higher camps.

So they looked for a nearby alternative and switched their goal from Pethangtse to an unnamed peak [Pethangtse East], Pt 6540m on the Schneider map east-southeast of Pethangtse. From C1 they moved around some "monstrous" crevasses in a big glacial bowl and went to the summit via the South Ridge, which was 45-degree ice at its top but not very difficult.

Half of the team left C1 at 3:00 am on 16 May and were on their 6540m high summit on 16 May at 12 o'clock noon. They were Barnard, Beighton, Fawcett, Greig-Smith, Hughes and Sherwood. They returned to BC at 6:00 pm.

The other half followed the next day. They too left C1 at 3:00 am, were on the summit on 17 May at noon and back in BC at 6:00 pm. Their times were the same as those of the first group: although they did not have to pioneer the route, they were not so strong. They were Ayrton, Flynn, Ling, Slack, Smith and Wilson.

From BC the expedition moved west across the East Col (north of Sherpani Col), across the West Col south of Baruntse, and crossed Amphu Labtsa to Island Peak, which all members summited on the 27 of May.