Bronco Lane
Encyclopedia
Major Michael Patrick 'Bronco' Lane BEM
, MM
(born 1945) is a former British Army
officer and author, known for his climbing expeditions which led to his summiting Mount Everest
in 1976.
in 1961. He volunteered for service in the 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
in 1964 and was selected for the Special Air Service
in 1967. He fought in the Aden Emergency
, Oman and in Northern Ireland
where he was awarded the Military Medal
.
n Himalayas
in 1973, Nuptse
, Nepal
in 1975. 1976 saw him joining a joint British-Nepalese Army expedition to Everest under the command of Lt. Col Tony Streather. The expedition succeeded in putting Lane and fellow SAS colleague Brummie Stokes on the summit on May 16. After summiting Lane and Stokes were caught by bad weather and were forced to abandon their descent. The pair bivouacked in a snow hole near the South Summit for the night. Stokes tried and failed to attach a oxygen bottle to his face-mask. Lane had to remove his glove to attach the bottle but after an hour his hand was frozen. After the night in the open both men's feet were badly frostbitten
. Back home in England
doctors attempted to save the men's toes but the condition of their feet deteriorated in the summer heat. Eventually he felt a tingling sensation in his foot and after removing his dressing found maggot
s in one of his toes which he removed with a cocktail stick
. Lane lost his toes as well as the thumb and top halves of his fingers on his right hand.
He continued mountaineering, climbing in the Canadian Rockies
in 1978-9 and Mount Kenya
in 1983. In 1984 he led an expedition to Everest Tibet
and was deputy leader of the Joint Services Everest Nepal 1992. He has also been involved with several Antarctica expeditions.
and kept them behind the regimental mess
. When the National Army Museum
approached him seeking items to commemorate his climb in 1976 Lane presented them with his severed digits together with an ice axe
he used during his climb. Lane stated at the time that "I don't think it was quite what they were expecting...but I haven't got any use for them any more and I thought it would be nice to see them exhibited." The toes were not in good enough condition to be exhibited but the fingers were placed on display on a wooden plinth
.
British Empire Medal
The Medal of the Order of the British Empire for Meritorious Service, usually known as the British Empire Medal , is a British medal awarded for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown...
, MM
Military Medal
The Military Medal was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land....
(born 1945) is a former British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
officer and author, known for his climbing expeditions which led to his summiting Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
in 1976.
Background
Born in 1945 in Manchester, Lane attended the Ullswater Outward Bound School in 1960 and joined Junior Leaders Royal ArtilleryRoyal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
in 1961. He volunteered for service in the 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery is a regiment of the Royal Artillery in the British Army. It serves in the field artillery role with 16 Air Assault Brigade, and is equipped with the L118 Light Gun.- History :...
in 1964 and was selected for the Special Air Service
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
in 1967. He fought in the Aden Emergency
Aden Emergency
The Aden Emergency was an insurgency against the British crown forces in the British controlled territories of South Arabia which now form part of the Yemen. Partly inspired by Nasser's pan Arab nationalism, it began on 10 December 1963 with the throwing of a grenade at a gathering of British...
, Oman and in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
where he was awarded the Military Medal
Military Medal
The Military Medal was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land....
.
Mountaineering
Bronco joined the Army Mountaineering Association (AMA) in 1968 and took part in AMA expeditions to the Canadian Arctic in 1972, IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
in 1973, Nuptse
Nuptse
Nuptse is a mountain in the Khumbu region of the Mahalangur Himal, in the Nepalese Himalayas. It lies two kilometres WSW of Mount Everest. Nuptse is Tibetan for "west peak", as it is the western segment of the Lhotse-Nuptse massif....
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
in 1975. 1976 saw him joining a joint British-Nepalese Army expedition to Everest under the command of Lt. Col Tony Streather. The expedition succeeded in putting Lane and fellow SAS colleague Brummie Stokes on the summit on May 16. After summiting Lane and Stokes were caught by bad weather and were forced to abandon their descent. The pair bivouacked in a snow hole near the South Summit for the night. Stokes tried and failed to attach a oxygen bottle to his face-mask. Lane had to remove his glove to attach the bottle but after an hour his hand was frozen. After the night in the open both men's feet were badly frostbitten
Frostbite
Frostbite is the medical condition where localized damage is caused to skin and other tissues due to extreme cold. Frostbite is most likely to happen in body parts farthest from the heart and those with large exposed areas...
. Back home in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
doctors attempted to save the men's toes but the condition of their feet deteriorated in the summer heat. Eventually he felt a tingling sensation in his foot and after removing his dressing found maggot
Maggot
In everyday speech the word maggot means the larva of a fly ; it is applied in particular to the larvae of Brachyceran flies, such as houseflies, cheese flies, and blowflies, rather than larvae of the Nematocera, such as mosquitoes and Crane flies...
s in one of his toes which he removed with a cocktail stick
Cocktail stick
A cocktail stick is a short cylindrical stick, made of wood, that has a somewhat sharp point on both ends. It is usually used as a skewer for holding decorations in cocktails and also for serving food at parties.- Further reading :*Br Med J . 1987 Dec 19-26;295:1658...
. Lane lost his toes as well as the thumb and top halves of his fingers on his right hand.
He continued mountaineering, climbing in the Canadian Rockies
Canadian Rockies
The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. They are the eastern part of the Canadian Cordillera, extending from the Interior Plains of Alberta to the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA...
in 1978-9 and Mount Kenya
Mount Kenya
Mount Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian , Nelion and Point Lenana . Mount Kenya is located in central Kenya, just south of the equator, around north-northeast of the capital Nairobi...
in 1983. In 1984 he led an expedition to Everest Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
and was deputy leader of the Joint Services Everest Nepal 1992. He has also been involved with several Antarctica expeditions.
Bronco's digits
Lane had his five fingers and 10 toes preserved in formaldehydeFormaldehyde
Formaldehyde is an organic compound with the formula CH2O. It is the simplest aldehyde, hence its systematic name methanal.Formaldehyde is a colorless gas with a characteristic pungent odor. It is an important precursor to many other chemical compounds, especially for polymers...
and kept them behind the regimental mess
Mess
A mess is the place where military personnel socialise, eat, and live. In some societies this military usage has extended to other disciplined services eateries such as civilian fire fighting and police forces. The root of mess is the Old French mes, "portion of food" A mess (also called a...
. When the National Army Museum
National Army Museum
The National Army Museum is the British Army's central museum. It is located in the Chelsea district of central London, England adjacent to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, the home of the "Chelsea Pensioners". The National Army Museum is open to the public every day of the year from 10.00am to 5.30pm,...
approached him seeking items to commemorate his climb in 1976 Lane presented them with his severed digits together with an ice axe
Ice axe
An ice axe, is a multi-purpose ice and snow tool used by mountaineers both in the ascent and descent of routes which involve frozen conditions. It can be held and employed in a number of different ways, depending on the terrain encountered...
he used during his climb. Lane stated at the time that "I don't think it was quite what they were expecting...but I haven't got any use for them any more and I thought it would be nice to see them exhibited." The toes were not in good enough condition to be exhibited but the fingers were placed on display on a wooden plinth
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
.
Works
- Project Alpha. ISBN 9781904524212
- Military Mountaineering - A History of Services Mountaineering, 1945 - 2000. Hayloft Publishing. ISBN 9780952328216