caught up with the advance party. He explains that the rear party, now consisting of the supposed leaders of the expedition and three inexperienced Chinese soldiers, have already set up camp further down the mountain. Once again, Mayfield expresses serious concern, saying that "it's taken them fifteen hours to do a journey that took us three and they're still not here." He also highlighted how the rations had been carefully planned and wouldn't last if there were any more delays. The next morning, Mayfield quickly climbs back down the mountain to where Niell, Major Ron Foster (John McArdle) and the three Chinese soldiers are camped to get permission from Niell to abseil into Low's Gully (which means going over 'The Point of No Return'). Niell agrees, but tells him to wait at the bottom. Mayfield protests, saying that he can only wait for a limited time. Exactly what happened in this conversation is left unclear. When Mayfield gets back to the top, Shearer makes it clear that he feels the advance party should wait. As the senior NCO, Brittan decides that if Mayfield wishes to abseil without the rear party, then they shouldn't wait. After abseiling down, the advance party decide not to wait for their own safety and on the assumption that the rear party will not be able to abseil down. Shearer looks up at the cliff face with binoculars and finds the others but it isn't clear if they are moving up or down. Once again, he makes it clear that he wants them to wait but Mayfield claims that they must be going back up while Brittan says that "if they are coming down, we waste at least two days waiting for them to catch up. If they're going up, we waste if for nothing. I don't think we can take the risk." Neill and Foster manage to get the Chinese soldiers down and into the gully, but find that the others haven't waited. Brittan leaves them a note saying 'The advance party wishes you a pleasant journey. Keep smiling!' This angers Neill and Foster. Tensions are also rising in the advance party, especially between Shearer and Brittan. During an abseil, the rope becomes loose, causing Shearer to fall and badly injure his head. Fortunately, his legs aren't broken, meaning he can still walk. Nonetheless, the accident affects his strength and ability to continue. Mann also