On 3rd June intrepid Bristol student Jake Meyer became the youngest British person to reach the summit of Everest and to complete the Seven Summits: the ascent of the highest mountains on each of the seven continents. Below, you can read about his expedition in his diary entries. The entries are unedited and the University of Bristol is not responsible for the content.
NEWSFLASH (from Jake's father)
The HERO is now back down at Advanced Base Camp. Tired but happy!!! He went on ahead of Di who is following him down and should be there by tonight. I have relayed all of your messages to him and he says a huge thank you to all of you.
NEWSFLASH (from Jake's father): 1.15am London
Just got the call from Jake: HE'S MADE IT!!! Jake Meyer and Di Gilbert have made it to the top of the world. He rang me whilst he was waiting for Di and Mingma to join him whilst standing on the top. All the waiting is over and he is thrilled to bits. A very tired Jake said "We've done it, Dad. I am standing at the top. The weather is fantastic and I can see the whole world below me. This is simply the best" The sad news is that Ran Feinnes had to turn back, but all is well with our team so far. Now comes the tricky moment: they have to get down to safety. The addage is "Take the photos and get out of there as quickly as possible" and I am expecting a call later today when they have reached camp. They are hoping to get down to 7,800 today and then back to ABC tomorrow - however, if the weather does close in they will stop at the top camp (8,300m). Please pass the word to everyone, and thank you from all of us for all of your support. All our prayers have been answered. THANK YOU!
NEWSFLASH (from Jake's father): 11.30am London
I have just received a telephone call from Jake (!!!!!!!):
He is at 8,300m safe and sound and is in flying form. He sounded so excited at having got so far (a personal record for him) and cannot wait for the BIG PUSH. I asked Jake about the oxygen - he said that sitting in the tent is is not too bad (although he did seem a little out of breath). However, even going for a walk outside you have to have the oxygen otherwise it is totally impossible - unless (and I quote) "you are Mingma who is superhuman (the b*****d)"
Plan is that he, Di and Mingma will rest up for about 6 hours - (huddled along with their other sherpa (cook) in a single tent). During this time they will try to get as much rest and eat as much as possible and drink as much tea as possible to make sure they are totally stocked up with energy and fluids.
At about 10.30 pm their time (about 4pm our time) they will set off up to the top. This is very tough, even on oxygen, but they hope to get there at about 6.30-7.00am thair time (say around midnight-1pm our time). This is it folks. Keep your fingers crossed - I will email you as soon as I have some more news, but in the meantime please have a quiet chat with your God for Jake, Di and Mingma.
I slept really badly last night. No headache, but just endless hours of tossing and turning trying to get to sleep. I think that it is change of situation rather than altitude problems. Di on the other hand seemed to sleep well as usual, much to my envy! This morning we had a couple of guests; Dave from J/G filling us in on the ABC gossip (and we him on the BC scandals!), and then our new crazy Brazilian friend Victor, who was leaving today for his summit attempt. He and another are attempting it oxygenless, and if that isn't enough of a challenge, the weather is crap, there are no ropes above 8300m, and all they are taking is a 15m rope; 'just in case'. Pure unadulterated madness! Very brave, and it will be amazing if they make it. Let's just hope that these guys have the foresight to call it a day if it all gets a bit much. Anyway, as you have now gathered, we are safely in ABC. It looks as though we might be here for a good few days, so we will send another update with all the exciting goings on in ABC in a few days. Needless to say, like the unscrupulous gossip hunters that we are, we will tirelessly hunt down the scandalous tittle-tattle (completely disregarding fact from juicy fiction) to fill you in on. Right, I better go, Di still has to proofread and edit this (I bet you don't get half of the good bits!), and several of my fingers have gone numb. God I love the tender warmth of ABC! I am now going to go and stick my deadened appendages through the grill of the gas fire until Di complains about the smell of burnt flesh.
After a fitful nights sleep (albeit a warm night!), we awoke refreshed and raring to go. Well, as raring as a pair of children reluctantly about to take an exam! There was nearly an hour of, 'we'll get up in 5 minutes!' I think that the deciding issue was the fact that both of our bladders were about to pop! Aneil whipped up a delicious brekkie of (sweet) scrambled eggs and toast. This was followed by another half hour of delaying tactics, before we eventually conceded that if we didn't get up, we'd never get up the mountain! So, after a somewhat leisurely start, we were gone by 10am, naturally being forced to wait for the tent to dry rather than our own idleness! After 25 minutes we passed the J/G North Col team, who we had noted, had left over 30 minutes before us! There was a chorus of 'Morning', 'how you doing' etc, as we swept past them, leaving them in a cloud of dust. A suitably similar analogy might be a tortoise being left in the cloud of dust of a slightly 'faster' tortoise! It was their first time up to ABC, so they must be praised for their steady approach. We carried on up the moraine underneath Changtse, with the rows of towering 50ft Penitentes to either side. Aneil caught up with us as we stopped for lunch. Once again, like a magician pulling a rabbit from a hat, he produced more cans of coke. I would say â??what a chump for carrying them for two daysâ??, but it was most appreciated. This time we refrained from the uncouth and vulgar behavior of the previous evening, as Westerners could have come round the corner at any moment! After a very long and leisurely break we continued up to ABC. We arrived just short of 4.5 hours after leaving IC. I am ashamed to say that I had to take two quick breaks in the last 30 minutes as the previous 10 days lethargy began to get the better of me. Di, as ever, continued on like a trooper, but she didn't have any hot juice ready for us when we arrived (the real reason for our stalling!). No, unfortunately Mingma was nowhere to be seen (he'd gone for a 'jolly' up to the North Col for the night), and he'd hidden the matches for the stoves! Aneil meanwhile had been ambushed by some friends, who invited him in for a cup of tea, so poor Di and I were left all alone, our throats parched from the long and arduous quest up to ABC, and no hot juice. Honestly, you just can't get the staff these days! Eventually, when he had finished catching up on the past weeks gossip, Aneil sauntered over, produced a box of matches and got some water on the boil. All we needed were the matches; we could have boiled water ourselves! Anyway, it was good to be back at ABC, I think that Basecamp lassitude had certainly set in back in BC, and we'd begun to forget the real reason we were here. At least back in ABC, with the cold, the snow flurries and the rather miserable look that seems to be a permanent feature on everyone's faces; the grim realization of why we were here came flooding back! Lucky that Team Adventure Peaks had arrived to brighten everyone up again with our good looks and infectious sense of humour. Let's just hope that that was all that was infectious about us! Surendra arrived at about 5.30pm, having come all the way up from BC. Aneil in the meantime had been getting very fidgety about who was going to cook us supper (as we didn't know when Surendra would be arriving), and in the end had resorted to cooking himself. It was a sterling effort; the dish water soup had a delicious hint of Fairy Liquid in it... No, I jest, he did a fantastic job of egg fried rice and chips (made all the more better by finding the secret supply of Soy sauce!). That evening, he and Surendra were ordered through into the warmth of our dining tent (out of the frigid wastelands of the Kitchen tent), and we sat around the gas fire like contented fat cats!
So, after 10 days of doing sweet Fanny Adams (as Ran put it!), it was finally time to dig our legs out of our bags, try and put them on the right way round, and hope that they would do their job of carrying us back up the hill after such a long and lackadaisical period of rest. Somehow our Quads and Calves hadn't completely forgotten how to work, and after an incredibly generous brunch ('Just a light lunch please Surendra'!), we hoisted our rucksacks onto our backs and for the third (and hopefully last) time, and started to wander back up towards Intermediate Camp (IC). With our headphones in, we were soon both lost in our own little musical worlds as we meandered our way back up the valley. We soon left the moraine alongside the Rongbuk glacier, and started to gain height as we forked off up towards IC on the East Rongbuk. The trail was much quieter than before, and we encountered only the occasional and sporadic individual or pairs coming down. Almost exactly 4 hours after we set out we arrived in IC. Aneil and Kasang (Tundo's brother and our present 'Tibetan Boy') arrived shortly afterwards, and joy of joys, produced a brace of cokes! Fantastic, just what we needed to quench our thirst. Thus followed a 'burping competition' (the bubbles are much more potent at altitude, I promise'. Di, who at first, was understandably horrified (she is a lady of course), soon cast her female principals aside, and joined in, with impressive results! I think even the Tibetans were in awe of our gastric vocalizations, but we soon stopped when we realized that we might set off an avalanche! How embarrassing! We soon had the tents up, and we had a delicious supper of mixed momos (cheese, tuna or vegetable, a veritable Russian roulette!), chips and fried eggs. Yummy! With the two of us in the tent together, despite it starting to snow outside, it soon turned into a sauna. It was in fact so warm that we had our sleeping bags unzipped and had trouble getting to sleep!
It now looks as though we aren't going up to ABC till Monday (about midday we'll start), and we'll take the laptop as we might be waiting for quite a long time in ABC till the summit push, anytime between the 24th and 28th. Weather not great at the moment. So keep on sending the emails and gossip from the UK! All the best Jake.
This is it! Depending on if the weather report we get tomorrow is good, then we will go up to IC tomorrow, if bad it will probably only be only a couple of more days in BC. That means that we'd be looking at summiting sometime on or just after the 20th. Fingers crossed. We're not going to take the computer to ABC during the summit attempt, so we will be out of communication for about 7 or 8 days, but keep sending the emails as it will be something great to get back down to.
After several days of waiting for the winds to come, today we were 'rewarded' with them. It was still a wonderfully blue cloudless sky, but the Jet Stream and its associated 'offshoots' had arrived. Out of the wind it's lovely and warm, but in the wind...ooohh chilly! We went for an early morning stroll down to see Kari, and see what the new weather report told us. It seems as though the Jet Stream has taken up residence on the summit (it's a bit more widespread than this; it covers all of Nepal and stretches down through much of India!), and would be staying for several days. So it seems that our stay in BC is going to be prolonged even more. The excitement of this afternoon was Julian (a young London doctor in the Himalayan project's Team) coming over to do a 'medical experiment'. Phew, I've finally got to the end of this great tome, the wind is presently threatening to rip the mess tent from over our heads. Both Di and I are afraid every time we go to the toilet tent in case it actually does; and we are caught with our trousers down! So, a mix of highlights and lowlight (and that's not just my hair!) over the last few days. I hope that we have some actual news for the next dispatch, and I don't have to pad it out as much as this one. Keep safe and best of luck for all taking exams over the next few weeks...cause we don't have to, ha ha!
Another beautiful day. This time I did manage to get my act together and do my washing soon after breakfast, so that my clothes had ample time to dry in the sun. I then went for a wonder down to the small Tibetan encampment at the lower end of Basecamp to see if the post office was open. This being probably the highest post office in the world at 5200m. Fortunately it was open, and I was able to send a pile of postcards at great expense ($25 for 10). The man behind the counter assured me that they would take 15 days to get to the UK. As I walked back to camp I wondered whether or not they would ever make it out of Tibet, let alone get to the UK, and I imagined that they were probably being tip-exed and resold to tourists. When I got back I noticed that J/Gs separate North Col team had just turned up, so being the nosy parkers that we are, we went over to investigate. There were 13 of them including their guide Ian. All fresh faced, cleanly shaven (including the women!) and excited. We felt like real hardcore veterans! Ian had brought me a package from the UK; a banner from one of my sponsors. After chatting to him for several minutes and borrowing another of their DVDs, we wandered back over to our camp. So, back to the sunbathing as I settled down for another couple of hours in the sun. That afternoon's cinema club was 'Gladiator'.
Another scorchingly hot day, thank heavens! I nominated this day chiefly 'clothes washing, and sunbathing day!' After a liberal application of sun cream for the first time on my arms as well as my face, I collected together my tools for the task in hand. Book, Ipod (and spare batteries), water bottle, bottle of sun cream (for topping up) and collapsible chair, and positioned myself (with a suitable rock for a footstool) in a first class sunbathing location. Aahhh! Utter relaxation! I was shortly joined by Di, who concurred that the mission directive for the day was to get a tan. We watched in curious amazement as the Chinese team next door still all wandered around in down jackets and thick gore-tex trousers. It was pure bliss; the only movement I needed was the occasional shuffle of the chair so that I was always facing the sun as it lazily arced its way along its languorous path. Unfortunately, the clothes washing rather took a back seat to the tanning, and so I decreed that tomorrow will be chiefly 'Clothes washing day'. That afternoon (after having lunch on our knees outside in our prime sunbathing positions!), we decided to do a bit of exercise, and walked over to Kari Kobler's team, with whom we were sharing the weather reports. He gets reports from the Swiss Met Office. Di and he spent some time going over the forecast for the next week or so, looking at precipitation levels and more importantly wind reports regarding the constantly shifting Jet Steam. Later that afternoon as we concluded that we would be burnt to a crisp if we spent any more time in the sun, we managed to swap some DVDs with David's team, and watched 'Enemy at the Gates'.
Today was a day of changes for the better. The morning's sun brought, well, sun! And lots of it! Although patches of snow still lay stagnant on the ground, the warmth of the sun brought excitement and opportunity, like the first day of spring in an old Disney movie. All around Basecamp, climbers were emerging bleary eyed from their tents, like animals emerging from hibernation after a long winter. Sleeping bags were being draped over rocks to air. Like the metamorphosis of sluggish caterpillar to fancy free butterfly, these mountain monsters (and monsteresses!) were shedding their down jackets for t-shirts, their woolly hats for baseball caps. Even the birds had returned; no longer did they have to battle against the ferocious and unrelenting winds, they could float down from on high and settle upon rocky perches. Their twitters and tweets filled the air, and all around Basecamp, life had returned. The azure blue of the cloudless sky struck a pleasing juxtaposition with the unblemished white on the snowy peaks. Even on the summit of Everest, her usual wispy trail of spindrift was nonexistent, the high altitude jet streams having abated their usual ferocity in preference of a serene and calm demeanor... Ok, I've got to stop before I make myself sick; this is sounding like a soppy Disney movie. What I meant to say was: Today I got up. It was nice. There much simpler, quantative, straight to the point. No, it was such a pleasant change to have nice weather. Having said that, I spent nearly the whole morning in the mess tent replying to emails, whilst Di sat outside with her book. I did venture out to have a shower, which was long over due (I think at least 10 days!). It was a wonderful feeling scrubbing away the consolidated dirt and grime under the scalding hot water. I even washed my hair, Di's 'Herbal Essences' proving undeniably effective in the fight against dreadlocks. However, with no easy way of drying it, and a lack of hair products to use afterwards, my hair went into major high volume mode, and I desperately scrambled to find a hat to hide my 'fingers in electricity socket' look! Di washed her thermals and her underwear, and hung them on the line between the mess tent and the kitchen tent. Every time I walked out of the mess tent I would be invariably assaulted by the damp arm of her thermal top which seemed to have taken on a life of its own (and a vendetta against me!). That evening the gas fire was switched on at an unheard of time of 5pm, and for once we weren't wearing everything we owned for supper.
Today was a slow day for both of us! Although I hadn't actually drunk that much, my lack of sleep (7 hours instead of my usual 11!) had me in a daze for most of the morning. Di on the other hand, despite 'appearing' bright eyed and bushy tailed, I think might have been feeling the effects of the previous night's rather jovial and excessive nature. She even went on an early morning crusade to apologise for, well, anything that might have happened at and after supper (di note: actually I went over to apologise to dave for drinking more than my fair share of scotch. The next bottle is on me one thinks!??) She came back with a mischievous grin, having found only Alex, who had been one of the first to bed and missed out on the completion of the whiskey! It was another cold and blustery day, snowing in the afternoon. We spent most of the day huddled round the gas fire playing cards, or lying in our tents sleeping off our...err...altitude induced headaches!
Emerged incredibly clear headed and well rested after a full 12 hours sleep this morning. I was awoken by English voices, so I got out of my tent in my pyjamas (fleece thermals, not my Spiderman PJs!) to investigate, and found a party of 10 Brits all shivering in big down jackets, wondering around the climbers graveyard (memorials right next to our camp sight). Once they got over the shock of seeing the scantily clad, bearded mountain beast, they got me to take pictures of the group in front of some hill. I thought of doing a runner, with ten posh cameras around my neck, but didn't think that I'd get far with bare feet in the snow! Anyway, as one of them pointed out, 'we know where you live', (yeah, the little green tent 30 yards over there!). Answered lots of questions they had (should open up my own Everest tour guide business!) about the mountain and climbing it. Mildly aware that they started taking pictures of me as well as the mountain when they found out that I was climbing it. Can picture the front cover already 'Everest Climber caught in his PJs!'. You heard it here first! Once they disappeared I rapidly got the gas heater going in the mess tent to coax the blood back into my extremities(had pretended I was warm to the tourists, I think they fell for it!).
Di and I spent most of the morning playing cards and writing emails. David came over with some of his group and invited us for supper (in return for us having him the other night). The Times journalist has turned up (Stephanie, very pretty, hope she'll interview me later).
So, back down to BC! Although a wonderfully picturesque trek, it gets a little dull after the 4th time. All 22kms of it! With a net drop of 1200m, you can really tell the difference from start to finish. One of the things I noticed this time was that at ABC (6400m) when you are walking around, you are always breathing out of your mouth (panting and gasping for air!), but by the time you get down to about 5500m, you can quite happily walk around just breathing through your nose. Although it certainly hasn't been the case all the time we've been here, it just shows the effect of the successful acclimatisation. The interesting part of the walk (just wait till you see the pictures!) is the lead up to ABC from intermediate camp, where you walk up a narrow belt of moraine (glacial rock deposit) overlying a giant glacier. On each side of you (perhaps no more than 60m across) are giant towers and pinnacles of ice, some over 40/50m tall. I can imagine that an antelope might witness a similar sight with its head stuck in a crocs jaw; all sharp white teeth running down each side as far as the eye could see! We walked as fast as we could with the storm nipping at our heels. (So that's why everyone else is back in BC!). The storm clouds were gathering overhead and we stayed just on the periphery of the snow and sleet.
It took us about 5 hours to get back down to Basecamp, hopping from rock to rock, dodging Yaks (and yak poo!) and stopping briefly for a packed lunch of boiled eggs and chocolate. The sherpas arrived just after us (although they had set off later and it probably only took them 4 hours!). Very glad to be back in the (relative) comforts of BC! Managed to get hold of a crate of beer (hic!) and the novelty of alcohol is yet to wear thin! (See my last message re Beer and Boiled Eggs) I have to say that even though it was weak beer, the altitude has obviously affected our tolerance. Not that we were running round naked in the snow letting down each others tents, but it probably wouldn't have taken too many more glasses! As you can imagine, we slept very that night!
We were going to go straight back down to BC after our foray up the North Col, but in the interests of team support, we stayed up in ABC with the Sherpas. Mingma Sherpa did a load carry up to our top camp at 8300m. Yes, 8300m, from 6400m. In one day. Carrying gear. This man is an animal! (for all we know he probably popped up onto the summit to have a look whilst he was there!). No, seriously, we are incredibly lucky to have probably the fittest and strongest Sherpa on the mountain on our team. We naturally spent the day bumbling around camp, eating, playing cards (Di has such a big handful she looks like a Geisha Girl!). We went to visit some of the other expeditions, but everyone seems to have left and returned to BC in preparation for the big storm. We have copies of the weather printouts and the Jet stream has moved sufficiently to cause majorly high winds (70knots+ at 8000m), which we obviously don't want to be on the mountain at the same time as. We made friends with a pair of Brazilians who are going for an oxygen less ascent. They are always wearing their (very fetching blue and yellow) Down Suits, and look like a pair of big cuddly teddy bears! There is another pair of Brazilians (husband and wife) who have come to the mountain every year for about the past 4 years to climb the mountain. They never want to use Sherpas. This year they have already lost all (3) of their high mountain tents and loads of gear in the winds, oops, poor them! It seems as thought the South American contingent has started up a charity kit bag for them.
Somehow, despite our dehydration and the altitude, we managed to get a decent nights sleep. By all accounts we shouldn't have, but somehow Once the (torch) lights went out, we both slept relatively undisturbed till 7ish. Call it efficient acclimatisation, or maybe we were just much more physically trashed than we thought we were. The tropical rainstorm as the sun melted all the ice on the inner of the tent acted as an all too efficient alarm clock, and we slowly and lethargically started to sort all our gear up for the return to ABC. There is something about having to share a tent that turns people very rapidly into the ultimate married couple. Obviously being able to share a confined space in one of those factors, but you have to wonder, when 'your partner' asks you to turn around so that they can have a pee in the tent (don't worry, in a bottle, we're not animals). A serious test of human relations! Come on Jake, it was only a pee and not a poo!? That will be next time. Tee hee. A very fast decent of the fixed ropes and we were back in ABC by lunch time. Well, I say very fast, if we hadn't have stopped to talk to all of our new friends. Di has come to the conclusion that acclimatisation might make you climb faster, but being two of the most sociable people on the mountain, we take twice as long to get anywhere as we stop to talk to everyone we meet along the way! Note to Di: next time I ask if there's loo roll in the toilet tent, after not having any bowel movements for the past 4 days, 3 sheets does not constitute a "yes, there's plenty". What next followed next was some of the most initiative use of materials found in and around Jake and the toilet tent. Finally back to (relative) civilisation: good food, Pringles, Jacobs Cream crackers, email and DVD.
Unfortunately it wasn't the elements that kept us awake, but our pounding heads. The jump of nearly 700m from ABC was enough to shock the body into some attempted defence (trying to get us to retreat lower) and I think that we probably got about 3 or 4 hour sleep in total (in 5 minute stints!). Eventually when the sun warmed the tent sufficiently to coax our tortured heads and bodies from our sleeping bags, and we started the stoves up for breakfast. Once again I wolfed down my bacon and beans, whilst Di was less convinced and opted for a couple of breakfast bars. We struggled into our down clothing and we out of the tent by about 11am. The plan was to try to go up to the next camp at 7500m, to Stretch our legs and for acclimatisation, and then return. Although the sun was warm, the winds icy tendrils ripped at us as we battled up the fixed ropes. We carried on for nearly 2.5 hours before it got too much for us, and our frozen fingers persuaded us to turn around and return to the relative safety of our tent. We had got as high as 7300m. Once back in our tent the stove went straight on, and we watched as other teams and individuals struggled back out of the blizzard. A supper of chocolate bars and soup followed and at 6pm we resigned ourselves to another night of headaches and zero sleep.
Now for some real mountaineering action! Another trip up to the North Col (7070m). This time with heavy packs on our backs, as we were going to spend a couple of nights up there for acclimatisation. We got a relatively early start, and found ourselves alone (bar 2 Americans & 1 Kiwi) on the fixed ropes. Obviously Sherpas were having the day off, as the only two that we encountered we ours; Mingma and Surendra. Both were looking pretty damn smart in Clic goggles (Thank you Shona at www.clicextreme) I apologise for blatant product placement, but they are very popular with our sherpas. However Surendra was moaning a little about the fact that he had to wear Aneil's boots, which I think are a little too big for him! We got to our tent in about an hour quicker than our first foray up the fixed ropes, and were quick to get all our gear sorted out, and some water on the boil before the temperature plummeted. The tent was certainly very snuggley by the time we had both of our huge sleeping bags and all of our paraphernalia out. Several hot chocolates/soups/hot juices later and an attempt at the boil in the bags (my Meatballs and pasta slipped down a treat which is less than could be said for Di's Beef stew and dumplings - now in the bin) and we were ready for bed. The temperature had dropped dramatically and the wind was howling at our door, but we were tired, and weren't going to let the elements disturb our fitful sleep.
Rest Day, again, hurrah! Obviously as we didn't update then (as offered), no majorly exciting events occurred. Another day of furious playing card action between the two best looking blonds on the mountain(PS mine is NATURAL). I'm very annoyed that Di is still beating me (68 rounds to 65 (but who's counting)) in a game that I taught her(s**thead)! We watched the DVD of the 'Incredibles', which we were bothvery disappointed by, not up to the standard set by 'The Aviator' thenight before! Felt like the ultimate social team by having guests round for supper. Dave and Fred (a doctor from the US) supplied the wine and the after dinner biscuits, and we supplied the pizza, pasta, fruit salad, creamy white stilton and the good company. Revelries continued almost till 8pm when everyone had to make their excuses and make their way carefully back to their respective camps. I say carefully, not because of the alcohol consumed (our mothers would have been proud of our restraint), but because the copious and liberal amounts of yak poo, makes any journey like a blindfolded dash through a minefield!
Well earned rest day! Finished off the DVD of Alexander, and played cards for most of the morning. Delicious lunch of pizza (yup, last nights) and chips! This afternoon the weather changed, and we have had about 3 inches of snow (still hasn't stopped). I can't even get into my tent as it is being guarded by a very fearsome Yak, who had decided that my porch is a very comfortable place to lie down. He is now covered in several inches of snow, but still has a very pink nose! We have been listening to the radio (CB, not Chris Moyles and Radio 1!) all day, and it sounds as though there is going to be a storm higher up on the mountain tomorrow, so we are both glad that we are safely down in ABC! Anyway, we will write probably in about 4 days time, when we have returned from spending a night or two at North Col, so unless anything incredibly exciting happens on our rest day tomorrow, we will update then.
Finally the time came to do a load carry from ABC (6400m) to the North Col campsite (7070m). It is nice to move on to another camp on the mountain, especially as neither of us went there when the North Col group had their 'summit day'. I also broke a personal altitude record, as it is over 100m higher than Aconcagua (6962m). Di's record is 8201m on Cho Oyu, so she's got quite away to go! Although it didn't feel like any kind of barrier, it is certainly an impressive height to have achieved, as there is nowhere else in the world apart from Asia that you can get this high. The day started early with a big breakfast of porridge and eggy bread, and we left ABC by 8.15am. We were carrying some of the kit that we wouldn't need till higher up on the mountain and would leave at the North Col. After about 1.5 hours we arrived at the edge of the ice field below the Northern Flank of the mountain and put on our harnesses and crampons. We also met up with Dave Hamilton, Sir Ranaulf Fiennes, Sibusiso Vilane (First Black man to climb Everest) and Ian Parnell (Famous Mountaineering Photographer/Super Alpinist). We all trundled up to the start of the fixed ropes at about 6700m. Seeing a number of black dots already part way up this huge 350m head wall put it all into perspective, especially on the steep sections. So we clipped on our ascenders and started to climb. We were actually quite relieved for the small queues moving up the Fixed ropes, as it meant that we were forced to go very slowly (not that we could have gone much faster at this altitude). However every so often a Sherpa with a huge rucksack would storm past us. There were two sections that were very steep (nearly 90 degrees), and trying to pull yourself up these sections on a thin strand of 7.5mm rope (with 5 or 6 others on the same rope) was quite hairy. There were also two sections of ladders laid horizontally over crevasses, which again certainly got the heart pumping! I eventually arrived at our tent at the North Col at about 2.30pm. Di arrived soon after and we sorted out our gear before heading back down. The North Col Camp site is a higgledy piggery, mishmash of tents all crammed into a tiny area. It looks like a shanty town! I counted about 70 tents in the area of probably 70m x 20m. Even worse than a D of E bronze expedition! Coming down was a lot faster, as most of the climbers were sleeping up there, and all the Sherpas had been up and down before lunch. It was like one long 350m abseil, so a lot of fun. We met our Sherpas, Mingma and Aneil who were load carrying up to North Col and beyond, they had had a lie in, and hadn't started till 1.30pm. At 4pm, they had got as far as it had taken us nearly 5 hours! We were back in ABC by just after 5pm, very tired as you can imagine! We have to confess here, that our cook Surrendra had gone to special efforts making salami pizza and apple pie. Needless to say, that after a wiff of pizza we retired to bed most apologetic.
And then there were two... Sorry for being out of touch for a few days, we've been up and down the mountain like jack in the boxes, and had decided to leave the computer at ABC. Since our last update (20th April): Andy, Mandy and Di returned back to Basecamp to be reunited with Pam And Jake who had returned to BC the day before. It is quite a hike from ABC to BC in 1 day, a distance of 22km, and although a vertical drop of 1200m, still a hard yomp! Everyone understandably arrived completely knackered (apart from Di who skipped in bright-eyed and bushy-tailed).
It had snowed a fair amount during the night and we were greeted with a romantically white scene in the morning. It certainly made a change from the pretty grotty surroundings of IC (Yak poo and scree!). Di and I set out at 9am as Aneil and Tundo broke camp. Once again we travelled fast, and arrived in ABC after about 4.5 hours. Mingma had just returned from a high sortie up the mountain. He had been stocking the high camps, and had been as far as 8300m, a feat that brought a smile to Di and my faces as it proved what a strong team we have behind us (and how inadequate we feel!). David Hamilton came round for tea, and we all had a good gossip about the mountain and the various teams on it. Apparently there is a team on the south side who are planning to do a traverse of the mountain and 'drop off' the North side of the mountain when they summit. Lets hope they have their passports ready of Chinese border control on the summit! N.B. Dave Pritt, Fox's Biscuit Selections very good, especially the Chocolate Orange Sundaes (Di's very upset that I didn't leave any for her, but as I say; you snooze, you lose!). We met Mingma's brother, who is working for the Indian Woman's team, he's called Mingma too!!! Aneil taught us some Nepali words, Di and I are very fast learners, especially the rude words! That evening we all sobbed our way through the DVD of Million Dollar Baby.
Now that we have had a couple of days rest, slept well and stuffed ourselves with Surendra's amazing food, it was time to fight the call of BC lassitude and once again go back up the mountain. Having both decided that even in our well rested state, a trip back to ABC (6400m) in one day would probably kill us this early on in the expedition, we would once again do it in two days, with an overnight at Intermediate Camp (5700m). The two of us travelled much faster this time, a testament to our acclimatisation, and reached IC in 4 hours, 2 hours quicker than the first trip up. Nevertheless, we were both pretty tired and collapsed into our tent as soon as we arrived and set up camp. Aneil was with us, and Tundo had come up for the night to help with the cooking and porterage. A delicious meal of vegetable momos, chips and fried eggs followed, and a good night's sleep was had by all.
It seems that no one on this mountain works on the same time scale, and so after an early (7am) breakfast to prepare for the 8am arrival of the jeep, we all had to sit around for another couple of hours waiting for it to turn up. However, with the successful surfacing of 3 passports, Mandy, Pam and Andy were more or less happy to stall for an hour or two, now that showers and cold beer would be on the agenda before the day was out. It was a heartfelt goodbye, I certainly could never have wished for a better trio to share the first part of this adventure with. If you're reading this, you three, both Di and I miss you like crazy, and it hasn't been the same since you left, hope you had an amazing time in Lhasa, Kathmandu and that you all got home safely to a well deserved rest!
A very relaxed day spent in BC with the outgoing North Col team dreaming about what their first meals would be when they got to Lhasa (much to the annoyance of Di and Jake who still have another 6-7 weeks on the hill). When we arrived in BC a couple of days before, we found that the Chinese camp next to us had started major construction works on our little mound of rubble. After much speculation as to what they might be building (ranging from a mobile phone mast to a water tank for their camp), we discovered that they are in fact re-measuring the mountain and it is a trig point. However much we want to know about what the height of the hill is, the downside is that they start work at 8am Chinese time, which is about 6am our (Nepalese) time. Due to a mistake on our travel permits, Mandy, Pam and Andy's passports were 'borrowed' by the Chinese Authorities a week earlier, and on the eve of their departure still haven't materialised. Aneil seems very relaxed about them, but as you can understand, the North Col team are beginning to get a little worried. That night, as to wish them bon voyage (passports dependant), Surendra once again made a delicious cake, and Di's bottle of Glen Fiddich came out. It seems that no one on this mountain works on the same time scale, and so after an early (7am) breakfast to prepare for the 8am arrival of the jeep, we all had to sit around for another couple of hours waiting for it to turn up. However, with the successful surfacing of 3 passports, Mandy, Pam and Andy were more or less happy to stall for an hour or two, now that showers and cold beer would be on the agenda before the day was out. It was a heartfelt goodbye, I certainly could never have wished for a better trio to share the first part of this adventure with. If you're reading this, you three, both Di and I miss you like crazy, and it hasn't been the same since you left, hope you had an amazing time in Lhasa, Kathmandu and that you all got home safely to a well deserved rest!
Dispatch from the boss... Things had been going so well up to now - as you have probably gathered from the last dispatch. However, this morning looked very grim for a couple of members of the Adventure Peaks Team. Last night, our chirpy as a chirpy thing, Jake was definitely not himself and missed dinner for the first time. He still came to keep us company but the smell of the food was turning his stomach. In fact, we knew it was bad when he only watched one DVD and not his normal two after dinner. Speaking about last night, Di, Andy and Jake did look very pathetic as we sat in our dining tent watching 'National Treasure' fully clothed in nearly all our summit down gear with Jakes sleeping bag over us for extra warmth - its mighty cold up here - infact Andy's thermometer isn't even registering. So, this morning not only did Jake (who had been sick during the evening) look a little bit worth for wear but poor Pam came in looking if someone had been hitting her over the eyes with a baseball bat all evening. Oh, the joys of altitude. So, a team chat was in order this morning over breakfast and it was decided that Pam and Jake were to have a relaxing morning around camp - and this didn't include lying down in their tents all morning - whilst Mandy, Andy and Di walked up the glacier to the kitting up point for a closer look at the ground leading up to the North Col. Lots of "oohs" and "aahs". Back down to camp for lunch - which was enjoyed by some - and an afternoon of practice with ascenders, descenders and other jingly jangly bits. Needless to say, they are all in their tents, familiarising themselves with the sharp metal things that are required for tomorrow (hopefully not the crampons). The North Col Team are going to head up the mountain tomorrow with Di, Mingma and Aneil, weather permitting, whilst Jake is going to take it easy until he gets his strength back. Di, cold at ABC
"puff puff puff.......sigh...puff puff puff" All is ok here at the Adventure Peaks advance base camp. Our final day at Base Camp saw us up early for the yak weigh in of our luggage. The yaks were loaded up and our trek to intermediate camp began. People started to feel the altitude in the last couple of hundred metres, eventually reaching intermediate camp at 5730m. People erected tents and soon collapsed only to awoken by a nice hot cup of tea from Aneil. That evening food was served in tents, as people were starting to feel the effects of the days climb. Having spent the last two days climbing, approximately 6hours per day, through stunning scenery of the Rongbuk Glacier we are now camped at Advanced Base Camp at 6410m. Everyone is quiet today after approx 900m climbing yesterday and from the first views of the North Col. Word from teams higher up in ABC is that a 10 crevasse has opened which will be the teams first obstacle on the journey higher. On the trek up Jake tends to be at the front, arriving in good time to help put the tents up. Mingma was already camped at ABC and so the kitchen tent, complete with dry stone wall cooking platform, was already in operation. The views were spectacular on the walk up, though we all felt that it was best to keep plodding and take pictures on the way down. Mess tent and toilet tent arrived today so all is well.
An early start from Tingri was made for the journey to Everest Base Camp, but not too early to fit in another of those fine Tingri breakfasts! The journey to base camp was made in two Land Cruisers over three hours. We steadily climbed through the rugged landscape passing small permanent settlements along the way, it's amazing that people live and work at these high altitudes. With many frozen river crossings it wasn't surprising that we would get stuck at some point. A few well placed stones and rocks soon had us underway again. About two hours into the journey we got our first full view of Everest and surrounds. "Wow" became a common word. An hour later and we were at Everest Base Camp (5000m). After a hunt around the various camps we eventually found ours nestled by the side of a river. The camp (5180m) had already been established the previous day by Mingma, Aneil & Surendra. A huge breakfast was waiting which we all tucked into. The rest of the day was spent attempting to set up communications, electrics and getting used to the new altitude. High winds at Base Camp whip up the dust and aid in keeping the temperature down. We are soon kitted out in our down equipment, apart from Di who had about five layers on. It was all hands on when the winds picked up and the toilet tent started to take flight, with some additional rope and rocks it was soon lashed down. The evening was spent in the luxury of the dining tent huddled around a gas heater watching the latest DVD releases courtesy of Kathmandu. The following day we all awake with various forms of headache and nausea, some more than others. This was expected due to our new altitude. The high winds at Base Camp persist, everyone choosing to remain in camp. Overnight the winds drop and everyone has a better nights sleep. The electrics are finally sorted and the radios are tested. Andrew, Mandy and Pam go for a short walk to the Base Camp post office only to find it closed. After a rough first day at this altitude the group have settled in to home and are enjoying the new surroundings.
"gosh, it's cold" says Mandy, as she gets into her sleeping wearing all her clothes at Nyalam. "Do you think it will get much colder?" Next day, Mandy continues her power shopping spending her "doodahs" on jimjams. Left Kathmandu on the 5th for 25 minute helicopter flight to Kodori (1830m) - as opposed to the 8 hour bus ride. We stayed the night here then walked over the Friendship Bridge and into Tibet and Zhangmu (2300m). The following day we went to Nylam (3760m) where we had an acclimatisation walk to 4080m without problem (and oxygen!). Then a 3 hour drive to Tingri across a high pass and into the Everest Conservation Area. We arrived at our accommodation and spent the rest of the day at rest. Today we had another acclimatisation walk to 4780m in very windy conditions. All did extremely well. Spirits are high and everyone feeling well despite the odd headache or two.
Dear all, greetings from Tibet! We flew to the border by Helicopter on Tuesday. Our Sherpas; Mingma, Aneil and Surrendra had gone with the truck by road several days earlier. The Maoists have closed most of the roads out of Kathmandu, so travel by road is very slow. Apparently it would have taken us 4 days driving, so 30mins in a Chopper (very SAS) was a much preferred option. When we landed there was a large group of very dirty (but incredibly cute) local children. As we were waiting for the Off-road vehicles to pick us up we play with the kids. They were extremely excited by the digital video camera, and I would video them and then let them watch themselves. Cue much laughter and overacting for the camera! The Landrovers drove us up to the village of Kodari, which is on the Nepalese side of 'Friendship Bridge', over a river that acts as the border. That afternoon we climbed up the valley side (very steep!) and went and visited a Buddhist Monastery. I don't think I have every met a more friendly and welcoming race as the Nepalese. Even though there was a funeral taking place, we were welcomed in, and given bags of blessed food as good luck. One of the Monks, who spoke very good English, showed us around and explained what was happening. A very important Lama (teacher) had died, and in the process of ensuring his mind and soul went to Nirvana and the higher plain, The monks and Nuns had to chant, sing and meditate/pray for 49 days. There were about 200 all sitting chanting, which created the most wonderful sound. They are so welcoming that we were allowed to walk around whilst they were meditating and take photos. The Monk also explained the whole Buddhist way of thinking, the mantras, the fact that the body is purely a slave to the mind for only one lifetime and then is reincarnates its self (assuming it had led a good existence!). It is a truly wonderful religion, one based on peace and happiness.The next day (Wednesday), we crossed Friendship Bridge and into Tibet. The change is instant and remarkable. Although the border, and customs, was remarkably quick to get through, you could see the Chinese influence everywhere. The infrastructure was much more developed, the people are a lot more wary of strangers. We had lunch at the border and then boarded our land cruisers again and set off to our next destination, Nylam. Nylam is a bizarre town (3700m) which seems to serve no purpose. It is in the middle of nowhere, no apparent source of work apart from some very meagre Yak herding, yet has shops and facilities that by far outstrip its size. There is one Teahouse (where we are staying), so it isn't exactly a tourist hotspot. Aneil says that it serves as a sort of trading or commerce centre for the surrounding area. It is an incredibly dire place. It is freezing. We can't see out of the window of our room for the snow, and we were kept awake all last night by the rats, which seem not to be afraid of Humans. If this is what it is like during the summer, I hate to think what it would be like during the winter. Although I know that they have little choice, I can't see how the locals are able to survive the conditions and the monotony of the place. Thank god it has email facilities. However it has taken my nearly three hours to get into Hotmail, the computers are so slow! Today (Thursday) we went for an Acclimatisation walk up a nearby mountain. The one good thing about this place is that I must admit that the Chinese food is pretty good. Not quite what we're used to at home, but same idea. Meals are lots of plates of different recipes that you help yourself to. For example for supper tonight, we had cauliflower and an unidentifiable meat, Bean spouts and an unidentifiable meat, Squash (I think!) and an unidentifiable meat, and even some chips (that were cold). We have been playing endless games of cards to pass the time. I just hope that tonight the sound of the rats doesn't keep me awake! (I'm not joking about the vermin, it is truly horrific!. Tomorrow we are driving to Tingri (4500m), which is our last village before base-camp. We will spend two nights there (with a day of acclimatisation), before going up to base-camp (5200m). There will be no email facilities till I reach base-camp, so I hope to get back to you early next week. I think that the next thing that I am looking forward to is visiting the Rhonbok monastery on the way up to Base-camp. We will also take part in a Punja ceremony to grant us a safe journey, and luck on the mountain.
Greetings from Kathmandu. It is I, your intrepid adventurer, pushing the boundaries of exploration from another far flung part of the world. We landed at about 8am this morning in Kathmandu. Luckily all our bags arrived alright, and we passed through customs without any problems. On leaving the airport we were given garlands of flowers around our necks, (I thought that this was Nepal, not Hawaii!). Kathmandu is amazing, a veritable hive of activity, full of treats for all the senses. From the wonderfully coloured market stalls to the smell of pollution and constant honking of car horns, we immediately realised that this was somewhere full of excitement. We are staying in an amazing hotel, about 15 minutes walk from Tamel (the colourful touristy part of the city), just below the 'monkey temple'. No guesses for what kind of animals are in abundance there then! We spent the day wandering around the city, collecting last minute bits of kit. Tomorrow we fly by helicopter to the Tibetan border, which should be fun.
