Well, I've made it this far! I met up with most of the rest of the team at Heathrow and we arrived in KTM yesterday at around 3.30pm after a pleasingly uneventful flight via Delhi. We're staying at the Summit hotel, which I've stayed at before, and which is a very pleasant and peaceful oasis away from the noise and general chaos of the city centre.
To my surprise, we have got a full day in KTM before leaving for the hills tomorrow. So instead of the expected 4am alarm call to get to the airport for our flight to Lukla, I instead had a wondeful 9 hours sleep followed by a leisurely breakfast on the terrace. After breakfast we had a lecture from the guy who invented the oxygen system we're going to be using on the mountain, followed by a full gear check. Some of the group have gone into town to stock up on a few essentials, but I'm just going to have a quiet day sitting in the sun at the hotel.
So that's it really, all very boring and unexciting (although at least I didn't go into detail about what I had for breakfast!). Tomorrow is when that 4am call will come, and that is when the big adventure will really start.
Catch you soon!!
Monday 30 March 2009
Thursday 19 March 2009
Ready for the Off
Well, it's just about a week now until I set off on my little adventure. The question that most people ask is 'do you feel nervous', and I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing that the answer is a resounding No!! - I just feel excited. Don't get me wrong - I have no illusions whatsover about what I am letting myself in for, and just how tough it is going to be. I know that it is going to be the hardest thing that I have ever done, or will ever do, but I feel so well prepared, physically and mentally, that if I don't do it now, I will have lost the chance for ever.
So, on Saturday 28th March I will be flying off to Kathmandu. After the briefest of stays (probably around 12 hours!) we will then fly to Lukla and after a quick cup of tea we'll be on the base camp trail. The trek into base camp will probably take around 15 days, taking it nice and easy and having plenty of rest days and day walks to aid the acclimatisation. Having arrived at at base camp, we will then spend the best part of a month acclimatising, making several trips up the mountain, spending longer and getting higher each time, but always heading back to base camp. After our final acclimatisation climb we will probably head right back down the valley as far as Dingboche for a few days of rest and relative comfort. Only when we are absolutely ready will we head back up the mountain and go for the summit, which we will aim to reach any time between mid- and late-May (it's not possible to be more specific!!).
I'm hoping that with the proliferation of internet access on the trail and at base camp that I will be able to update this blog at regular intervals, except when I am up the mountain of course. So, bye for now then, and the next post I make will probably be from somewhere on the trail.
So, on Saturday 28th March I will be flying off to Kathmandu. After the briefest of stays (probably around 12 hours!) we will then fly to Lukla and after a quick cup of tea we'll be on the base camp trail. The trek into base camp will probably take around 15 days, taking it nice and easy and having plenty of rest days and day walks to aid the acclimatisation. Having arrived at at base camp, we will then spend the best part of a month acclimatising, making several trips up the mountain, spending longer and getting higher each time, but always heading back to base camp. After our final acclimatisation climb we will probably head right back down the valley as far as Dingboche for a few days of rest and relative comfort. Only when we are absolutely ready will we head back up the mountain and go for the summit, which we will aim to reach any time between mid- and late-May (it's not possible to be more specific!!).
I'm hoping that with the proliferation of internet access on the trail and at base camp that I will be able to update this blog at regular intervals, except when I am up the mountain of course. So, bye for now then, and the next post I make will probably be from somewhere on the trail.
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