Photos on Flickr

It’s great to be back home after an eventful two and a half weeks. Thank you for following our trek through this blog. Your messages have been of great support to all of us in the most difficult times of our journey. We would like to share our photos with you. Please follow the link below and share with your friends!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 16

Long delay invariably in Kathmandu.  We’re a quiet group now.  As far as I can tell though this trek has been an unqualified success.

1. 26 out of 30 made the trip to base camp.
2. No broken ankles or bones
3. Almost pandemic coughs and colds since the dust on the dirty trail combined with freezing temperatures at times is toughest on the chest.  The porters have excessive hacking coughs.  The doc, Roger has been cleaned out of antibiotics and he’ll return to work in something short of mint condition!

4. One of life’s great experiences for all of us.  If you can afford it (£2,000) and get properly organised, you must do it.  Happy to help!

5. Our guides and Action Challenge in London have been faultless.  Apart from our last flight everything has gone like clockwork.

6.  We haven’t seen a single wheel in two weeks.  The whole society is run on foot or with the help of yaks.
7. We raised £141,000 and I very much hope (and expect) this to rise to £145,000 or more which will take our treks over the years to £1 million

We saw Cameron Mackintosh magnificent Mary Poppins three times at the Hippodrome this summer.  ‘Anything can happen if you let it!’

John

Day 15

The Crown Plaza lunch

A bit of human debris after the party – rapper Gordon couldn’t find his key (or his brain)  and slept in the corridor outside. 

This morning a trip to the Pashuatinath Temple beside the Bagmati River.  Nepal  (if you’ve been following the plot for two weeks – and surely you haven’t) is a Hindu country with 80% majority and 5% minority Buddhist in the north Sagarmatha area. So before our eyes we saw families burn their dead relatives and sweep their ashes into the river which 800 miles later joins the Ganges.

Lunch was courtesy of Chez Richard this time, company secretary and legal director of Intercontinental Hotels and one of my dearest friends.  Fantastic spread with champagne at the Crown Plaza.  One of my oldest friends and he’s been a complete star, everyone has loved him.  I must be a good chooser!

Tonight at the famous Rumdoodle Bar at 40,000 feet and 6 inches. The climber’s shrine, the pilgrimage from where all start out from.  We all signed a Sense ‘foot’, and hung it on the wall ten years ago.  Will it still be there? (Later; no it wasn’t!).

Tomorrow should be up at 5am, 6am transfer to the airport, swap planes in Delhi and then home by late evening.  We shall see!

Day 14

A very short runway!

We had a great night last night saying goodbye to six guides and 14 porters.  Saying goodbye involved very noisy dancing and men with beards (like me) seemed just as attractive to a four foot six inch porter as a blonde bombshell (like Diana)!.  That’s what two weeks on the trail must do to them!

 

We had a nervous start today.  Could Yeti Air fly in the low cloud?  If it could, how would it/we cope with the 400 metre runway downhill and the drop before the wings, aerilions and propellers kicked in?! It could, we did (more or less – Farah screamed all the way up and all the way down saying afterwards “better out than in!”). 

Spent the rest of the day wondering around Kathmandu buying stuff for the kids and then went out in the evening for the trek ‘gala’ dinner.  Again, a great night; dancers and performers, many courses, speeches, games and a quite amazing James Gordon rap about us all –  I may have received some credit for taking all on this trek but still I ended up looking like Shrek!

Day 13

 

Near Lukla, back to where it all began

Last day of the trek with a route march to Lukla. 20km slog up and down, up and down and then up and up but of course we’re now all hardened so it was nothing!  Dave Pearson would be proud of me (but also miles ahead!).
 
As we left the Sagarmatha national park/world heritage site I noticed a sign at the entrance that I missed two weeks ago.  It said: 

 

Looking back, I don’t think we let ourselves down.  We’re catching up with the world because Gary and Cinzia have been to meet us.  On day 7 we worried so much about Gary that the doc, Bruce and I told him we were going to helicopter him down to hospital in Kathmandu.  I’ve known this man for 35 years and he’s the best. His first comment was, “I don’t want to let everyone else down.”  He then charged down to the helicopter completely wearing me out trying to keep up with him, constantly saying “I’m as f*##king fit as a f*##king butcher’s dog!” 
 
Anyhow, he is. I’ve had my first beer with him. Couldn’t possibly have one before.  He’s been such a wonderful supporter of the treks, the heart beats every time and a real friend.  Seeing that helicopter take off was one of the lowest moments – ever.
 
Farewell party for our guides and Sherpas tonight with lots of singing and dancing. We have a 7am flight to Kathmandu tomorrow.  We can’t wait to get home to our children.  A big kiss to my six, but sad tonight to say goodbye to 20 people who have made this possible, like the Sherpas who made all the assents of Sagarmatha possible.
John

Please refrain from 1. killing anyone 2. showing anger 3. displaying jealousy 4. offending others.  

Day 12

Streets of Namche

Someone left their electric blanket on all night!  Others in the same room abandoned ship and moved to the restaurant for the night due to the symphony of snoring! Anyone with any lingering doubt about staying at Chez Jack had them dispelled by passing through Tengboche and remembering just how basic the accommodation was.

 

 

A long 16km walk today, very steep climb and a race through the streets of Namche over the last mile, applauded by onlookers in the narrow streets, which Adam won.
 
Half the party played snooker until midnight with the guides who had never played before.  There’s a Sense t-shirt nailed to the ball wall suitably autographed!  So the party’s starting to get a little thirsty now but are holding out for a drink until Lukla.

Day 11

Thanks entirely to Jack Jacovou we find ourselves in Pangbouche (at 3855m) and not back at Tengboche.  We passed through here on our way up to EBC.  Fabulous lodge (by Nepal standards). The great trader (as he is) soon established

1. it was free on the night

2. it had 10 rooms x 2 people

3. the rest of the party could sleep very comfortably in the sun room upstairs (this would rapidly become an ice room but this place has fires – yes, fires!)

4. we could divide the rooms without dissent at all

5. they took visa

6. they were up for a 10% discount!

So here I am in a hot dining room, showered, warm as toast, ELECTRIC blanket and about to have dinner.   Respect Jack!

 

(From a  trekker)

Whilst visiting a village hospital Bruce did a number of ‘chin ups’.  This immediately was taken as a challenge by Adam (26) who did 17 chin-ups to great applause.  Hoss (49) then did 19 – although it was alleged that they were not full chin-ups!

 

It was humbling to meet the American docs at the hospital – they pay their own flights, and work without pay for 3 months, helping locals and trekkers…Coming out of Pheriche at the top of an exhausting hill we saw the contrast between man and wildlife – a griffin (bird of prey) with a 2m wing span glided above the valley without a single flap of it’s wings, followed in the distance by a man powered paraglider hovering above.

Day 10

Base Camp at last!

 

For those that wanted, today started at 6am (5am up, squat and pack!) 365m straight up hike up a mountain where stunning views of Everest/Sagamartha awaited us (we were promised).  1100ft, a metre for every day of the year. And it felt like it.  The promised views – stunning, Toblerone of Everest, below South Col and the route up.  Not a cloud in the sky.  3 hours up and down.  Bad news, after a cup of tea we’ve now got a 5 hour hike down to 4280m.  Yes, we’re on our way home. And maybe soon will have a signal and find out how things are at home.

 

…later…

it was 6 hours and it was hard but we went through the memorial amphitheatre again from the other end of course.  The others chatted away but Diana and I were silenced again…awesome place.   A man who climbed  Sagamartha twice in one week made the fastest ever ascent, and 11 ascents in all and holds the record for staying on the summit (21 hours – we froze and felt sorry for ourselves 3000m below!).  And so many many others still on the mountain.  But now we’re in a brand new lodge having dropped a miles.  Hard to get my head around that, a mile from our top point at 8am, no wonder my knees and ankles don’t work.  Anyhow, we have a real loo and electricity (barely works but electricity nonetheless) so we are definitely on our way home.  Click the heels of the scarlet shoes Dorothy – there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home…..

(From the Doc)

This group of fine physical specimens seem in tip top condition.  Most have had a mild degree of altitude related symptoms since walking above 4500m.  However, with steely determination and strong medication we somehow pulled through.  After several nights sleeping above 5000m we are now at 4200m and although the early morning crescendo of coughing persists, the headaches are melting away and we all find ourselves with an extra spring in our step.

Day 9

The roof of the world!

At 5000m Dan was smitten with altitude sickness so he turned round and headed down.  It had been coming and he’d been very philosophical.  Also one of our fittest, the sickness has toyed with all of us but picked on poor Dan to have a good play with.

 

But what can you articulate about such an experience?  Today was 6am to 5pm of the hardest walking – over boulders, stones and rocks and underneath that, sheet ice!  My arthritic knees and one ankle are well hammered.

It’s always been the sea for me, not the mountains.  I’ve sailed since I was 9 and sometimes seriously, now and again very seriously.     As a boy I loved Magellan, De Gama, Vespucci, Columbus and of course Cook and Hudson.  Then the Warrior Sailors Howard, Drake and Nelson.  As I grew up Bobby Charlton and George Best were ok but the heroes were Chichester, Roe, Knox Johnson, great French sailors like Taberley.  Top of the league for me was the Portsmouth Grocer, Alex Rose.  Then years later the quite extraordinary little Dame Ellen. But today we stood at the foot of natures finest and placed our pigmy feet in the footprints of giants.

Anyhow, at 5364m we reached Base Camp. We whooped a bit and hollered, larked around, were photographed in Sense T-shirts and Diana and I in Worcester Warrior fleeces and also holding a big slab of Cadburys (Adrian and Sue had been wonderfully supportive of us).

Day 8

I missed a bit out yesterday which is of course, that since the clouds lifted we have been walking up the Himalayans surrounded by monster mountains on all sides, all different shapes and sizes, most over 8,000m, the fourth highest Makalu, the famous Lhotse face, and on and on…..  We are really on the roof of the world and we are in awe of it.  Interestingly, our conversation is less spiritual and really concentrated all around on bodily functions and the pitiful facilities available to service them!

 

 

 

We have carried off the acclimatisation with aplomb so we are clear today for crackerjack! 5000m and tomorrow base camp.

 

As the day turned out it has been one of very mixed emotions we suffered a huge blow to the party yesterday – More of that one day – and we climbed up to the memorial to the dead of Everest.  There were hundreds of them, small to great, formed by piles of stones in the most glorious place on earth.  A huge natural amphitheatre, surrounded Himalayans finest mountains.  On almost the same day last year, our Action Challenge Leader lost a member of his party to this trek, to a heart attack, AIDEN so we built a pile for his photo and stood for in a circle in silence.  Of course, we thought of our own dead mums, dads, brothers and sisters, and the many claimed by Everest, no least the 60 plus bodies still on the mountains.  Then we headed on to 4930 m where we are now. Cold, very basic, no lights, dinner still to come, the usual latrine challenges and up at 5.15 am for a 12 hour walk to Base camp ( yes really, we are almost there). And back to the accommodation up the valley.

 

If I was a betting man, (and I can be) I would say that everyone is going to make it, although we set out at minus 20*C, there maybe a few second thoughts!

John Crabtree

(From a trekker)

This is our second day at Dingboche at 4298m.  It is an acclimatization day.  We walked up to 4715m – a beautiful sunny day surrounded by snow topped mountains.  Everyone is acclimatising to the altitude in their own way. For me it has been my best day ever – as more ‘runs’, illness or torn ligaments!  There is limited internet access here – the last before Base Camp!

 

(From another trekker)

Yet another fantastic start to a day. The sun coming over the mountains gave wonderful light.  This tranquility was quickly forgotten as our day started with uphill followed by steep uphill!  We took a ‘breather’ at the top of the climb -actually I took half a dozen on the way up – to take photos….and watch an eagle flying above us.   Then we had a long steady walk through a wide valley, literally on top of the world.  After lunch we had the most difficult climb so far.  Long, steep, difficult terrain (boulder strewn) and at 15k feet.  It was truly brutal climb.  At the top of the climb the exit was through a small gulley into a very spiritual area.  A flat area approx 250 yards x 250yrds that was covered with monuments to those who have died on the Everest range.  A very emotional moment. Ever onwards to more accommodation with its own delights to welcome us.  BRING ON TOMORROW!