Go Hamish ! – Climbing Everest, Conquering Cancer
Climbing Everest, Conquering Cancer
Today’s the day!
Rather than have a relaxed day preparing leisurely for the off, it has been a little hectic with a mix off work, DIY (hanging curtains), hair-cut, bank visits and most important the bag packing!
Unsurprisingly the bag is too heavy for the Lukla part of the journey and so we are on to the what can I do without phase of the packing in order to avoid panic at the airport in Katmandhu! It all seems important – so food is the likely sacrifice…
Less than 24 hours til we are off!
Kit packed – no!
Final items bought – nope!
Excited – you’d better believe it!!!
Thanks to all who have sponsored me to date – very much appreciated! I had a call from St Catherine’s Hospice this evening wishing me well and thanking you all for the funds raised to date!
Only three days to go and we will be in the air!! A few training walks in the last week as Phil and I make the final preparations for the trip.
A review of the route and some google searching found some incredible images of flimsy bridges and yaks! Hope to be able to post some of my own soon!
With only 8 days to go the pile up of kit is coming together well thanks to advice and generosity from friends and many hours spent browsing on line and in Blacks and Cotsword stores!
My usual issue of coming home from a holiday with a load of unworn clothing won’t arise on this trip due to the stringent weight limits for the flight as well as the limits on what can be carried. Suffice to say I suspect that I’ll be looking forward to the clean set of clothes that will be awaiting my return in Kathmandu!
Tonight’s walk took me up an down Reigate Hill a couple of times, thankfully the ups are becoming easier. However, the downs continue to be the bit I struggle with.
A bit of a breeze to keep us cool / chilly, but all the better to encourage us along the way past the Belted Galloways nonchalantly chewing the cud as we walked by.
It’s now less than two weeks until we depart and excitement growing!
Sagarmāthā, to give Mount Everest its Nepaese name, translates into English as “Forehead in the Sky”, whilst in Tibet it is called “Chomolungma” which in English is “The Goddess Mother of The World”.
The name Everest came in 1865 after Col Sir George Everest a British surveyor led a team charged with measuring the height of the mountain. It had previously been know by the British merely as Peak XV.
I’ll be heading to Everest base camp on the southern (Nepalese) side of the mountain at a height of 5364m, there being a second base camp at a slightly lower elevation on the Tibetan side.
Seeking to fit a bit of training in around work and family life has led to some great evening walks.
Tonight’s took me across to Reigate where I took this picture of my shadow, walking in the cemetery at St Mary’s. A two hour walk and home by 00.15.
Yesterday saw me stripped to the waist for the jabs and boosters I need for the trip. An unusual approach but I was ill prepared with my choice of shirt and the sleeves wouldn’t roll up far enough!
Some sound advice from the nurse followed about how to avoid rabies (not that I was going looking for it), clean drinking water, altitude sickness and sunscreen.
The pile of kit is growing and the kit bag seems to be shrinking!
Well with a title like that I can’t beat about the bush!
I have been working on a press release and today received the following quote from St Catherine’s Hospice to use as part of it. It strikes to the core of why fundraising for these two charities is essential.
“Last year, St Catherine’s cared for more than 2,000 people and their family and friends. Offering practical and emotional support, the hospice’s expert care is free to local people, but with less than a third of its running costs coming from the NHS, St Catherine’s relies on the generosity and support of the local community. By taking on this Everest Challenge Hamish will be helping make a real difference to terminally ill people in the local community.”
Dad was one of those 2,000 people and we, as his family, were supported as much as he was.
We were not expecting Dad to be diagnosed with cancer – who is? We were not prepared for it and did not know what to expect as things progressed. Our previously ordered lived were turned upside down as we sought to support him and one another. We needed people we could turn to for advice as well as practical support.
St Catherine’s Hospice and The Royal Marsden provided help and support to us at every stage that we needed it. That support came thanks to previous fundraisers and donors many of whom will have been in a similar situation to us.
Please donate generously via the donate now button above or by clicking here so that others can be supported as we have been.
28 days to go and thinking about the important things such as how many bars of chocolate will I need to sacrifice for a pillow or the crampons?
We have a weight limit for the flight from Kathmandu to Lukla which is reinforced by how much can be carried for the next 18 days. The 10kg weight limit for the flight is eaten into very quickly by a 2kg (4/5 season) sleeping bag – which whilst it weighs 20 bars of chocolate is not something I am prepared to consider leaving behind as it gives protection down below -20!
The flight to Lukla will be an experience in itself – having watched a number of clips of take-offs and landings. The short runway is angled to enable planes to brake before being physically stopped by hitting the mountain behind and also to help them accelerate down to take off rather than dropping off the end. An added incentive to keep my weight down!