Monday, March 24, 2008
Everest 2008- Kathmandu
Hello and Happy Easter from sunny Kathmandu. A delayed schedule saw me arrive here late last night just in time for the staff at the Summit Hotel to stage a welcome puja ceremony for us all and then a quick dinner was followed by a couple of drinks as the team did a bit of bonding. Two off our team, commuting from Dublin, did not meet the Heathrow connection, and should arrive later today or tomorrow. We are a team of seven climbers, 3 Irish, 2 Scots and 2 English, with an Expedition Leader, Deputy Leader, Base Camp Manager as well as all our Sherpa., Porter and Kitchen crew. The news on the permit is that a joint proposal by all the teams has been accepted by the ministry but they have referred it up to the Nepali Cabinet for final approval. We should know tomorrow morning but the way things have been panning out of late I will not hold my breath on that one. All going well, we will start the 10-12 day trek into basecamp tomorrow morning. It will all start with the exhilarating flight up to the mountain airstrip of Lukla that I enjoyed so much back in 2005 and then it's on foot all the way. I hope to have a couple opportunities to post dispatches on route but no guaranteed dispatches until we get our communications set up at basecamp.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Everest 2008- Expedition Begins...Hopefully!!
The news from our man in Kathmandu, is that a lengthy 5 hour meeting was held at the Tourism Ministry on Thursday morning. The meeting was drawn to a close without any decisions regarding the nature of the permit restrictions being known.
So our teams decision is thus..we will head to Kathmandu, as scheduled tomorrow, and see what the permit states when we arrive on Sunday. If the nature of the permit contains restrictions that effectively make the summit unattainable, for instance by not allowing any access to the mountain before 10th May, then we will abort our Everest Expedition. We hope that the ever-increasing number of climbers in Kathmandu angry at the possibility of having their dreams thwarted by the Tourism Ministry's indecision might tip their hand. So, we should go and hope that the Tourism Secretary is good for his word and the permits to be issued are good for the summit.
Thanks for all the many good luck messages I've received and all those who came out for a drink last night. A good night was certainly had and I am just about recovered from the effects of a very late night.
Next dispatch will be from Kathmandu.
So our teams decision is thus..we will head to Kathmandu, as scheduled tomorrow, and see what the permit states when we arrive on Sunday. If the nature of the permit contains restrictions that effectively make the summit unattainable, for instance by not allowing any access to the mountain before 10th May, then we will abort our Everest Expedition. We hope that the ever-increasing number of climbers in Kathmandu angry at the possibility of having their dreams thwarted by the Tourism Ministry's indecision might tip their hand. So, we should go and hope that the Tourism Secretary is good for his word and the permits to be issued are good for the summit.
Thanks for all the many good luck messages I've received and all those who came out for a drink last night. A good night was certainly had and I am just about recovered from the effects of a very late night.
Next dispatch will be from Kathmandu.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Everest 2008- Latest News
News reached me today from my Expedition orginiser, Jagged Globe, that their representative in Nepal met with Nepal's Prime Minister in Kathmandu this morning to seek resolution as to whether or not we will be able to climb this year. The Prime Minister passed the decision over to Nepal's Tourism Minister, who was busy campaigning in another part of Nepal for the forthcoming election on April 10th. The day was then spent with the Jagged Globe's representative getting in a Helicopter to track him down for a chat. I await the outcome of this meeting but hope to get news by tomorrow morning. This is a slight glimmer of hope. I was also advised not to unpack which was more optimism than I had shown by the fact I hadn't even started packing!
Meanwhile many expeditions who planned to climb from the Tibetan side are in a worse position. Their plans are toast with no entry being allowed into Tibet at this time. Many expeditions have also decided against trying to switch over to the Nepal side and have postponed their climbs until 2009. If we do get the opportunity to climb I think it will be a quieter year than previous on Everest which is the only positive thing I can take from the current situation at this time.
Meanwhile many expeditions who planned to climb from the Tibetan side are in a worse position. Their plans are toast with no entry being allowed into Tibet at this time. Many expeditions have also decided against trying to switch over to the Nepal side and have postponed their climbs until 2009. If we do get the opportunity to climb I think it will be a quieter year than previous on Everest which is the only positive thing I can take from the current situation at this time.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Everest 2008- Expedition in Doubt
Developments in China/Tibet and Nepal in the last few days have put my Everest Expedition in serious doubt. China, who are running an expedition to get the Olympic Torch to the summit, have closed the Mountain from their side until May 10th. This morning, after much pressure the Nepali authorities seem to have followed suit.
The reasons behind this seem to be that the Chinese fear that their expedition will be disrupted by "Free Tibet" protests. This was the case last year as they put a rehearsal expedition together on the China/Tibet side of the mountain.
The thing is that you just can't start an Everest Expedition after May 10th, you need the whole of April and early May to fix the mountain and get acclimatised, so this ruling basically ends any ones hopes of summitting. There is a bit of confusion about the statement from the Nepali authorities as it states ""Expedition teams will not be allowed to move from Nepal's Everest base camp from May 1 to May 10,". This would perhaps mean that teams could be on the mountain during April, but how they could ensure everyone was off by May 1st is questionable. It is also very optimistic of the Chinese to think that they will summit by May 10th as this is in the hands of the Mountain and more realistically the weather. If the weather delayed the Chinese, it would put back everyone's expedition which needs to be off the mountain before the monsoon arrives in June.
This untimely decision by authorities, of both countries, has not only a huge impact on hundreds of mountaineers, who are just weeks and days away from setting off to the mountain but also the livelihood of many locals, sherpas, porters etc.
I am due to fly out next Saturday and, like many others, have been planning and training for this expedition for years. To say I am gutted, by these developments, is a huge understatement. I can only hope that in the coming days things change and a compromise can be sought.
I have copied a link to some recent web reports that show the latest developments.
http://www.everestnews.com/everest2008/everestam03142008.htm
http://mounteverest.net/news.php?id=17109
The reasons behind this seem to be that the Chinese fear that their expedition will be disrupted by "Free Tibet" protests. This was the case last year as they put a rehearsal expedition together on the China/Tibet side of the mountain.
The thing is that you just can't start an Everest Expedition after May 10th, you need the whole of April and early May to fix the mountain and get acclimatised, so this ruling basically ends any ones hopes of summitting. There is a bit of confusion about the statement from the Nepali authorities as it states ""Expedition teams will not be allowed to move from Nepal's Everest base camp from May 1 to May 10,". This would perhaps mean that teams could be on the mountain during April, but how they could ensure everyone was off by May 1st is questionable. It is also very optimistic of the Chinese to think that they will summit by May 10th as this is in the hands of the Mountain and more realistically the weather. If the weather delayed the Chinese, it would put back everyone's expedition which needs to be off the mountain before the monsoon arrives in June.
This untimely decision by authorities, of both countries, has not only a huge impact on hundreds of mountaineers, who are just weeks and days away from setting off to the mountain but also the livelihood of many locals, sherpas, porters etc.
I am due to fly out next Saturday and, like many others, have been planning and training for this expedition for years. To say I am gutted, by these developments, is a huge understatement. I can only hope that in the coming days things change and a compromise can be sought.
I have copied a link to some recent web reports that show the latest developments.
http://www.everestnews.com/everest2008/everestam03142008.htm
http://mounteverest.net/news.php?id=17109
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Everest 2008- Training
I'm often asked what training I am doing for going to Everest. Well, from what I have learned from my little experience on climbing 8000 metre peaks is that it is not all about physical fitness but that said you do have to be in good shape.
So to prepare, I do as much running as I can, lots of 10K's, half marathons and run the 2 miler at work at lunch time, always chasing my times. I'm also at the gym as often as I can, doing resistance training and get a game of football in once a week.
The most important thing though, in my opinion, is to be hill fit and getting out on the hills with a heavy pack ( I usually carry the ropes!) is the thing I strive to do as much as possible. Most weekends I try and get a Munro or two in or a couple of winter graded routes. On the big mountains, summit day usually involves climbing through the night and so to feel comfortable with that environment, this year I have also done a few Munro's at night. The weather is not always the best at this time of year but the training still needs to be done and so Sunday saw my friend Colin and I having a bit of a gnarly day in Stob Coire nan Lochan. A cold wet and extremally windy day saw us opt to tackle the sheltered NC Gully (II). With no-one else ahead of us we boosted up the route in 3 quick pitches and then got absoultely slammed by what felt like 80mph gusts as we topped out of the gully. We actually got lifted of our feet at some points as we negotiated our way along the ridge and then dropped in to the sheltered Broad Gully (I) which we down climbed and made a quick retreat to the car.
Unfortunately the camera wasn't working so here's a pic of the last pitch on NC Gully on a better day.
So to prepare, I do as much running as I can, lots of 10K's, half marathons and run the 2 miler at work at lunch time, always chasing my times. I'm also at the gym as often as I can, doing resistance training and get a game of football in once a week.
The most important thing though, in my opinion, is to be hill fit and getting out on the hills with a heavy pack ( I usually carry the ropes!) is the thing I strive to do as much as possible. Most weekends I try and get a Munro or two in or a couple of winter graded routes. On the big mountains, summit day usually involves climbing through the night and so to feel comfortable with that environment, this year I have also done a few Munro's at night. The weather is not always the best at this time of year but the training still needs to be done and so Sunday saw my friend Colin and I having a bit of a gnarly day in Stob Coire nan Lochan. A cold wet and extremally windy day saw us opt to tackle the sheltered NC Gully (II). With no-one else ahead of us we boosted up the route in 3 quick pitches and then got absoultely slammed by what felt like 80mph gusts as we topped out of the gully. We actually got lifted of our feet at some points as we negotiated our way along the ridge and then dropped in to the sheltered Broad Gully (I) which we down climbed and made a quick retreat to the car.
Unfortunately the camera wasn't working so here's a pic of the last pitch on NC Gully on a better day.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Sponser Announced
I have great pleasure in announcing EnergySolutions as the Major Sponsor of my Everest 2008 Expedition.
EnergySolutions is a full-service nuclear fuel cycle company that is committed to environmental protection, energy independence and a safe and growing industry. With their dedication to environmental friendliness, EnergySolutions is solving the problems of global warming and energy dependence in addition to cleaning up the environmental consequences of the cold war.
Climbing big mountains involves incredible preparation, dedication and teamwork. No amount of determination is able to get these big scale expeditions off the ground without the proper funding. I sincerely thank EnergySolutions for their vision, support and belief in my project.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Going South!
I have decided on the route I will attempt Everest. It will be the route that brought the first summits in 1953, for Hillary and Tenzing Norgay- the South East Ridge route ( this assumes Mallory and Irvine were unsuccesful !!). I have attached a picture of the route. Also, by double clicking on the picture on my first post, you can see the route, for real, from the summit of Cho Oyu in 2006.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
