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March 29, 2006

Place: Kathmandu

Stepping off the plane felt like going home, it's fantastic to be back here, the people, the sights, the sounds, everything comes together to make this a pretty unique place. It's hot, too hot for me (27) but luckily not at all humid, so liveable. The team is slowly coming together, everyone should be here by tomorrow, we are on the next flight to Lhasa which is Saturday, April 1, I am sure by then I'll be desperate to get going, well actually desperate to get going right now!
This afternoon I am going to the disabled persons centre and limb clinic here in Kathmandu, looking forward to doing something positive with my time here rather than just hanging around the usual haunts. Most of my time her has been spent writing, hours per day (Margaret my editor will be pleased), it's great to have the space to do it and more importantly the right environment to write in.
I need one more trip to Thamel, the shopping district, to by a few last minute things then I'll be ready, my expedition barrel is packed, well repacked several times, with my kit for the mountain. It will travel by truck to base camp while we travel via Lhasa and the Tibetan Plateau, the next time I see my kit will be on about April 5 at base camp Everest!
Wayne has arrived with my new climbing legs, he has rebuilt them, adding a bright shiny gel coat to them. We just took some photos of them looking pristine as they sure won't look that shiny after I've dealt to them!
The next update will be in a couple of days from Tibet, thanks to all the people who have been kind enough to contribute to our charity, The Cambodia Trust, every cent is of great benefit, every cent helps someone else have real potential and opportunity in life. Thanks again, Mark.

March 27, 2006

Place: On route

So how do you actually climb these big hills that are peaking out of the clouds as we fly into Kathmandu? how many days does it take? well time for a lesson in surviving the Himalayas. The distance from Base Camp to the summit of Everest is really just the same as from The Hermitage in the Hooker Valley to the summit of Mount Cook, the only difference is you start at 5000m at Everest rather than 500m in New Zealand! What this means is that a 5 day climb has just become an 8 week climb as the body needs to acclimatise to the lack of available oxygen, generated by the very low air pressure at these extreme altitudes. You need to gradually show your body the thin air then come back down to recover, then do it again, and again and again, each time that bit higher. This has the effect of increasing the amount of red blood cells in the body enabling you to carry more oxygen to the cells. That's what it is all about, every few days going high then recover by doing very little, hence I have spent heaps of time practicing 'waiting', I'm getting good at it now! There will be about 5 - 7 days at BC then for me a few days getting up to ABC (6400m) where I will spend a lot of time. From there up to the magic North Col (7000m) and back to recover, again going high (perhaps 7600m) and back to ABC. if necessary I may need to head down to BC to recover. That pretty much takes up all of April and early May (over a month of feeling like you have the worlds worst hangover, practiced that too), then we will wait for the weather.

Hopefully that is how it will pan out but at altitude who knows!

I guess the Commonwealth Games have finished, congratulations to every Kiwi that did a PB whether or not it got recognized with a piece of metal. I know the feeling of standing on the podium, I 'only' managed a Silver at Sydney in 2000 but to me it was a summit. To the knockers out there, perhaps you should show your medals and PB's before you criticise! To our PeakFuel athletes, great job, keep on spreading the message

March 26, 2006

Place: Bangkok

Well on the way, after a pretty intense few days traveling the country, final packing and what seemed like endless media interviews I said a tough goodbye to Anne and Amanda at Christchurch Airport and took flight. Ironic really, I have 50kgs of warm clothing, down gear, merino, sleeping bags the lot, and here I am in the markets of Bangkok, 31'C and very humid, I'm melting!
Thanks to everyone that has sent an email, text or phone call wishing me luck, very humbling (especially to my new support team in Argentina!)
The day here has been great to get the body clock and mind focused on the trip ahead, an adventure that would have been impossible with the support of my family and of course my sponsors. Stef, Bob and the Ahrens Team, Jan, Luke and the Kathmandu team, Tbag and the team at Ultimate Hikes, Matthew, Trish and the Pathway to Wealth team and of course PeakFuel, Norm, Lorraine, Anne and the Sheppards team (get selling guys, this is costing a bundle!) My job is now to focus on making the most of this amazing opportunity.
Tomorrow I fly into Kathmandu for a few days then another flight, over Everest to Lhasa in Tibet, arriving at base camp in about 10 days time, a fantastic feeling to be on the way.

March 20, 2006

Place: Hanmer Springs

How many times can you pack your bags? I don’t know yet but I must be coming up on a record! Apart from a few essentials to buy in Kathmandu like a new ice axe and a solar panel, I think everything is sussed. Check out the Fundraising page as the details of our charity, The Cambodia Trust are up and some addresses to direct funds as well if you so wish. Very soon you will be able to donate online (Cambodia Trust is a tax exempt entity) just to make it that much easier. You can check out their parent organization at www.cambodiatrust.com have a look at the awesome work that they do.
With the drought here in NZ our forest has been closed which has curtailed climbs of Dunblane and Mt Isobel but there is always the leg press in the garage thanks to the team at Elite Fitness (have a great race on Saturday guys, enjoy the PeakFuel!)
2 days more at home then traveling for a few days doing corporate motivation work and then on the plane.
Have you seen the latest North and South? We (Phil Doole and I) were on the cover of the first edition 20 years ago, gee it seems like yesterday really. They spent a day with Anne and I here in Hanmer Springs, check it out (lovely pictures of the dogs, Meg and Molly).

March 14, 2006

Place: Hanmer Springs

A frost! The 1st decent frost of autumn and greatly appreciated though it is back to 26’C and sweltering again.
11 days to go, 6 speaking engagements and as much training as I can shoe horn in, panic setting in!
The Charity has been confirmed as The Cambodia Trust, specifically their limb centre in Kompong Chnnang, about 1 ½ hours north of Phnom Penh. Check out the fundraising page for some images of my time there in 2003 and more information on this extremely deserving cause.
I think I must of repacked my bags a dozen times already and still remembering things, re writing my lists.
The Commonwealth Games kick off tomorrow in Melbourne, as always I am sure that the kiwi team will punch far above their weight, good luck to all the athletes, go hard and go well.

March 7, 2006

Place: Queenstown

Where do the days go? This year and especially the last few weeks seem to have been supercharged as the days fly by leading up to March 25. At 10.50am that day I fly out of Christchurch, heading to Auckland and my seat on Thai Air Flight 990 to Bangkok enroute to Everest, I can assure the butterflies are swarming already.

Everyone is asking how training is going, Training? What’s that! Well the gym time has been going great, getting some great advances in leg strength, one of my weaknesses on Cho Oyu. When I am at home in Hanmer Springs I have been getting out and about on the mountains that are our back yard and out on my bike, though never enough.

I have started hypoxic training to simulate altitude, nothing like watching TV at 6000m in your own living room!

Things are very hectic with several charity jobs and lots of corporate motivation going on all over New Zealand, it seems like Koru club is my office these days, now all we need to do get a gym in each one, great idea.

Keep an eye on the meters climbed in training logo, it will be slowing down now and will change to the meters on Everest the minute I set foot in Tibet. Just to clarify for everyone, I will be climbing from Tibet, the North route rather than the more dangerous and crowded traditional southern route from Nepal. Time to go and motivate another group, catch up soon.

Pre Climb
February 2006
Well the tickets are booked, the insurance is being negotiated (can’t imagine why people would think I’m a risk!) and training is almost on track.
How do you train? The critical thing is to go healthy and strong, go looking like a racehorse and you may not have the reserves to come home. When I’m not in front of the computer or on a plane (much of my time revolves around travel within Australasia developing and marketing my sports food, PeakFuel, doing wine consulting, charity presentations and corporate motivational speaking) then I am either in the gym working on my weaknesses, on the mountains behind our home in Hanmer Springs or else out on my awesome Avanti Corsa road bike or Specialised Epic mountain bike. In the evenings I spend time on my hypoxic breathing system to simulate altitudes of over 6000m and working on all those little things that can trip you up in that tough, unforgiving environment that is Everest.
It’s the little things that matter, just as in any great business really. How long do batteries last at -20’C? I know because my headlamp is in the freezer with the hours and brightness being logged – no surprises on the hill thank you!
Writing for book number 4 is under way, no matter what happens on the hill, I can guarantee an awesome read, look out for it late 2006.

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