Trek Day 05 - Mong La (3,940m) to Luza (4,350m)

Another 9:20am start. This after the most spectacular amphitheatre of
mountain views. Dropped down to the Dudh Koshi river at the junction to
Phortse.Have now rigged my solar panel to the back of my backpack so now
have a electric 4x4 powering me up the hills. So far the equipment is
all working well. I just need to refine the use thereof. i.e. how to get
the most out of the power I generate from the sun - split this between
the notebook and Bgan satellite receiver/transmitter.
Now walking through the last of the Rhododendron forests that we will
see for a while. The next section around Tenga is really beautiful, with
waterfalls and springs coming down the mountain side. As we are here
early spring these waterfalls were all frozen, and if I had had my ice
tools with me would have presented some exiting challenges. The route
meandered up and down through Dole (4,110m) where we had lunch and
Lhabarma ( (4,330m). Luckily the last section follows the contours and
soon we were at Luza. Again a sign of the times (altitude), a helicopter
approached and took a sick trekker back down the hill.
Copy paste into Google Earth
Luza - N27 53 36.5 E086 43 09.5

Trek Day 04 - Namche Bazaar (3,440m) to Mong La (3,940m)

Depart 9:20 and decide via majority vote to take the long route to Mong
La via Khumjung (3,780m). Instead of a gentle contour path, this route
consists of a steep track upwards at the back of Namche.
Today was
market day, but the Tibetan influences normally found at the market are
missing due to the lack of traffic through the Nangpa La. Major Hume was
meant to be at Namche today but unfortunately due to flight delays into
Lukla he is not with us. By the way La means pass.
Climb up past the hardly used Khumjung runway, through yak pastures and
then down steep stone steps into the village. Its always the case, down
to go up, but that's life in the Himalayas.
New altitude records of 3,830m for most of the group!
Dad found the ascent hard going, but this is to be expected when
entering the high Himalayas. Aclimitising is not always easy and one
never knows where ones own limit is. The past also does not predict the
future and even having been high is no guarantee that one will be able
to go back. In Sir Hillary's later life he was not able to return to the
places he so influenced. As a note its one of my objectives of the climb
to Shisha's summit - to see how I can can go. So far I've only been to
6,500m (camp I on Shisha and camp II on Koskulak).
With hindsight now it seems Raymond's limit was around 3,400m. This
though for an 84 year young man is incredible. When we entered the
National Park, they record all entrants including their ages and other
than Wendy, he was by far the oldest by 25 years.
Wendy was the surprise, but thinking a little about it why should she be
such a surprise. She stoically strode step by step upwards, with never
any sound of compliant. Nima was a star and was always by her side, they
were often hand in hand. I must mentioned that Mumsies vision in her one
eye is very poor, in fact she does not have much depth of field at all.
This makes walking up and down rough terrain very difficult. I can't
even walk upright on one of the largest trails in the Peak District!

I have the most utmost respect for my folks in attempting this challenge
so late in their lives. They can be very proud of what they have
achieved and I can guarantee they will never forget the sights they saw
and experiences they partook in. I am also very pleased that they have
now shared with me this wonderful country Nepal. Well done guys, 10 uur
and 12 uur will never quite be the same again!

So where is this all going. Well Wendy and Ray decided to go back down
to Namche Bazaar. Sonal and I continued to Mong La. Yes as the name
implies this is on the top of a pass, so its a long haul upwards. Major
Hume and I stayed here back in 2007, and I remember the steep ascent on
the other side. In fact I had to bribe the Major with a hot Thermos of
tea to get him up to the top, which he did admirably. Its a beautiful
spot and when I get the photos uploaded you will be able to join in the
experience.

Google Earth:
Mong La - N27 50 23.5 E086 44 09.3

Along the trail

Trek Day 02 - Benkar (2,630m) to Namche Bazaar (3,440m)

This was likely to be a challenging day as we all live below 150m. Climbing 800m when one is already at 2,600m was going to be hard work. How would Wendy and Ray do? Sonal had been gyming and hiking around Stanmore but would Mum & Dad's hikes in Sellendam be sufficient to get them up the Namche hill? Luckily there are a couple distractions before the long climb at the end i.e. the entrance to Sagarmartha National Park and five exiting suspension bridges. Well four exhausting hours after departure Sonal and Ray arrived at Namche Bazaar - a superb effort!

I was following Mum who was hand in hand with Nima. The reason for following was that I was bringing CTU up the valley with me, and was suffering under the load due to the lack of training caused by my broken arm back in January. Wendy was doing a sterling job, one step at a time and an hour later arrived to meet Sonal and Ray in Namche. The killer news was that our lodge was at the top of Namche another 150m higher....

Trekking scenes - lower valley

Trek Day 01 - Kathmandu to Lukla (2,840m) to Bengkar (2,630m)

Early 5:00am start from Thamel to drive to Kathmandu domestic air terminal as we were booked on one of the first flights out. But as with anything in Nepal other forces often influence ones plans.

There was a low slightly smoggy cloud over the valley hence likely that our flights would be delayed. The airport was a buzz of exited travellers all looking forward to leaving the smoky noisy hectic pace of Thamel, the tourist area. And yes an announcement that the flights would now depart around 8:30am. We all nestled down and sat people watching.

I had been very fortunate to have been able to organise that Nima would join us as our trekking Sherpa. I had met him back in 2007 one my second attempt at Shishapangma. He was one of the Sherpas supporting Jamie's (Project Himalaya) commercial expedition. Unfortunately I was stopped by bad weather and only got to camp I at 6,500m.

Just after we had organised a hot cup of coffee, there was a rushed announcement that our flight was boarding! Typical, but I was actually very relieved as it is always touch and go whether one gets out to Lukla airport on ones first attempt.

Soon we were all boarded and charging down the runway through the mist. Obviously it had been the Lukla side which had delayed us. They don't fly when there are clouds as "there are mountains" in them...

It was really clear and we had uninterrupted views of the Himalayan range. Soon we were changing course and diving down with mountains very near on either side of us. It is one of the most exiting and sometime nerve wracking landings in the world. With a loud bump we "landed" and were hurtled towards the stone wall at the end of the short runway. The reason for the wall is that the runway is actually carved into the side of a mountain. The loud noise of the air brakes thankfully slowed us and we veered right into the small taxi area. They perform remarkably fast turnaround times and we were ushered of with whistles blowing to collect our baggage. Relative peace and quiet AND lovely clean fresh mountain air, what a change from Kathmandu. Within minutes the next flight arrived and it was noisy pandemonium again.

Nima was able to organise a porter for us who lived in the same village and soon after a little admin our merry band took of down the streets of Lukla.

This consisted of Wendy & Ray (Mum & Dad) and Sonal Amin a friend of ours from London. Claire unfortunately was unable to join us. Her recent appointment of COO of Garrard Webster required her full time attention and even though it meant missing the trip, she was thoroughly enjoying the challenges.


I'll let a couple of photos describe the rest of the 6 hour trek to Bengkar...

In and around Kathmandu

Thanks Muds!

Well just completed a year at Hermes with a great crowd of Muds! Thanks guys and girls I really enjoyed working with you all!


Now onto other quests - that being going back to Shishapangma. This will be my third attempt at getting to the 8,013m summit. It's the lowest of the fourteen eight-thousanders in the world and located entirely in Tibet. In both 2006 and 2007 I was stopped by bad weather. Both of those attempts were during the Post Indian monsoon period of September/October. This year I'm trying in the Pre monsoon.
Image from www.adventureweather.com


Now Shishapangma is one of the easiest eight-thousanders according to Wikipedia. We'll perhaps for someone like Reinhold Messner, but for a normal Mud like me it still presents quite a challenge. There is a double marathon in South Africa between Durban and Pietermaritzburg - 89km, which I completed in 1985,1987 & 1989 (almost got cancelled this year due to the IPL!) But the point about it is that it's almost impossible to complete without having run it before. This happened to me in 2007 on Shisha - I was much better prepared, especially mentally. Now yes I've had a little hick up with my not so humorous Humerus, so I'm not as prepared as I would like to be but I still have the benefit of being on the mountain twice before!


So the plan is to spend 3 to 4 weeks acclimatising in Nepal in the valleys and passes West of Mount Everest. Unfortunately Claire has been flat out at work so will not be able to make the trek, but Wendy & Ray (Mum & Dad), Major Hume and family and Sonal will be coming along!


As some of you know I do have a fair amount of communication gear (CTU style!) with me so hopefully will be able to update this blog as we go along.


If you are interested in getting email triggers please drop me a line Email me!


Cheers
Mark


PS the previous attempts and some other "stuff" are also all in this blog - just browse through the archive menu

The Mountaineer

The Summit is the place to be

To contemplate Philosophy;

Relieve the Mind’s Turgidity;

Enrich the Spirit’s lethargy;

Refresh the Physique actively;

Indulge the Sense: Touch and See

Explore the Earth’s Anatomy

Gentle, softly sensuously –

Reaching upwards, climbing free

From the Tibia to the Knee

Across the Thigh of Ecstasy

On a high, to Apogee!

By Raymond E Hose

Wendy & Ray on a training walk in preparation for Nepal, well Mum really, Dad took photo

Healed clinically & radiologically, 37 days 17 hours 12 mins after Edale...

So I'm back, no operation required due to good bone growth. Now the fun starts with the physiotherapy guys on getting my ROM (Range of movement) back - some areas sitting at only 20 degrees.

Very very chuffed though!

Anyone need an engine on the back of their tandem for the Cape Argus?

He never lost a man

On Christmas Eve 1968, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders took their Apollo 8 spacecraft around the back of the Moon and fired its SPS engine to, for the first time, orbit the Moon. This was a bold mission. The LM wasn’t ready, so couldn’t be tested in Earth orbit, as was planned. Mission planners decided (under some pressure from Soviet advances) to send the CSM to the Moon to test navigation and communications and to demonstrate manouvers such as trans-lunar and trans-earth injection.

It was on this mission that Jim Lovell, later Commander of Apollo 13, named ‘Mount Marilyn’ in honour of his wife. Lovell was fated to pass the Moon twice, but never to land. His leadership of Apollo 13 is regarded as similar to the leadership Ernest Shackleton offered on the Endurance expedition in 1914-1916. He never lost a man.

It was on this mission that people first saw ‘Earth rise’. Reading the astronauts’ words (mission elapsed time 075:47:30) as they come over the lunar horizon to see the Earth rising gives some idea of the excitement they felt. Imagine. The photographs they took are now iconic and perhaps, as much as anything, kick-started the environmental movement.

Apollo 8 is also famed for a moving reading from Genesis the astronauts made as they entered Lunar sunrise.


“086:06:40 Anders: We are now approaching lunar sunrise, and for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you.

In the beginning, God created the Heaven and the Earth.
And the Earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, and God said, “Let there be light.”
And there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good, and God divided the light from the darkness.

086:07:29 Lovell: And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters. And let it divide the waters from the waters.” And God made the firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament. And it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

086:08:07 Borman: And God said, “Let the waters under the Heavens be gathered together into one place. And let the dry land appear.” And it was so. And God called the dry land Earth. And the gathering together of the waters called he seas. And God saw that it was good.

And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas and God bless all of you - all of you on the good Earth.”

The hammer and feather

The hammer and feather were dropped by Dave Scott near the end of Apollo 15's last Moonwalk. In a demonstration, he showed that, with no atmosphere and air resistance, the hammer and feather fell at the same speed and hit the ground at the same time "proving that Mr Galileo was correct in his findings". The hammer and feather remain on the Moon.

Sir Edmund Hillary, conquerer of Everest - by David Roberts

Isn't this just a fantastically strong photo of Sir Ed!
It was taken by David Roberts in New Zealand

Are you a beacon of inspiration to others?

The Shackleton Foundation from The Shackleton Foundation on Vimeo.

21 days - countdown to Cape Argus cycle tour

So yes I'm a nutter, but C'est La Vie!

It's the Cape Argus Cycle Tour on the 8th of March - so far 40,017 entries!

Could I still do it?

It will have been 7 weeks since the accident?

What about on a tandem?

Well am taking it one week at a time, but pragmatically am thinking a little bit further down the road...

Nepal trek (41 days countdown) with Wendy and Ray and maybe, yes just maybe there is still a chance to climb Shishapangma! (65 days countdown)

Shisha had been my main objective this year - was going to change seasons and try in April/May rather than September/October when I did the last two attempts.

Will keep you posted as t0 my thoughts - there is also still a lot of speculation as to whether the Chinese are going to issue permits for Tibet!

Note that I will need to be off the mountain before the monsoon ariives - see the section on monsoons on wiki

1st Physio session

Met John & Jamie at the St Mary's physiotherapy gym. Was only a detailed consultation at this stage as still waiting for more stability (bone growth) in the Humerus. But now have a set of daily exercises to promote movement in the arm and shoulder.

It’s very clear that I will need to focus in detail on the specific exercises as one naturally uses other muscles to "cover" for the ones that are not performing - this could lead to bad habits!

Positive news - bone growth

Well there is definitely signs of bone growth on the x-rays. The 17 degree bend has also almost gone. So that’s really good news!

Muscle atrophy over the shoulder is marked though, so went for an ultra sound scan to check attachment of tendons to the bone - again no bad news as all looks intact!

Have scheduled next consult with Mr Adam Rumian on Monday 23rd February.

"A man must shape himself to a new mark directly the old one goes to ground"

Quote from Sir Ernest Shackleton after the loss of the Endurance on 27 October 1915

So we think we are having a difficult time - credit crunch etc?

Am I really in such bad shape - broken humerus?

hmmmmmm....

A bit more detail...

A real inspiration while recuperating

This video really inspired me today.

I'm definitely going back to Shisha.

It's a real shame it might not be this year.

But I'm definitely going back to see the view from the top.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Edale - Not so Humerus! @ 19:21:04 Position: N53 22.002 W1 50.302

Quote from Claire's email
"Mr Hose went off to the Peak District Friday evening with Dave & Dan... They set off and had a glorious walk in the moonlight for about 28 mins (precision data taken from GPS) and then Mr Hose slipped and landed on his arm on a protruding rock under the weight of his massively heavy pack (actually only 27kg)...
The result is an arm with multiple fractures... Extending up to the humerus to the humeral head ( where shoulder & arm meet)...
Trust Hose to do it well!

View in Google Earth - actual track

Back from Cuba, let the fun (Training) begin