Conquering Everest is certainly viewed as one of the toughest challenges a person can put to themselves, and not everyone is cut out for it. Rigorous training is required and as much mental as physical preparation is needed to fulfil the dream of summiting the world’s highest mountain. The much more accessible Everest Base Camp trek is often a more viable option than aiming for the top and is just as rewarding. But there is another way to experience the grandeur and sheer magnitude of the mountain that can get you to the top of Everest without even getting out of breath. And it all starts in Nepal’s largest city, Kathmandu.

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It seems every month there are records being broken on the summit of the world’s highest mountain these days. When questioned as to why he wanted to climb Everest in 1924, British explorer George Mallory famously replied, “because it’s there”; flippant maybe, but with the queue of celebrities and wannabe record-breakers lining up to try their luck against the mountain, perhaps “because I can” may be the next famous catchphrase to emerge from the snowy peaks of the Himalaya.

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The excitement has been building steadily over the last few weeks and finally the expedition is under way. Earlier this week Jordan Romero, 13, set of from Everest Base Camp, trekking with his family towards the summit. They have safely reached Camp 1.

Despite the hype, Jordan’s attitude and philosophy is impressive, especially for one of such tender years: “Whether it takes a few weeks or a couple of years, I’m determined to do it.” Click on the image to hear the CNN interview he did part way up the mountain.

Jordan is no ordinary child. He has already completed five-sevenths of the fabled Seven Summits, a benchmark in the mountaineering community, and many more treks and peaks besides. If his expedition is successful he will become the youngest person ever to reach the summit of Everest, eclipsing by a few years the world record Seven Summits trek of Johnny Strange set in June last year. Strange’s “youngest ever” Seven Summits milestone will also be under threat if things go well for 13-year old Romero on this Everest trek.

We wish the Romeros the best of luck and a safe journey.

Gareth

Gala Bingo Employees are raising money for the Sue Ryder charity with their trek to Everest Base Camp. They should be setting off today from Lukla, and when they get to the other end they aim to play Bingo on Mount Everest. Shameless publicity stunt? Perhaps, but they’re still putting the effort in for a good cause.

Happy hiking guys,

Gareth

Arriving at Everest Base Camp tomorrow is a charity expedition aiming to raise money for
the support of people with severe learning disablities by cooking.

Yes, that wasn’t a mis-type: a chef is currently moving along the Everest Base Camp Trek
armed with the ingredients of a meal she intends to prepare for her team at an altitude of
5,360 metres, with a glacier below and the mighty Everest towering above.

Sounds like the perfect setting for a breakfast, and were not talking about milk & cereal;
the trekking chef aims to make a posh salmon and caviar breakfast on the mountain.
Suddenly I’m feeling hungry.

With the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen approaching, campaigners hope to tackle the problem of increased glacial melting in the South Asia region. The general degradation of mountain landscapes threatens to jeopardise the future of experiences like Everest trekking and Bhutan tours in the region.

A specialist with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Pradeep K. Mool, tells how “a majority of the glaciers are reported to be shrinking in mass at low and mid-altitudes in the Himalayan region, but only a few of them are being scientifically monitored.”

Worrying stuff to say the least. Hopefully they’ll get something done in Copenhagen because the Kyoto Agreement runs out in 2012 and we’re missing targets.

Try to keep those politicians honest, guys.

A team of climbers from Malta are breaking national records in the Khumbu. They are currently undertaking altitude training on the mighty Cho Oyu, the sixth highest of the world’s peaks, ahead of their planned 2010 summit bid of Everest. Advanced base camp at 5700 metres is their current position, as they head up the mountain and back down again, pushing their limit each time.

On Friday they reached 6400 metres. Their aim is to achieve the highest altitude that a Maltese climber has ever reached, beyond 8000 metres, hence the name of their expedition: Challenge8000.  Of course, the peak of Mount Everest awaits at a mighty 8848 metres.

You can follow their progress at http://www.challenge8000.net/

I spotted a post about the “world’s highest photography” the other day. A photographic workshop is running
a programme for cameramen who want to shoot footage of the amazing Everest trekking environment.

The photographic trek culminates at Everest Base Camp, where the tour is timed so the participants can take
pictures of mountaineers descending from Mount Everest after a summit bid. Sounds dramatic.

Hopefully our own trekking photographer, Rosanna, will get some of her amazing Everest trek pics sorted soon, so we can show them to you. It could take a while: she took hundreds! Watch this space.

Following up on my earlier post on the heroic Apa Sherpa, I’ve found a nice ecology related post on Powinthekisser:

Cleaning up Mount Everest

April 6, 2009

Nearly 9,000 meters above sea level and dangerous to reach, Mount Everest would seem a likely place to be free of litter and waste. However, you may be surprised to know that climbers over the past 50 years have left a staggering 50 tons of trash and debris and human waste along the summit. This has prompted the world’s most experienced sherpa to join forces with the Eco Everest expedition for his 19^th ascent of Mount Everest, this time not for a climbing expedition, but rather for a conservation expedition.

Apa Sherpa and company left today on their journey and will use this trip to highlight the devastating effects of the global climate crisis on Mount Everest, where global warming is causing the snow at the summits to melt at a rapid rate. Along the way, they plan on filling hundreds of rubbish sacks with human waste and litter left behind by previous climbers.

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A new ‘Seven Peak Challenge’ record has been set!

At the age of 17, Johnny Strange from California has become the youngest person ever to summit the tallest peaks in each of the world’s seven continents.
He capped his record breaking feat on June 8th this year with his ascent of Australia’s Mount Kosciuszko after summiting Mount Everest in May.

This is part of a hilarious episode of Have I got News for You. You can watch the whole episode UNCUT on YouTube- a version you might not have seen yet - this is just the part where he talks about the difficulties of going to the toilet when climbing to the summit of Everest.

As it’s the anniversary of Hillary’s famous first summit success on Everest, I thought he deserved a mention.
Sadly, he died last year, but he left behind The Edmund Hillary Trust.

I think it’s important to remember the local community and environment when making a journey like mine, especially when I’m associated with a charity. We will rely on the Sherpa people and thier kindness so much, but without groups like The Edmund Hillary Trust, their lifestyle will only be damaged by our visits.

Since inception the achievements of The Edmund Hillary trust have been wide ranging. They include:

• Two hospitals and thirteen health clinics have been built.
• Over 30 schools have been built
• Over 100 students receive grants annually from the Trust for further and higher education. A programme of women’s Literacy Classes is evolving into Adult Education.
• For Sherpas, improvements in life expectancy have been achieved through programmes to control tuberculosis, smallpox and other life-threatening infectious diseases. Stillbirth and infant mortality has been reduced.
• Almost 100,000 young trees were nurtured each year and more than 1 million have been planted in 25 protected sites.
• Several Sherpas have gained degrees following training in forestry and in national park management in New Zealand and Canada.
• A three-year Primary Teacher Training project in Solu Khumbu attracted 200 teachers and is seen by HM Govt. of Nepal as a model for other rural areas. This has been so successful that it has been extended for another three years.
• A three-year Secondary Teacher Training project was grant aided by the The Community Fund with the grant matched by the UK Himalayan Trust.
• A pre-University Campus has been established in Solu district and attracts a high proportion of young women.
• The re-building of Thyangboche Monastery after a fire was helped mainly by the Himalayan Trust.
• The building of a new monastery at Salleri was achieved by the Trust matching money raised by local people, mainly by those who now live and work in Kathmandu.
• Isolated communities are helped to re-build washed away bridges and tracks; drinking water systems have been constructed.
• HM Government has been encouraged to create National Parks and has been advised on their management.
• Sherpas trained with support from the Trust are wardens of Nepal’s National Parks.
• Above all, the Sherpas are being helped to overcome some of the harshness of their environment and to work for a better future, whilst retaining their independence.

I’ve just seen Monday’s episode of Everest ER which I downloaded off iPlayer. It’s a good show and it was great to see the BBC’s film of the place where I’ll be trekking.

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00ktb46/Everest_ER_Episode_1/)

The programme follows the doctors at the Base Camp on the southern side of Mount Everest, and how they deal with the injuries and illnesses of the climbers tackling the mountain. They deal with climbers with frost bite and fluid on the lungs – even swelling of the brain – all “without the facilities of a modern hospital”.

And this is where I began to worry.

Next they showed a lone volunteer doctor in a small clinic at a village about 4240 metres’ altitude. She was waiting for a helicopter to collect a patient that she was unable to treat. Apparently, she has to deal with “hundreds of trekkers that fall ill on the trek to Everest Base Camp”.That could be me!The narrator (David Tennant – Doctor Who!) went as far as saying “even trekking here can be lethal”.

Lethal!

Perhaps the show was just exaggerating the dangers to make things seem dramatic, but now I can’t stop thinking about what might happen if things go wrong.

Rosanna

PostScript: 

Hi folks,

Just a note to say that since I wrote this I’ve had some reassuring advice from Kirsty at Mountain Kingdoms, and I’ve posted it for everyone to see:

http://www.mountainkingdoms.co.uk/blog/experts-corner-kirsty-on-altitude-sickness-part-1/

Check out what she has to say. It made me feel better.

R

Hiya.

I found this segment of the Ricky Gervais radio show where they’re talking about Mount Everest.
Check it out, I think it’s funny the first time you hear it, anyway.

Credit to the thehauntedangel for posting this Gervais, Merchant & Pilkington clip.

I’ll write more when I have a bit more time.

Rosanna

From the BBC News website:

Apa Sherpa says that he “climbs Everest for fun”

A Nepalese man - who has been nicknamed Super Sherpa - has broken his own world record, climbing Mount Everest for the 19th time.

Apa Sherpa, 49, first made it to the summit 19 years ago.

He said his latest climb was to raise awareness of the impact of global warming on the Himalayas.

Apa Sherpa’s expedition team has been collecting rubbish from the mountain as part of a campaign to return it to its pristine condition.

Apa Sherpa spent around 30 minutes at the top of Everest, unfurling a banner saying “Stop Climate Change”.

Dawa Steven Sherpa, expedition team leader, told the AFP news agency: “We are very excited and happy with Apa’s achievement. It will highlight the effects of global warming on Everest.

“Climbing Everest is getting more difficult and dangerous every year because of the melting ice. The rocks that used to be covered by snows are getting exposed.

“We have brought down over five tonnes of mountain trash including parts of a crashed helicopter, old ropes and tents, ladders, metal cans and climbing gear.”

Veteran British adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes also reached the summit, succeeding after two previous attempts ended in failure.

British explorer and endurance icon Sir Ranulph Fiennes has successfully summited Mount Everest on his third attempt.