Donations
More sponsorship money arrived today via my best mate. He has done a sterling job on my behalf raising funds towards the £500 donation to the Everest research. This has helped no end. This 'adventure' of mine will have cost in the region of £4000 by the time I go, so it had better be worth it.
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity - it won't happen again. I really can't justify it. In future, any holidays will be jointly enjoyed with my wife - it is only fair. She understands my yearning for this particular adventure, and as such is OK about me going. She is a wife in a million and I love her so much.
Welcome to Nepal
Friday, 16 February 2007
Wednesday, 7 February 2007
More inoculations
Medical practice
I rang the doctors this morning to make an appointment to see the nurse for my inoculations... and was surprised to get an appointment for 4.30pm. More injections. MASTA recommend having immunisations for Polio, Hepatitis A, Typhoid Fever, Tetanus... and consider having Hepatitis B and Diphtheria. I'll feel like a pin cushion when she has finished with me.
To enable me to get down to Heathrow (and back), I have looked at various means of travel. British Rail and National Express do not seem practical with the timings and luggage, nor is it fair to ask my family to take me by car. It seems a domestic flight will be best, but I must allow sufficient time for check-in and luggage collection.
Letting the dog out this morning, I noticed the pond was iced over. It must have been cold last night. I ventured out in just my tea-shirt... good practice for my Everest trip. Looking at our electronic weather station, it shows the outdoor temperature as minus two. Cold enough. I don't think I'll be doing this at Base Camp where the temperature can get as low as minus fifteen during the night.
I rang the doctors this morning to make an appointment to see the nurse for my inoculations... and was surprised to get an appointment for 4.30pm. More injections. MASTA recommend having immunisations for Polio, Hepatitis A, Typhoid Fever, Tetanus... and consider having Hepatitis B and Diphtheria. I'll feel like a pin cushion when she has finished with me.
To enable me to get down to Heathrow (and back), I have looked at various means of travel. British Rail and National Express do not seem practical with the timings and luggage, nor is it fair to ask my family to take me by car. It seems a domestic flight will be best, but I must allow sufficient time for check-in and luggage collection.
Letting the dog out this morning, I noticed the pond was iced over. It must have been cold last night. I ventured out in just my tea-shirt... good practice for my Everest trip. Looking at our electronic weather station, it shows the outdoor temperature as minus two. Cold enough. I don't think I'll be doing this at Base Camp where the temperature can get as low as minus fifteen during the night.
Tuesday, 6 February 2007
Nepali Embassy
Visa
I visited the Nepali Embassy for my Visa and bumped into one of the medical staff who is 'manning' one of the testing stations at Namche. A South African, she has climbed to 4,500 metres and has summited Kilimanjaro. I felt slightly envious, wishing I had done these sort of things when much younger.
The flight information for the Everest trek arrived too. It seems we depart from Heathrow at 2030hrs on Gulf Air and arrive at Muscat 0720hrs (their time). We do not depart Muscat for Kathmandu until 1310hrs, so it looks like we'll have some time to kill - but I reckon we'll be restricted to the airport concourse. We are due to arrive at Kathmandu 1850hrs and then transfer to the hotel, where we acclimatise for a day and complete the first of our tests. A long period of travel.
The return journey is also quite interesting. We depart Kathmandu at 1900hrs on Gulf Air and arrive in Bahrain at 2120hrs. There is a short delay before picking up the transfer at 0110hrs to Heathrow, which arrives at 0625hrs. This will be very inconvenient if the family choose to meet me, as they will need to travel down in the early hours of the morning.
There are fourteen people on our trek, plus our guide. Three clearly are doctors, but I am expecting others to have a medical background as well. Our guide has an interesting CV. She is aged 37 and has been climbing for over 20 years. She began high altitude mountaineering in 1993, during which time she has climbed in Bolivia and North Peru. Working in the outdoor industry since 1989, she has led expeditions to Morocco, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Borneo, Nepal and India. She is also a qualified Advanced Wilderness Medic and has much experience of altitude related illness.
If you take into account the Xtreme-Everest medical staff at the four testing sites as well, somehow I don't think we'll be short of qualified medics on our trek!
I visited the Nepali Embassy for my Visa and bumped into one of the medical staff who is 'manning' one of the testing stations at Namche. A South African, she has climbed to 4,500 metres and has summited Kilimanjaro. I felt slightly envious, wishing I had done these sort of things when much younger.
The flight information for the Everest trek arrived too. It seems we depart from Heathrow at 2030hrs on Gulf Air and arrive at Muscat 0720hrs (their time). We do not depart Muscat for Kathmandu until 1310hrs, so it looks like we'll have some time to kill - but I reckon we'll be restricted to the airport concourse. We are due to arrive at Kathmandu 1850hrs and then transfer to the hotel, where we acclimatise for a day and complete the first of our tests. A long period of travel.
The return journey is also quite interesting. We depart Kathmandu at 1900hrs on Gulf Air and arrive in Bahrain at 2120hrs. There is a short delay before picking up the transfer at 0110hrs to Heathrow, which arrives at 0625hrs. This will be very inconvenient if the family choose to meet me, as they will need to travel down in the early hours of the morning.
There are fourteen people on our trek, plus our guide. Three clearly are doctors, but I am expecting others to have a medical background as well. Our guide has an interesting CV. She is aged 37 and has been climbing for over 20 years. She began high altitude mountaineering in 1993, during which time she has climbed in Bolivia and North Peru. Working in the outdoor industry since 1989, she has led expeditions to Morocco, Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Borneo, Nepal and India. She is also a qualified Advanced Wilderness Medic and has much experience of altitude related illness.
If you take into account the Xtreme-Everest medical staff at the four testing sites as well, somehow I don't think we'll be short of qualified medics on our trek!
Monday, 5 February 2007
Sea-level testing
Back in the smoke
Arriving in London on the 30th January, I settled down to finalising my wife's 50th birthday treat. The family have all managed to keep this quiet since September last year and I am hoping that it won't be spoiled right at the last minute. I am half expecting one of the them to bump into her as she wanders down Oxford St, whilst I am absent attending my base-level testing.
I wake on the day of testing (31st), conscious that I have to locate the UCL site where I am to complete my Xtreme-Everest medical tests. Following a light breakfast, I said 'bye' to my wife and set off running for Highgate Hill. I managed to stay on route, dodging the traffic and people as I navigated my way along the main roads. It was a steady climb up hill and after about 4 or 5 miles and three quarters of an hour, I reach my destination.
Upon arrival, there were a couple of presentations. One about the testing day itself and the other about the medical background to the project. I was weighed and measured (67kg and 169cms respectively) and was then made to fully exhale through a machine, and then fully inhale again... apparently my lung functions at 144% that expected of a man my age and weight/height. Comforting to know... the result of having never smoked and regular physical exercise I understand.
I was then passed over to the lady carrying out a neurological examination. Memory tests, dexterity tests, problem-solving tests, brain function tests - all were thrown at me. About one and a quarter hours later I was taken back to the main testing clinic. My skull was measured every which way, my eyeballs were photographed, copious amounts of blood taken, blood pressure measured and my pupil response tested. My day finished with the bike tests, where I was rigged up with electrodes and sensors, with a breathing mask to measure my lung input and output under physical duress. This testing was 'ramped up' for me, due to the level of my fitness. This was to enable me to reach maximum output earlier, because had I had the settings for a man of my age and weight etc, the doctors would have been waiting for ever for me to reach exhaustion... apparently.
Overall, the day was intensely interesting. I particularly enjoyed the neurological and physical tests, although carrying these out at sea-level was hard enough. Goodness knows what it is going to be like as we gain altitude in the Himalaya.
I jogged back to the West End, the lactic acid feeling heavy in my legs. During the journey, I stopped to watch a film being made, where a stunt man threw himself out of a plate-glass window into the street. It could only happen in London.
Returning back to my wife, I need not have worried. Her day had been uneventful. The surprise on her face as we came out of the lift into the foyer, to find all the family sitting there... all I can say, is that a fish out of water has nothing on my wife. She stood for a good couple of minutes, her mouth opening and shutting, with no sound being uttered, as she struggled to understand how/why everyone was there in her hotel in the West End. Excellent.
Arriving in London on the 30th January, I settled down to finalising my wife's 50th birthday treat. The family have all managed to keep this quiet since September last year and I am hoping that it won't be spoiled right at the last minute. I am half expecting one of the them to bump into her as she wanders down Oxford St, whilst I am absent attending my base-level testing.
I wake on the day of testing (31st), conscious that I have to locate the UCL site where I am to complete my Xtreme-Everest medical tests. Following a light breakfast, I said 'bye' to my wife and set off running for Highgate Hill. I managed to stay on route, dodging the traffic and people as I navigated my way along the main roads. It was a steady climb up hill and after about 4 or 5 miles and three quarters of an hour, I reach my destination.
Upon arrival, there were a couple of presentations. One about the testing day itself and the other about the medical background to the project. I was weighed and measured (67kg and 169cms respectively) and was then made to fully exhale through a machine, and then fully inhale again... apparently my lung functions at 144% that expected of a man my age and weight/height. Comforting to know... the result of having never smoked and regular physical exercise I understand.
I was then passed over to the lady carrying out a neurological examination. Memory tests, dexterity tests, problem-solving tests, brain function tests - all were thrown at me. About one and a quarter hours later I was taken back to the main testing clinic. My skull was measured every which way, my eyeballs were photographed, copious amounts of blood taken, blood pressure measured and my pupil response tested. My day finished with the bike tests, where I was rigged up with electrodes and sensors, with a breathing mask to measure my lung input and output under physical duress. This testing was 'ramped up' for me, due to the level of my fitness. This was to enable me to reach maximum output earlier, because had I had the settings for a man of my age and weight etc, the doctors would have been waiting for ever for me to reach exhaustion... apparently.
Overall, the day was intensely interesting. I particularly enjoyed the neurological and physical tests, although carrying these out at sea-level was hard enough. Goodness knows what it is going to be like as we gain altitude in the Himalaya.
I jogged back to the West End, the lactic acid feeling heavy in my legs. During the journey, I stopped to watch a film being made, where a stunt man threw himself out of a plate-glass window into the street. It could only happen in London.
Returning back to my wife, I need not have worried. Her day had been uneventful. The surprise on her face as we came out of the lift into the foyer, to find all the family sitting there... all I can say, is that a fish out of water has nothing on my wife. She stood for a good couple of minutes, her mouth opening and shutting, with no sound being uttered, as she struggled to understand how/why everyone was there in her hotel in the West End. Excellent.
Monday, 29 January 2007
Testing
University College London
My sea-level tests for the Everest trip have just been emailed to me. I have to attend UCL between 0900hrs and 1600hrs on the 31st January and my bike tests are at the end of the day. I could have been there until 1745hrs, so I'm pleased I'm not one of those selected for the additional lung function tests. I need to get back to my wife (as we are celebrating her 50th birthday).
My sea-level tests for the Everest trip have just been emailed to me. I have to attend UCL between 0900hrs and 1600hrs on the 31st January and my bike tests are at the end of the day. I could have been there until 1745hrs, so I'm pleased I'm not one of those selected for the additional lung function tests. I need to get back to my wife (as we are celebrating her 50th birthday).
Monday, 8 January 2007
Local publicity
Lincolnshire Echo
My mate has emailed a reporter he knows at the local newspaper - they are interested in doing a short feature article.
Having been misrepresented in an internal Civil Service magazine many years ago, it has left me a wary of reporters... particularly with them putting a 'spin' on things to make an article more newsworthy. I would prefer to only give permission for something to be printed if I can have sight of the article first and 'sign it off'. This is not how newspapers work though.
My mate has emailed a reporter he knows at the local newspaper - they are interested in doing a short feature article.
Having been misrepresented in an internal Civil Service magazine many years ago, it has left me a wary of reporters... particularly with them putting a 'spin' on things to make an article more newsworthy. I would prefer to only give permission for something to be printed if I can have sight of the article first and 'sign it off'. This is not how newspapers work though.
 |
| Typical misleading journo headline! |
Thursday, 4 January 2007
In the news
Channel 4
Tonight, Channel 4 news featured the Xtreme-Everest trek. It was very interesting as it showed the first volunteers carrying out their sea-level tests prior to joining the expedition. In fact it was lucky that my best mate noticed this was on, otherwise I would have missed it. But with the wonders of the web I was able to view it again.
I see John Caudwell (originally of Phones4U fame) has also volunteered to trek to Base Camp. He is a self-made man and it would be interesting to hear his life story if we happen to be on the same group. I seem to remember he was the chap who handed out surprise £1,000 bonuses to each of his staff for each year of their dedicated service, when he sold his multi-million pound business. Some received five figure sums. He is also the type of individual who puts a great deal of money back into society through worthwhile causes - quite a philanthropist. He is sponsoring the Xtreme-Everest Project to the tune of £500,000.
Tonight, Channel 4 news featured the Xtreme-Everest trek. It was very interesting as it showed the first volunteers carrying out their sea-level tests prior to joining the expedition. In fact it was lucky that my best mate noticed this was on, otherwise I would have missed it. But with the wonders of the web I was able to view it again.
I see John Caudwell (originally of Phones4U fame) has also volunteered to trek to Base Camp. He is a self-made man and it would be interesting to hear his life story if we happen to be on the same group. I seem to remember he was the chap who handed out surprise £1,000 bonuses to each of his staff for each year of their dedicated service, when he sold his multi-million pound business. Some received five figure sums. He is also the type of individual who puts a great deal of money back into society through worthwhile causes - quite a philanthropist. He is sponsoring the Xtreme-Everest Project to the tune of £500,000.
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