Following a successful winter ascent of Ben Nevis in "black tie” on Saturday, what better way is there to celebrate…?
To participate in a very special and exclusive charity fundraising dinner at Restaurant Sat Bains on the 4th March or for our final trial dinner - on the slopes of Mt Blanc on the 7th - 11th March, please get in touch! Ladies are most welcome too!! Our departure for Mt Everest and the World Record for the Highest Dinner Party is on 7th April. To make a donation to Community Action Nepal, please go to www.canepal.org.uk/how-to-donate-to-can or email me your pledge Blog By: Neil Laughton Adam, one of the summit team members, spent October in Nepal climbing the ‘Triple Crown’ – an expedition designed and run by a Canadian outfit, Peak Freaks with a specific purpose of training clients for an Everest attempt. Here are some words (and pictures) of his experiences. The Triple Crown looked like the ideal preparation for an Everest summit attempt. I was keen to get experience in the region and test myself again at altitude. They say that all great Generals need to feel the ground before a battle. Well I’m not a General and I don’t condone violence against mountains but it makes sense to give oneself some insight of what to expect – the fewer surprises the better. Image Left - Room with a view – The toilet tent on Pokalde Base camp The expedition’s aim was to summit three peaks around Everest base camp on the South side of the great range: Island Peak (6189m) Lobuche East (6119m) and Pokalde (5806m), whilst simultaneously practising core mountain skills. It was a frenetic trip, packed with tuition and skills training between summits, and a strong focus on developing an understanding of the Sherpa culture and local way of life. The mountains themselves were hard; very hard. The build-up always seems quite manageable but summit days invariably ask big questions of your ability to dig deep and keep going. It’s quite a humbling experience when you are having difficulty breathing and you realise you’re just standing still. That said, it is worth it for the view and the feeling of ‘reaching the top’. The summits were successful and I was very pleased with how my gear and lungs performed. So it’s all systems go for April. Roll on the final preparations… Image Right - Out of season – Adam at a bleak and deserted Everest Base Camp Blog By: Adam Mason Back in 2008, I was on my second expedition to Nepal to climb Mera Peak 6476m. Having already been to Base Camp Everest back in 2005, I had already grown to love the people of the Himalayas and their cultures and beliefs. On this said occasion to Mera the lead Sherpa, Ang Pemba Sherpa told me about his village and how he and a group of young men from the village were trying to make a difference by teaching and educating the young and old in their community. They had put together a committee and a list of projects needed for the village.
I fell in love with the village and was fortunate enough to re-visit the village which is called Juway in 2010 and see how some of the projects were progressing. The school now has 180 children and takes in other children from various other villages (some two hour walking distances away). On my last visit I took a couple of rugby balls with me and was teaching them to play rugby 7s, everyone thought I mad taking rugby to the mountains, but the people of the village loved it! Ever since then I have been looking at ways I can help more with assisting the village and surrounding villages. Up until now it has been difficult to raise funds and awareness here in the Western world, but with our Everest Summit attempt and our World Record attempt for the highest dinner party. It has allowed me to meet and have the pleasure to climb with a great team and through them it has given me the opportunity to work with the charity CAN (Community Action Nepal). Community Action Nepal (CAN) is a UK based charity whose aim is to help the mountain people of Nepal. Founded by Doug Scott CBE, who in 1975 made the first British ascent of Everest, CAN is supported by mountaineers and mountain-lovers from across the globe. CAN's Kathmandu office and Nepali staff make our projects happen on the ground. With the recent sad news of Sherpa’s losing their lives in 2014, it’s never been more important as it is now to help with funding and building a strong future for all the Sherpa villages and people in Nepal. By helping CAN, the 2015 Everest team will be able to raise funds so desperately needed for them all. Visit: http://www.canepal.org.uk/ Blog by: Andrew Elliman What a long time ago this feels! For many of the expedition this was our first meeting, fittingly accomplished under canvas, on top of a mountain. It would also be the first opportunity we would have to hear about the scheme. So on a blustery Friday evening, from all 4 corners of the UK, the team converged on Inverness airport. Neil’s plan was pretty simple, a couple of nights under canvas with a shared kitchen to allow people to get to know each other and a first rehearsal of the record attempt for “The World’s Highest Ever Dinner Party”. As it was late December a Christmas theme also seemed appropriate. It was a diverse group that finally made it to that wet wood block in Scotland, an architect, management consultant, teacher, banker, student, author, engineer, and photographer: however it turned out we had a lot in common. Above all we had all heard about the project and wanted to know more. After a wet and windy night we awoke to a traditional breakfast of porridge and after a short while partitioned and packed the tables, chairs and necessary food and drink for a three course meal to take to the top of Ben Wyvis. The summit was, to put it mildly a little windy, but soon we found a sheltered spot and began to cook our well-earned meal. The menu of the day was: Aperitif GH Mumm Champagne Starter Scottish Smoked Salmon with wholemeal bread and Irish butter and lemon Main Course Fettuccine all’Arrabbiata with assorted fresh herbs Dessert Christmas pudding with a generous serving of Navy rum To finish Coffee and mints Thankfully all of the apparatus worked well, and despite the wind and cold we were able to have a pleasant meal: Jon took some great photos for us and with our satiated we continued on our walk across the ridge and down to the bottom of the hill.
We then moved to a local café for hot drinks and the chance for Ted Atkins, our climbing lead for the expedition to brief us. Ted covered the route, the site of the dinner party, the duration of the expedition and the follow on bid for the summit. The following day we departed. Not all of the group would join the expedition as they face other commitments in their day to day lives, but for the rest of us the seed was now very much planted. Neil, Ted, Andy, Deri, Jon and I had had the chance to meet each other outside the comfort of a London office and from here we could begin planning the expedition some 16 months away. Blog By: Duncan Law |
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June 2015
AuthorThis blog is written by members of the Summit and Dinner Team |