GLENMORE LODGE INTERNATIONAL BLOG 18 MARCH 2006-04-17
Written by Pauline Sanderson
I have spent the last four months with the EVERESTMAX team attempting to become the first people to do the longest climb on earth! We started in December and have cycled from the Dead Sea (- 420m) in Jordan and travelled through Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Pakistan, India, Nepal and now we are finally at Mt Everest Base Camp ready to climb the wee mountain herself.






We have cycled over 8000km though snow, rain, sandstorms, heat waves and we have absolutely loved it! The last week in Tibet has been particularly hard as we got first hand experience of the seasonal wind, which reduced our pedal speed to an average of 5km per hour on some stretches. Of course, we were also adjusting to altitude but the stunning scenery, wilderness route and the Tibetan people have more than compensated for the endurance test. Retrospective pleasure is a major player in this environment!

We eventually cycled into Base Camp on the 12th April to a great welcome and for the first time in months we knew we were going to sleep in the same place for more than two nights in a row…how novel. At an altitude of 5200m, we all went into slow motion and the need to jump on a bike for a 100km was long gone.

There are 5 members of the team who are attempting the whole journey from the Dead Sea to the summit of Mt Everest, one of them is me. We have had 2 people in support for the whole journey and they are attempting to get to the North Col. We have been joined in Kathmandu by 7 more climbers for the summit (one of whom is Phil Sanderson, a Lodge instructor and my hubby!) and one more for the North Col. So in total we a mountain team of 15 including a stand up comedian as our entertainments manager and a fantastic doctor to keep us safe and healthy and who is also conducting research on the optical nerve and altitude.

Phil and I will be trying to summit together, but many factors will come into the equation before that can definitely happen. For one thing I am not as acclimatised as he is. He spent 3 weeks in the Khumbu region in Nepal above 3500m before meeting us. His nickname around camp right now is Tigger as he has more energy than anybody else. He has moved off the Advanced Base Camp with 5 others and I am waiting a few more days before I join them. We will be crossing paths en route to and from Base Camp over the next couple of weeks and then hopefully end up in the same place being fit strong and ready for the summit at the same time. Watch this space….

Marmot and Tiso have been incredibly supportive to us and we are flashing their name and kit all over the place. I am not convinced that a short lady in a down suit will make fashion week but Phil looks rather dapper in his kit.
I will be writing a weekly update from now on. I hope you enjoy the read. If you are really keen you can follow a daily update on http://www.everestmax.com/

posted by glenmore @ 5:08 PM  1 comments