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Apr. 1

küpeşte merdivenwrote:

....

Feb. 6

Chriswrote:

Best of luck fella. I look forward to hearing all about it over a beer when you get back

Nov. 4

Barry Russellwrote:

Those Gators look familiar Bill.

Well travelled and worked perfect on the top of Western Europe. Cheers

Aug. 28

No namewrote:

Neat Everest pics, bon voyage.

Bam

Feb. 27

Useful Websites

Useful Everest web sites


Another Trek Diary Great web site for treking gear and advise also has a good trek diary with some useful information.

Everest Base Camp Trek Diary Very detailed trek diary of a similar trip in 1999, lots of picture and some great hints and tips. If you have the time well worth a read.

Video Story: Part 3 Base Camp and Kala Patter and a very cold toilet. Again great video of the type of terrain and the affect of high altitude.

Video Story: Part2 A lot higher up, shows just what type of terrain we will be walking on and why you need a camera.

Video Story: Part1 A video diary of a similar trip although this one was self guided and over a much longer time line. Part 1 begins in Namche Bizaar which has some great last minute shopping opportunities.

Everest Basecamp Trek Account A great account of a similar trip in 2000. Worth reading for the night time stories (need more clothes) and how hard she found it even though she was a personal trainer at a military base.

Base Camp Medical Web Site Staffed by doctors who operate medical facilities on the mountain. Gives advise on common problems for people visiting Everest and what to take with you to help. A good source of infor for altitude sickness.

360 Panoramic picture of Base Camp Great picture of basecamp, their right you can't see Everest.

Account of a similar trip A great account of a similar trip in 2002, he did not make it due to Altitude sickness :(

Everest Base Camp Hiking Company Alistair used Charity Challenge last year in Peru so we have used them again for our Everest trip.

Sorry its taken so long but things have been interesting since my return from Everest. As promised to all those that supported and sponsored me, I have put up the best of the best of the Everest pictures - I hope you enjoy them as much as I did taking them.

So the finally tally was £3361 which is amazing in this credit crunch times, thanks to everyone for their support, humour and money.

This adventure has changed my life in so many ways and I will never forget the people, the country and the mountains. So what's next? well more mountains, more adventure and whatever life throws at - live life to the full as you never know when it could be taken away from you............

This is Mountain Bill signing out, until the next time :)

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November 24

BC @ EBC

Just a quick note to say that I made it and as a thank you for all your donations and support here is a picture of me at Everest Base camp looking f....

Once I have got things together I will publish the best of the 1000 pictures I took.

Tired but very happy.

Bill

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November 16

Bill - Update - 16th November

Well, he called me this morning at 07:30 from Base Camp on a Satellite phone (not his) and he made it!! Apparently only 10 of the 21 people did actually make it. He was only on the phone for 1 Min 10 Seconds so I didn't get much more information from him. He sounded very tired and still not well in himself. He is on his way back down now.

Just to let you all know as you must be wondering.

So proud of him....

Julie

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November 11

Bill - Update - 11th November

Hi to all, Bill rang me this morning he had just done a 400m ascent to 3800 and he was feeling it a bit. He wasn't on the phone too long (a few minutes) but was great to hear from him. I then checked my e-mail and he had e-mailed me. I have doctored this a bit, but this is an update from him:

"Yesterday was very hard 800m of ascent to Namche in 3 hours, think of the Snowdon steps onto the ridge for 3 hours at 3500m. The scenery is staggering, very warm at the moment and the weather is completely clear. Saw Everest for the first time today and no cloud, the trek team say they have never seen that before.

The flight into Lukla was one of the biggest adrenalin rushes ever and no I did not throw up. The trekking sherpas are amazing, the food is great, however, not great quantity.The rest of the group are also great getting on really well and everyone is helping each other during the low points.

I have been having problems sleeping and the nightmares started last night nothing serious but a little unnerving. Going to bed tired sleeping for 4 hours, go for a pee then on off sleep until we are woken with a cup of tea at 6:00 starting our walk until 4:00. Very warm at night not using the fleece liner, not even going below 0 yet.

I have a very sore throat, no headaches, no aches or pains. Felt a little dizzy coming down today, over did it too much. Toilet is a problem, peeing every 30 minutes ......

Its a beautiful fascinating place, the people are lovely and the scenery is awesome.

No one has dropped out yet, and going strong - but its very hard.

I so want you to see what I am seeing it is amazing. Expect this to be the last time I contact you until I get back to Katmandu."

Everest Widow Julie

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November 06

My final Blog before I go:

So 1 day to go and I have to admit that I am getting a little nervous, lots of question going through my mind about if I am going to be able to do this, will I be able to sleep at night, etc. Most people who know me will agree that I am not comfortable unless I am in control of events and my surroundings, this trip I am in control of nothing, just putting one foot in front of another, that’s also making me nervous.

The donations have passed the £2500 level which is amazing and thanks to everyone who has dug deep during this difficult time. As a thank you, I will take loads of nice pictures so that you can see what I did for the money.

A few days ago I decided to test the iodine treatment to see if I was allergic as advised by Brian on the training weekend, well that didn't go well. After drinking 500ml of the stuff, I had a blinding headache, my glands hurt like hell and I felt sick. So after some frantic research on the net, I have purchased my final bit of Kit – SteriPen. It’s a UV light pen that zaps the water clean to drink in 90 seconds (1 Litre), I will still take the iodine with me just in case the gadget fails, but after my test I will be reluctant to use it. And to all those that thought I had everything, I can always find a new gadget I have not got.

So what’s left, final pack ready for the flight, check I have enough batteries for the gadgets and make sure they still work and get on the plane. We have just been informed that instead of a 1 hour wait in Bahrain, it will now be a 7 hour wait – great, so need to pack more books.

For those that may wake up one morning saying to yourself ”I wonder where Bill is today”, I have put a detailed schedule together below with a Google map.

If I get the chance I will try and provide an update via Julie who will publish a blog for me, so keep watching just in case.

Thanks for all the support, interest and piss taking, it has all been much appreciated, special thanks goes to those that have given advice and to Bear Grylls for the hints and tips - much appreciated.

See you on the other side

Base Camp Bill

Date	Locations	Max Height	Trek Time	Description
7th	London Kathmandu	9753m		A nice 17.5 hours flight while wearing as much gear as I can to keep the weight down.
8th	Kathmandu		N/A	Land, food, sleep so much for seeing the sights.
9th	Kathmandu Lukla Phakding	2652m	3 hours	A short 45 minute flight into one of the highest airports (grass strips) in the world (9240ft). The flight is quite often delayed due to bad weather, so this could mean many hours/days spent waiting for the weather to clear. Once we are on the ground we meet our sherpas, pack-up the gear and walk to our first night stop at Phakding.
10th	Phakding Namche Bazaar	3440m	6 hours	The first big trekking day up to the biggest town in the area, Namche Bazaar.
11th	Acclimatisation		N/A	All important rest day to help with the altitude sickness, the day will probably spent looking at monastery, taking pictures of mountains and eating loads of chocolate.
12th	Namche Bazaar Thyangboche	3867m	5 hours	I expect altitude to start playing a part (just that nothing else). First view of Everest from 23 miles away.
13th	Thyangboche Dingboche	4,358m	6 hours
14th	Acclimatisation	4358m	N/A	I expect today to involve a lot of sleeping, eating, followed by some more sleep.
15th	Dingboche Loboche	4928m	5 hours
16th	Loboche Gorakshep Everest Basecamp	5288m	9 Hours	The longest day along with the highest altitude, great plan. Afternoon tea will be taken at Gorakshep then onwards to Base camp taking in the Khumba ice falls.
17th	Gorakshep Kalapatthar Pherice	5647m		The morning will be spent ascending Kala Pattar for views of Everest (weather permitting) as you can't see it from base camp. Back to Gorakshep for lunch and the beginning of the return leg.
18th	Pherice Phungitenga			Coming down should be easier than the climb up however the route down still involves some climbs.
19th	Phungitenga Chumoa			You get the picture at this point, more walking.
20th	Chumoa Lukla			Camp in Lukla for the night ready for the flight back, final night camping.
21st	Lukla Kathmandu			Return flight can be affected by weather, if the delay is longer than a week then its quicker to hike back to Kathmandu!
22nd	Kathmandu London			Another day in Kathmandu, mostly showing drinking cold beer and eating. Also options of an Everest flight or sight seeing tours of Pashupatinath Temple, see its not just mountains. The return flight is in the evening where much sleep will be had.
23rd	Bahrain to London			18 hr flight home, and a nice long bath (and maybe a bacon and sausage sandwich) upon my return.

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Everest Kit List

The Everest Kit list


Fleece Sleeping Bag liner The liner will help to keep my bag clean as well as take the temperature rating down another season, boy I hope this works - current night time temperatures are -21.

Leatherman Multi-tool I have had this for years and it goes everywhere with me, this one is the only one I could find with a corkscrew - never be without a corkscrew.

Rab Extreme Powerstretch Fleece Very light windproof ish mid layer. Thin enough to wear as a base layer and hopefully warm enough. I will buy a cheap fleece in Nepal, but until I do this will be it.

Sun Hat Baseball cap with pull off neck protector, not a great look however should keep the sun off my neck.

Ski Tube Socks Wool tube socks for sleeping at night, should keep the toes toasty warm. 1 x pair only

Stuff Sacks A large number of stuff sacks to organsie stuff (thats why they are called Stuff) in the cargo bag and to keep equipment/clothes dry.

Passport wallet (purse) A small pouch to carry credit cards, money and paperwork. Will be worn under the clothes for security and needs to be waterproof.

MP3 player + Book I have been told that there will be lots of sitting around doing nothing, or trying to go to sleep. My MP3 player takes AAA batteries and SD cards so dual use with the camera. Book will be something suitable fitting about mountains :)

Socks x 6 6 pairs of socks thick as you can find, mixture of wool and synthetic materials.

Hygene Kit Includes: Nail Brush, All purpose soap (hands, clothes, Hair and fruit), Lip Balm, Toothpaste (screw top), Vaseline, Super Absorbent Foot Powder, Sun Cream (factor 50), Aftersun, Stick Deodorant ,Toothbrush with cover, Anti-Bacterial wipes (for washing)

Hand Hygiene Gel Very important if you don't want to be very ill. To be used before eating and after you stick your hand somewhere you should'nt

Jordon Frusli Bars x 16 Snack while trekking, only 1 per day due to weight restrictions. Have been advised that their is nothing suitable in Nepal other than chocolate.

Trekmate Gore-tek winter gloves I use them for skiing and when cleaning ice of the car, Very warm, another TKMaxx bargain. Waterproof and big enough for me to get another pair of thing gloves inside.

Source 2litre Hydration pouch x2 The ultimate bargain, 9.99 including a small ruck sack from Costco. Outdoor shops do a fancy version at £30 without the rucksack. Very reliable and wide mouth to aid filling and clean, also taking a spare, just in case.

Stormlite Antibacterial Towel Xlarge Very simliar to a cloth you use to dry a car! I have used it a few times and it does soak up water at an incredible rate and never seems to smell, also very light for such a large towel.

Wash Kit To hold and organise my wash kit. Very clever design and will look very cool hanging in my tent. Not in the sale and bl..dy expensive for what it was.

Tesco Medium Food Feezer Bags Zip-seal For rubbish, water proofing and to carry used toilet paper to the nightly camp fire (I kid you not).

Sigg Metal 750ml Water Bottle + Cover Additional water capacity for the day, hot water bottle by night.

Pee Bottle Drinking 6 litres per day will mean lots to trips to the toliet in the night. 1 litre, wide mouth should do it, go as cheap as you can as you are not likley to use it as a drinking bottle. Can also be used as a hot water bottle, as long as it doesn't leak.

Wind Proof gloves To wear most of the time and at night.

Woolly Hat Keep me warm during trekking and while I sleep.

Berghaus Extreme Trousers With the name like extreme how could I resist. Windproof, breathable trousers again for cold conditions. Loads of zips to help with temperature control, very comfy.

Thermal Leggings Wool mix for sleeping in at night. Wool should help stop it from smelling to bad after 2 weeks, also warmer than synthetic materials.

Helly Hansen Base Layers Breathable base layers which is are also anti-bacterial to stop it from smelling, taking 2 or maybe 3. Another bargin from Bicester Village.

Lowe Alpine Gaiters Keep my feet dry when walking through snow, water and mud. Also when its very cold will help to keep my feet warm. Picked these ones as they are the only ones that would go over the boots so try with your boots before you buy.

Foot Warm-Up Stay with on this one. Used by skiers for very cold conditions. I am taking 4 with me to throw into the sleeping bag to help warm it up when it gets very cold (-15). Lasts for upto 5 hours.

Energizer AA batteries To power GPS, Camera, torch and MP3 player. I have been testing these batteries for the past few months and they do indeed last longer, much longer than standard alkaline. Also being Lithium they should hold their power in the cold.

Lowepre Camera Case Rugged case to protect camera and accessories. Also supposed to be waterproof but after a lashing in Snowdon became a very effective sponge, camera survived.

Rab LatokAlpine Pants Basically water proof over trousers, after the lessons of Brecon I need to stay dry otherwise I am in all sorts of trouble. Another sale item and yes they where VERY expensive, honest I will stop buying kit soon.

Lowe Alpine Light Weight Dryflo Briefs Fancy boxer shorts to keep me smelling fresh and comfortable. These are very expensive, but I do like the feel of lycra against my skin. Now I just need to work out how many to take for a 12 day trip 2 or 3 pairs.

Lowe Alpine Climb Pro GTX Jacket Gore-Tex Pro Shell mountain climber compatable wet weather Jacket. I know its way better than whats required up Everest however it was in a sale and nowhere gets wetter than a UK summer.

Therm-A-Rest Stuff Sack Pillow Of all the things I have been worrying about the pillow has been top of the list. With this I can stuff clothes in by night and rest my weary head on it, and use it to store my sleeping bag by day - I know I need to get out more!

Northface Cargo Bag XL I know its very expensive, but its iconic and I wanted it. To make me feel better this was also in a sale. It's going to carry everything nice a dry for 2 weeks - it has to be tough.

Scarpa ZG10 GTX The most important peice of kit I will take with me. If they work no blisters, if they don't I will be in agony for 12 days and may well burn them upon my return. Purchased them now so that I have time to bed them in and make sure.

Garmin eTrex Vista HCx Small, low battery use mapping GPS. Also takes a a memory card so will record the journey up the mountain for Geotagging my pictures upon my return. I know I don't need it but wanted it. (Full review to come)

Buff What would I do without my Buff. What can you do with this, I can make a hat, scarf, Cap, headband (so 1980s) , mask, paper plane (spot the film reference.)

Therm-a-Rest Prolite 4 Sleeping Mat Self inflating sleeping mate and no it does not come with a pump - its magic. Used it a few times and very comfortable. Also packs down very small.

Black Diamon Zenix IQ Headtorch Head torch for nights in the camp and late night visits to the loo (very important up a mountain). Main reason for buying this model is that it takes AA batteries.

Osprey Atmos 50 RuckSack See Blog Review

Black Diamond Expedition Walking Poles Walking poles which have FlickLocks rather than the normal twist lock, Also very small pack size 57 cm to fit inside duffel bags. Another sale bargain!

Marmot Sawtooth Dry Sleeping Bag A down sleeping bag with a Comfort rating of -10, and below. Purchased this as its one of the few that I felt comfortable fit in, also heavily discounted in the Jan sales.

Canon Powershot A570i Compact digital camera, with an optical viewfinder (save battery power) and takes two AA which should be able to be charged on the trip

Rab Summit Down Jacket Down jacket for the nights and high altitude treks. Looks very warm and packs down small, bright orange - nice...

Icebreaker Bodyfit 260 baselayer OK so it was a sale I could not resist the discount. As its made out of merino wool and is supposed to be warmer and not smell, boy are we going to put this to the test. Will be used at night to sleepin and for very cold days.

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BC @ EBC

Bill - Update - 16th November

Bill - Update - 11th November

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