Trip round for now…

Hi all, whilst I have wi-fi I thought I’d post a proper blog post with some more detail to update you on my trip so far. Just in a traditional tea house in Lukla and very pleased to be here. Safe to say we arrived in style. Never did I expect to find free wi-fi and a ‘genuine’ Starbucks to greet us. Feels just like home… although we’ve jumped up to 2800m high and so my head is banging. Saying that, it could have been the Iron Maiden playing on full blast in my ears in a feeble attempt to drown out the anxieties and deafening thumping of the helicopter flight here… After a few logistical problems we had no choice but to pay extra to fly here by helicopter. Otherwise we could have been stuck in Kathmandu for a few days which would have cost more in hotel fees. Everything else so far has been fine and it was great to meet my team at Heathrow on Saturday morning. We had a lengthy wait at Mumbai airport through the night before finally arriving at a very rainy Kathmandu on Sunday morning. My team consists of Francis our leader, Paul and Phil who’s Australian. We chilled out in Kathmandu for Sunday and Monday, visiting the famous Monkey Temple, donning waterproofs the entire time whilst wild monkeys played around our ankles and local residents chased them with table tennis rackets. I began to feel Ill on Sunday but the first proper sleep in what feels like months really refreshed me. Being very careful with eating so I don’t pick up any illnesses that could be detrimental to my success. It doesn’t take much to pick them up. It was great to make final preparations and relax a little, taking in the hustle bustle of Kathmandu. I’ve never been anywhere like it. Properly immersed into a new culture like nowhere else I’ve been. Quite a poverty stricken country and absolutely chaotic driving that involves dodging rickshaws and mopeds buzzing around everywhere. But an experience nonetheless. The hotel was basic and comfy, and I enjoyed my last hot shower for quite a long time. I noticed how comfortable and independent I felt to be here. We were invited to a traditional Nepali dinner with another Adventure Peaks expedition team attempting Himlung Himal. This consisted of a vast array of un-named but decent food, live music and some impressionist chap bearing a violin making nearly all of the noises from Animal Farm. We were sat on the floor too. Quite an eye opener but it was very different to the typical British tourist experience many of us are use to with our unrealistic expectations of standards. Out here you need a ‘can-do’ attitude and no complaining. You take in much more that way. We just had to get on with it. Sir Edmund Hillary sure didn’t have wi-fi back in 1953. It was an early start today and yet again was raining. We’d agreed on the helicopter due to the weather problems at Lukla meaning most flights were cancelled. Had a huge breakfast to get us to Lukla. It was another drenched morning but I felt strangely relaxed. We were at Kathmandu by 6.30am with all of our gear. It seems in Kathmandu everything runs about 2-4 hours behind because after being told our flight was 9am, we didn’t fly until 1.30pm. It was an anxious and frustrating wait in the airport/dilapidated warehouse with pigeons nesting in the roof. Eventually we got somewhere with a bit of patience and were airborne. I was just itching to get to the mountains and anxious about spending anymore time lying around in Kathmandu which is valuable acclimatization time which could jeapordise our number of summit days. We’re all in fine fettle though and I really feel like we’ve a close-knit team despite the age gap of myself. I really feel I belong here. We thought our flights too would be cancelled but my fear of flying set in again when we were summoned outside. The helicopter as we had been told was indeed an old Russian M17. My team mate Paul reminisced on a past expedition when one had crashed in front of them at base camp. Jolly good. It looked about 40 years old. For someone who used to suffer panic attacks, this was a big step. I felt no option of backing out but we were all nervous. It looked like it was held together by blu-tac. ‘Surely it’s too full?’ I said. As we crawled into the beast, I was seriously panicking. It was blatantly overloaded with climbers. Then to make things better, our kitbags were thrown down the aisle way of the seats about 5ft high. No space to move. So much for the emergency exits. The submarine-like windows. Panels falling off the roof. I genuinely thought this would be my last flight. I was struggling to keep myself calm. Like tinned sardines heading for a blender. There was no backing out but to be quite honest I’ve never been so scared. This would really test me. Stop myself having a panic attack. It really felt that unsafe. The doors slammed shut and the thing roared to life, rattling and rocking and hurtling into the sky. I managed to calm down a bit. Fear is irrational. I mean, life without risk isn’t life at all. This one seemed ridiculous though. But when we hurtled down towards the runway, our ears dim from the rattling rotors, I jumped for joy as we finally touched down onto the infamous airstrip. We were alive. That’s one experience I won’t be repeating. But one which will make my adventure even richer. And my insurance premiums a tad higher. Never felt such relief. I was at the airstrip I’d seen so much but never with my own eyes. It was stunning. Even the locals lined the fences to watch our arrival as our ground crew helped us take our kit bags to their hut after we gladly scrambled off the chopper. We spent the afternoon getting lunch. Then Starbucks and then organising kit ready for our porters to take our kit bags tomorrow morning to Poyan. We’re staying in a tea house which is cheap but comfortable. Lukla is an amazing little place. It feels surreal to be here already. A historic location with so much character on the rocky pavements and coffee shops. It’s stopped raining now and we’re just chilling playing cards after a Nepali dinner and joking about the helicopter incident. It’s all part of the fun and I love the character and warming culture here. Countless shops with burning incense, Nepali music on loop and the roar of planes zooming down the airstrip hoping they take off. Yak trains jingling past loaded with North Face kitbags. It’s a bizarre mash of culture. Choking smoke of burning lamps and open fires. Running water. Sherpas walking around in North Face down jackets. Stunning panoramas of snow-capped peaks and forested hillsides. And the best is yet to come. I’m definitely grateful to be here. Off to bed soon. My sat phone, kindly donated by my sponsors Textlocal.com, is working great and so when I likely lose my wi-fi tomorrow I’ll hopefully be able to send updates back. Namaste to you all- over and out for now! Life is a daring adventure, or nothing at all…