Makalu(8462m) - The Great Black Pyramid

Back on my way to the himalaya...where i belong!!!!

2010-04-03T18:46:00.000-07:00

hi all, 4th April 2010
well the heading says it all. I am on my way back to the himalaya. right now as i write to everyone i am sitting in a inet cafe typing out this message in bangkok.
first of all i apologise to everyone for not being in contact for such a long long time. it's been 2 yrs since i last climbed in the himalaya. my last expedition was to a mountain called Makalu (8462m).for 6 weeks i battled my way up and down the mountain before finally getting a break in the weather and conditions to make a bid for the summit.
through the whole climb i had been strong and healthy, 2 of the most important things and hardest things to control. my sherpa and i climbed up to high camp in beautiful sunny and hot conditions. the weather was forecasted to be the same the following day.all looked good.
10pm we woke up and began the the 3hr process of getting clothed, fed and hydrated. no matter how many times i do this it never gets any easier or pleasant. it really is miserable. your cold, tired, feel like you want to got to sleep and not get out of your sleeping bag. funny though because you have just spent 5 hrs in your sleeping bag trying too but unable to sleep. just constantly watching the clock until it's time to get ready for the summit.
finally we were ready and left the relative safety of our tent. into the cold cold night and up the mountain. it was almost 2 yrs ago now, but i remember vividly just how damn cold it was. for hours i battled the cold. trying to keep my hands warm, trying to keep my feet warm. everytime my toes went numb i would have to stop and stamp my feet to try warm them up, and bring life into my deadened toes.
then my fingers would freeze. again i would have to stop. and beat my hands against my thigh. spin my arms around in windmills. trying to force the blood back into my frozen fingers as my body shuts the circulation down in my hands trying to conserve energy and heat for my torso and vital organs.
the night and the darkness it brings seemed to last forever. never have i been so happy to see the sun come up. i had made great progress. climbed half way to the summit and gained to long final ridge that is the "yellow brick road" to the summit. i thought i had the summit in my back pocket. never have i been so wrong.
as i gained the ridge i decided to sit down and take a little break. climbing without oxygen i was so happy to warm up in the early morning sun. there was not a breathe of wind. the skies were clear. i was climbing strong. really strong. when you are passing climbers that are using oxygen..well you now things are going good.
before preparing to leave for the summit ridge i decided to lighten my load. i took out my sat phone, camera and 1 bottle of drink to climb with to the summit. the rest i left in my back pack at the start of the ridge to be pick up on the way back down.
foolishly i took off my full faced balaclava also. figured i did not need it anymore. plus i wanted to make sure i was not wearing it should i summit. i had always laughed at other climbers summit photos when they were wearing full faced balaclava's and goggles. so when they had their photos taken you could not tell that it was even them. i wanted my open face balaclava. so i could look good on the summit. i figured i would sacrifice open face protection as they coldest part of the time was behind me. or so i though. this was my biggest mistake of the whole expedition.
clipping in to the first section of ropes i looked up to the ridge and saw a small circular spindrift funnel up into the air. this is usually a sign of strong winds. i made a mental note to keep an eye on this. i was climbing on the lower part of the ridge and still relatively protected from the wind. and it struck me as unusual that spindrift should be getting blown around consider there had been no wind all morning.
by the time i got to the ridge 20mins later the wind was howling. i had been climbing with my sunglasses on. i always prefer to climb with sunglasses. it's just a personal thing. within seconds of being hit my my first gust of wind and spindrift my sunglasses instantly froze up. fortunately i always carry goggle's aswell. so i was forced to change my eyewear.
within 5mins the wind had doubled in strength. other climbers that had been in front of me were turning around and retreating. i spoke with my sherpa, tashi. asked him what he thought. we both agreed that if we climbed smart we could make it. the wind was gale force in strength but the sun was out. maybe this gave me a false sense of security. maybe i thought with the sun out shining i would be ok. i should have known better. in 2003 on cho oyu (8201m) i froze 9 of my fingers on one of the sunniest days i have ever climbed in .how??? the wind. the wind will get you every time.
tashi and i formulated a plan. the wind would blow for few minutes. then subsided for a few minutes. when it ebated we would climb as quickly and high as we would. when the wind would pick up again we would seek shelter beyond what ever protection we could find.
this worked well for about an hour. climb, wait,hide, climb, wait,hide,climb. over and over again. each time i was trying to push my climbing time a little more. a little bit longer each time. which meant that sometimes i would be climbing up in the hurricane force winds. which in hindsight was not the smartest of strategies. not always the strongest climber is the most successful climber. sometimes it is the smartest climber that succeeds.
well i am strong. of that i am sure. i am also foolishly proud and stubborn.i have known to sometimes do things a little too much from the heart and so enough from the head. pushing up at about 8250m. a mere 1-2hrs from the summit we weaved our way along the summit ridge. the wind was now getting stronger and more constant. climbing across a short open section high on the ridge i got hit by a gust of wind that picked me up and threw me 3-4 metres sideways and into the rocky ridge.
i was stunned. completely shocked. no idea what had just happened. it took me a few seconds to collect myself and get back on my feet. i made my way over to a rock that offered a little shelter. tashi was already there. hunched over with his back to the wind and spindrift that was roaring around us in every direction imaginable.i wont lie. for the first time in as long as i can remember, i was scared.
i have been climbing for a long long time. been in some really dangerous situations and positions. but never have i even been subjected to or witness the ferocity of mother nature like i just had. she literally picked me up and did what she wanted to do with me like a plastic bag in the wind. it was humbling and made me all of a sudden realise just how small i was clinging onto the top of this himalayan monster of a mountain at the mercy of mother nature.
i was happy to have a moment to collect my thoughts and catch my breathe. tash i and i spoke. everyone with the exception of a few climbers that were an hour or so ahead of me had turned around. tashi and i were yelling in each other's ears so we could hear each other speak. such was the strength of the wind.
as the wind hit the ridge it was ripping the loose snow and ice crystals along the ridge. the noise was flat out frightening. just hammering along the ridge. mother nature seemed angry and was taking it out on makalu and whoever happened to be on her high slopes at the time.
i was talking to tashi but instead of putting his ear to close to my mouth to hear what i was saying. instead he was just staring at me. at first i did not think much of it. then as it continued was worried that something was wrong with him. tashi put his hand on my arm and came close to my ear and said, " blair, you have ice on your nose". i did not need to hear this twice. i reached up and touched my nose with my bulky and awkward mitts and 5 liner gloves under them.
i had been checking my nose,as i had no facial protection, regularly. problem was that it was hard to feel my nose, and the fact that i was wearing goggles. it made it had to distinguish the difference between what i was actually touching. my nose or the goggles. this was my mistake.
i had been touching something hard. i thought it was the goggle frame. in actual fact it was my frozen nose.i looked in the reflection of tashi's goggles. it was then i could see that there was a solid cap of ice completely covering my nose. "oh god" is all i could think.
panic struck me. to lose fingers or toes is one thing. but to lose my nose. that would unimaginable. i looked to the summit which was so close now. i could see other climbers approaching the top. i felt strong. i climbing well. but to continue on was not an option. to summit and come back with a damaged and frostbitten nose in my opinion was not an option. and even though i may have made the summit. but in my mind the expedition would have been a failure. the mountain was not going anywhere. i could always come back another time. but to lose my nose? that was not an option. i took one last look at the summit and turned around and started climbing back down. my expedition was over.
now exhaustion hit me. maybe it was more a case of all this hard work coming to an end and coming back with nothing. i had no protection for my face. the wind was still howling and i was scared. i could not climb down fast enough. in my mind i knew i had to get down as fast as possible. but my body kept telling me it was tired. kept wanting to sitting down in the snow and rest. tashi kept willing me to keep going, "fast blair.fast.your nose blair" i was petrified i would lose my nose. that it would have to be cut off.
i was caught between trying to get down as soon as possible, and also trying to protect my nose as much i as i could.i could not help but think about how stupid i had just been. if i just kept my balaclava on none of this would have happened. i had been cocky, thought i had the mountain climbed. thought i had the summit in the bag. all because i left a balaclava in my backpack to try save some weight. a balaclava weighs at 50grams. my nose for 50grams. what an incredibly stupid thing to do.
to make matters worse the strong winds had buried my backpack with lose snow. we finally got to the bottom of the ridge and could not find my backpack. at this stage i really did not care . all i wanted to do was get myself down and into the safety of our tent in high camp.
i was exhausted. i could barely climb a few metres at a time. then have to sit and rest in the snow. it definately did not help that i was now on my way down. unsuccessful and with frostbite. i think in hindsight i was more mentally exhausted then physically. having had frostbite before. and knowing firsthand just how long it takes to heal. all i could think of was the long long long road ahead. i really had to keeping focusing on the fact that i was on the side of a very very dangerous mountain. and still 2 full days from making it back to the safety of base camp. my climb was far from over. in fact it had almost only just begun.
fortunately i did make it down, and i did make it back to safety. 6 months later in australia with all of my frostbitten toes healed, i under went surgery to repair my frostbitten nose. composite grafts were taken from my ears and stitched into my nose. it has taken time but things are back on track and my nose, although scared looks relatively normal. some say it has made an improvement.lol!!!!
so it's time to go back to where it all happened. so many people have asked me why? why would you want to go back? you have been there before. you got hurt, but you made it back and got on with your life. why risk it again? to this i have no answer. i cant give a some magical response that will clarify why i do things to everyone. help them understand just why i would take the chance of hurting myself again, or possibly not come back at all.
this is a personal thing for me. a personal journey. i don't climb for others. i don't do this so i can brag to people about what i have done, the mountains i have summitted or the altitudes i have reached. when i go to climb a mountain. when i leave for an expedition there is only one altitude that is important to me...the summit. anything other than that is irrelevant. if i don't summit then i know that i am just going to have to go back and try again.i only climb the mountains that i want to climb. that interest me. and if i do not fulfill my objective, and have to go back. then that's ok too. just going to make things all the more satisfying when i do achieve my goal and i am successful.
someone who used to very close to me is not really happy about me going back to a place that hurt me and caused me so much pain and problems in my life. i know she does this because she worries about me. and i wish i could explain why i am going back. why i am taking such a huge risk at losing this comfortable life that i have right now.
problem is. her or anyone that knows me should also know that this is not what i am about. i am not happy with just being comfortable or getting by. i need to challenge myself and how i live my life. and unless i am doing this...well i am not truelly content. hopefully this will make a little sense to those of you reading this email . i am not in love with danger, or the idea of hurting myself. i am in love with the idea of living my life to it's fullest.110% every single day i am on this big beautiful planet.
i leave for kathmandu in a few days. have a week there preparing things for the climb. then on to makalu...take 2. i will have my email with me on the mountain. so please feel free to email me on blair@myeverest.com please try to keep the message brief and short as it is costly to download all messages i recieve.
i will be updating my website/blog while i am on the mountain. please go to www.blair8000.com and click on "latest climb" to follow my updates. once again i thanks all of you for your support over the years and future.and look forward to catching up with all of you soon.
until then this is blair,back where he is happiest,signing off.

Summit Time,Take 2

2008-05-15T04:48:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately Blair and Tashi got stopped by bad weather at camp 2,so went back down to rest and wait.
He has just rung me to say that they are leaving tomorrow morning,16th.for camp 2.
From there they will go up to camp 3 on the Makalu La.
Then up to High camp to rest and leave for the summit about midnight on the 18th.,for a summit early on the 19th.
He plans to call me from the summit,so keep on watching for more news.

Summit Time Again

2008-05-11T03:16:00.000-07:00

Blair plans to leave basecamp early on the 11th.May..He expec ts to arrive at camp 2 on the 12th.
Then up to camp 3 and rest for the afternoon and early evening on the 13th.
He will leave for the summit later on that evening for a planned summit at about 9.00 a.m. on the 14th.

He has been resting at basecamp waiting for a weather window.Oyhers have been going up,but they are using suplementary oxygen.
Because he is not using O's he will only get one shot at itHe plans to ring me from on or near the summit,so keep watching for news.

2008-05-04T03:49:00.000-07:00

2008-05-04T02:21:00.000-07:00

all, 1st may 2008

here I am in advanced base camp. At the high old altitude of 5680m. life is actually pretty comfortable.i took my first shower for about 2 weeks today. Washed my hair, only to have it freeze in a matter of minutes afterwards. It then took about an hour to thaw my hair out and get a comb through it. My mum is always asking me to cut my hair. And times like this I can understand why.
Two days ago I took a walk up to camp 1. my sherpa tashi and 1 carried up a heap of gear and left it buried at camp 1 (6300m). the reason for this is so it does not get blown away by the fierce winds. Makalu is without a doubt the windiest mountain I have ever climbed. Much worse than everest .
I have been down for 2 days now and plan to head back up to camp 1 for 1 night. Then camp 2 (6700m) for 2 nights. Then try make it up to the makalu la where camp 3 (7400m) is located.
The makalu la is probably the windiest place on any mountain around. Because of its geographical location the wind funnels through and across the makalu-la with hurrican force speeds. Because of this it will be impossible for us to set a tent and leave it there like I have done on other mountian before. Each time we leave camp 3 we will have to pull the poles down and cover the tent with snow. Then start all over again when we come back up again.
If I can get all this done then my acclimitisation will be complete. Then its just a matter of waiting for a good weather window to make a summit bid. Sounds all too easy does`nt it? Well it¨s not. The weather is sunny everyday here in advanced base camp and on the mountain. But the strong winds are halting any serious progress further up the mountain. I guess we will just have to wait and see what mother nature has install for us.
Until then, take care everyone and see you all soon
blair

2008-05-04T02:14:00.000-07:00

26th April, 2008
Hi all,
Currently I am sitting in makalu base camp at an altitude of 4800m. I have been here now for about a week. Originally my intention had not been to stay here so long. But unfortunately while I was back in the village of lukla (2800m) waitng for a helicopter to bring us here, I caught a rather nasty head cold.
Right now I feel extremely lucky to be alive. I had originally emailed all of you explain my apprehension at have to fly by helicopter into makalu base camp. It would save us a lot of time. But these old Russian helicopters and their pilots are not the most reliable of combinations. And have been known to crash upon landing or even simply fall out of the sky.
We waited in lukla for severals days before finally our helicopter arrived. Because of the number of climbers and gear to be flown in it would take 3 flights to get all the gear into base camp. The first flight went in. we were supposed to fly the same day but strong winds at the landing site cancelled these plans.
The next morning we were back at the air strip in Lukla. I was still feeling bad from my head cold and had played with the idea of actually staying in Lukla a little longer and taking another flight in a few days times. In the end I decided against it and boarded the helicopter ready to be shuttled into base camp.
I have to admit it. When I climbed aboard the helicopter I was a little nervous to sa the least. Its beaten shell and exhaust fume stained panles did little to ease my apprehension. I had joked in an earlier email that the most dangerous part of the expedition would be the helicopter flight into base camp. Little did I know how true those words would be.
Honestly about 99% of the flight was actually really enjoyable. The take off was smooth. The weather clear. I was sharing my flight was an international group of climbers. Including a basque/spanish climber called Juanito Olaizarbal (not sure about the spelling). Juanito is a living legend of high altitude mountianeering. He has 23 8000m mountain summits. Has climbed all 14 8000m mountians in the world without oxygen, including K2 ….twice. making him one of 2-3 climber sin the world to have climbed the worlds most difficult and dnagerous mountain.
Juanito had told me a story about an expedition to makalu in 2002 he had been on. They had finished the climb and took a helicopter from base cmap to Kathmandu. The climbers went on the first flight and the sherpas and cook would go on the second flight. The first flight went fine. But somwhere between Makalu base camp and Kathmandu the second flight simply disappeared without a trace. All on board were killed. The crashed helicoper was never found.
Off course this did nothing to ease my fears. These old Russian helicopters are usually piloted by Russians. They are known for there love of drinking hard liquor. Often whilst flying and often whilst they are extremely drunk.
The flight went smoothly. The pilot seemed sober….enough and even took the time to point out makalu and a few other mountains as we neared base camp. All up the flight would take arounf 20-25mins. As we neared base camp I saw some other base camps appear. I took the chanc eto do some videoing out of the window.
Now normally because landing at these altitudes is so tricky the pilots will fly once or twice around bace camp to familiarise themselves with the conditions. Then come around and land into the wind. This is pretty standard. I have seen dozens on helicopters fly into base camp and they take the same landing approach. All that is except our guy.
As I filmed out of the window I noticed that we were getting lower and lower. I stopped for a second and thought to myself, “shouldn't we be circling first?” the helicopter blades started straining under the weight of the huge metalllic beast it was trying to keep in the air. The engine which had been going along at a pretty fierce pace just seemed to stop. It was right about now that I realised, “ Oh my god, he is going to land!!”
While all this was happening I continued to film. And I must admit, not intentionally. Once I understood he was coming straight in…with a strong tailwind. Well…I kind of started to concentrate on other things…..like self preservation.
From about 20 ft above the ground we simply fell out of the sky. We were coming in at a speed of about 70-80km/hr so it was not as if it was a straight drop down. The helicopter hit the ground with a tremendous thud and we were all send flying. And I was still filming. I flew into the person next to me. Time stood still and it seemd like this was taking minutes and not the seconds. I was waiting for the rotors to hit the rocky boulder strewn landing field we had just hit. If this happened the helicopter would tear into pieces.
I hoped, I prayed we would be ok. The nose the aircraft dug in and we started to go tail over nose. Then the helicopter dug and flatted back out and moved violently to the left. Then it stopped. For those of you trying to imagine just what is was like the best way to describe it is sheer terror. You think your dying. The people you wont get to see anymore. The things you will neve rget to see or do. Then it stops. God has given you a second chance and you feel this enormous weight lifted off your shoulders. You feel so happy that you wont to laugh. Infact as I ran from wrecked helicopter I was laughing. As you watch the video I took you can hear me laughing I am running for dear life. Funny how I can find time to laugh even though I had come so close to being killed.
In a matter of seconds we were out the doors and running for dear life with our heads down to stop ourselves from getting them chopped of by the still spinning blades. I was later told that this was the wrong thing to do. We should have styed inside the helicopter until it was completelyl stationery. Oh well, I got it wrong. Next time I am in a helicopter crash I will have to make sure to get it right……not damn likely.
Anyway, we were alive. Problem was our gear was still back in lukla. I had my necessart gear with me. But other climber were not so lucky. There were memebers from other teams that had wlaked in but wer egetitng their gear helicopter in with absolutely nothing. Just a tent, sleeping bag and the clothes on their backs. Not food,gear or supplies.
Being the large group that we were and that we had had most team supplies sent in by porter we were able to help them out. Even still it was an extremely unpleasant situation for all of them to be in. I certainly did not envy any of them.

2008-04-29T02:58:00.000-07:00

2008-04-24T04:06:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Greetings from namche bazaar (3400m). the heart of the everest region. I came up her eyesterday from the airport village of lukla (2800m) after flying up from kathmandu. I did the 2 day walk in around 6hrs. the reason being I wanted to get up here as quick as possible so I could spend as much time up high to adjust to the higher altitudes.

It is of great concern to me because this year I will be taking a helicopter with the other members of the expedition to makalu south base camp. Which is located at the lofty altitude of 4800m. that’s a huge jump in altitude for climbers to be asked to make safely. Arriving into base camp without acclimitisation could have potentially fatal consequences. hence my desire to get up to here in namche bazaar and spend a couple of nights. At the end of the day it still less than ideal preparation, but it’s better than nothing.

Today I took a walk up to the village of khumjung (3900m) which is the unofficial capital of the sherpa kingdom. It was a great chance to get out and do a little exercise plus I have many many sherpa friends that live in khumjung.

Normally they would not be in their village as they are off on expedition. Usually climbing everest. But most of the khumjung sherpas work/climb on the north side of everest. But our friends the Chinese have closed the north side of everest this year. God bless them. Leading hundreds of climbers unable to fulfill their dreams of climbing everest and many many sherpas out of work. Meaning that this year they will be without their usual salary and bonus that they so much depend upon for their livelihood.

Not that the Chinese really care about this. They don’t really care about anyone else other than themselves. Not only have they closed the north side of everest down. But somehow they have managed to stop all climbers from going above camp 2 (6400m) on the Nepal side of everest too.

They have sent chinese security guards to be posted at camp 2 on the nepal side of everest to make sure that "no one" goes above camp 2. they have also sent plain clothes chinese police to patrol base camp and keep an eye on other expeditions and make sure that no one is making plans to go above camp 2.

this is all a little bit scary. we have no control over what the chinese do in china. but they have no right to be telling anyone what to do outside of their country or to be spying on people. this is all a little bit "big brother" for me.

the chinese need to take a good look at themselves and sort this out. because to me this is not even funny. and all for the sake of taking the olympic torch to the summit of everest.i mena who really cares except china off course....

correct me if i am wrong but i thought the olympics was all about peace and humanity.love your follow man and compete against one another fairly despite race, religion, creed or colour. what do you think? telling people people that they cant climb everest and spying on those that are. do you think that is in the spirit of the olympic games? i dont.

All this on a side of the mountain which is not theirs. It does not belong to them and has nothing to do with them. All this just so they can take some stupid Olympic torch to the summit of everest. I personally hope that when they are taking the torch to the summit they do it on a really windy day and it blows the thing out.

Anyway, I have said my 2 cents worth. Back to khumjung. I went up and visited my friend pema sherpa. We have climbed everest and cho oyu together and I regard him as one of my closest friends here in Nepal. I went up to his lodge and and had a traditional Nepalese lunch with his family.

When I arrived he was actually not home. He was back in namche bazaar. I had just come from their and walked 1 ½ hrs to come up to khumjung. Not too worry. His wife called him on his mobile…yes his mobile (Wow!! Things have changed) and he said “ You wait there. I am on my way”. I thought I was in for a long wait. 30 mins later he walks in the door. Get this. It took me 90 mins to get there. It took him 30mins. That gives you an idea just how strong these guys are. In comparison we western climbers are nothing and without these super human, gentle and kind sherpas we could never dream of climbing such mountains as everest.

The plan is to walk back to lukla and spend the night there. Then on the 17^th april, weather permitting we will fly to makalu south base camp. The expedition will later move up to advanced base camp (5300m) and we will remain there until late may. Hopefully summiting makalu around 15-20^th may….i say hopefully because who knows nwhat mother nature has instore for us weather wise. Fingers crossed it’s a good year and everything goes well.

Until then take care everyone and keep in touch. I will do my best to keep you as up to date as possible in the coming weeks.

Bye for mow

blair

The journey begins....again!!!!

2008-04-09T19:09:00.000-07:00

Above is a photo taken from the summit of Everest looking across towards Makalu (8462m) the world's 5th highest mountain. And fair off in the background is Kanchenjunga (8596m) the world's 3rd highest mountain. My route climbs the right hand face up to the saddle in the ridge. Then cuts across under the summit before taking the left hand ridge all the way to the top.

hi everyone,
as i write this email i am sitting in bangkok airport on my way to climb makalu (8462m) the world's 5th highest mountain. you can follow my climb by going to http://www.blair8000.com/ and clicking on "latest climb" or go to my latest blog blair8462.blogspot.com .
i have a 4 hour lay over before continuing on to kathmandu. my timing could not be worse. . my arrival date in nepal coincides with national elections. that mean everything is closed........everything!!!
shops are shut, no buses or taxi's...the lot. normally i am picked up my climbing agency and dropped off at my hotel.not today. somehow with all my gear/food/duffel bags. i have to manage to try organise transportation to my hotel with all of this. one word....NIGHTMARE!!!!
last year i had a similar experience when i was returning to kathmandu from the mountains. there were no taxi's or transportation. and yet international flights were still arriving to ktm airport. more and more people were getting off the plane only to find there was no was of getting into the city. the number of people grew larger and larger. more and more people. until finally a solution was found by the ever efficient nepali's. an old school bus. rusted out and missing windows was sent to take EVERYBODY into town.
the bus seated about 25 people. but there were at least 200 people in need of transport. need less to say what followed can only best be described as disorganised chaos. there were people inside the bus, outside the bus...on top of the bus. about 80 of us in total. i jumped on the roof with all my climbing gear with a bunch of other people and held on for dear life as the driver flew down the bumpy dusty kathmandu streets.
every now and then we had to duck the overhanging electrical power lines. all the while never surrendering our death grips to the roof of the bus. the whole experience was just a little bit daunting. but when it was over i thought to myself," that was not so bad. i dont mind to have done it...once.happy to never do it again". and here i am...again. not believing i will have to do this one more time.
with a little bit of luck they may have things a little more organised this time. but this is nepal so nothing and yet everything still suprises me. just have to wait and see what happens and try to make the best out of a bad situation.
my schedule for the next few days is this. i have 2 1/2 days in kathmandu to pack and organise my equipment for the expedition. my sherpa, tashi already left 1 week ago with the other expedition staff and team gear. they flew to the small town of tumlingtar. form there they will trek into base camp taking up to 8 days or so.
the expedition members including myself have been more fortunate. our climbing agency has chartered a big old russian MI-17 helicopter to fly us up to base camp (4500m more or less) which will save us in total over 2 weeks of walking time.
it's a double edge sword though. for anyone that has seen one of these MI-17 helicopters then you know what i am talking about. and for those of you that have not let me paint you a picture here to best describe/explain what i am talking about.
these old helicopters are relics from the afghan war. held together with fencing wire and bubble gum i am amazed that these these smoke exhaust stained warhorse's can actually get up off the ground.
they whine, vibrate and shake like they are going to fall apart. there have been 2 crash in everest base camp over the last 4 yrs. and this is going to be what transports me to base camp. i dont know what's more scary. the mountian i am climbing or the helicopter ride there.
another downside of flying into base camp other than the obvious scary as hell helicopter ride is the fact that i will go form a relatively low altitude of around 1300m to 4500m in the space of a couple of days. ideally i would like to trek into base camp. giving my body a chance to acclimitise and adjust to the high altitude and thin air.
and whilst i will be saving valuable time and days not having to walk in. my body will not have much chance to acclimitise at all. so what does this mean for me? well i can expect a pretty rough first few days. my goal is to try an not get AMS (acute mountian sickness) or HACE/HAPE. both of which are potentially fatal high altitude related illnesses.
i can expect to feel pretty horrible. headaches, nausea, vomitting and lack of energy. it's doubtful i will be able to sleep at night. it's just the way it is. if this is all that happens to me then i have been lucky and i am doing well.
all this and you are probably asking yourself," why would you volutarily pay money to subject yourself and your body to this?" and you know what. your right. i really dont know because it's likely i am going to feel like i would rather be dead. but what i can say is this. when it's all over. when i stand on top of that summit. and get back to base camp. sit down on a rock and take my boots off and have a well deserved cool drink in the warm sun. well... nothing in the world can compare or beat that feeling. i cant begin to describe the sense of self satisfaction and success. and that...that is what makes it all so worth while.
i will try to prepare my body for the shock of the sudden gain in altitude and head up to the village of namche bazaar (3700m) and spend a couple of nights there before we fly to base camp. this will most likely not be enough but it will certainly help and get my body on the way to adjusting.
i still i-net access for the next few days. but after that please direct any emails to me at http://au.f310.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=blair@myeverest.com please take into account that i can check this email account whilst i am on the mountain... but it is very expensive for me to do so.
i love getting your emails of support.it's fantastic for me knowing that everyone is out there following my climb.i ask that emails be kept relatively small. no photos, attachments, files or logos on letter heads. these take a long time for my little pda to download.
instand messages can be sent to my satellite phone easily too.below are instructions to do so.
go to http://www.thuraya.com/
click on ONLINE SERVICES
click on SEND SMS TO THURAYA PHONE
in the box for phone number enter 21275561
enter your name and type your message. 150 letters only. then click on SEND
these will be sent straight to my phone.
thanks again for all your support and i look forward to hearing from all of you very soon
take care
blair

Downtime down under.......

2008-03-09T21:42:00.000-07:00

(Left) 18th May 6.47am The view from the top of the world looking down to Makalu(8462m). The world's 5th highest mountain.My climbing route runs from the saddle at the base of the ridge running right down to left.We cross the plateau known as the Makalu La and follow the defined ridge from left up to the summit on the right.

Hi everyone,

Well it's been awhile since my last dispatch. Currently I am in Australia preparing and training for the upcoming climbing seasonMy next expedition is to Makalu(8462m) located in Nepal. She is the world's 5th highest in the world and a mountain I have held close to my heart for some time now. In 2006 when I summitted Everest i stood on top of the world and looked down upon beautiful Makalu. Earlier that same day I had been witness to one of the most incredible sights I have ever seen in my life. As I gained the North East ridge in the early morning darkness,which would ultimately lead me to the summit of Everest. A lightning cloud sat over Makalu's lofty summit.
Every few minutes a flash of bright lightning would light up the mountain. The mountain could be seen as if lit up by a huge spotlight. IT is without a doubt the most beautiful thing I have ever seen but unfortunately due to the distance away, darkness and the extreme cold I was unable to document it with photo or film. It will stay looked away in my mind forever.
In 2006 I climbed Everest with a sherpa from the Makalu area. He had made me laugh with his comments on the North East ridge when he pointed out and showed me where is village was down in the valley below. At the time it was 2am, -25deg celcius and there was a 2000m drop vertical infront and behind us. And yet ther ehe was jumoing up and down like a little child beaming with pride that his village was down there far below us.

This year I will be climbing with close friend Tashi Lakpa sherpa. Tashi was suppose dto climb EVerest with me in 2006 but was committed to another expedition.Tashi is the youngest person to climb Everest without oxygen.Completing the task not once, but twice at the grand old age of 17 and 18 years old.Honestly without these guys none of us western climbers would ever have much chance to summit these huge 8000m peaks. The sherpa's are the real heroes of the Himalaya. And the rest of us pale in comparison,.

I am currently back in Australia training for my departure the start of April. I fly into Kathmandu and will pack and prepare for our departure by helicopter to Makalu base camp on 14th April. My plan is to fly up to our starting point a few days earlier and trek up to Namche Bazaar(3700m) and spend a few nights ther eto help my body acclimitise to the extreme altitude once again. The othe roption is to fly to Makalu base camp (4800m) and deal with the altitude there. Wher ethe risk of severa AMS(acute mountain sickness) or pulmonary and cerebral odeoma are a serious threat.

Until then take car eall and please stay tuned for more updates form as the expedition gets closer. thanks again for all your support.