For those of you that have been coming to see me for massage for a few years, my next trekking adventure to base camp Everest will come as no surprise. The seed was planted back in 2008 when my hiking friend and i joined a challenge charity team to the Great Wall of China. To train for it, we had to meet up regularly for long walks in Oxforshire that involved as many hills as possible to prepare us for the "killer steps" that became a huge part of that trek.
Everest is a slightly bigger challenge. This particular mountain has inspired books, films and been responsible for many deaths. If you're not convinced - read "Into Thin Air" and "Dark Summit". Is Man taking on too much attemtping to conquer the tallest mountain in the world? It appears not. The challenge is enough to wet appetites every year and if the money is in the bank, Man will not stop at a mere mountain. I think i read recently that a 15 or 16 year old had completed the climb.
EVEREST FACTS:
Name: Sagarmatha meaning "goddess of the sky" in nepalese or chomolungma meaning"goddess of the universe"in tibetan.
Age: about 60 million years old
Height: 29,035 feet or 8850m (though grows a few mm yearly)
Base Camp Everest: all trekkers climbing Everest camp here before attempting to summit. It is high enough to suffer altitude sickness!
THE TRAINING....
Base Camp Everest: all trekkers climbing Everest camp here before attempting to summit. It is high enough to suffer altitude sickness!
THE TRAINING....
A walk in the Highlands! Part of the West Highland Way at Easter
We met up with a friend in Edinburgh who drove us to Crianlarich. Our first day was bliss - we were fresh and the sun was out. 16 miles later we strode into Bridge of Orchy. That first day we did not meet many walkers but we soaked up the views - fabulous forests full of moss and lichen.
I guess the amount of water in this neck of the woods makes the landscape lush. Clue 1 for what was to come the next day. Easter Friday was spent eating and drinking. The hotel next to the bunk house where we were staying was gorgeous. It had that extra bit of luxury you desire after walking for a day. The next day was foggy, and wet. We kept our heads down for the first hour just warming up the muscles as it was an uphill climb. That day was incredible. It was 21 miles, 10 hours of walking. Spirits were high, there was even singing from musicals (delirious??!). We started to recognise other walkers on the same route. The mountains around us were huge and however far we walked they barely budged an inch! our lunch stop was heaven. We found a place to eat at Glen Coe - a skiiing resort. Although the signs after 5 hours walking were like an oasis in the desert..BEER, FOOD.teasing us. Getting back to the walk after a break was interesting! Finally we descended into Kinlochleven in the pouring rain. Day 3 was simply - get through these 16 miles and get on the train. It was drizzling all day. All in all we loved the "challenge" and called it character building. I will go back to do the whole walk and climb Ben Nevis at the end.
To be continued....
If you would like to book a massage and are feeling exhausted after reading the story above, contact Vanessa on 01491 577480 or visit http://www.completeworxmassage.co.uk/.
