Home at last
- 21 Sep 07, 05:41 PM
Well I know it has been ages since the last blog but I am sure you will all be relieved that the Horizon team finally managed to escape Everest and are now back home safe and sound.
Getting out of Base Camp was a complex logistical challenge and we were separated from our computer which is why the blogs dried up. In that time Ben and I took the opportunity to explore the surrounding valleys and even attempt a climb of our own. We are now the proud summiteers of Island Peak, 6200m.
Coming down was an extraordinary experience, every step we took brought thicker and thicker air. Unlike on the way up you could really feel the difference the oxygen levels brought. That was helped by the stunning return of greenery. Until I saw our first bush I hadn’t realised it had been 2 full months since I’d seen even a leaf.
We arrived in Lukla airport to catch our plane out of the mountains to Kathmandu just as the monsoon hit. Tragically this airport in the clouds was stuck in the clouds for 4 days. Every morning we’d go down to the airport in the hope of getting out only to be let down. Unfortunately Lukla isn’t the nicest place at the best of times and now in off season it had pretty much shut down. With not banks or shops all we could do was sit and stare at the rain preying for it to stop.
Having said that we were lucky. Logistics manager Mac MacKenny was stuck on the mountain for a full two weeks after we left, I didn’t see him again until we returned to London.
So we are back now and all I can say is it did turn out to be one of the most extraordinary experiences I could have had. It was a stunning environment to live in, often challenging but always rewarding and Ben, Graham, Dave and all the Xtreme Everest team where the best companions you could hope to spend two months in a tent with.
I shall miss it all.
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