Closing Thoughts

As the oxygen seeps back into my brain and as I mull over the events of the past 2 months I find myself reflecting on my ‘Everest Experience’.

While I didn’t achieve my ultimate, most obvious goal – the 8848m summit, I did push myself to the limit of my abilities and made a decision which, upon reflection, may have saved my life – or a few digits at the very least. Whilst it was a difficult decision, it was the right one. Although I didn’t know it at the time, my decision to put the summit ‘on hold’ also allowed me to form an integral part of “Comms and Logistics”, helping my fellow team-mates over the radio when they got into trouble in their summit attempts and on their precarious descents to C3 and C2.

As news of the tragic death of Peter Kinloch, the 4th climber to lose his life on Everest this year, reaches the papers, I am led to be even more grateful that all of the 21 climbers and adventurers who started this journey with me, all returned home safely and in one piece. Only 4-clients may have returned with the much coveted ‘Summit Photo’ but I am 120% certain that all 21 have returned with memories that will last a lifetime and experiences which will fill more than a few evenings at the pub. There have been disappointments and departures along the way but at the end of the day, this ‘100% safe’ statistic is a figure that I am incredibly thankful for and something which, in my book, can simply not be underappreciated or overlooked.

In spite of the fact that a 13-year old summited Everest this year and that a Sherpa broke his own record reaching the summit for the 20th time, the allusive 8848m peak remains a tremendous challenge and one which certainly should not be taken lightly. People still die on Everest and the frozen bodies passed along the way are a testament to that fact. Anyone thinking about climbing Everest thinking that it is a ‘walk in the park’ is completely wrong. Whilst not ‘technically challenging’ (as many brochures and journalists like to point out), the debilitating effects of altitude, exhaustion, combined with extreme weather conditions, lack of food and water, problems with equipment, physical health and mental strength and stamina, and good old-fashioned “luck” are all factors which will serve to deter or contribute to ultimate success on the mountain.

Having said that, I feel confident that adventure seekers and mountaineers alike will continue to flock to Everest in the years to come in a bid to conquer the worlds’ highest peak... all the while, the wider world will continue to struggle to comprehend the attraction of Everest, along with the life and death decisions that are taken by those on its slopes. Everest will remain one of the ‘ultimate’ challenges in the battle of man vs. natures forces.

Was it worth it?

Reflecting on the past 2 months in the Himalayas, living in the shadow of Everest - exploring the noisy, chaotic streets of Kathmandu, driving through the dusty Tibetan plateau, running from the dogs in Tingiri, building my stone-patio in Basecamp, losing my temper on the Moraine Superhighway, being gassed out of the Mess Tent by the boys, washing in a potato pan, being excited to eat SPAM, seeing my first ever (and hopefully last!) mankini, regularly stepping and sliding in yak dung, watching Top Gun 4-times in 8 weeks, jugging up the North Col, becoming an Everest North side socialite, partying with the Russians, the Brazilians and the Montenegrins, digging my tent out of 3 meters of snow, coughing up a rib, being stoned on tramadol, surviving Man Day, being traded for a table-tennis table, hanging with the ‘sherps’, peeing in a bottle, gagging at the smell of Dettol and baby-wipes, living through the ups and downs of summit day, and, most importantly, sharing in the above memories with 21 new friends... Was it worth it? Hell yes.

Somehow the time did fly by – was it really 60 days?! – and not a day went by when I didn’t appreciate how lucky I was to be with such a great group of people in such an awe-inspiring setting... Although, having said that, I must confess to the occasional moment of weakness where I longed for a chat about a new line of silk DvF dress over the astounding smell-retention-qualities of merino wool (it does what it says on the tin), the heel on a Jimmy Choo boot rather than the length of a crampon on my Millet Everests’, the scent of a new Marc Jacobs pefume over the latest, “Eau de Man”, a glass of champers over 3% Budweiser beer... As one team member put it as we were leaving the mountain (as I was bragging about my 0-shower record and the fact that I hadn’t changed my shirt in 2-weeks), rather than the ‘Everest Experience’ I should think of these past 2.5 months as ‘The Everest Finishing School for Girls’. Apparently my tolerance for dirt, farting, eyebrow-raising jokes, not-showering, laundry, porridge, Power Ballads, spam, and yellow-bean paste and tissues on the breakfast / lunch / dinner table has now put me in good stead for the title of ‘Potential Worlds Best Girlfriend’... I shall be sure to add this to my ‘Match.com’ profile!!!

What I've learned...

I have learned never to underestimate the importance of careful planning, of daring to dream, and of having a positive attitude. Like the 8848m summit, I have learned that sometimes even the most far-fetched dreams and tremendous challenges are possible and achievable when broken down into smaller, individual goals. I have also learned the importance of good decision making – balancing potential risks vs rewards and knowing when to say ‘enough is enough’. Everest has always been synonymous with ‘risk’ and ‘sacrifice’. However, having said that, the key is to recognise the risks and assess whether the potential outcomes are worth the potential sacrifice. To me, the personal satisfaction and experience of reaching the summit is not an outcome worth risking my life for.

I have learned to be flexible – where one door closes, another opens. I have learned to have patience – to take people for who they are... and I have learned to remember to LAUGH. Life is incredibly short and it’s so easy to become far too serious and get caught up in the ‘daily grind’. While I am certain these past 2.5 months has accelerated the grey-hair and wrinkles process, I feel content (and proud) knowing that many of these are laugh-lines, attained in the shadow of Mount Everest..!

Whilst taking 2.5 months out of my life to live in a tent in freezing cold temperatures and eating my bod-weight in spam is a bit of an extreme way to realise these lessons, they are lessons which I hope will keep with me for the rest of my life. Summit or no summit, the mountain will always be there as will memories to last a lifetime.

THANK YOU

On that note, I'd like to thank my family for their continued support - in particular my sister Melanie for keeping my blog up to date so tediously! To my friends, also a huge Thank You for your many, many messages, emails and for your continued support on all of these crazy adventures I seem to get myself into. Thanks so much for following along on my travels and being such great company along the way. Finally, a huge thank you to those of you who donated to the MND Association (UK) and the ALS Society (Canada). Your donations are very much appreciated and have gone towards the continued research rid the world of this devestating disease.