Page 26 - 2006/07 AMA Winter

Everest and Nuptse from near Island Peak.
airport, there were scruffy policeman around with rifles, not really illustrating any pro­ fessionalism! We stayed at a hotel in Kathmandu for one night, which was pretty luxuri­ ous. They even had toilets that flushed which were about to become a rare commodity.
The scenery, the culture and the atmosphere up in the hills were amazing. I developed a chest infection and was left behind a couple of points along the trail in order to stay at a lower altitude and recov­ er. Leaving the team was quite hard, but it was one of those things.
When we got to our base camp the whole team was buzzing and couldn’t wait for our departure tim e for the summit. In preparation we completed some technical training and we all went to bed that night feeling confident and buoyant.
That night it started snowing,
departure to Lukla. I was excited to be flying to such a beautiful part of the world and could not wait to get started on what would be the most memorable thing of my life.
The most memorable moments of the exped for me and ones that I will certainly remember for a long time were the little villages along the trail and the way that they ran their simple lives. The Sherpas looked after us so well. They treated everyone with respect and were gen­ uinely concerned that we were happy and content.
For me the exped brought me round to realise my bad points and my good points. I realised that to be in a team in
such a remote place you need to rely on the qualities of the team.
In the future I wish to carry out mountaineering and explore other parts of the world. I'd also like to re-visit island peak and complete some unfin­ ished business!
and it snowed for over On 1 April 06 I started to get 36hours. After digging our
butterflies in my stomach as I realised the scale of the expe­ dition that we were part of. When I got to the airport I managed to get lost because I’d never been to one before, in fact, I'd never flown any­ where before!
When we got to Kathmandu
The junior team on route to Island Peak.
tents out of the snow, numer­ ous times, the team leader finally called endex due to dangerous conditions. The trek back was disappointing. However, the scenery was just as amazing as it was on the way up. It was an excel­ lent exped, a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Prayer flags in the Nepal sun.