Well where do I begin? Having got back 2 weeks ago this update is a little later than planned but in truth it has taken me a while to adjust back to reality.

First of all I’ll start with Dorina who has been great through it all by understanding that I needed to make the trip & being so supportive in the lead up, during & since my return. She even doesn’t appear to have got bored by the 875 photo’s that I took (I’ll try to post a few on our web-site gallery over the next day or so).

Next I am pleased to announce that Fraser & I have with the kind donations from many friends already surpassed our collective target of raising £1,000 for our chosen charity CLIK Sargent so a big thank you to all of you. This should allow us to donate 3 wheelchairs & with our hoping to raise additional funds by holding a Nepal Trek evening at the cafe we may not stop at 3. I will post more information on this event which we plan to hold in early 2013.

As for the trek itself I could go on for weeks as it was truly the trip of a lifetime with so many challenges & personal highs for me. In a nutshell to anyone considering a first trip to Nepal & the Himalaya’s I couldn’t recommend it enough. Thorough planning & preparation allowed Fraser & I to maximise our enjoyment & success & these details will form part of our Trek evening although of course some of my earlier blogs cover much of this.
Highlights include meeting our trekking companions & forming new friendships & bonds. Reaching the Technical Summit of Mera Peak with Steve (supported by Pemba & Lakpa our climbing Sherpas) & taking in the breathtaking views which included 5 of the worlds 8,000 metre peaks. Crossing the Amphu Labtsa Pass with it’s demanding descent on fixed ropes that had us all gasping at what we’d just done & then Fraser & I hanging in there to summit Island Peak (something that had been in my thought processes for nearly a year). To have reached two summits in excess of 6,000 metres as well as crossed a 5,800 metre pass when my previous altitude record was less than 3,000 metres (indeed my highest summit had previously been below 2,000 metres) simply felt incredible. The hardships we experienced during 21 nights camping at sub zero temperatures of upto minus 25 degrees with everthing that that entails are too many to go through here but the way we were looked after by our Sirdir (Lakpa) & all his team made all these hardships so much easier to bare, we have tried to thank them but in truth cannot do so enough. The Nepali people welcomed us into their homes as if we were family, their lives are so basic compared to ours but they appear to be so much happier & contented for it, the west could learn many lessons from such a culture.

The net result of such incredible new experiences is that I will plan many more trips to the high mountains of the world so that the Trek of a lifetime instead becomes simply the first of many.

If you want to know any more details feel free to ask but be warned I will have a tendancy to go on & on.