A Review of 2011 & Festive Greetings

The year is about to end and we are all preparing for the “Festive Season” and welcoming in a New Year – 2012. I hope it has been a good year for you.

For me the year has flown and has been crammed with activity. This month sees me 10 years retired from the Bank and with the continuing difficult economic conditions across the world I decided to shut down my own Company due to lack of business and continuing costs and any consultancy work I do in future will be in my own name.

Highlights of the year have been many and here I mention some of them:-
*3 Coast2Coast (“C2C”) bike rides:
-Runcorn 2 Hull
-St Bees 2 Robin Hood’s Bay
-Fort William 2 Inverness (Great Glen).
*A C2C walk from Ullapool in the west of Scotland 2 Ardgay on the east coast some 55kms and thoroughly enjoyable and challenging in one day.
*I got to the top of 134 mountains across the UK/Madeira and a special delight was to finish all the high mountains in Sutherland on the top of lonely Ben Hee in July.
*I competed in two long distance races in Isle of Man:
-Parish Walk – 85miles
-End2End Walk – 40 miles.
*I competed in the Welsh 1000m Mountain Race, finishing once again but alas half an hour outside the nine hour time window. My fellow walking friends Geoff and Paul finished within the time with Paul winning the Male Vet 40 Section in a splendid time of 7hrs 24mins.
*I put a lot of effort into the Welsh 3000s Challenge (15 mountains over 3,000ft) and did this demanding walk over two days on two occasions. Alas on the day of the challenge four of us pulled out but Paul finished the route in an excellent time of 13hrs 25mins. So well done by him and encouragement for me to try again in 2012!

I hope you have a lovely Festive Season, health, happiness and continued success in 2012.

Very best wishes, Fraser.

21st December 2011

Last Update from Nepal

I am leaving Nepal today @5.15pm.

I would like to thank all the members of the trek Group (16 in total) that accompanied me on The Ultimate Everest Trek. A very hard trek. To Geraldine Westrupp our lovely leader - a massive thank you for all your support to the Group and to all of us also as individuals. I am at The Hotel de L'Annapurna, Durbarmarg (No 1 address in Katmandu) as I post this final note.

I am leaving Nepal with so many lovely memories and a massive sense of achievement:
* The lovely high mountain scenery that surrounded us each day. We were so lucky with the good clear weather. We did have 3 very cold nights with falls of snow where temps did fall to -20%C

*Laughs and discussions over the 16day trek - concerns of one member as to where his sunglasses were? They were where they should have been!! A Yak left the track to join Dave as he was applying sun cream - we put it down to the 'Lynx effect'.

*Is Kenny about?

*Getting to the top of Kala Pattar @ 5545m and seeing Mt. Everest so clearly some six miles away. I did hang a flag of Scotland in memory of my late mother. Helen it was so sweet of you to take a picture and I did not notice you doing this.

*The great support of Kumaar and his sherpas, cook and kitchen staff and the great porters and their yaks who carried all the tents, kit bags and other equipment.

*All the lovely Napelese people I had the pleasure of meeting.

*To Charlotte, thanks for the great day in Bhaktapur. What a magic experience depite two dangerous taxi rides chased by a 'mad bus'!!

*A massive thank you to all the people who have supported me in my charity fund raising.

* To Jayne, thanks for all your support.

Best wishes. Fraser. 7-4-08.

Update from Fraser, Friday 04.04.08

Here I am back in Kathmandu arriving at 9.30am on Thursday 3rd April and staying at The Shanker Hotel which is a very nice and an oasis in the busy and noisy City. It is a beautiful hot day. The first thing I did was have a shower which was great.

I hope to read my book with a Gin & Tonic by the pool.

The trek was much harder than I did expect but I made it all the way round and did enjoy it. I also stayed away from beer/spirits for the whole duration of the trek - a great feat.

Best wishes. Fraser.

At last, an update from Fraser ...

I am still alive and making my way back. I am currently in Namche Bazaar from where I sent my last and only msg. I have done the whole trek and got to Everest Base Camp at 12 noon on Sat 29th March and on Sunday 30th March I climbed Kala Pattar and got to the top at 11am - my goal achieved. It was a lovely sunny and clear day and the views were outstanding. A massive panorama of massive mountains, the tallest of which was Mt. Everest.

The trek was much harder than envisaged with long hard daily walks the longest being 10 hrs. Temperatures went down to as low as -20%c and falls of snow on a number of nights. The sun comes out at around 7.30am and the day soon gets hot even at the high altitudes we are walking in.

The trek ends on Wednesday 2nd April.

Fraser's well and truly on his way ...

I received this email from Fraser early this morning:

It was a 4am start on Tuesday 18th to Lukla with the walk commencing at 8.30am and finishing at 1pm at our camp site. We did a local walk for a couple of hours and the heavens opened at 3pm. My first night in a tent for many a year. Dinner was good and it was away to bed very early. Up next day at 6am to hot chocolate, a wash and shave, breakfast at 7am with our trek commencing at 8am. It was a lovely day as we made our way up a valley crossing the river many times on metal bridges which did shake and the secret is not to look down!! We arrived in Namche Bazaar at 3pm after a day of just spectacular scenery and the first glimpse of Mt. Everest shrouded in cloud. Dinner at 6.30pm and another early night to bed at 9pm. Drinking of alcohol has stopped completely. Today it was a seven hour walk up to 13,000ft and so far coping well with altitude. Tomorrow it is another early morning start and ending up in Khunde at 12,000.

I hope he manages to send some more messages our way.

Equipment and medical supplies

.

{Yes dear reader, Fraser is well and truly on his way. His last text message reached me at 3.30am GMT Saturday 15/03/08 that he had arrived at Abu Dhabi. And he left me with stacks of requests to update his blog. So here's the latest addition ...


This is an area that took a lot of research to complete and between
equipment and medical requirements putting all this together is an expensive
exercise. I am making a listing as people reading the site now and in the
future might find the section useful in compiling their own listings. I
thank all the people who did give me advice. People need to seek their own medical advice.
Equipment (Weight limit for kit bag - 15kgs/33lbs)
Sleeping
Tent (Hired)
Sleeping Blanket - have your own and would not recommend hiring (4 or 5 season bag) and sleeping bag liner. Adds to warmth and prevents washing bag which is not good for it.
Thermarest - have your own and would not recommend hiring
Thermal underwear – marino
Pillow
Feet
Boots (1 pair) Lightweight. (4 season boots for winter conditions or even plastic boots for high altitude
Approach shoes (1 pair)
Spare Lace
Walking socks ( 4 pairs) + liner socks (2 pairs)
Gaiters (1 pair)
Flight Socks (1 pair)
Foot care - will be doing more work than they're probably used to so take great care of them. If you feel a "hot spot" or a blister developing, stop immediately and cover it with a tape or gel plaster before it is too late to prevent damage.
Legs
Trekking Trousers (I pair)
Trekking Shorts (2 pairs)
Waterproof over trousers (1 pair)
Underwear (3 pairs pants + 1 thermal long johns)
Knee Supports - could be needed on a long trek
Body
Waterproof Jacket with hood(1 pair)
Down Jacket with hood(1 pair)
Fleeces (3 pairs)
Thermal base layer shirts (2 short, 2 long)
T-shirts (2 pairs)
Casual shirts (2 pairs)
Bandana
Swimming trunk
Watch (make sure it is adequate for extreme weather conditions)
The layering principles - understand this
Hands
Lightweight thermal gloves (2 pairs)
Waterproof over gloves (2 pairs)
Glove liners such as capilene
Head
Sunhat
Thermal balaclava
Warm Hat
Sun Glasses - glacier glasses and don't skip out on these
Reading Glasses - if needed
Goggles for high altitude and snow spin drift
Wash bag and toiletries
Razor + blades
Deodorant – under arm + body
T. brush/paste
Mirror
Sun protection cream + lip & nose protection (SPF 40 or better) (Boots have sun and after sun with insect repellent)
After sun lotion
Towel
Clothes line plus pegs
Travel wash
Antibacterial hand wash (2 tubes)
Wet wipes anti-bacterial (4 packets)
Creams needed
Toilet roles (3)
Pee Bottle/Slipper for women
First Aid Kit
Insect repellent (75-100%deet)
Malaria tablets
Diamox tablets
Blister pack
Diarrhoea tablets Ciprofloxacin 500mg tablets (One twice a day) and obtained under a private prescription
Antibiotics for really bad stomach upsets
Plasters
Blister treatments
Sole Euca Menth Cough Tablets
Foot cream
Vasiline
Make sure you have visited your doctor for required inoculations
Other Essential Items
Ice axe (Walking)
Walking poles, snow baskets and crampons
Rucksack + liner(s) + rain cover+locable cover. Adjust strapes to fit properly on your back.
Water bottles (2 x 1lr)
Energy tablets or energy powder to mix in your water bottles
Torch and head torch
Compass
Whistle
Survival Bag
Spare bulbs and batteries (keep warm at all times to prevent these going flat)
Camera + storage cards. Ensure that you have adequate storage and that you are able to charge your batteries. (Solar battery charger)
Kit bag + lock
Dry bags to store clothes in kit bag
Pen knife + scissors (these and any other item that could be construed as offensive weapons should be packed in your check-in baggage)
Duck tape
Needle and thread
Stickers to be placed on items to recognise them
Travel Clothes etc
Trousers
Shirt
Pants
Socks
Fleece Jacket
Walking Boots as case could be lost.
Waterproofs + warm jacket
(Rucksack as carrier on plane)
Ipod
Mobile and charger + charger world plug
Ear plugs
Bag to leave clothes in hotel
Labels + distinguished marking for luggage
Reading Material
Jotting paper
Addresses for postcards
Info on Nepal + map
Maintain a diary of events on daily basis
Record what pictures were taken on a particular day (Nos. 1- 34)
Pen (2)
Documents
Passports
Visa
Air tickets
Credit/debit cards
Money and money belt (Take US$ as reserve currency)
Insurance cover documentation (travel/medical/cancellation)
Addresses for parties you wish to send postcards to
Treats
Fruit pastels
Chocolate
Dried fruit
Gifts for Nepal
T-shirts
Sweets 4 kids on route
Charity Bears
Other Items
Keep items in the same place in your kit bag and in your rucksack. This way you will find them easier
Know kit weight limits as to plane and on trek. These will vary from carrier to carrier
Blogsite
If possible keep up to date to keep readers informed

The above is a useful check list for treks and other holidays but you may need to add to for certain specialist treks.

Please leave your comments

This is a message from Jayne (Document Direct). I've been helping Fraser with this Blog and you have all kept me rather busy with your constant support and sponsorship. Fraser would love readers to make any comments they wish to make under the various sections.

Notice at the bottom of this post there is a word "Comment". Please click on this word and the webpage will change to a simple form for you to complete so you can leave any comments you like.

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