Dream Guides Latest News Blog

hey.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 13 May 2013 20:43:00 +0000

http://www.crediblecoaching.com/txxitdeofm.php

Our Blog has moved to our New Website

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 21:13:00 +0000

Hello everyone!

Our blog has now moved to our brand new website (our website address stays the same www.dream-guides.com).

Because the blog has moved, unfortunately you will have to re-sign up on our new site to receive email alerts to new blog posts. This is for security and anti-spam reasons.

Go to our website and click 'Register' in the top right corner of any page. Fill out the very short registration form and you will receive 2 emails. One to verify your email address and one to confirm you wish to subscribe to the 'Blog Alerts by Email'.

Click on the links in these 2 emails and you are done! The whole process takes about 1 minute.

The latest Blog Post by the team about 'tagging Camp 1' on Manaslu and the missing photos from the previous post are there waiting for you!

All future blog posts will go to the new blog and will not be posted here.

If you do not wish to subscribe to the Blog Email Alerts, you can simply check our website from time to time.

We hope you enjoy the new website and enjoy the new Blogs.

Thanks!

Guy and the Dream Guides team.

Manaslu is getting closer!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 20:12:00 +0000

The team have finally got to the town that sits beneath Manaslu itself....Samagaon.

It's been a pretty epic 6 day trek through some amazing terrain and scenery. Getting to the road head was an adventure on its own. The skill of the truck driver really showed through on a number of occasions, the journey still took over 6hours for a mere 40km!!! It was an incredible drive with most of the team sat on all the bags in the back while Charles and I sweated it out in the cab.

The trek started in a place called Aragat and slowly took a path through a deep gorge with a crashing river in its dark depths. The first 4 days were a battle against the heat and humidity as well as bed bugs and Mosquitoes. Looking back on it now it seems like a true adventure but at the time it seemed a pretty miserable trek. Just as we started to gain some altitude and things cooled down the Monsoon let itself be felt once again with the last 48hrs being almost nonstop rain and low cloud. The positive thing was that the lodges got a lot better the higher we went and the Mosquitoes slowly disappeared. On the whole the trek was quite incredible we found ourselves walking through a lost world like landscape with amazing waterfalls and deep lush forest.

So now we are at Samagaon and the next part of the adventure begins. Alan has just caught the first glimpse of the glacier that tumbles down from the mountain. We have heard from another team that the trail to BC is in a very poor state with a number of waist deep river crossings needed. All we can do from here is to hope that the rain stops and the sun appear so that we can start to move all our equipment the 1400m up to BC.

The team are all in high spirits and we are all looking forward to getting our teeth stuck into the next phase of this amazing adventure of climbing Mount Manaslu. stay tuned...

Manaslu Expedition Kicks Off

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 09:08:00 +0000

Its summit time. The bottom of the pool at the Summit Hotel
Its a huge hello from a hot and sweaty Kathmandu.
Most of the Dream Guides Manaslu team memebers are now here in Kathmandu, so thats Andy, Fredrik and Alan as well as myself (Kenton) We're just waiting on Charles who arrives later today and Colin who is on a fast track mission and doesn't get here until Sept 13th (Its a long story!!)
As ever its great to be back in Nepal and greeted by old friends. I'm always pleaseantly surprised by how freindly the whole place is, especailly after spending time in London!!
The flight over went really well, I got the skis and a heap of luggage on without extra charge, this was partly due to be reconigised at check in. The lovely lady worked some magic and before I knew it some 45kg of kit was just waved through.....Thanks to all at Qatar Airways.
The last 2 days have been a whirlwind of meetings, sorting and packing of equipment and generally getting everything ready for the trek to BC. Its still the end of the Monsoon here so everything is damp so we have to be super careful packing our high altitude down gear. And the rain keeps falling.
Everything has gone super well so far and it looked like we would be leaving Sat morning for the start of the trek but then along comes the Nepal curve ball. A problem with the permit has meant that we have to wait an extra 24hrs in Kathmandu, its one of those silly little issues that shouldn't be a hassle but somehow always are. Its no real stress in the greater scale of things its just that the team are all buzzing and can't wait to get going on what looks like a fab trek to the mountain.
Kenton and the DG Manaslu Team

Si Grayson's 40th Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 19:58:00 +0000

I first met Si when I was at Leeds Uni way back in 1991. I can't believe that he is now 40, my disbelief is more to do with the fact that I don't want to realise that I'm only a few years off 40 myself. Still it could be worse in so much that Brad who was also with us this weekend is much older than all of us, in fact he seems to think that he can remember dinosaurs....now that is old.

Anyway Si, Barney, Brad and Myself had all got together to relive our youth this weekend and have some fun and do a little climbing. At the end of the day we had heaps of fun, in the way that old friends always can but sadley little climbing was done, not due to those old joints creaking too much but more the rather pants weather. Is that rain said Brad?? No way said Si its my Birthday it can't rain....how wrong he was!!!

Si and Barney did manage to sneak in the Aig Du Index on Saturday (while I missed the day due to a delayed flight). When I finally did catch up with everyone in the bar....the first of many vists to the bar this weekend....there was much talk of daring doings and getting down just before the heavens opened, the bad news was that once opened they never really stopped!!!!

Saturday was spent in Italy (thanks for driving Brad) climbing at Arnad, well not much climbing, (we managed 2 climbs before the rain came) but having a long lunch. Luckly the red wine and fine food at the cafe was slightly better than the chip butties Si is used to in the peak district so he still thought he was having a great time....ha ha what a fool he can be. The Boys after yet another bar stop!!!

Apart from kayaking (which Barney happens to be pretty good at, he is in-fact a coach for team GB) rain is only any good for producing rainbows and boy did we see a great one coming home, and no it was nothing to do with the wine....see the photo to prove it. Today (Monday) was meant to be better for the weather so we arose at 6.30 to find yet more bloody rain, any ideas of going into the hills were squashed, so after a lazy breakfast of coffee, tea and Pain Au Chocolate and more talking crap on the sofa we mounted up and went dry tooling at Le Fayet.

The team did finally have a half decent day climbing and all of us got pretty pumped after just a few laps on some of the routes. The day's award must go to Brad who slipped off near the start of the 2nd route and did a damn fine impression of super man as he flew close to the ground on the rope. Climbing at last....well dry tooling at least

We wanted to climb the Dent Du Geant and ended up dry tooling in the drizzle, but it didn't matter. Its the first time we have all been together in years and years and it was as if we had never been apart. Only with true friend ship can you do this. Last night the banter flowed over a couple of beers while sat in my living room, it could have been Leeds 15 years ago apart from a few grey hairs have crept in. I have only one regret.....we left it so long.

The summer continues here at Dream Guides with a couple more Mont Blanc trips coming up as well as Saas 4000er's. I'm back to the UK tomorrow to see my two Girls before I fly out to Manaslu, the worlds 8th highest peak....so watch this space.

Kenton and team DG

Alpine Frustration, Rock climbing, and a young man called Asher

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 10:16:00 +0000

Jurgen on top of the Aig Marbree Its been a strange couple of weeks out here in the Alps, the weather has been less than prefect and so its been lots of travel here and there. But its been good fun and we've got loads of climbing done. First up there was Jurgen and Seb who had their sights set on the Matterhorn. A big snow dump early in the week put pay to any Matterhorn ideas, so we spent a few days up high climbing the Cosmiques and Traverse of the Entreve before a couple of great days rock climbing. The really strange thing was Seb managed to get frost bitten toes rock climbing in the sun!!!!! (see the photo) The last day we decided on a crack of dawn start and knock off the Weissmeis in Switzerland. All was going well until Lori's car gave up the ghost. It must have been a funny sight, 4 climbers stood at the side of the road at 6am, in the rain, all looking at the engine not knowing one end from the other....it turned out to be an injection problem and we limped rather slowly back to Cham. It was a great week despite no Matterhorn, but don't worry boys it will be there next year!!! Lori enjoying some sun kissed rock in Chamonix Seb's 'frost bitten' toes, strange he got it in 20 degree sunshine....now what colour do you think he's boots are???? This week I was based over in Grindelwald, one of my favourite places to Guide with the family Silver. Nick and Asher, who is only 11 had climbed Mont Blanc with Dream Guides last year, as well as the Grand Teton when asher was only 9!!!!. This year sites were set on the Eiger!! Leaving poor Jennifer (Asher's Mum) all alone in Grindelwald the three of us set off to the Jungfraujoch on the train. Its an amazing journey through the middle of the Eiger. Dropping our extra things at the Monchjoch Hut we set off to the Monch. Its a short route but great fun, with an airy summit ridge that always has ones heart in the mouth. The North Face of the Monch in the Evening light
A big storm came through that night which wasn't expected so with the morning we decided back to the valley and spent the afternoon rock climbing....and getting very wet in a huge down pour of rain.
With a bad forecast for Grindelwald we de camped to Saas Grund where we had sights on the N Ridge of the Weissmeis. Its a really long rocky ridge which the boys did an amazing job on. Both Nick and Asher were out of their comfort zones but both manfully battled on until I decided we could escape to the glacier a little early and miss the summit. Their was disappointment not to get to the top after so much effort but all were rather pleased when we made the last cable car by a mere 10 minutes.....GREAT EFFORT GUYS!!!!.
Thursady was a complete wash out so the afternoon was spent in the Kletterhalle (climbing wall) in Interlarken. Asher climbed extremely well....even winning a pen knife in a bet off his father for getting up one of the routes....nice one fella!!!!!
Fri was also poor weather so we all went to the Reichenbach Falls....the waterfall made famous by Conan Doyle and his Character Sherlock Holmes!!! Its a cool place with the chance to jump on some Monster Trotties and whizz down the road. After lunch it dried up and we all got the chance to hit the rock once again. We all were a little tired from the week and the prize must go to Jennifer who made her elegant way up her first ever rock climb!!!!
It was a shame that Asher didn't get to climb the Eiger but like Seb and Jurgen the mountains never go anywhere and it will always be there next time.
I also got the chance to meet with a good friend of mine....Joby Ogwyn. His a base Jumping wingsuit flying superstar from the states, we had dinner together of Thursday evening. Although Nick and Asher didn't get to climb the Eiger we can see it in all its glory here as Joby flies along the NE Ridge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlE-Q45gHZ4&feature=related
Thanks to all of you that made the last 2 weeks so much Fun KC and team DG

More Alpine Fun

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:35:00 +0000

The summer seems to effortlessly cruise pass here in the Alps, its almost August yet it feels like we have only just left spring time. Its been busy times for Dream Guides and even busier times for me personally with lots of traveling to and from the UK. This week however I've been Alps based and climbing with Seb and Jurgen, so far we've had a great time, everyday we've been out getting stuff nailed!! The night before last was quite an amusing evening. We were all in the Torino hut when John Barry and Bill Barker rocked up looking somewhat tired. And so they should have been, Bill (Who is 67!) and John (60?) had just climbed the Swiss Route on the Grand Cap!!!! Well done boys great effort!!! John then kept us all entertained with his own special brand of humour all night!! Finally check the short video by our friend Seb Montaz it contains some great clips of the new Mountain Hardwear CEO Topher Gaylord, a man who I think will do great things at Hardwear http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p-HBtobXsM&feature=player_embedded Look out for the next Dream Guides blog later this week. Kenton and Team DG

Mountains, Summits and Cricket Whites

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 20:26:00 +0000

It's been one of those weeks, very hectic but very rewarding with it. As you all know I (Kenton) had been climbing all week with Paul and Davis , we had already had a couple of ace days in the hills and the latter half of the week was spent over in Switzerland climbing the wonderful Weissmess above Saas Grund.
Thursday saw Adam George (one of our American Guide friends), myself, Paul and David practising our crevasse skills on the glacier above the Hossaas Hut. The evening was super, a very relaxing dinner followed by an amazing sunset from the terrace. Friday was an early start for us all, unfortunately Paul was feeling ill so decided to stay put in the hut while the rest of us left at 5.30 and headed out into the morning light.
David wasn't in the least bit intimidated by the fact that he was now climbing with 2 guides by putting up a great show of fitness and stormed to the top over takinga number of teams on the way.
The summit views were awesome with clear views of the Oberland summits as well as the nearby Mischabel Chain The very final part of the week was spent racing the Monster trotties (think a Kiddie Scooter on steroids). Paul ahd recovered from being sick over night and was unstoppable on the way down....the rest of us secretly think he wasn't ill but wanted to practice on the trooties while we were busy climbing....clever lad!!! Mean while Dream Guides had a Mont Blanc trip running in Chamonix which despite the windy weather high up proved to be a great success with teams summiting on Thursday. Lori's team got to the top in a great 3.5hrs from the Gouter Hut...well done team!!! Finally the end of the week was something completely different. Catching the 1st flight out of Geneva on Saturday morning I represented Sherborne Old Boys (even though I didn't go to school there, and I'm not very good at cricket, its a long story) in the annual Sherborne v Domside cricket match. Sherborne went into the match nine nil down in the series and Domside were odds on favourite to make it 10!!
But Rich Robinson steered his Sherborne side to a crushing 7 wicket victory, hitting the winning runs himself!!!! We all think its the start of an amazing come back...Great effort boys!!! (pictures to follow, I left the camera lead in France...DOH!!)
SO whats in store in the Alps next week.....well tune in here mid week and we will update you but with a good forecast I expect some great mountians climbed. >br/> Be cool out there
Kenton and Team DG

Comp winners and flying

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 13:49:00 +0000

With the weather being totally amazing in the alps right now Paul, Dave and Myself (Kenton) have had a great but rather hot couple of days in the hills. Amazing view of the Mont Blanc Massif
Paul was the lucky Cotswold Comp winner from last autumn, part of the great prize was 5 days in the hills with yours truly. Paul was generous enough to bring one of his buddies along as well hence the 3 of us.
Kicking the week off I got sunburnt while Paul and Dave showed me their bum sliding skills as we came off the Aig Crouche. It was an amazing hot day with temps almost up to a scorching 40 degrees!! Paul and Dave on top of the Aig Crouche
Tuesday saw a quick hit to Italian and fine coffee and the traverse of the Entreves. Both the lads did a great job on the route and also the walk there and back.....effort lads!!!!
Today was something very different. Some good friends are in Chamonix and their two oldest children Henry (6) and Florence (4) were booked in to go Paragliding. This sounded pretty cool so I went along to watch. Unfortunately the winds were all wrong but the kids got to look pretty extreme with the kit on!!. Henry Coleman looking cool in a pair of Addias Shades....he told me big was in!!!!
Henry and Flo rigged up and ready to rock!!!
Tomorrow looks like it will be another red hot day, but Paul, Dave, and myself will be putting the cream on and looking to bag another summit!!!
Come out and join us this summer for some Mountain fun of your own
/ Kenton and team DG

Photos of Bread winners

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 06:04:00 +0000

As promised here are a few shots from last week with the Guys from Kingsmill...oh and that Banker from Lloyds . Above is Tim (front) and Steve coming up one of the final sections of the cosmiques Ridge in wonderful weather (the only good weather day of the week!!)
A tired Kenton, Steve and Tim on the descent from the Weissmess in Switzerland, the line coming out the top of Steves head is the knee deep track that we ploughed in the snow on out way up.
Steve working his way up an exposed section of the Via Ferrata on the Jagihorn
The team at the Aig Midi after the mass ascent of the Cosmiques ridge...from the Left, Tim, Mark, Kenton and Steve...thanks for the massive effort you all put in Guys and fingers crossed for some better weather next time.
Kenton and Team DG

What a week with Kingsmill Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 15:59:00 +0000

Hi Guys Its been a little while since the last blog and that's due to the amazing week that's just gone. Our friends from Allied bakeries were back in the Alps with some big plans. Mark and Steve both climbed with us last year and now they brought their city trader big bonus mate Tim with them for extra clout. Between us we had some big plans but the rather poor weather made everything a little tricky.
Starting in Switzerland we hoped to climb the Weissmess, a classic 4000m peak as a warm up, unfortunately knee deep snow stopped us literally in our tracks a mere 150m short of the summit after nearly 5hrs of effort. Poor Tim was rather knackered at the top but rallied well on the way down...it was the sniff of the Birthday Beers I reckon.
With the forecast as it was we decided on a safe bet and climbed the Via Ferrata on the Jagihorn on Tuesday, if this wasn't hard enough there was added spice with the fact that I had to be back in London to speak at the IQ2 festival at the RGS, the pressure was on. The boys did a great job and we all simply raced up. Tim lead most of the way and Mark did an awesome job looking after Steve when he flagged a little, thanks mate!! With a mere 2 minutes on top we raced down to catch the lift, this was followed by an epic drive to the airport. I walked on stage just as the chair for the evening gave apologies for my absence...talk about skin of your teeth!!!!
Wed was an early morning flight back to France and then round to Italy for some epic coffee. The bad weather meant knee deep snow and little in the way of climbing, but this didn't stop Mark and I making the most of a break in the weather and we spent a wonderful couple of hours in atmospheric cloud walking on the glacier
Super bad weather followed with a big storm so Thursday was again spent yomping in deep snow in poor visibility, Mark seemed to love it so I sent him out in front breaking trail for a couple of hours, he was a natural and can certainly come out again if he is willing to do that all the time!!!
The end of the week brought the only good weather, the team had all come back to the valley and taken stock on a hard fought couple of days. The plan was an ascent of the Cosmiques Ridge. On the way up in the lift we broke through the cloud to stella blue skies. I think I speak for all of us it was simply an amazing day. I climbed with mark while Krister was with Steve and Tim. Highlights of the day were seeing Steve make a massive improvement from last year, shows what the climbing wall can do, while the real gem came from Tim who was trying so hard and was clearly out of his comfort zone but came up with a high pitched "I'm going to fall" while the rope was so tight above him I thought there was danger of it snapping. Joking aside the 3 lads did an amazing job so well done all. Tim don't forget those potatoes!!!
The weather contiues to be poor out here but we are already part way though our exclusive Everest training programme, this is a 10day programme to prepare you for climbing Everest with an ascent of Mont Blanc at the end. The guys are all camping tonight in the snow learning some vital camp craft skills before we do some ladder crossing training tomorrow.
Thats it for a round up....the weather won't be bad for ever so come and book you summer's fun we still have a few places on the courses. Take care KC and Team DG PS photos to come

Everest Pictures II

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 07:55:00 +0000

As promised Guys a little taster of the walk to Everest Base Camp with the team this year. The middle photos are from the Puja, the writing is the chant that the Lama mutters. Its all pretty moving stuff. The bottom picture is the Team at the Everest BaseCamp sign. Come and join us all next year!! Regards KC

Everest Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 20:36:00 +0000

Over the next few days I'll upload a series of pictures from our Everest Expedition. They will be all a little random but I hope it will give a flavour of the whole expedition I can only upload 5 pictures at once so please bear with me on this.
Pictures from the top
Sitting at the bottom of the Lhoste face after summiting
Looking into Tibet from the top of the world
Climbing towards Camp 3
Rick Below Camp 3
Kenton in the ice fall
More tomorrow KC

Over and Out

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 12:04:00 +0000

Sitting in the Kitchen in my house in Fairford I can reflect on what was a great and enjoyable expedition to Everest. Coming home is always a little strange, the Everest team of 2010 is no more, we have parted ways and gone back to friends and loved ones. The close bonds we formed on the Expedition have been broken, but the friendship will always be there.
I for one miss the team and all the Staff, for the brief time we have at Basecamp we all worked towards one common goal, the summit. Now back at home I find the first few days a little aimless. Of course I'm happy to be at home with Jazz my wife and it doesn't take too long and Everest seems like a distant memory. I often say that what has happened is finished and only the future counts and this is no different. Everest 2010 will never diminish in my mind, it was a wonderful experience with new friends, but the summer in the Alps looms fast and I can't wait for the season's work to begin. Everest 2010 is all but over, I'd like to thank all the staff who made it so special, and also the other climbers. David, Trotty, Bonita, Tom, Rick and Ali, thank you all for the experience. Regards KC

Kathmandu

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 26 May 2010 07:00:00 +0000

Well the team have finally done it. I'm sitting in the Summit hotel drinking a cool lemonade updating the blog. Its not all been plain sailing, our bags are MIA right now, including my camera equipment, hence no pictures again (sorry) and we did spend and extra day in Syangboche waiting for weather to fly out but its all pretty much over.

The flight from Syangboche was on a small Pilatus Pilot plane with a rather larger than life Italian at the controls, but he did a great job and in about 5 mins we landed in Lukla where we had to change planes. We waited for about an hour before hopping on the std flight to Kathmandu.

The contrast is amazing one minute its cold, snowy and we are surrounded by mountains, then 45mins later its hot dusty and flat. After 40days in the mountains its going to take a little bit of adjustment.

I think I speak for us all when I say we are all looking fwd to getting home to family and friends, but that we leave behind something special in the mountains. In the mean time there is some shopping to do and maybe a little bit of party action to celebrate.

Kenton and the Everest Team

Waiting to Fly

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 24 May 2010 09:28:00 +0000

Well its normally waiting for weather to scale mountains not weather to fly home.
The remaining team of Rick, Ali, Trotty and myself (Kenton) are waiting in Syangboche for weather to allow us to make the flight to Kathmandu. We would normally fly from Lulka but we thought we could say a day by flying from here.......how wrong we were.
Fingers crossed that the cloud clears and that the planes can fly tomorrow, or it will be that walk to Lukla after all
Regards KC and the Everest Team

Walking Out from Everest

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 23 May 2010 02:22:00 +0000

Its the morning of May 23rd and the main part of the team left Base Camp yesterday on the trek back to Kathmandu.
The girl of the moment....Bonita....left a couple of days ago with Tom on a Chopper that whisked them straight from BC to Kathmandu, the reason for this was a minor case of Frostbite. Both Tom and Bonita suffered a wee bit of Frost damage to their toes. Now if this had been on the fingers no problem but the 3 day hike to Lukla would have been pretty painful and potential damaging to both their toes and as such we decided to fly them out. Its a shame really as the rest of the team misses them both already.
Trotty, Ali, Rick and myself left BC yesterday and hiked down to Pheriche, as normal I left late and arrived just before dark...DOH
The walk was however lovely, I spent all day on my own and sucked up the thicker air and then as one passes the climbers memorials the smells of life hit you. The nose was overwhelmed by the smell of grass and the swat juniper bushes. After 6weeks with out such smells it is really quite an experience. The temperature was prefect all day and due to my late start there was no one on the trail a prefect time to reflect, it proved, strangly to be one of the nicest days of the expedition
Today we continue our walk down the valley and we hope to Kathmandu before the predicted bad weather that may hold us up in Lukla comes in.
Last night some of our friends made summit attempts on the mountain in what seems to be the last weather window of the year, as yet I have no news but my fingers....and sore toes are crossed form them all
Finally although I walk back from my 8th successful ascent of Everest my good friend Rich runs the Edinburgh Marathon today, now he calls me mad but in my mind running a Marathon from your own free will is completely bonkers. All I can say is thanks for your help Rich and run as if your life depends on it!!!!! Next post soon....with pictures I hope....all the camera kit is packed away KC

Top of the world!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 20 May 2010 09:47:00 +0000

Kenton Bonita and Rick after the summit!!

Dorje shows off his Dream Guides Hoody top on the summit Kenton Shows its Number 8

Well were to start? It’s been a truly amazing 7 days here at Everest, we have seen summits and a wee rescue as well. The most important thing is that the team is all down at BC again safe and sound with 4 summits for the western climbers and 4 for the Sherpa’s as well.

The team got to the top on the morning of May 17^th, we all summated at different times. Kenton was the first to the top after breaking trail in deep snow from the balcony with Dorje. He was followed by Tom Claytor, then Rick Thurma and finally Bonita Norris at approx 10.30am.

It was a great day for summits with great views and little wind, a perfect summit day!!

The only hiccup of the day came when Bonita slipped on the way down and hurt her back and neck. This slowed her descent up and in the end I (Kenton) and a Sherpa team had to lower her down the final slopes from the Balcony to the South Col. The team finally all got back to the South Col camp at 2am after a pretty epic but ultimate safe descent from the top of the world.

We are all now at BC with part of the team flying back to Kathmandu tomorrow via Chopper while the other half will help break down base camp and probably depart in a few days

I’ll write a full report when I have longer than just 5mins to myself.

Until then thanks to everyone

Kenton and the Everest Team

Summit Success!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 17 May 2010 05:18:00 +0000

All members of the Dream Guides team have now summited and are making their way back to Camp 4, congratulations one and all! The DG Team

Update from the Dream Guides team

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 17 May 2010 02:00:00 +0000

Kenton and the team left Camp 4 in relatively good weather last night. Kenton went ahead with his sherpa to break trail for the team (and other teams attempting a summit at the same time) and he has now successfully summited for the 8th time. As there are other teams hoping to reach the summit alongside Dream Guides, the rest of the team have got 'stuck in traffic' and so progress to the summit is taking longer. Kenton is confident that they will all do it in good time though and the weather should hold out for them. More as we get it. The DG Team

Tonight could be the night

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 16 May 2010 10:50:00 +0000

All the team are now at Camp 4. We are resting on oxygen and attempting to get as much food and fluid down us as the forecast is showing that the winds will be returning shortly, so, if we are going to go for it, it's tonight or not again for another week. It's currently snowing which doesn't make for great underfoot conditions on the ascent but we have a really strong sherpa team with us who will be helping me break trail (nobody has managed to summit yet this weekend so the trail is under quite a bit of snow). Wish us luck and let's hope the next update has some good news. Stay safe. KC

It's on!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 14 May 2010 19:50:00 +0000

So, things are finally starting to look 'interesting' on the hill. A small window of opportunity appeared on the weather forecasts a couple of days ago, a 36 hour window to be precise. There are actually two types of weather information that we assess to find a decent summit window: the general precipitation (i.e snow and temperature) and, more importantly, the position of the jet stream. The summit of Everest lies fully in the planet's jet stream, winds so strong (118+mph), that climbers would literally be blown off the mountain. Everest is generally climbed at this time of year (and occasionally in the Autumn) for the simple reason that, as the monsoon season starts, the jet stream is pushed Northwards over Tibet for a small period of time. This provides a real opportunity for climbers to attempt to reach the summit before the roaring jet stream returns (often noted by the long stream of ice crystals extending from the top of the mountain). So, the small window was spotted and I realised that if we were to have a real opportunity of making the most of it, we would need to move fast and get in position (there appears to be another longer window in about a week's time). The team climbed really well yesterday through the ice fall, past Camp 1 and up to Camp 2, where we have rested for a day. Tomorrow (Saturday) we will undertake the daunting task of scaling the 1200 metre Lhotse Face to reach Camp 3. After a rest at Camp 3 tomorrow, my intention is then to take the team up to Camp 4 and into the Death Zone on Sunday. Lying at over 8,000 metres high, at the edge of the Earth's atmosphere, this camp is the staging area for a summit attempt. We only spend a few hours here as it is not particularly hospitable and our bodies start to deteriorate rapidly. We stop here simply to allow some time for the team to rest, rehydrate and try and get some food inside them, while I prepare the equipment and check oxygen bottles. Then, at about 2100, I will ready the team and we will leave for the summit in the dark. Climbing to the summit should take approximately 8-12 hours. I will of course be checking real time information on the way up such as the forecasts, the actual weather conditions, the underfoot conditions and, importantly, the fitness of the team. If all of these components come together in our favour, we may just have some good news on the 17th. Keep everything crossed for us! Be safe out there. KC

Base Camp ... still!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 12 May 2010 07:54:00 +0000

Time flies at Everest Base-camp sometimes, its been 4 or 5 days since the last update. Its been a funny time here at base-camp, the team is in a state of limbo while we wait for the weather to turn in our favor. Since the Sherpa Team fixed ropes to the summit on the 5th May there has been little movement on the hill. A couple of people managed to sneak to the summit in the days that followed the Sherpa fixing but since then the weather has turned with strong summit winds. I woke up yesterday to see plumes racing off the flanks of Lhotse, a sure sign that the weather forecast was indeed accurate. SO what has the team been doing?? If the truth be known, not a great deal. There have been a few walks to Pumori Camp 1 which has been keeping everyone fit, lots of card playing, a few DVD's have been watched and a few members have had to reconstruct their tent platforms due to them melting out. Personally I have been suffering from my wisdom teeth coming through so this has made me somewhat grumpy and been laid up for a few days. They seem to be on the mend now and fingers crossed a few more days and I will be able to confront that day with out a belly full of pain killers. Finally Mike Kobold, James Stearns and myself had a trip into the icefall yesterday to snap a few pictures for some of the sponsors, we made the mistake of leaving a little late and as such got frazzled by the sun….I think the photos made up for it though. We await the weather forecast each day with baited breath, as yet there is no clear weather window, but you never know whats around the corner….fingers crossed for todays!!! Safe climbing out there Kenton and the Everest Team

Forecasts and Friends

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 May 2010 10:13:00 +0000

Forecasts are funny things, they can change from one day to the next, different forecasters can look at the same model can come up with two very different outcomes and of course they can often be wrong. But then it is a forecast. It sometimes seems more of an art than a science, but at the end of the day I have great respect for these guys. More than one of my ascents has been done to the nod of a forecaster many thousand miles away from where I have been climbing. There appears to be the faintest of hopes that there may be a window in the weather around May 16th. I'm not pinning much hope on it, its a very small 36hr slot which could easily disappear. Ralph from Bern in Switzerland (one of the very best forecasters) even states in his forecast that the winds could pick up again dangerously quickly. What I have decided to do is to take the team back up to Camp 2, then at least we will be in position on the hill if things change and the window widens. If the weather doesn't improve then it will be a great stretch of the legs and help get us all reacclimatized. So it seems to be a win win situation but only time will really tell. So its another 4am start tomorrow to trot through the icefall and then on to camp 2. I think it will take 6-8hrs for most of the team to get there and I'm hoping that the 10days we have spent down low hasn't affected the team's speed in the icefall. The other great thing that happened today was meeting Mike Searle once again. Mike is one of the worlds best Himalayan geologist, based in Oxford he works out of the University there. I had the pleasure of spending the day with him last June while doing some filming for the History Channel about the formation of the Himalayas. This was quite an honor for me as he wrote many papers that I had to read when I studied Geology at Leeds uni. He had trekked to BC this year looking at the geology area once again, replacing his old 35mm slides with Digital photos. Its amazing to be in his company, his enthusiasm is endless and one can't help but get caught up with it. Even as he came out the mess tent he was raving about what a great example of a granite batholith that stood behind basecamp (I had to rake my brains to recall what this was of course). Mike asked if I could collect a few more samples for him from high on Everest (like I did last year) and we agreed to meet in Oxford upon my return for a beer, something that I very much look forward to! So that it people, the next update will be in few days when we have a clearer picture of what is happening. Until then stay safe Kenton and the Everest team

Update from BC

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 06 May 2010 12:35:00 +0000

Its been nearly a week since the team was at Camp 2 and there is very little to report. The weather window that we were hoping to hit slowly disappeared on us which has been a little frustrating. The last few days at Base Camp have been cold and cloudy, we even had a wee dump of snow 5 days ago, which allowed Trotty to build her first ever snow man (with a little help from the Sherpas). There hasn't been much going on to report about. I've (Kenton) been suffering with my Wisdom teeth which has meant the last couple of days have been pretty miserable. The team has been great though, offering advice (from lets pull them out!!! to more sensible ones) and a kind smile when its been needed. Bonita has dropped down valley for a little R&R and is due back in a couple of days. Rick and Ali have been making themselves busy and even had a little ice climbing school going on in the ice fall a couple of days ago. All in all the waiting game has been a little hard on the team mostly because we were all set to try and make use of the early window, now we are having to re-adjust for one later in the season. But then thats one of the skills of mountaineering. The good news is that a very strong Sherpa team fixed rope to the summit of Everest yesterday. This means that when the weather does improve we will have a clear shot to the top, the problem is that we don't know when that will be!! Kenton