http://www.thehighestblog.northwalesblogs.co.uk/ en-us Copyright 2008 Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:29:05 +0000 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Everest, Sagarmata, Chomolumyo whatever name she is given or by whatever faith the mountain answers to seems to control everything around here. Last night she sent a snow storm to test our resolve. She even spoke to Ade (our guide), to get us all out of bed at the unholy hour of 6.00 am. to further test our resolve. She also sent one of the most beautiful days the Himalaya has known. I got this from no less an authority than Alan (Sir Alan Of Hobson) Hobson who has not only summitted our elusive friend Everest ,but been turned back by her also, and not just once, but twice. There is no failure in the mountain. We are at the mercy of the Himalaya itself, the mountains decide who shall or shalt not pass. Today she allowed our Love Hope Strength team / family / band to look at her charms from 18.540 feet and to share with her some of our humble songs and to break the record for the world¹s highest concert on land. (Glenn Tilbrook also took the record for the world¹s highest duck walk). Sacrifices have been made all through the team to get this far, not just by those that made it, but by those that stayed behind so that others may triumph. We have all come through this beautiful experience together, and we as a collective have been able to show the world that cancer can be beaten. We are all helping to build a world class cancer centre in Bhaktapur so that the beautiful Nepalese people (who have played such a vital part in our dream), can have access to the same treatments that have enabled people like myself and the other cancer survivors here to come through diagnosis, treatment, recovery and now enlightenment. It is our role as a foundation to keep the fight going to make sure not only people but governments sit up and take notice. We will. On the mountain today, Alan Hobson told me that when he was diagnosed with Leukaemia, he called his local cancer support network and asked them the question most people want to ask when they get sick. How many people survive this kind of cancer? They could only tell him how many people die from cancer. We, as a foundation, are dedicated to changing that. Now is the time to tell the world about how many people survive, that is why have we all climbed our personal Everest and gone to the summit of Kala Patthar, here to Gorak Shep or down below in Namche Bazaar. Because of the publicity, the TV camera, the website, the podcasts, the videos and every single upward step taken by each and everyone of the LOVE HOPE STRENGTH. the world is sitting up and taking notice if this is what we have to do to get the message across to the world then let¹s do it again. I am proud to have walked with every single one of you and I would hope to walk with you again in the future. Let's go home!!! http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheHighestBlogInTheWorld/~3/184271311/it_was_a_day_for_heroes.html http://www.thehighestblog.northwalesblogs.co.uk/2007/10/it_was_a_day_for_heroes.html Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:29:05 +0000 http://www.thehighestblog.northwalesblogs.co.uk/2007/10/it_was_a_day_for_heroes.html Arose in the Nepalese village of Teshinge to be greeted by a beautiful day. There was not a single cloud in the sky. To the North I could see the summit of Everest shrouded with a faint cloud of snow spray. It would be a good day for a summit attempt. In fact there are two teams up at base camp waiting to go to the top of the world before the window of opportunity closes at the end of October. Yesterday, a lot of helicopters were in as there are some sick people being airlifted off. Let's hope they make a full recovery. Today we all gathered outside the lodge for the big haul up from Tesinge to Dingbocke a climb which will take us from 12,000 feet to 14,000. This is the point where the need for acclimatisation will be paramount for all. The surrounding mountains are calling and I send the trek on it's way with a version of Presence Of Love. (“I'm walking in the seven heavens") The beginning of the trek was uphill and quite a strenuous cliimb. I am drinking virtually every step of the way and downing water at every possiblility. We are due to meet up with Sean Swarner today. Sean is the first cancer survivor to climb to the summit of Everest. He has flown in to Lukla and we know he is on his way to meet us but is not answering his walkie talkie at this hour of the day. The general consensus is that this is the most beautiful day in the mountains., Everyone is walking quietly along maintaining their own rhythm. The weather is quite warm but very chilly when I stop. A good four hour hike uphill sees us reach our destination of Dingboche. We literally traversed the entire side of Ama dablam who now is visible in a different light and als a different profile. Now we have to acclimatise and I have been using my Steripen to make the water fit for Human consumption. We are in a wooden lodge with Buddhist symbols on the ceiling. It's going to be a very cold night........ http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheHighestBlogInTheWorld/~3/184271312/not_a_cloud_in_the_sky.html http://www.thehighestblog.northwalesblogs.co.uk/2007/10/not_a_cloud_in_the_sky.html Fri, 19 Oct 2007 15:48:21 +0000 http://www.thehighestblog.northwalesblogs.co.uk/2007/10/not_a_cloud_in_the_sky.html Today began with our by now traditional musical send off only this time from Nick Harper. Nick sang from the steps of the lodge perched above our trekking party in front of the multi coloured entrance to a Nepalese prayer room. He sang a song that he had written in the evening previously but I think he had been preparing to write this song his whole life. It was a beautiful and moving tribute to his late mother who had died of cancer in 2000. The song filled the air of the Khumbu Valley and as the story began to weave it's way into our understanding, a hush came over the assembled until Nick ripped into his acoustic strings with a devastating display of verve and prowess on his baritone acoustic, a spontaneous roar came from everyone who was feeling the emotion in his playing. What a send off................... The day is cloudy and the valley is filled with a cold Nepalese chill, but towering above is a magnificent display of Himalayan mountain tops. This is the backdrop for our acclimatisation trek to the Everest Hotel. The hotel is a Japanese built luxury establishment where every room has a view of Everest and it's surrounding peaks. We made our way high above our lodge in Namche Bazaar and soon made it to the top of the ascent. The purpose of today is to acclimatise and so we are going up to 12,300 feet and then drop back down to our lodge in Namche at 11,000. The latter hour of our journey was spent walking along a ridge that was not unlike the Rhyd Ddu ascent to the summit of Snowdon. We made it to the Everest Hotel in time for some green tea and a cheese sandwich (spelt on the menu as sandwitch). We had been hoping to have a view of Everest today from the deck outside the hotel. It would have been spectacular but there was a cloud base obscuring our view of the big one. Blue skies were coming our way and we hoped for a view of the mountain we have all come to see. It wasn't to be yet but the sherpas had brought our guitars along and instead we broke the guitars out and began strumming and vibing with each other. We were supposed to begin learning some songs for the highest concert event instead we all rendezvoused quite naturally into a version of 'Rockin' The Freeworld', the synchronicity of the moment spread amongst the camera crew and before long we were all involved in a roof top concert with everyone singing along and rocking to the acoustic beat. Slim Jim was on the tambourine and shakers, Cy Curnin and Jamie West-Oram from The Fixx strummed their Epiphone guitars as did Nick Harper, who took the first solo followed by Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze who thrust his pick deep into the tension of the strings to bring out a ringing instrumental finale. The final chorus was changed (at the suggestion of Slim Jim) to 'Keep On Trekking In the Freeworld' and by the time we had finished there was a huge roar from everyone in the immediate viccinity not just the Love Hope Strength trekking team but the other hundred or so Japanese, European and North American trekking groups.... it felt like one of those grand finale moments the sort that there is no following, it had been spontaneous and unrehearsed, the best kind of rock and roll.... as we all savoured the moment and the rest of our tea and sandwitches (sic) Nick and Jamie began strumming quietly in the corner while the rest of us chatted in our various groups. All around us the clouds began lifting and we began to see the majesty of Ama Dablam rising from the clouds and nearby the majestic peak of Llhotse, Everest (Sagarmatha) herself kept mysteriously out of view. A silence descended but Nick and Jamie kept on playing and Nick began to sing. His beautiful falsetto and careful delivery piercing our hearts. The song was called 'My Imaginary Friend', I knew it as a song from Nick to his Mother but it also seemed to connect to Everest herself as we all held an imaginary picture of not only the mountain but the ones we love closest to our hearts. I was thinking of my wife Jules and my boys Dylan and Evan so far away yet so close. Cy Curnin was crying and he was not alone. It was an extraordinary moment for us all and the magnitude of of our endeavour came home to all of us. Thank you Nick for giving us your heart and soul. We all had a sping in our step on the way back to Namche and we talked of going into the village for an acoustic shindig. Plans were made and before we knew it were on a make shift stage in the middle of a tea house with a crowd of Sherpas and onlookers from all four corners of the globe... We burst through a selection of Squeeze, Alarm, Fixx, Stray Cats and Nick Harper classics. The crowd were with us all the way even when Glenn Tilbrook lead us on a walkabout around the room and over the pool table.... It was an amazing end to another amazing day.... the whole mountain is buzzing with excitement about our presence here and people are changing their plans and timetables to be with us on Kala Pataar on October 21st when we attempt to break the Guiness World Record for the Highest Concert on land.................... As I type this in the dim lights of the internet cafe we have just heard the news that the www.everestrocks.com website has had over a million hits since we began and today Yahoo ran our story on the front page of their website which will be seen by billions........... perhaps the Gods really are with us....... http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheHighestBlogInTheWorld/~3/184271313/song_fills_the_khumbu_valley.html http://www.thehighestblog.northwalesblogs.co.uk/2007/10/song_fills_the_khumbu_valley.html Wed, 17 Oct 2007 09:43:21 +0000 http://www.thehighestblog.northwalesblogs.co.uk/2007/10/song_fills_the_khumbu_valley.html It was a fairly respectable wake up call this morning.... 7.30 for an 8.30 leave. We had a nice breakfast of Banana Pancakes and were pretty soon backpacked and booted ready for the climb from Monjo to Namche Bazaar. We all gathered outside the Everest Summit Lodge and were treated to a fantastic performance 'Goodbye Girl' by Glenn Tilbrrok who managed to get everyone involved and singing along... He was incredibly funny and managed to have us all in stitches and provide the perfect send off for the Everest Rocks trekking team. It was a fairly warm day and after an hour of trekking alongside the D'ud Ghose river we found ourselves at the beginning of a very steep climb to Namche Bazaar. The first base was reached at the Hillary Bridge upon which I stopped to film a piece for BBC News and shot an interview for the Everest Rocks documentary. It feels incredibly spiritual to be here with every step taking me higher and higher. We had hoped to get our first view of Everest today and although the clouds obscured our first potential sighting it only seemed to heighten the dram as I pulled up a steep incline and found Alex Coletti and the documentary team waiting to film my reaction as I set my eyes upon Everest. There she was in all her majesty framed by the trees of the Khumbu Valley. According to our sherpa we were very lucky to see her this well as the clouds are often blocking the view. It was a wonderful moment and I was encouraged to perform a song. 'Breathe' was the song I chose and it was quite something to be singing at the highest altitude I have ever been and to have the mighty Everest mountain range behind me. The rest of the trek took us higher and higher and we all had to dig in and concentrate. I gave my very young sherpa my iPod to listen to and he was blown away by 'Anarchy In The U.K' that came on in the shuffle mode... probably the first time he had ever heard it. We climbed in silence except for the odd sherpa grunting along to the punk rock blasting into his mind. East meets West. We finally arrived at Namche Bazaar the sherpa capital of the Himalaya. It is a very colourful village perched on the hillside and at the heart there is a Tibetan market which I am about to go and explore.... http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheHighestBlogInTheWorld/~3/184271314/namche_bazaar.html http://www.thehighestblog.northwalesblogs.co.uk/2007/10/namche_bazaar.html Wed, 17 Oct 2007 09:42:29 +0000 http://www.thehighestblog.northwalesblogs.co.uk/2007/10/namche_bazaar.html The day began with a most unwelcome wake up call in the Yak and Yeti Hotel at 4.00 am... However, a quick shower and shave and it was time to board the bus for the airport at Kathmandu. This part of the journey was very surreal as Kathmandu has no form of street lighting except for the dim glow of the many shops that are already open at this unearthly hour. Streams of people are already flooding the streets and are captured in the headlights of our mini bus convoy. Where they are all going is a mystery, but the dusty alleyways are full of people and dogs going about their business all their faces lit up for a brief second as we pass like strangers in a strange land. At the airport we were met by Dr. Paneer from the Bakhtapur Cancer Centre who came to bless us on our journey by giving each of us a Tikka (a red symbol placed onto the forehead to symbolise the third eye... The eye of the soul), he also annointed our heads with a confetti of flower petals. It was an emotional moment for for many as the magnitude of our endeavour lay before us and above us in the clouds above the airport. Somehow we all survived the airport security... A token pat down to see if we were carrying any batteries!!!! And then our bags were put through an x-ray machine with no one in attendance. The Gods were with us (perhaps Mr. Paneer’s prayers were being answered), and within minutes we were walking through another security check, boys to the right and girls to the left, accompanied by a quick glance to see if we had a ticket and then we were on a bus bound for the plane. The lack of security meant that I could get out of the bus and film planes landing and helicopters flying over our heads as we watched the porters literally stuffing our bags into every little space available (one even went in under the Captains seat....). It felt like we were about to go ‘In Country’ as part of some expeditionary force. Sadly our excitement was dashed as were ushered back onto the bus and back to the ‘terminal’ as the cloud base had come down on our destination of Lukla and all planes were grounded for the time being. I managed to buy some postcards bvefore we were called back to the plane, it was like a stampede as people headed for planes in all directions to get in the air before the window of opportunity closed... It was as if someone had ‘scrambled’ us rather than ‘called’ us to get on an airplane. Within seconds we were in the air and flying through the clouds, I put my iPod on and hit the shuffle button... I was rewarded with ‘Highway To Hell’ by AC/DC. As we flew high into the Himalaya the excitement mounted as we all braced oursleves for the legendary landing at Lukla..... The airstrip loomed ahead, I could see it as I was sat in the front seat just behind the pilot.... It looked about the length of a football pitch and not even the length of a decent aircraft carrier...... Bang!!! the plane touched down although it felt to me more like a crash landing!!! We all burst into spontaneous applause. We deplaned as fast as we had boarded and were thrust into a place that can only be described as being something like a scene from Apocalypse Now..... Everywhere we looked we were surrounded by towering mountains and clouds bearing down on us. In our near field vision the anxious and hopeful faces of thousands of Nepalese waiting to catch the eye of one of these crazy westerners for the chance to carry the bags up into the Khumbu Valley. Every single person was in the grip of culture shock as we walked through the crowd of Nepalese who stood in silence as we walked by. I felt like an invader. In act it felt like I had been taken captive and was being paraded through the streets to the bemusement of the locale. As we walked planes were careering down the runway to get back to Kathmandu to fetch even more adventurers and as the air filled with the noise and smells of aviation in action we were ushered into the relative calm of the Sunrise Café / Tea House. A quick cup of tea and a rifle through our bags saw us ready for the trek. James Chippendale made an emotional speech and introduced us to Ade (Our Head Guide from The Mountain Company and also another Weslh Boy), who also introduced us to our Sherpas. We all filed outside for a group photo and I lead the assembled through a version of ‘Strength’. With our hearts filled with song we once again entered the rough and tumble of Lukla and soon found ourselves in the solitude of the Khumbu Valley. Every step we took revealed another photo opportunity, every corner revealed another video shoot opportunity and so it wasn’t long before the guitar was out and I found myself singing to the locals in Welsh (Hwylio Dros Y Mor), with a quick burst of ‘Scooby Doo Where Are You?’ for the kids.... All the children want to touch the guitar and strum the strings.... They are all very gentle people and close their hands together and say the greeting “Namaste” (My soul is with you) as they pass. We pass lots of holy and spiritual sites which we have to pass on the left hand / clockwise side. A couple of hours and we are met by the sound of prayer wheel bells and after we all spin the drums and say a prayer or two, Alex Coletti asks me to sing ‘Bells Of Rhymney’... Sandeep our sherpa leader helps by spinng the prayer drums to trigger the bell as I sing the song... It was a beautiful moment even as a herd of Yaks passed by me and nearly knocked me over..... Amazing moment all captured on sound and film...... We crossed over makeshift bridges and even saw a dead body being mummified outside a village house with relatives hugging the wrapped remains. You couldn’t help but look, it was very humbling and made me think of home and how lucky we are to live in our little corner of the west. We stopped for luck beside the D’ud Ghoshe river which translates as the Milky River a peppermint torrent of glacial water throwing itself down the mountainside from it’s spring high up on Everest. The afternoon was taken up with making up some time to get to our evening destination of Monjo before sundown and I walk along the banks of the river with Jake Norton who was gracious enough to answer the thousand questions I asked him about his two successful Everest Summit climbs and the role he played as official photographer on the successful mountaineering mission to discover the body of the legendary George Mallory. We are so lucky to have with us three men who have been all the way to the top and at dinner in our lodge tonight we were treated to a candlelit dinner reading of ‘From Everest To Enlightenment’ by Everest summiteer and cancer survivor Alan Hobson. All that remains is for the team to edit the podcast and get it out onto the internet and for me to go bed... I am absolutely shattered emotionally, spiritually and physically...... Can’t wait to do it all again tomorrow.... Mike Peters Monjo, Khumbu Valley, Himalaya, Nepal 13th October 2007 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheHighestBlogInTheWorld/~3/184271315/saturday_13th_october_2007_kat.html http://www.thehighestblog.northwalesblogs.co.uk/2007/10/saturday_13th_october_2007_kat.html Wed, 17 Oct 2007 09:41:12 +0000 http://www.thehighestblog.northwalesblogs.co.uk/2007/10/saturday_13th_october_2007_kat.html