"Sorry I couldn't make the annual awards dinner in November but I was otherwise engaged on something that I've wanted to do for over 30 years ever since I first started climbing.  I was fortunate enough to be able to take part in an expedition to climb a mountain in the Himalayas called Ama Dablam.  This is a beautiful mountain in the Everest region, sometimes called "the Matterhorn of the Himalayas" due to it's resemblance to it's Alpine counterpart.  AT 22,500ft, it would be some 6,500ft higher than I have ever climbed before!

I set off from Heathrow on 28th October, staging at Muscat in Oman arriving in Kathmandu, Nepal's capital city at around 5pm local time on 29th, to catch up with the other expedition members.  The plan was to spend a couple of days in Kathmandu, sorting equipment and with a bit of sight seeing thrown in for good measure and then get a flight from  Kathmandu to Lukla, the gateway to the Himalayas.  Kathmandu is an amazing place, it's population has grown tenfold over the last few years and the infrastructure has struggled to cope.  There is a plethora of shops selling all sorts of stuff at ridiculously low prices, there is the old and the new as well.  Some very old traditional shops interspersed with the new trendy coffee shops.  Unlike other third world capital cities, there is no feeling of hostility or danger and because they rely so heavily on tourism, the locals are very friendly.   The dust and dirt is incredible though and the challenge was not to pick up any illnesses.  Unfortunately, half of the team of nine (myself not included) got ill, which was not much fun.  We visited both Bhuddist and Hindu Temples which were amazing places to see.

Tuesday arrived and we headed off at 6am in the morning to Kathmandu airport hoping to get a flight to Lukla which we had pre-arranged.  Unfortunately, unprecedented low cloud meant that we could not fly (the weather is normally the most reliable in November).  Lukla is one of the most dangerous airports for pilots to land at as it is high up in the mountains and is very small, the landing strip slopes uphill in order to slow the planes down when they land so they don't crash into the hillside!  We spent the rest of the day till 4pm waiting for the call to jump on the plane which never came.  This process was repeated for the next two days until on the Friday, after much negotiating by our fantastic local agent, we paid $250 each for a helicopter ride to a village just below Lukla.  It was on this that we realised just how thick the fog was.

We then started our trek to base camp.  Our equipment was following on behind us (hopefully) being flown from Kathmandu to Lukla, and then transported from Lukla by Yak to Ama Dablam base camp.  We carried our personal equipment with us and were also accompanied by a team of porters carrying our gear for the night time.  These guys are amazing.  Everything from Lukla and into the mountains is either carried by Yak or porter, there are no motor vehicles.  The porters carry 30kg loads, for around £5 a day, some carry double loads and get paid £10 a day.  Needless to say they are incredibly strong but very cheerful given their slight frames.

The 40 mile trek to base camp took us through some amazing scenery of which we had glimpses of as the cloud cleared, gradually gaining altitude from 2,800m to base camp at 4,600m.  The first sight we had of our objective was at Tengboche where there is a world famous monastery at 3,860m.  Here we at last had stunning views over to Everest, Nupste and Lhotse as well as rather daunting views of our intended mountain and the route to it's summit.

Establishing a routine at base camp and getting used to the altitude was the most important thing from now on.  The effects of high altitude on the body can be quite extreme and are not dependent at all on your level of fitness.  We fortunately had with us an anaesthetist doctor called Jeremy Windsor who as a hobby specialises in high altitude medicine.  Jeremy was part of a team who carried out extensive research on Everest in 2007, when he himself summited Everest.  The team (or rather their Sherpas), even carried an exercise bike to the South Col at 7906m!  The second night I spent at base camp I thought I was coming down with Pulmonary Oedema, but it was just due to the effects of a chest infection that I had picked up in Kathmandu and sleep apnea due to the lack of oxygen diagnosed by Jeremy.  

Before we could set foot on the mountain, we had what is known as a "Puja".  This is a religious ceremony conducted by a local Lama who comes up from the valley.  This ceremony is very important to the Sherpas as they are a deeply religious people.  A stone altar is made where juniper branches are burned, whilst the Lama chants incantations.  This went on for a couple of hours and was incredibly moving as each expedition member went up to the Lama to be blessed.  The surroundings were dramatic and it is something I will remember for the rest of my life.  We also had the opportunity to have a piece of equipment blessed by the monk, I had my 7Oaks Tri Club Buff blessed, I would carry this with me on the rest of the trip hoping it would bring me good luck.  

After a couple of days rest, we set off on our foray onto the mountain. The idea was to spend the night at Advance Base camp at 5,200m, have a further trip up to Camp 1 at 5,600m and either spend the night there or go back to ABC and spend another night there.  This was successfully achieved by all of the team, some of us even venturing further up to Camp 2 at 5,600m.  The plan was then to go back to base camp, rest for a couple of days before making our summit attempt over a further two days. 

This is when the war of attrition started and the effects of altitude started to take it's toll on the team.  The plan was to  head up to Camp 2 bypassing, ABC and Camp 1, spend a night at Camp 2, then a night at Camp 3,  before making a summit attempt on the morning of the third day.  Myself and a couple of others were feeling strong but the rest of the team were suffering.  The technical climbing doesn't really start until just before you get to Camp 2, some vertical rock walls are encountered as well as some very steep sections of snow and ice where ice axe and crampons are needed.  It's hard sometimes doing this at sea level but at nearly 6,000m it is much worse.  

3 of the team unfortunately had to give up after a trip up to Camp 2 and decided to head down whilst the rest of use headed up to Camp 3.  On summit day morning, 5 of us plus two sherpas emerged from our tents to make attempt on the summit.  The evening before, our expedition leader Tim Mosedale, himself a two time Everest summiteer, had told us that we would encounter a dead body on the way up, as a Russian guy had died the day before making his summit attempt!  This was a bit unnerving as we thought "hang on a minute, we're on our holidays here and someone has died doing what we're about to attempt to do!"  Anyway, after a quick glance around we carried on.  

Before the sun comes up it is extremely cold, temperatures drop to about -25C in the night and early in the morning in the shade it is around -10C.  As I started to climb, I could feel my fingers getting colder, I had said before I left that I wouldn't mind losing a toe or two getting to the top, but I most definitely wanted to keep all my fingers!  I needed some dexterity in my fingers to be able to climb so I put the outer of my summit mitt on my right hand and the full mitt on my left.  Looking back this was probably a stupid thing to do being as I'm right handed.  Every 10 minutes I had to stop, undo my jacket and place my right hand under my left armpit to warm it up.  This carried on for a  couple of hours until the sun came up!  I am only just now beginning to get the full feeling back in three of the fingers in my right hand!  

As we approached the summit, it became harder and harder to make progress.  We weren't using oxygen as it is not considered necessary at just under 7,000m, but if somebody had offered me some I would have gladly taken it.  The snowfield leading to the summit seemed to go on for ever, but eventually we made it.  5 of us and two sherpas had made it to the summit of Ama Dablam where were greeted with the most most amazing views of the Everest region and of course the summit of Everest itself.  It was my daughter's 12th birthday on the day of our summit attempt, and I was glad to say I was able to proudly wear the T-Shirt I had written with her birthday greeting!  You will also notice that it was a 7Oaks Tri Club T-shirt so the club was well represented that day too!  

We spent about 30 mins on the summit before we decided to descend, glad that there was no more up and only down.  It is in descent though that you have to be just as careful if not more so as more accidents happen in descent than on the way up.  Getting to the top is optional, getting down is mandatory!  After a very long day, we eventually arrived at Camp 3 shortly after dark where we made endless brews, tried to eat before getting some sleep.

The next day we descended to Camp 1 where we spent a further night and then on to base camp for a big party!   We took a further three days to trek back to Lukla and get a scheduled flight back to Kathmandu and more partying.  I returned to the UK on 29th November.   

I can honestly say that it was the hardest thing I have ever done, both mentally and physically.  The training and discipline of triathlon, particularly the pain you endure and the mental toughness you gain from Ironman training certainly helped.  Nepal and the Himalayas is an amazing place to visit, you could spend weeks in Kathmandu alone.  My most enduring memory though is of the people and especially the Sherpas.  If it wasn't for these guys we would never have made the summit in the relatively short time we were there.  I have been invited on an Everest expedition in March but unfortunately I can't afford it at the moment, I hope to make it in 2013 though!  

Images here