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Post by lwarren on May 5, 2010 18:03:17 GMT
Which book have you recently read or are reading and would recommend to others?
I've just read Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. It's a true story told by one of the climbers on the disastrous summit attempt of Mount Everest in 1996. It gives a first hand insight into the battles faced to firstly reach the summit and also how quickly things can go wrong when the elements turn against you.
It's also given me the idea and goal of climbing to Everest base camp in about 18 months. I wouldn't go any higher since a) I'm too scared, b) I'm not stupid and know my limits, c) I can't afford the licence and d) I'm too scared.
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Post by monkey on May 6, 2010 19:07:04 GMT
Ive not read anything good for quite a while, I need time to spend an hour or so in Waterstones to see what tickles my fancy! But blimey Lee - it must have been some book to inspire you to plan a climb of Everest!!!!!!!!! Will you do it for charity? Do you climb now & what extra training will you need to complete this?
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Post by lwarren on May 7, 2010 7:55:23 GMT
No no no. Not climb Everest. It's more like a challenging hike to Base Camp. I do plenty of hiking in the Alps during the summer, but need to start doing more of the more difficult ones this year and next, which will probably include a hike or 2 up Germany's highest mountain (Zugspitz). Last time I went up Zugspitz I used the train and cable car lol. I've already joined a gym just to keep things going during the week as I know my fitness levels will need to be good.
The hike to Camp itself will take about 10 days. Each day you're on trail for between 5 to 9 hours, but you have Sherpas carrying most of your baggage (sleeping bags, clothing etc). I think it's totally doable in 18 months and it gives me a nice goal to aim for while getting me back to a good level of fitness. All this German beer and stodge doesn't do you any favours lol.
The only concern I have is the possibility of having problems with altitude sickness. Zugspitz is about 2900m, but Base Camp is 5545m!! You get several acclimatisation days in Kathmandu and then slowly hike up from Lukla (2840m), having a day off half way through for further acclimatisation. But, altitude sickness can affect anyone no matter how fit. Some peoples bodies just take longer to adjust to the thinner levels of oxygen.
So, we'll see how I'm doing about this time next year before booking it, but I think it would be a cool thing to do and I'd get a lot of personal satisfaction out of.
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