Back to Civilisation
A final message from our Makalu expedition. After a few days waiting for our porters to trek up from the villages down valley, we were able to pack up our equipment and trek down into the forests of the Makalu…
Wish us luck.
We're going for it. All weather forecasts indicate our best chance is to stick to our plan of heading up tomorrow (saturday) to camp 2. We expect some snow showers on the way but Sunday should clear as we head…
Ready to go for it.
We are back in basecamp after climbing to 7400 metres to place our camp 3 on the Makalu La. Having climbed directly to camp 2, we spent the night there but Neil was unable to continue next morning as he…
Camp 2 established.
Since the last despatch we've been busy and enjoying the mountain. The day after the Puja ceremony we made our first foray up the hill to camp 1. The route is very direct, climbing steeply up some lateral moraine beside…
First days on the hill.
We arrived in Makalu basecamp 2 days ago and were greeted with the sight of several other expeditions on the mountain. Some of these had changed their plans from climbing in Tibet, due to the border closure. Basecamp is located…
Makalu at last!
Finally our Russian built MI17 helicopter has delivered us to our mountain. Our scheduled flight for the 16th was delayed until the 19th for any number of dubious reasons but on that day another team was flown into basecamp ahead…
Trouble in Tibet
Arrived in Kathmandu on Sunday and have prepared all my loads for the two expeditions - Makalu in Nepal and Shishapangma in Tibet. Unfortunately the civil unrest in Tibet has seen the border closed and may delay or even prevent…