Varsity Lakes College on the Gold Coast held a fundraising event on the 27th of June, with the proceeds going to Climbingforacause. The students, along with teachers and family members, braved the early morning cold to take on Mt Warning near Murwullimbah. The climb was a great success, and I was totally in awe of their determination and amazing support for me. As soon as I get the photos, they will be posted on the site. I can’t wait to travel down to Varsity at the end of the month to meet the students and have a chat. Thanks again Lisa.
Down suit
My Marmot 8000m down suit finally arrived from the states. I have tried it on, but had to rip it off after a few minutes, certainly not designed for the tropics. I look like the Michelin man, and will not be in the stakes for any fashion awards, but at least I will be warm up above 8000 m.
All coming together
The last of our gear arrives this week, and I will do a practice pack to make sure I can fit everything in my two duffle bags. I will have 2 sleeping bags, 2 sleeping mats, 2 down jackets, a down suit, 3 pairs of boots, plenty of climbing gear and warm clothing for high and low down on the mountain. Between us, I am guessing there will be over 100kg of gear, but this can’t be avoided. We plan on leaving a fair bit at Sumit’s place in Kathmandu, seeing we will need it again for Everest next year.
I am training hard, 6 times a week, and feeling pretty good. Less than a month to go until we leave, and I am really focused on the climb. We have made all the arrangements for our acclimatization trek up to Gokyo, and our good mate Thommo will be joining us on this leg, before we fly into Lhasa in Tibet in the beginning of September and head up to Cho Oyu base camp.
Life is like a taxi. The meter keeps running whether you are moving or not. – Unknown
