Varsity Lakes
I had the pleasure of heading down to the Gold Coast on Friday to catch up with the wonderful students from Varsity Lakes College. They made me feel very welcome and keenly listened as I addressed the assembly. Recently 50 of the students, teachers and parents climbed Mt Warning in NSW to fund raise for Climbingforacause. They raised $1700.00 on the day. After I gave my speech, I was given a beautiful moleskin pink bound diary full of inspirational quotes from the students and a signed flag of all the summiteers on the day.
It was such a great day and I can’t wait to meet up with the students again. I would like to say a special thanks to Lisa for your support and kindness.
Packing
Well, all our gear is now packed. It is unbelievable how much we need for this trip. Thank goodness for compression sacks, we managed to squeeze it all into four huge duffle bags, and should only weigh in at around 100kg.
We will be leaving a lot of our gear in Kathmandu at the end of this expedition for Everest next year, so that will make the trip home a little easier and less of a hassle.
Leaving on a jet plane
Only 3 sleeps until we head off. I am really excited and nervous at the same time. I know this is going to be tough, and I will have to dig deep, but I am pumped. There are 14 mountains in the world above 8000m, all in Asia, and Cho Oyu is the 6th highest at 8200m. Although this climb will not be as technical as Ama Dablam, it is still 1400m higher, which is a massive increase at altitude, making the climb a real mental and physical battle. It will certainly be a new experience for us both, teaching us how our body adapts and acclimatizes at these altitudes, whilst testing our mental toughness.
Sharon
In the end these things matter most:
How well did you love? How fully did you love? How deeply did you learn to let go?
-Buddha
