My childhood dreams were to represent the UK, cycling at the Olympics, or climb the highest mountains in the world.

I have missed the London Olympic cycling team for 2012, but still want to challenge myself in the spirit of the Olympic moto: Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger).

On March 30th I will begin my journey to Everest Base Camp and Kala Patar in the Himalayas. I aim to reach a maximum height of 5554m or 18,200 feet where there will be half the amount of oxygen available in Cheshire.

I will be trekking for two weeks and will be posting pictures and diary entries on this blog, to record my journey and share my experiences with my wife Jill, my family & friends and the Hartford Manor Community.

Alongside the trek I hope to raise money for the "Make a Wish Foundation", who will be supporting one of our Year 6 pupils, Alfie Rogers, and his family. Alfie wishes to visit "The World of Harry Potter" at Universal Studios, Florida, with his family with support from the Foundation.

Alfie has been absent from school since July 2011, as he continues to receive treatment for bone cancer. Alfie is responding well to his treatment and has just started visiting school, to work in a small group with his classmates for up to one hour a day.

Make-A-Wish Foundation UK, is a charity with a single purpose - granting wishes to children and young people aged 3-17 fighting life-threatening conditions.

If you want to sponsor my attempt to reach Everest Base Camp and Kala Patar, and help make Alfie's wish come true, please visit my "Just Giving" page using the link on the right.

Donations through "Just Giving" are fast and totally secure. Your details are safe - they'll never share them with anyone or send you unwanted e-mails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. They'll make sure Gift Aid (an additional 28%) is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer, too.

This is not an organised charity trek, I am self funding this trip and all donations will go directly to the "Make a Wish Foundation".

Thank you for your support

Simon Kidwell

Friday, 13 April 2012

Kala Pattar

After an exhausting day getting to base camp, I had failed to take on enough food and water, I felt totally shattered. I managed to speak to Jill on the phone and told her I had run out out of energy and would give the last summit and highest point of my trek, Kala Pattar, a miss before heading down to Periche.
It's amazing what a few hours sleep in sub-zero temperatures can do! I awoke at 5am, skipped breakfast, left a message for Delman to cancel his 6:30 wake up call, and made my way up the lung bursting ascent of Kala Pattar. I met up with the some of the "Alpine Ascents Team" and Leanna, on their way to the summit. I made good progress reaching my personal maximum altitude of 5,545m at 7:15am.
Kala Pattar is renowned for having the best views of Everest and the surrounding 8000m peaks. It was the highlight of my trip so far, and if you had to choose between Kala Pattar or Base Camp my recommendation would be Kala Pattar.
I arrived back at the Lodge at 8:15am for a breakfast of pancakes, peanut butter and jam. I saw Ali and Russel from Texas on my way down to Leboche, they were both in good spirits and looking forward to tackling Base Camp and Kala Pattar. Unfortunately, they had to leave Marco in Leboche as he was suffering from AMS. He plans to spend another day resting and will descend if his symptoms get worse. Good luck my friend!

I made excellent time on the descent, introduced Delman to the power of a Snickers Bar, and arrived at Periche at 1:30pm for lunch.

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)