The following are blogs from Guy Manning, a partner at Campbells law firm in Grand Cayman, who set off from Cayman to Kathmandu in Nepal at the end of March, 2013 to begin a two-month expedition with team mates. They flew to Lukla in the Khumbu Valley and then hiked for two weeks to the Everest base camp, which they reached last Saturday (13).

Manning is attempting to climb the highest summits on each of the seven continents. To date he has completed four.

See iNews Cayman article “A big Guy will try to climb mountains for Cayman Cancer Society” dated March 7 2013 at http://www.ieyenews.com/2013/03/a-big-guy-will-try-to-climb-mountains-for-cayman-cancer-society/

Manning’s blogs

Everest Base Camp, 5,350m (18 April 2013)

Hi guys,

On Tuesday evening we were introduced to our 11 climbing Sherpas for the first time.   It was quite humbling as, one by one, they listed their climbing achievements.  Many had reached the summit of Everest multiple times, and one of them (sorry, I’m still trying to memorise 11 new Sherpa names!) is going for his 12th summit this season.  Pasang Sherpa, one of our three guides, has already reached the top eight times, and he comes from a family of seven brothers who, between them, have reached the top of Everest almost 60 times!   His brother, Mingma, is not climbing with us but he has climbed Everest 18 times and is closing in on the all time record of 22 summits.  We are certainly in good hands up here.

Yesterday we had our Puja, the ceremony in which a Lama blesses the Sherpas, climbers and our climbing equipment.   This is very important for the Sherpas and they will not set foot on the mountain until they have received the blessing, but I must admit that my heart sank when we were told that we would have to sit through a three hour religious ceremony in a language I can’t understand.   As it turned out, it was really enjoyable.   Our crampons and ice axes were smeared with yak butter, and then we sat around while the Lama chanted the blessings, at least when he wasn’t coughing and spluttering as the wind blew juniper smoke in his face, to the amusement of our Sherpas!  Prayer flags were then strung to the four corners of our camp, where they will remain until the end of the expedition.  Best of all, half way through the ceremony, out came a case of San Miguel beer, bottles of Royal Stag whisky, and copious supplies of Chang (the local fermented rice beer – it tastes about as good as you would expect).  This was my kind of service!  There was little that could be achieved after the morning’s festivities, but we are at least now fully prepared to set foot on the mountain.

Last night we got the projector up and running for the first time and watched In Bruges, one of my favourite films.  You could almost forget where you were for two hours, but going to bed after the film in a tent which was -17c quickly reminds you!

Today we ventured on to the ice for the first time to test equipment and clothing, and familiarise ourselves with the conditions.  As I was down climbing a 10ft section of near vertical ice, the front points of my crampons popped off the ice and I fell about six ft. I managed to spin around and stay on my feet, the only damage being a six inch rip in my climbing trousers caused by my crampons.   This severely tested my needlework skills, unused since my last home economics class aged 13, but I think my trousers should hold together for the rest of the expedition!

Everyone is in good spirits and enjoying expedition life.  I hope all is well back home.

Cheers, Guy

Everest Base Camp, 5,350m (16 April 2013)

Hi guys,

Yesterday was a fairly quiet final day in Base Camp with the trekking team.  With time on our hands, Dan organized what is possibly the world’s highest Harlem Shake!  I see from the blog comments that some of you have already seen it, but for those who haven’t you can see our efforts on everestmillion.com or YouTube (Highest, Craziest Harlem Shake Ever).  I am strategically placed towards the back, due to my complete lack of dancing skills!  A lot of you also seem to have seen my and Ruth’s cameo appearance on everestmillion.com in Dan’s video diary for 14 April, along with some semi-naked climbers who crashed his live web broadcast!

This morning we said goodbye to Ruth and the rest of the trekking team, not a moment I’d been relishing.  It’s very quiet without them (and Ruth in particular!), and the atmosphere is certainly different now that we are an all male team.  It’s more pungent for a start!

After we had said our goodbyes the climbing team ascended to Advance Base Camp (5,680m) on Pumori, a neighbouring mountain.  We were rewarded with great views of Everest and our first sight of the Lhotse Face, the steepest part of the route which we must climb on our way to High Camp on the South Col (approximately 8,000m).   Back in Base Camp the guides gave us our expedition briefing and (weather dependent) climbing programme for the rest of April, followed by a final gear check.  We discussed frostbite risk and were warned that a few climbers have suffered frostbitten feet as a result of wetting themselves during the climb and then having their pee freeze in their boots!  It always amazes me how many different ways things can go wrong up here.  It feels as though the expedition is now getting underway and everybody is excited about getting to grips with the route.

Thanks for all your comments on the blog so far.  They are keeping me amused and entertained.   Please keep them coming.  If you’re enjoying the blog but haven’t yet had a chance to donate, please spare a couple of minutes to do so.   Seeing the new donations come in really spurs me on and means a huge amount to the CICS.

Take care everyone.

Cheers Guy

Everest Base Camp, 5,350m (14 April 2013)

Hi guys,

Greetings from Everest Base Camp

On Friday we moved as planned from Lobuche to Gorak Shep (5,150m), the site of base camp for the 1953 expedition, and then immediately climbed to the top of Kala Pattar (5,550m) for the “classic” view of the summit of Everest and the Khumbu icefall below.  After a couple of days of fairly steady trekking I was keen to test my fitness and acclimatisation, so I pushed hard on the way up and then ran all the way back down from the summit.  At this altitude each breath only delivers approximately 55% of the oxygen that you receive at sea level.  Running up here is therefore an interesting experience!  I felt surprisingly good though and am pleased to be arriving at Base Camp feeling fit, healthy and well acclimatised.  Now comes the hard part!

Yesterday we trekked the final two hours to Base Camp.  The camp stretches for approximately 1km across the glacier at the foot of the icefall and is home to some 700 climbers, sherpas and support staff.  Tents of all sizes and colours are strewn across the grey moraine covering the ice.  It’s a village unlike any other in the world! The setting is absolutely spectacular, with the Khumbu icefall dominating the view and climbers’ minds.  The 750 vertical metre climb through the icefall to Camp 1 at 6,100m is the first section of the route, and sitting here watching ant-like figures moving almost imperceptibly slowly through the jumble of ice blocks puts into perspective the scale of the undertaking.

The facilities in our camp have exceeded everyone’s expectations.  Each climber has his own 5 person tent with an inflatable mattress, so we are really quite comfortable.  Our mess tent is also very pleasant, with solar powered lighting, a selection of books and board games, and even a projector and dvd collection!  On arriving I had my first shave and shower for over a week.  I’m sure my teammates appreciated this almost as much as I did!   The change of diet has also lifted everyone’s spirits.   We were served up a variety of fresh salads and cured meats and cheese from Europe for lunch, followed by chicken, roast potatoes and vegetables for dinner.  These may sound like simple pleasures to you, but one of the great things about the hardships of a trip like this is that they make you appreciate the little things that we take for granted in everyday life.

It is noticeably colder up here and the temperature fell to about -10c in the tent last night.  That is nothing compared to the temperatures higher up the mountain, but cold enough to make me appreciate my top of the range down sleeping bag.  I woke up several times to the sound of falling ice, as seracs collapsed on the vertical cliffs above us, and lay there listening to the strange creaking and popping noises caused by the glacier beneath us flowing slowly but inexorably down the valley.  It’s great to be back up here living in the high mountains.   When the sun hit the tent at 7.38am (yes, I was clock watching!) the temperature in the tent shot up by about 30c in the space of 5 minutes.  Time to get up for a cooked breakfast!  At some point we will actually have to drag ourselves out of here for some serious climbing and discomfort!

The rest of the trekking group arrive today for a couple of nights, and the climbing team have a short “holiday” until they leave.  Then it will be time to get down to business.

Just to remind you, there is a selection of photos for each blog in the photo gallery section of the website, which hopefully you will enjoy.   Also, if you go to www.everestmillion.com, my teammate, Daniel, will be posting a very cool video of our base camp later today, filmed using his GoPro and an egg timer!

Lastly, I should also mention that my sponsors’ badges have been drawing some comments.  I’ve had accountants from Deloitte and PwC say hello, and a Japanese lady tell me that she “loved my labels”.  My favourite, though, was the Kiwi gentleman who called me “Mr Nascar”!

All the best from BC, Guy

To keep up with Guy Manning go to:

http://www.sevensummits.ky/blog