Hello from Mike Peters!

As the final countdown to our Nepal adventure is upon us, I think the time has come to share my excitement, nervousness and apprehension with you all.......

In these last days, I am trying to catch up on all the preparations that I should have done ages ago but kept telling myself that there was "ages to go" ........"plenty of time".....

In fact, I can't believe that Everest Rocks is really about to begin .......... it seemed such a long way off when James Chippendale and myself started putting the idea out to our family, friends and colleagues... (most of whom thought we were mad .......... In fact, a lot of people still think we are mad!!!!!!!!)

On Thursday last week a band of trekkers from the U.K. embarked on a sojourn to the summit of Snowdon..... it all started with a phone call from Nick Harper saying that he and Glenn Tilbrook fancied climbing Snowdon ..... by the time the cell phones had done their bit there was a good seven of us heading into the high Welsh salt air......

In preparation, I spent a day at the North East Wales Institute's Sports Science Lab with my friend and training partner Johnny Hughes, being put through my paces on a running machine wired up to read my heart and lungs' oxygen capacity ....... I wore the full Marmot base layer kit (which feels very comfortable), my boots (Berghaus), my Smith sunglasses (although they had to come off when they put a peg on my nose...) and my Camelback rucksack complete with a full load of water ....... I even had my fleece lined Crocs there for use apres shower..).

I have been able to work out (with the help of the team), that the maximum I should be pushing my heart rate to on the Everest trek is no higher than 100. I have a very low resting heart rate 46 and as long as I use my High Gear Watch with in built heart rate monitor I should be O.K. I have also been utilising the schedule prepared for me by Richard Pullan of the Oxygen Centre in London who has filled me in on the best way to use the Hypoxico machine that I have been kindly given the use of ......... (5 minutes on 5 minutes off anyone.........).

On the morning of the trek, I went to a local Outdoor activities store and Johnny (who went to base camp last May ... ), gave me the benefit of his experience...... £100 later and I was the proud owner of a bag full of those little essentials that should help to make the big Everest trek a little easier!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1. Headlamp - Mike "But surely we won't be walking at night?" Johnny "No but it's great for those countless visits to the bathroom because of all the fluid you will consume" ..... Mike "Good point... I will have one...".
2. Antibacterial Handwash - Mike "Surely they will have soap and water in the Bunkhouses".... Johnny "Yes... but none of our party who used it ever got the sh*ts.."..... Mike "I will definitely have a bottle please..." and so on and so forth until I came out with a list something like the one Shannon has been banging on about to all of us.... (thanks Shannon.....).
3. Washing Line
4. Compressor Bag
5. Silk Liner (Rectangular) (Apparently a sleeping bag could be too warm in the early stages of the Trek.....).
6. Large Trekking Towel (Quick drying....... just in case you are one of the first three to get to use the shower in the morning before there is only freezing water left.........).
7. Hand warmer and Heating Rods (Essential for musicians to keep those hands warm for fingering the correct chords......... some us are going to have to sing as well as walk up the mountain!!!!).
8. Scarf that can be worn around the mouth (apparently there is a lot of stuff (Yak S***t actually) floating around in the thin air high up............).

Anyway, as prepared as any would-be mountain walker could be, Johnny and I pulled up outside Pete's Eats cafe in Llanberis and were warmly greeted by our Snowdon trekking party including Nick Harper, Tom Grimshaw , Oli Powell (who are all coming to Everest) together with Nick's step father and friend Paul plus Karl Parsons (who designed the original Everest Rocks logo). We were all partaking of the legendary Pete's Eats' pint mugs of tea when in came the instigator of this particular trek Mr. Glenn Tilbrook himself...... fresh from a very successful US tour with Squeeze and resplendent in a very cool Sopranos t-shirt.

A little while later, we found ourselves on the lower reaches of the Pyg track and settled into the rhythm of the day. The sun was shining, it was just the right side of warm and a beautiful day was revealing itself to us as we chatted and laughed our way along the length of the track. Johnny Hughes in particular, was being interrogated at regular intervals by each and every one of us for some special insight of what we could expect in Nepal.... Johnny regaled us with the legendary tale of his own personal preparation for Everest which involved some serious drinking followed by Rickshaw Racing through the streets of Kathmandu in the early hours of the morning before a 5 am departure for the flight to Lukla!!!!!!!!!!! No need to ask how he felt on the flight except to say that the sick bags came in handy............. I'm sure this is the sort of activity that none of us will be doing in 10 days time........ (Mr. Chippendale please take note.........!!!!!!!!).

The hours flew by and we soon found ourselves on the summit rewarded with a full 360 degree view all across Wales and out to sea...... Amazing............. We took the long route off the mountain and Alwena from the Halfway House Cafe rewarded us all with a fantastic cup of tea. Once off the mountain, we all agreed that we had had a wonderful experience that had only increased our thirst for the Himalaya and Nepal..... Bring it on!!!!!!

Mike Peters
Wales
September 30th 2007