Update Thurs 14 April – Best wishes, expedition concerns and general news.

Message chatted with Dawa before he and his clients headed off to climb Mt Makalu (5th highest mountain). Best of luck to all of them. I wish I could have joined them but sadly not possible. I don’t know much about Makalu (besides what I have notionally Googled), but keen to hear about the route difficulty and conditions.

Expedition concerns:

I am getting worried about my Broad Peak expedition as I have heard very little from Summit Climb on the organisation of this expedition. Dan Mazur tells me that it is being organised by their ‘sister office’. I am not having a lot of confidence with this sister office as the communication is next to non-existent.

Dan is off to Everest and good luck to him and his clients.

At this stage, I’m hanging out to hear something from Summit Climb’s sister office as the expedition is still accepting members until 15 May. This is very late as there will be only 1mth before departure. I require confirmation that the expedition proceeds way before then, or I will be pulling out and going to another mountain or logistics company instead. I still need to get the Pakistan entry visa and I don’t like it when things take this long to organise. I still haven’t heard how many will be in the team…and it is now around 2.5mths until expedition departure.

I’ll try to see this Broad Peak expedition through but if it get's cancelled...I'll be ticked for the short notice.

General news:
I worked out that I am subconsciously been walking on my right foot without rolling onto the big toe, as the frostbite nerve damage is still healing. It felt like a normal walk. I am now consciously rolling onto the toe to make sure I get it well tested before I leave on my expedition. I think a small jog will do it good.

My training is going well…so well that my pants don’t fit anymore – my legs are getting stronger and bigger (thighs) through cycling. This is the mass I wanted to build. I do have to make a confession…after being on a wicked healthy diet for 2mths+ I fell to temptation. Last Friday/Saturday/Sunday I pigged myself on 2 pizzas and a family box of KFC. No salad was to be seen anywhere. I felt “urgh” after that binge.

To make up for that indiscretion I have been starving myself of ‘yummy fat’ as much as possible to burn off the excess fat I had just consumed over that weekend. With 2.5mths until I go I cannot afford to have such a binge -only mini binges ;-) .  I think that my strict diet needs to be tempered with the occasional treats to keep me sane.

Now, to start working on losing tummy fat (the never ending battle)…once it’s gone, ladies, please take a ticket and line up by my front door :-O

That’s all the crazy blurting I can do for tonight. Have fun. Be safe. Climb well.