Island Peak 28th September 2023

Leader Di Gilbert

12th October 2023 - Celebrating Summit Success!

We made it to Namche yesterday and are about to embark on the last trekking stage to Lukhla. More importantly the team survived the delights of Namche, albeit a few sore heads are expected this morning.

I asked the team for no more than 3 words to sum up the trip - these were the replies:

“It’s been amazing”
“Amazing, stunning, knackering”
“Awesome mountain experience”
“Loved the yaks”
“Humbling and inspiring”
“Great team adventure”

Thanks for all the support throughout. It’s genuinely greatly appreciated.

9th October 2023 - Summit success!

Summit success for the entire team!

The entire team are elated but absolutely knackered and are tucked up in Chhukhung with the Nepal Ice.

Island Peak wasn’t as straight forward as we expected with some rather techy climbing up to the summit ridge.

We are now re-entering the trekking phase and looking forward to cake, coffee and coke.

6th October 2023 - Clear Skies!

As we departed Dingboche this morning we walked into the most amazing cirque of mountains. We are now surrounded by Ama Dablam, Kali Himal, Makalu and the Lhotse South Face to name drop a few. We arrived at Chhukhung for lunch before spending the afternoon walking up to a subsidiary peak of Chhukhung Ri (which looks a sketchy rocky ridge worth avoiding) at 5400m.

Tomorrow we leave the comfort of tea houses and Wi-Fi and head into Island Peak base camp. .

5th October 2023 - Views!

It was with some relief that this morning it wasn’t raining and we finally had our first proper views of the elusive snowy pointy peaks. For our acclimatisation walk the entire team made it to 5000m before returning back to the valley for lunch. A leisurely afternoon for most taking up residency in Cafe 4410.

4th October 2023

It’s not all unicorns, rainbows and pixies. Sometimes it’s muddy, grim and down right miserable. We have spent the past 2 days trekking to Dingboche. Views have been limited and today the waterproofs were on all day. However, team spirits are off the scale and the worst of the weather is now behind us hopefully.

2nd October 2023 - Enjoying the German Bakery

The team walked up to the famous Everest [no] View Hotel to gaze up the valley this morning. Unfortunately the big snowy pointy peaks remained elusive and hid behind the clouds. On a positive note, we saw yaks for the first time. Taken up residency in the German bakery this afternoon as we continue to work on expanding the waist line. Absolutely no sign of any ‘loss of appetite’ normally associated with altitude.

1st October 2023 - Enjoying the Khumbu Valley

We’ve made it to Namche.

The team are bonding well and are thoroughly blown away with the comforts of the Khumbu valley. The tea houses are great and the local eateries are to our high standards.

A cloudy day so we are still waiting for first views of snowy, pointy peaks.

29th September 2023 - Getting ready

The team have arrived in Kathmandu and are all set for the flight to Lukla tomorrow