All packed: a flask of soup, pack of sandwiches and some money for the cafe…

I often express my thoughts and feelings as I approach the trip of a lifetime but now it’s just 2 days away I thought I’d answer a few questions… or FAQ if you like. Also thought folk may like an insight into the packing, gear and organisation required for an Everest trip. I don’t have a single minute spare but I’ve been amazed at the amount of tweets, emails and messages of good luck I’ve had in the past few days. It’s absolutely incredible so many folk have really got behind me and the cause. I wish I could take the time to reply to it all and take it all in.

So… battle commences with my Etihad flight allowance and knowing full well that forgetting one bit of kit off the list could be a rather big kerfuffle- there’s no shops at base camp and Amazon don’t deliver there yet…

It would be tiresome to list every item so here’s just a FEW of the basics…

Clothing:

• Down suit- Marmot 8000m suit (aka. Ronald McDonald suit)
• Down jacket- Marmot Greenland Baffled jacket
• Baselayer/wicky tops and leggings- Icebreaker Merino 200wt and Marmot DriClime
• Balaclava- Marmot full-face balaclava
• Mitts- Marmot 8000M mitts and North Face Himalayan 800 as a spare
• Mountain gloves- Marmot Caldera gloves
• Base layer gloves- Marmot Powerstretch and Icebreaker liners
• Hat- Textlocal beanie!
• Sunglasses- Julbo Explorer and Julbo Tenzing
• Goggles- Oakley A-Frame (donated by Everest summiteer Squash Falconer)
• Trekking shirts- Craghoppers Bear Grylls range
• Trekking trousers- Craghoppers Bear Grylls’ Survivor Trousers
• Waterproofs- Marmot Nabu and Marmot Pre-Cip Full Zip pants
• Windproof jacket- Marmot Stride jacket and Craghoppers Bear Grylls Windshield
• Fleece- Marmot Vars Hoody

Footwear-

• Millet Everest Boots (iridescent memories of wearing these through Mumbai Airport customs last Autumn)
• Scarpa Omega boots for up to Camp 2 (Intuition liners)
• Berghaus Explorer Light Trekking Boots
• Rab Down ‘Booties’ aka. warm slippers…
• Smartwool trekking and expedition weight socks (plus liners)

Hardware-

• Crampons- Black Diamond Seracs
• Ice axe- Grivel Air Tech
• Harness- Black Diamond Alpine Bod with DMM Karabiners, jumar, fig of 8, slings…
• Helmet- Black Diamond Half
• Lightweight spikes

Equipment- 

• Sleeping bag- Marmot Cwm Membrain
• Headtorches- LED Lenser H7r2 and H62
• Exped rucksack dry bag and compression sacks.
• Craghoppers Adventure Trekking Poles.
• Water bottles- Nalgene wide neck 1 litre and 0.5 litre
• Rucksack- Osprey Variant 52
• 90 litre kit bag

Technology-

• iPhone 3GS (with UK SIM to receive texts and write diaries)
• Samsung Galaxy donated by Pescado Group of Chester (unlocked with Nepal SIM to send texts updates and photos home)
• Canon Powershot Compact camera- with 4 SD cards and 2 spare batteries!
• Powertraveller Powermonkey Extreme solar charger to charge everything up!
• Garmin Forerunner 301- to track daily mileage and pace

Food/snacks- These are fully provided by my expedition leader Tim but it always helps to bring a few personal treats…

• 44 MyProtein Energels Orange flavour- help performance
• 12 MyProtein White Chocolate Almond cookies– nearly 40g of Protein, prevent muscle loss
• 44 MyProtein Oats and Whey Flapjacks– mix of protein and carbs to prevent muscle loss and aid performance.
• 55 BeetIt Sport Shots- highly concentrated beetroot juice drink to aid acclimatisation and red blood cell production/blood flow.
• Multi vitamins with iron, Glucosamine sulphate, Echinacea and Omega 3/6/9 capsules
• And the biggest bag of sun lotion, medicines, remedies and emergency altitude steroids I have ever seen.

Miscellaneous-

• My summit banner, provided by Hampshire Flag Company with Textlocal, Pingtree and UK Loans logos proudly displayed.
•  Another banner with my Climb4Change and charity logos on provided by Hampshire Flag Company.
• Another (!) small  banner with the Cammell-Laird logo on, to be taken to Camp 1 on Everest for a photo.
• A….. flag with the Great Bear logo on to be taken to Camp 2 for a photo.
• A photo of my dogs and my family to bring with me to the top of the world.
• Essential info plus a few pages of tips from experienced Everest climbers, my favourite quotes and a bullet point list of top 10 things to follow and keep myself on track during the tough days.
• iPod, movies and books….

And only 5 pairs of underpants for the entire trip!

Well there you go! I will be part of an expedition team led by Tim Mosedale with 3 other clients including my mate Ellis, and full inclusive logistics, Sherpas, oxygen… everything. We’ll be meeting in Kathmandu on Sunday/Monday, sorting gear, chilling and flying to Lukla on 1st April. Hopefully this time without the Russian M17 ex-Army helicopter piloted by the Russian equivalent of Boris Johnson… then it’s a 3 week gradual trek through villages and over high passes then a mass ascent of Pokkalde (5806m) and arriving at Everest base camp approx 20th April. Returning to the UK probably 2nd June. I could list every single day but the itinerary could change and that would spoil the excitement! Some climbers are already in Nepal on their way in- some of my team mates are already on their way in fact. I can’t wait to meet them. On Saturday it’s my turn. Cor blimey.

Charity donations have FLOODED in which is amazing, maybe due to all the press coverage recently – like BBC Radio Merseyside and magazines and Twitter. A special thanks to Collingwood Executive for their £1000 contribution last week. My sponsors are producing interactive maps and all sorts for you to follow so more info coming soon!

Fortunately, once again my very close friends Chris and Ste will be monitoring my social media feeds and blog and letting you know where we’re up to, so with thanks to the phone from Pescado I can now send updates home almost daily dependent on coverage and even photos hopefully.

So keep yer’ eyes peeled and enjoy the ride!

And last of all- when I get emails like this- it makes all the stresses and struggles even more worthwhile…

On a side note my son (he is 16) has looked at your website and thinks what you are doing is great! He has now told me he has been thinking about doing a skydive for charity – I think your story has made him realise that you can do anything if you put your mind to it!

Job’s a good un!