Twenty One Days: Mike Rocks Everest

The day before Mike left for Kathmandu, Dylan’s school teacher had asked me if Mike would mind taking the class teddy, ‘Alun the bear’, along with him on his travels. I said that I was sure Mike wouldn’t mind, thinking that Alun was a small teddy bear. Alun, in fact was the size of a small child and Mike was travelling light! The things you do for your kids!

The next day, a Daily Post photographer was dispatched to Dylan's class and a photo of Mike, Alun the bear, Dylan and all his school friends was taken to feature in the Welsh national paper. The children and staff would now be tracking the progress of Alun and Mike to Base Camp.

I felt a sense of displacement when Mike was preparing for Everest. I was usually the packer of the family. I like to pack weeks before we leave for a tour or travels. Mike, you guessed it, is quite happy to pack the night before. As Mike was only allegedly packing three pairs of underpants (one to wear, one to wash and one to dry!) I felt a tad redundant. It was important for him to pack himself though and he approached it with great aplomb. He consulted with his Everest trainer and “know it all about Base Camp” , Johnny ‘Marine’ Hughes (Johnny having reached base camp a few years previously).

It was Johnny who knew about the underpants trick ( you may remember Johnny from a Gathering concert when he and Mike swam in the Llanddudno sea!) and thanks to Johnny, the night before Mike’s departure, his kit bag was packed with meticulous attention. Mike was truly fully prepared!

I was grateful that Johnny was taking Mike in hand and focusing Mike’s attention upon preparing for the nitty gritty of the trip. However I was slightly concerned to hear that Johnny had struggled with the altitude upon his trip to Base Camp. Afterall, Johnny is superfit. Mike is fit. Johnny had arranged a timetable of exercise as well as running a multitude of tests to check Mike’s fitness. Johnny even took Mike on a shopping expedition to a local outdoor pursuits shop to make sure Mike had purchased all the detailed minutae like stuffit bags (for Alun the bear), masks (for the Yak poop) and something to dry his smalls!

A few nights later I was very relieved to hear that Johnny’s Base Camp trip has been hampered somewhat by his night on the tiles in Kathmandu rickshaw racing until the early hours of the morning prior to flying to Lukla to begin day one of the trek! A lesson to be learned for Mr.Peters.

I didn’t speak to Mike all day Sunday but I was able to check on his progress via www.everestrocks.com It was almost like Mike was on another planet but then I saw Alun briefly, waving and I felt that Mike wasn’t that far away, afterall.