29th
Sept Stu phoned from ABC early afternoon
to say that the group are successfully back at camp having had an
unsuccessful attempt at Cho Oyu summit. The weather has been
bad, with heavy snow meaning that they had to break trail to Camp
2 and Camp 3. Once above Camp 3 the winds were so strong they
were forced to abandon their summit bid, along with a number of
other teams. All team members are safe and well and will make
preparations to return to Kathmandu in the coming days.
26th
Sept The summit attempt is on! Everyone
is safely back up to Camp 1. The recent heavy snow and strong winds
have caused some damage to the tents but not enough to stop or even
delay the AP Elite Card Playing team. They plan to move up to Camp
2 tomorrow and if everything goes according to plan they'll make
their attempt on the 29th September.
24th
Sept The team have spent the last couple
of days at ABC planning their summit attempt and keeping an eye
on weather reports. All are in good spirits and plan to set
off to Camp 1 in the next day or so.
19th
Sept We've just had the latest news
from the team. They've all just returned from spending the night
at Camp 2 (7125m) - a height record for five of them. It was a restless
night for most but that's normal at these altitudes and everyone's
now ready for the summit. The Sherpa team are currently stocking
Camp 3 so the plan is to have at least four days rest at base camp
with a potential summit attempt planned for the 27th, weather permitting.
15th
Sept News feed coming live from Cho
Oyu, Tibet...
The Adventure Peaks elite card playing team have had their card
playing schedule rudely interrupted by a week of high altitude walking
and climbing. This enforced rest from cards and bacon sandwiches
included walks up to Lake Camp, a two night sojourn at Camp 1 (at
6400m) which included an excursion above the seracs - all of the
team successfully climbed these with three deciding to continue
on a further couple of hundred metres with reasons best known only
to themselves. Ian Pratt (callsign goldfish, formerly viper)
has shown a strong aptitude for being able to sleep for most of
each day no matter what the altitude, we hope that he does not switch
into permanent hibernation mode prior to summitting.
One of the highlights of the week was the introduction of a shower
facility at advanced Basecamp which all have taken advantage of
we hasten to add. One team member - Al Ball (callsign formerly Chongo,
now Cleopatra II) shed new light on the way that the Liverpudlians
choose to bathe by introducing a flask of yak milk to the water
tank for his shower. This does not appear to have improved his attractiveness
to others on the mountain however he is hopeful that his new softer
silkier skin will be a big hit on his return to Anfield.
We are now firmly embedded in base camp for the weekend with the
next scheduled card/dvd playing interruption due to be an excursion
up to Camp 2 at 7100m. Excepting Stu Peacock (callsign Genghis)
should we make this height it will be a new record for everyone.
Report over... Nick Talbot (callsign Ralph)
10th
Sept All members of the team have now done
a carry to Camp 1 (6400m). Rest day tomorrow with plans to
sleep at Camp 1 on Wednesday 12th September.
8th
Sept News feed coming live from Tibet...
The adventure
peaks elite card playing team has arrived at advanced base camp
in good spirits [aided unquestionably by bacon sandwiches] after
a
2 day trek from Chinese base camp. This included an overnight stop
at intermediate camp which resembled a small village - we were firmly
in the minority! We have set up our permanent [well for the next
4 weeks] home just out of the main camp which makes for a quieter
and more tranquil experience especially given some particularly
vicious card playing en route - stu has taken a real beating at
times but is bearing up well. There are already some large groups
here with more to come we hear, so our location appears to be a
godsend. We awoke this morning to some stunning views of cho oyu
herself as well as her neighbours and a camp liberally doused with
snow. Having had breakfast on the 'veranda,'
we are spending our first proper rest day relaxing, playing cards,
assigning radio call names [not to be repeated] and taking in the
views. Tomorrow we will make our first visit to the snow line followed
[fingers crossed] by our first ascent to camp 1.
Report over...ian pratt [call sign viper]
3rd
Sept - Today
the group have been up to 5250m. All the team were moving
well and feeling strong. The plan is to complete a further
walk to 5600m tomorrow, moving to Intermediate camp on 6 September
and arriving at ABC on 7 September.
31st
August - Everyone is in good spirits in Tibet
and all have completed an acclimatisation walk up to 4400m today.
Anil and Nuru (Sherpas) have gone to Tingri today with the truck
and will set up BC ahead of the rest of the team who will travel
to Tingri tomorrow. From there, the plan is to move to Chinese
Base Camp the day after.
28th
August - The group have arrived safely in
Nepal. They are enjoying a day in Kathmandu experiencing the
sights, sounds and local culture. Tonight they will enjoy
local cuisine and some Nepalese dancing.
25th
August - The team will depart on the 26th
August.
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