Some of these people have dazzled me with their genius and art. Others have shared with me insights about how I can live. Others have devoted their life to helping others. Some have conquered mountains while others have built business empires. Some are great artists while others have entertained with their brilliant musical talents. One thing that they all have in common is that they are passionate, talented, and amazing people who have added colour to my life and have helped to shape the moments that have made up this journey.
And then Ama Dablam – an iconic peak for which I’ve been training over the past two years. With its dizzying exposure, narrow ledges and knife-edge ridges I was worried that I’d love my nerve. However, it all worked out even more perfectly than I could ever have imagined. With my body fully acclimatised to the lack of oxygen post-Makalu and fully supported by a strong and talented Sherpa team and excellent guides Adrian Ballinger and Chad Peele, it was a thoroughly enjoyable climb with a straight-forward 13-hour summit day which brought us back to base camp for dinner. Conditions were incredible on the 26th of October - perfect neve on our summit push above high camp, lots of good ice on the Grey Tower, and dry granite down low between Camps 1 and 2. Our summit day offered incredible views From the summit of Ama Dablam we were treated to incredibly stunning views of the south Face of Lhotse, Nuptse, Mount Everest, Cho Oyu, Pumori, Shishapangma, Makalu, and the Khumbu Himal. Standing there looking out over the surrounding peaks was worth every second of the work that I’d put into this journey.
Thank you’s...
Throughout this journey I’ve been inspired by so many of the people that I’ve met along the way. These people have inspired me to push on to find additional strength and motivation to reach the summit of these mountains – or make my way as far as possible up their snowy slopes…! These people have included the likes of David English OBE, MBE; Christine Mills MBE; Alex Trapnell and the Hope for Tomorrow team, Sir Stirling and Lady Moss, Charles Finch, the team at Sherpa Adventure Gear, Katy Biddulph from Striders Ege, Piers Morgan, Peter Elliott, Isabelle Santoire, the girls from the Sisterhood, the team of builders volunteering their time at the Khumbu Climbing School, Captain Ashish at Fishtail Air, our cook / chef Tashi, guides Adrian Ballinger, Chad Peele and Monica Piris, my fantastic colleagues at PwC, my family and friends… plus many, many more.
Last week I was asked by a colleague at PwC to present at client-facing meeting on the theme of teamwork challenges and lessons learned from my climbing expeditions and experiences on Everest, Makalu and Ama Dablam.
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