DAY 1: All Packed Up !!

Date: 24th March, 2014.

Packing your suitcase for a trekking or climbing expedition always requires a great deal of thought and forward planning. You are severely restricted on luggage allowance, not only on the flight, but also for the entire duration of the expedition itself. And there are no concessions for a long duration expedition either !!

Our baggage allowance from London to Kathmandu on Jet Airways is an ample 30 Kg (per person) plus one 7Kg hand luggage each. The porter carrying our kit bags on the trek will be restricted to carry 15 Kg per person under the Nepalese trekking liability insurance policy for the entire 30-day period, so we will be leaving some luggage behind at our hotel in Kathmandu and carry the rest in our day packs. The propeller plane from Lukla to Kathmandu at the end of the expedition has a strict weight limit of 15 Kg per person, so we will probably leave behind anything we can for the locals in Lukla at the end of the trek.

The Yeti Airlines Twin Otter plane we will be flying in from Lukla to Kathmandu at the end of the expedition

The bulk of our weight allowance during the long trek will be taken up by our trekking kit & essential items as medicines, sleeping bag, a few gadgets (with chargers) and toilet rolls (I did say essential !!), not leaving much space for anything else. Thankfully, much of our packing plan had been addressed during the Atlas Mountains Climb 3 weeks ago (see the blog @ www.toubkal2014.blogspot.com), with perhaps a few minor adjustments.

Expedition Kit

We will encounter a wide range of weather conditions during the trek (with hot, sunny or rainy days, chilly nights and freezing windy sub-zero conditions at Everest Base Camp where we will staying for two nights. We therefore need to be prepared with all the right clothing kit from the onset. We could perhaps hire some of it along the route, but I prefer to have my own tried & tested kit which I can rely on.

The current weather condition at Kala Patthar, (base of Everest) the highest point of our expedition

We will be applying the practice of layering whereby you add or remove layers throughout the day as weather conditions change. Kavita & I expect to wear up to a maximum of 4 layers (on both the upper and lower halves of the body) at any one time while we are on the move throughout the expedition:

• A sweat wicking inner base layer to draw the sweat away from the skin to the next layer;

• An active and breathable middle layer which protects you against the cold, wind and light rain, but allows sweat to pass through from the base layers and dissipate into the atmosphere;

• An active Gore-Tex outer shell layer, which will stop you getting wet in heavy rains and also keep you warm in sub-zero freezing conditions;

• A fleece layer is also very useful if you get cold and need to keep or get yourself warm again.

Different sets of gloves will also be required. A thin inner layer (which keep the hands warm, but still allows a lot of dexterity in the fingers) and multiple sets of outer gloves for varying conditions. I generally prefer to have outer gloves which allow enough hand dexterity to operated a DSLR camera, so I can take photographs without having to take off my gloves and loose heat.

We will also be taking Down jackets (filled with feathers) to wear while we are not on the move, to keep us warm during the cold nights and during our stay at Everest BC.

Some of our trekking kit.

 
Over the past few months of experience, we have determined that there are no hard and fast rules about what clothing kit you should wear on treks & climbs. It is very much a personal choice and depends largely on your own body's metabolism & response to different types of activity.
For someone who perspire easily and gets hot with the slightest bit of activity (like me !), a couple of layers, even in sub-zero conditions might be enough. On the other hand if you feel the cold or don't easily break into a sweat you may require three or more layers. And of course, the fabric and design of the individual layers has a huge bearing on it too.  

The MOST ESSENTIAL (and often overlooked) kit of any trekking/climbing activity are the boots. To use Chris Hill's (our Scottish Highlands guide, www.hilladventures.com) analogy, not unlike the wheels of a car, it is the one piece of kit that will be in constant contact with the ground over a wide range of terrain. Assuming that you are physically fit, the quality and condition of your boots will directly determine your progress and how tired you feel at the end of the day. After our 'Snowdon Marathon' in June 2013 where I split my Chilkats shoes on the way down from the mountain in heavy rain, Kavita & I wisely decided to invest in a pair of high quality B1/B2 grade boots which would not only support our feet properly from the continuous impact with the ground, but also keep them warm when walking on ice/snow with or without crampons. A few pairs of good quality sweat wicking woollen socks will also add to the insulation and keep the feet warm and dry without chaffing.   
 
We will be using '4 season' sleeping bags which will keep us warm in sub-zero temperatures during the nights at Base Camp. I am not a fan of walking poles, often discrediting them as unnecessary weight and for the 'weak-kneed', but during the recent winter climbs of Ben Nevis and the Atlas Mountains, I appreciated their implicit value. They are really useful for added stability when walking on ice & snow. And of course, they save the knees in the long run :)

Medicines

You always have to be prepared for the worst when trekking on the mountains or in remote locations, where medicines you usually take for granted may be hard to get hold of. We will each be carrying a small First Aid Kit in our day sacks with a selection of bandages, plasters and medicines for common ailments. With experience, we have narrowed down our selection to a few essential medicines :

• Antibiotics for any sort of internally or externally induced (e.g wound) infections. Any infection will seriously hamper your performance unless treated;

• Strong Lozenges to soothe your throat if you have a cold so you can sleep at night !; 

• Ibuprofen/Paracetamol - anti-inflammatory painkillers to ease mild pain and fever or swelling;

• Imodium to control diarrhoea due to food poisoning, dehydration or sheer exhaustion;

• Diarolyte to restore essential salts and minerals in the event of excessive diarrhoea or vomiting;

• Muscular Pain Relief Cream;

• Beechams for cold relief;

• Zantac for severe heartburns.

• Piriteze anti-histamine tablets in case of any mild allergies reactions.

We will also be using chlorine-based water purification tablets to purify our drinking water. We may have the option of buying bottled water along the route, but at an average of 6-7 litres of drinking water each per day (to prevent de-hydration) for approximately 30 days, we would go through a lot of plastic bottles. Unfortunately, these bottles do not get recycled and would simply get discarded or buried in the ground somewhere on the mountains, leaving a sizeable carbon footprint and a huge burden on our conscience !! 

The 3Ltr Water Reservoir bladders (by Osprey) we will be using while on the move. The bladders fit into a purpose-built slot in our day sacks, with a pipe running to the front through which you suck the water. 

Primary rule of thumb of trekking/mountaineering is to take all your rubbish with you. Leave nothing behind and preserve the environment for others after you to enjoy. We will be doing our bit for the environment by simply purifying the naturally available mountain water to keep our carbon footprint in Nepal as low as possible. 

As a matter of precaution, we have also had vaccinations for Hepatitis A, which can be contracted through contaminated water or food. It can be also contracted as a result of poor sanitation, which we are most likely to encounter along the expedition route. As an added measure we have also had the Revaxis, three in one (Tetanus, Diphtheria & Polio) vaccination.

Electronics

No expedition would be complete without all the required gadgets to capture the experience !! Cameras, video recorders, data transfers devices (for duplicate image copies in case you lose or damage the primary storage devices), charges & spare batteries.

And of course, communication devices to keep in touch with the rest of the world. We are hoping to get a couple of Nepal Telecom SIM cards as soon as we land in Kathmandu to facilitate easy and cost effective access to the local GSM and 3G network for internet access (so I can update the blog in real-time !!).

What else ?

With all the essential items (not mentioning the obvious) taken care of, any available luggage space will be used for any items that we can easily purchase, replace or do without along the route, including spare sets of clothes, shoes, toiletries, books etc.

Ready, Set, Go !!.... 

With the packing all done, we are all set to go. Our flight departs London Heathrow at 20:50 GMT Monday 24th March, leaving us with some time during the day to sort out any last minute issues. The Jet Airways flight will arrive in New Delhi at 10:40am the next day (25th March), with our connecting flight departing at 13:40 and arriving in Kathmandu at 15:30 local time. The Nepal timezone is GMT+5h 45m.

Dorje Tamang, our Nepalese Sherpa is due to meet us at the airport and will accompany us to our hotel, where he will give us a quick briefing. We have hired Dorje to guide us from Jiri to Lukla, the first part of our expedition. 
Dorje comes highly recommended by a friend of a friend. It's important to make sure you are hiring someone who is reliable and trustworthy, after all, you will be placing your lives in their hands in a foreign country you have never visited before. But who better to reveal to us the beauty of Nepal than someone who has been born and bred by it's waters ??

I have only spoken to Dorje a few times over the phone and despite his broken English, we have managed to get ourselves understood to each other. We have never met him or seen what he looks like. That is all part of the adventure. Let it begin :)