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About ravensgully

Mountaineering, road cycling, mountain biking , triathlons and the great outdoors.

Nepal 1998

This posting is a mainly pictorial record of a two month journey to Nepal in the autumn of 1998. The first month i was on a commercial expedition to the Everest region to climb two well-known trekking peaks of Mera and Island , linking them via challenging Amphu Labsta pass. We flew from Kathmandu into the small but spectacular mountain airport of Lukla .

Mera Peak This mountain rises to the south of Everest between the Hinku and Hongu valleys, both these valleys are uninhabited. By its standard route from the Mera La it is straight forward but strenuous trek. The view from the top is wide-ranging and spectacular.
The Amphu Labtsa pass After climbing Mera Peak we descended to the Hongu valley and trekked to the head of the valley, a true mountain wilderness surrounded by huge peaks, the only way out being over high passes which require some mountaineering knowledge.
Island Peak The name was given by the explorer and mountaineer Eric Shipton because it is almost totally surrounded by glaciers, the Nepali name is Imjatste. It was climbed in 1953 in preparation for the first ascent of Everest, very popular now due to its location and great views from the top.

After this i was on my own (but met various people ) and used the network of tea houses and lodges for cheap food and accommodation. I joined the Everest trail initially and trekked up to the Everest base camp area, then it was over to the Gokyo valley via the Cho La pass and explored the head of the valley and Cho Oyo base camp area. rejoining the Everest Tail again i headed down to Tenboche ( to see the monastery /Gompa), Namche Bazaar (the Sherpa capitol) and then down to Lukla from where i planned to fly back to Kathmandu. Due to a backlog of flights however i trekked out to the road head at Jiri instead, this was a pleasant but very hilly five-day trek followed by a nine-hour rickety bus ride to Kathmandu. i rounded the trip off with a few days exploring Katmandu, then an exciting 2 day rafting trip on the Bhote Kosi river and a chilled out 5 day safari to the Chitwan National park.

: Lukla Airport

: Lukla

: The Island / Mera Peak team

: Phuiyan (2796m)

: Khote (3480m)

: The porters had a tough job bypassing the flood damaged section

: Weeks earlier a glacial dam had burst devastating the valley

: Relaxing at point 5741 above Khare with Mera Peak behind

: Khare area

: Khare area

: Khare area

: Hinku valley

: Mera Peak avalanche

: Mera Peak on the left from Khare

: Porters heading for high camp on Mera Peak

: Everest in the far distance from Mera Peak

: Peak 43 from Mera Peak

: High camp was behind the rocky outcrop on the left

: Old Paul about to top out on Mera Peak

: Mera Peak looking down

: Mingma on Mera Peak summit with Everest in the distance

: Makalu and Chamlang

: The team on Mera Peak summit

: Mera Peak

: Porters descending from the Mera La towards the Hongu valley

: Cusang our kitchen boy with Chamlang in background

: Chamlang (7321m)

: Trekking up the Hongu valley towards the Lhotse face

: Panch Pokri at the head of the Hongu valley

: Barunste and the West Col from Panch Pokri

: Panch Pokri area in the upper Hongu valley

: Panch Pokri camp at about 5200m

: Making our way up the Amphu Labsta Pass

: Kang Leyamu from the Amphu Labsta Pass

: View east from the top of the Amphu Labsta Pass

: View north from the Amphu Labsta towards Island Peak

: Short abseil from the Amphu Labsta on the way to Island Peak

: View from Island Peak looking back to the Amphu Labsta

: Island Peak summit ridge

: The spectacular Island Peak summit ridge

: Island Peak

: Island Peak

: Old Paul on Island Peak summit with Makalu behind

: Island Peak with Ama Dablam in the distance

: Island Peak summit (6189m)

: Island Peak summit

: Curious boulder in the Imja Valley

: Ama Dablam from the Imja valley

: View from the Konma La looking north west

: The Khumbu icefall and Everest base camp area

: The tip of Everest, Lhotse and Nupste from Pumori area

: Pumori base camp with Everest behind

: View south to the impressive spire of Ama Dablam

: The Everest trail and the rubble-covered Khumbu glacier

: Ama Dablam and Kantega/Tramserku on the way up the Cho la

: View from Gokyo Ri

: The spectacular view from Gokyo Ri

: Helicopter on the edge of Gokyo village

: Cho Oyo (8201m) from Gokyo

: “Scoundrels view” of Everest from high up the Gokyo valley

: i hope he made it…..

Pesky Peroneals

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The first time i really noticed i had a problem with my ankle was in Feb 2013. I was on my annual pilgrimage up to Scotland to do some winter mountaineering/climbing and was standing on the highest mountain in Glencoe, on the mighty Bidean nan Bian and the conditions were pretty much full-on winter.

i cant remember going over on the ankle or hurting it in any way all i knew was that i had a burning sensation on my left ankle just below the ankle bone and by the time i had hobbled and limped for three and a half hours back down to the valley below it really was a problem. The next day it was worse and two days into my much-anticipated trip it was over and i had to go home. After a few days rest it felt better but it never really went away. I got a xray to check for hairline

Bidean nan Bian from Stob Coire nan Lochan

fractures, then got treated for tendonitis and then tendonosis of the peroneal tendons and told to do lots of proprioception strengthening exercises ( try standing barefoot on one leg and raise yourself onto your toes – then close your eyes and do it! ) my legs got strong but the problem remained and it went on for months, the next try was a cortisone injection and the GTN patches (familiar to angina sufferers) on the affected area to try to increase the blood flow to the tendons. Eventually the Pysios gave up and i was referred to a surgeon, he requested an MRI scan which finally revealed what the true problem was – a longitudanal tear of the Peroneal Longus tendon. it was a relief actually knowing what the injury was and I just wished i had that scan straight away as it would have saved a year of pointless physio. Three months after this diagnosis i eventually had surgery to repair the tear and clean up the damage done. So here i sit two weeks into my recovery wondering and hoping when the next time i`ll be standing on top of a Scottish Mountain will be!

Khan Tengri

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Khan Tengri summit (6995m)

This posting is a record of a climbing expedition to the Tien Shan mountains of Central Asia (24th July – 22 Aug 1999). It is one of the great mountain ranges of the world though relatively unknown and unexplored due to its remote location and the politics of the area. About two-thirds of the Tien Shan lie in Kirghizstan, a new state which got its independence in 1991 following the break up of the USSR and borders Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China.

The main aim of the trip was to visit the South Inylchek Glacier and attempt to climb one or both of the two giants there namely Khan Tengri (6995m) and Peak Pobeda (7439m) and also Gorky Peak (6050m) a lower but technically harder mountain.

The nine members of the expedition flew from Manchester via Amsterdam to the Kazakh Capitol Almaty. Next it was a rough ten-hour truck journey to Karakol where we picked up supplies of food from the local bazaar and had an overnight stop. early next morning it was back on the truck for an even rougher five-hour ride to Maidaadyr which was literally the end of the road. From here a helicopter took us up the enormous Inlychek glacier and dropped us off in the Putevodny Basin, a tributary glacier to the Inlychek, Here we were surrounded by unclimbed mountains and hoped to acclimatise to the altitude and do some climbing. Eight days later the helicopter returned and took us further up the South Inlychek glacier to the main base camp area of Khan Tengri where we based ourselves for the rest of the trip.