In just a few hours, I will leave the office and head to Rome, but before I take off I would like to send a huge Thank You into cyberspace for all these generous donations. It has been a wonderful week and I am truly amazed by…
Long time, no write. I have just noticed that I have not updated my blog since I came back from the North Ridge of Ama Dablam in November last year, but I guess that even though I enjoy being in Switzerland in the winters and do a…
Apologies for the late last post about Ama Dablam but as you can imagine, life in Kathmandu has been rather hectic with Miss Hawley's 90th birthday on 9th November and all the (unsuccessful) teams coming back from the normal route of 'The Mother of the Jewels' -…
Just got back from climbing up to 6,200m on the North Ridge of Ama Dablam. It was an amazing climb and even though we knew that we were not going to go for the summit, it offered some of the best Himalayan climbing I have done so…
This is just a quick update on what has been happening here on Ama Dablam. After having spent a week at base camp acclimatising and climbing up to the saddle at the bottom of the ridge, Katharina and I came down to Dingboche for a couple of…
If you get queasy when it comes to women's issue, then stop reading right here. However, if you are interested in a funny story involving sanitary towels, keep on reading. When Katharina, Shinji, Greg and I walked to Gorak Shep and then Kala Pattar a few days…
Life is full of surprises and so is an expedition to a relatively new route with a base camp that hadn't been used for a long time. On Wednesday evening, just as we were packing our things to go to base camp the following day, Russell got…
We have now arrived in Pheriche, the place at 4,300m where I stayed for about 5 days in the spring recovering from my altitude sickness. I have to say that it feels great to be properly acclimatised! I usually take two days to get here, however, this…
This is what I wrote for the Himalayan Experience website this morning. I hope you will enjoy it Sunday may have been a rest day for us but certainly not for our Sherpas. "I have just spoken to Phurba Tashi and they had a hard time getting…
This is just a very quick hello from Namche Bazaar, where we arrived this morning. I am amazed by how 'high-tech' the Sherpa capital has become with wireless internet being available almost everywhere. I am currently sitting in our lodge, enjoying a Cafe Latte and I am…
After a few days of heavy rain, the festival of Dashain and another amazing speed record that was set by the Swiss climber Ueli Steck, it is now time for me to head off to the mountains again. Kathmandu has been incredibly quiet over the past four…
I have been back from Berlin for just over one week, which has been very busy with interviewing expeditions for Miss Hawley and the Himalayan Database. Most teams have come safe and sound back from Cho Oyu and Manaslu, the sixth and eighth highest peaks in the…
Last weekend, I had the pleasure to take part in the 40th edition of the Berlin Marathon, which was an amazing event. The Germans certainly know how to party and first of all I would like to thank the people of Berlin for their enthusiasm and participation…
Last Saturday, my friend Richard and I were brave enough to enter the Kathmandu marathon, or rather the half marathon as doing the full distance in this mad traffic would have been suicidal. After the race, I wrote a story for the Guardian's Running Blog, which you…
It's all a matter of timing; if you get it right, you can actually enjoy a jog on the Ring Road. When I woke up at 5 o’clock this morning, I noticed that something was different. It was quiet. You would have thought that this was quite…
Just when I thought the monsoon rains had stopped, they have come back with a vengeance, which makes my marathon training a bit more challenging. Even though jogging in the green hills surrounding the Kathmandu valley is gorgeous, especially in the post-monsoon season when everything is lush…
I was just about to write that the monsoon in Kathmandu was on its final leg, when I noticed that my last entry was about the looming monsoon! Maybe I should just stop writing about the weather and find more interesting stories to tell. A few days…
I have been back in Kathmandu for just over two weeks and life in the mountains seems far away. The change from tranquillity and clean air of the Everest region to the dust and hustle and bustle in the Nepali capital sometimes seems too quick – especially…
I am lying in my sleeping bag and my body is aching all over. I am tired. It has been four days since I came back to base camp from Nuptse. Other than being part of the famous horseshoe, which also consists of Lhotse and Everest in…
I am sitting in my tent reflecting on what has been quite an eventful morning. First of all I would like to talk about our Sherpas, four of which fixed the rope to Nuptse to about 200m below the summit on Thursday. When Russell talked to them…
This is just another quick update to let you know that the Nuptse team has been at Camp 2 at 6,400m for the past three days to acclimatise and maybe make use of a weather window to attempt for the summit of this beautiful but humbling mountain.…
This is just a quick update from Gorak Shep, where I have just dropped down from Base Camp to do some emailing. I have completely recovered and I am now back at the Himex camp waiting for the route to Nuptse to be opened. Life has been…
This is just a very quick message to thank all of you for all your lovely and encouraging messages, which mean a lot to me. And they have helped. I am feeling a lot better, my sats are up to 87 and my pulse is back down…
I am sitting in the Himalayan Hotel in Pheriche - even though I should be either at Everest Base Camp or on my way up Lobuje East. Well, I guess I am having to pay for my arrogance of thinking that I could make it to Everest…
After having been at Everest base camp for four days, I'm on my way down to Lobuje to get a bit more oxygen and climb Lobuje East to acclimatise for further climbing. Everyone seemed to have arrived at base camp and the area that is uninhabited for…
This is just a quick update to let you know that I left the smog and heat of Kathmandu behind and have arrived in the Everest region. I have had an unusually fast trip as I got the chance to take a helicopter to Phortse, which lies…
It's Easter and even though there are no Easter bunnies or eggs in Kathmandu, I feel like I am on an Easter egg hunt trying to catch the dozens of expeditions going to the various peaks this spring. You have guessed right - I am back in…
Apologies to everyone for not updating my website for almost three months but it has been a busy time working and playing in Switzerland. However, I have just noticed that I am about to go back to Nepal to take up my work for Miss Elizabeth Hawley…
Against most people’s imaginations and expectations, life in Islamabad can actually be quite an active one – you just have to look out for all the different opportunities. There are the Margalla Hills that offer great hikes or runs, numerous gyms, yoga and Pilates classes, plenty of…
I have just come back from one of the most amazing places I have been to in terms of landscape and people – Chitral situated in northern Pakistan in the midst of the majestic Hindukush mountain range. The reason I went there was a professional assignment for…
