Final countdown for the trip now! The training is almost complete, whilst Patrick has been battering his way to the top of Kilimanjaro, I have been trotting endlessly about the oxygen rich air of the Chilterns. Hard to know which effort will hold us in greatest stead for the race day but at the moment our focus has turned to packing and kit.
So what to take? We are in the happy position that we only need our trekking kit from Jiri to Namchee Bazaar, where we will meet the rest of the Everest Marathon team. They will bring our bags of running kit to Namchee. Always a bonus to be met half way with extra snacks, toiletries and a layer or two. We’ll also have porters from there….pure luxury! See below for full trekking list.
As always there a few formailities to complete and we have Indian visas in place (as transiting through there) and we’ll have to get Nepalese visas on arrival, Khumbu region trekking permits will also need to be sorted in Kathmandu. We’ll transfer money over onto our Thomas Cook cash passports and sort the local currency on arrival in Nepal. There is no guarantee of cash machines once we leave Kathmandu, so we need to ensure we’ve enough cash to last the duration of the trek – if staying in tea houses £20-25 a day is recommended.
Rumour has it that each tea house settlement from Namchee to Gorak Shep now has a cyber café, which disappointingly opens up the option of telecommunications – ridiculous the lengths you have to go to in order to achieve non-contactability. We’ll be avoiding those I hope!
So this is bye from us for now and we’ll be in touch upon return with a few holiday snaps and to let you know how we got on. If you want to follow the progress of the group whilst we are away, there is a blog that will be updated when and where facilities permit – www.everestmarathon.org.uk (then click on 2011 RACE on the left hand menu).
Trekking kit list
Travel jabs
Passport and additional passport photos
Travel insurance
Money /Credit cards
Guide books / reading books
Ruck sack
Water proof stuff sacks
Platypus and water bottle
Sleeping bag
Thermarest
Waterproof top and bottoms
Down jacket
Fleece layer
Hat
Gloves x 2 pairs
Buff
Trekking trousers x 2
Underwear
Socks
Long sleeve tops
Short sleeve tops
Shorts
Trekking boots
Tevas
Trekking poles
Head torch
Batteries
Money purse
Sunglasses
Sun tan lotion
Lip balm
Toiletries – small bottles of minimum items
Wet wipes
Travel towel
Travel washing line
Travel clothes wash
Combination padlock
Bivvy bag
First Aid kit
Compass & whistle
Maps
Snacks
Zip lock bags
Water sterilisation tabs
Lighter
Sewing kit
Camera
Tissues
Mobile phone
Travel adaptor
