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Nick Valentine and Jon Gupta ski the Midi-Plan ridge above Chamonix.



 

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Expeditions

About Us

Mountain Expeditions is a UK company owned and run by Jon Gupta, specialising in Instructing & Guiding, Worldwide Expeditions & Expedition Specific Training.

We operate across 5 continents and believe a successful expedition is made up of the hundreds of small experiences gained from start to finish. We therefore ensure that every aspect of your trip is expertly organised and well-managed, whether it’s going rock climbing for the first time, winter mountaineering or joining a major Himalayan expedition!

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Chapters // Don’t wait up, it’ll be okay, thou Chapters // Don’t wait up, it’ll be okay, though it’s coming at me, like a tidal wave

I am awake but my mind is elsewhere and racing. A litany of thoughts pulsates through my head; yet I can’t focus fully on any specific one of them. I flit from each thought, from the here and now, to the then and back. My head feels clouded and heavy. I wear this weight upon my weary shoulders, but I know that in time, this feeling too shall pass. In its place will be a clearer, new perspective that shall illuminate my way. It always does.

A deep sense of exhaustion floods my body. It is an all too familiar one. The type you experience after an especially long season or a major Himalayan expedition. Unrelenting focus is no longer required. Once again, I am back on the metaphorical praecipe looking down into the abyss with no clear view this time just how I am to fill this deep, empty void.

I try to comfort myself with the reassurances that this familiar feeling is one which I secretly live for. It is a difficult concept for many to understand. The idea that to break ourselves, to go so deep into something, we can rebuild a better and more enlightened, aware individual. But to get here is hard, and this time, to get out and back, feels subtly different than before. I have not stopped since the beginning of this year. And I feel every single moment of this – and more. Each footstep. Each breath. Each laugh and even, each tear. I close my eyes, pull my eye mark down, and inhale deeply in a desperate attempt to dampen the noise in my head. It is happening again. Here I go.

-

Unable to get the peace I crave; I take myself into the garden. It has become a place of security and a sanctuary for me. I lay on the grass in my pants and the warmth of the sun gently permeates my skin. I close my eyes, and breathe slowly. The brightness of the sun forces my eyes to stay closed, yet this is the peace I need. I listen as the wondrous sounds of nature fill the air. I try again to steady my thoughts, but it is still so hard to slow these racing emotions.

👇CONTINUED IN THE COMMENTS 👇

@rab.equipment
Lhotse Wingsuit 8K // A day spent in reconnaissanc Lhotse Wingsuit 8K // A day spent in reconnaissance is seldom wasted

This expedition is unique. We’re attempting to access a point on the Lhotse Ridge that has never been climbed before.

We’re searching for an exit above 8000m, a suitable ledge, where all the requirements are met. Here, Tim will switch uniforms from high altitude to wingsuit. We have discussed and rehearsed this dress change. It needs to be slick.

To access the exit area we’ve located, we are planning to climb a new route to the ridge. A ~500m plumb line couloir directs to the ridge at ~8200m. From here, we need to climb 50-100m of technical climbing to reach what looks like a small platform. So many unknowns, so much hanging in the balance. So cool.

-

A few days ago, I went with Siddhi and Tendi Sherpa to try and fix a route to an exit ‘summit down’. We climbed the Lhotse Couloir (normal route) to ~8500m then began climbing a new line to the east.

Siddhi smoothly dispatched a 60m length of mixed ground to reach the main ridge; I followed, reveling in the feeling of being on previously unclimbed ground. He complained that there weren’t any good pitons on his pitch and handed me the axes. After switching the rest of the gear, I took the lead out across a very exposed snow ridge to see what’s what. It looked sensational. Being belayed off a single snow stake at 8500m as I tiptoed out across the ridge sharpened my concentration. My down suit obscured the view of my feet, and my oxygen mask felt cumbersome as I breathed hard; I had to feel everything. I pushed in another snow stake and clipped the rope in; it was the only protection available. It went in far too easily; the snow was poor, and I knew there was no chance it would hold a fall. Inching further around a faint arete, the aspect changed, and the snow firmed up a little, and I relaxed, this situation was immense…

…CONTINUED IN THE COMMENTS!!

#lhotse #everest #8000 #wingsuit

@tim_howell_adventure @siddhi_ghising @himguides @rab.equipment @inigo_insurance
Lhotse Wingsuit 8K // Phase Two (part 2) After a Lhotse Wingsuit 8K // Phase Two (part 2)

After a monumental snooze in the warm tent, I rose and began the laborious task of melting snow for water. The MSR roared into life, and soon our Nalgeens were almost full. I rifled through my food bag looking for some good lunch snacks, but nothing took my fancy. I settled for a pepperoni and a Baby Bell cheese. The afternoon passed effortlessly with games of Monopoly Deal and general chat about the next few days. As the temperature dropped, we buried ourselves deep into our sleeping bags, zipped up the doors, and continued reading our books: Tim’s about some real-life prison account and mine about alpine climbing in Alaska.

In the morning, we discovered we had both slept well and felt good, so we swiftly packed away our kit, threw down some breakfast, and made our way out into the piercing morning sun. The Western Cwm is a vast open space surrounded on three sides by Everest, Lhotse, and Nuptse, and when there is no wind, the temperatures soar. The route from Camp 1 to Camp 2 is actually quite short, a mere 350-meter altitude gain over ~4km; it took us only 2 hours of steady walking.

With limited risk from above along the journey to Camp 2, our main concern is from below. Vast yawning crevasses lie silently, sometimes hidden, their frozen snow bridges providing the passages we carefully cross. We clip in. Further up the Western Cwm we go, slowly, one foot in front of the other before we arrive at the lower end of Camp 2. The tents are situated on the rocky moraine that runs along the edge of the glacier. Thirty minutes of slow meandering, and we locate our small camp at the upper end, and the friendly faces of our local crew.

I woke in the night to a noise I am all too familiar with from past expeditions - the hammering of wind against tent fabric. We knew the forecast had predicted strong winds for 24 hours, and they had arrived! I took a small sip of water, a quick swipe of my lip balm, and pulled the hood of my sleeping bag tight over my head. I felt safe in the tent and quickly fell back to sleep.

…Continued in the comments….

@tim_howell_adventure @inigo_insurance #lhotse #everest #wingsuit
Lhotse Wingsuit 8K // Phase Two (Part 1) The accl Lhotse Wingsuit 8K // Phase Two (Part 1)

The acclimatisation phase involves uncovering the unknown, ascending higher on the mountain, moving equipment higher, and getting closer to the summit. Every time we ascend we learn and we feel the effects: nights become uncomfortable, and our minds play games. But it’s all part of the process. To reach the summits, we must acclimatise. We climb higher, push our bodies, and then descend to rest and recover.

-

We departed our little Basecamp at 3 am. I felt calm, confident, and excited for the journey through the Icefall and up to C1. Though it was dark, the lights from around Basecamp and the night sky provided an aura of dawn. It took nearly 15 minutes to walk the frozen rocky path between Basecamp and the edge of the glacier to the entry point. Stepping across a small frozen stream, from here onward, we were on glacial ice proper. Time passed quickly as we wove our way through the flatter lower glacier until we reached a point where we stopped to put on harnesses, helmets, and crampons. The terrain steepened and undulated, snaking an improbable journey deeper into the jumbled masses of ice that make up the legendary Khumbu Icefall. The air was crisp and the silence was glorious. Our world was totally quiet, except for the sound of laboured breathing and the familiar crunch of crampons biting into the ice. 

My mind was heightened but my thoughts were quiet; I could think only of my immediate surroundings. Occasionally, my leather gloves gripped tightly onto a fixed rope, sliding through my hands as I squeezed and released pressure to provide friction in descent. Every now and then, the glacier suddenly cracked under my feet or a short distance away, and for a split second, fear surged through my body. These noises were common as the pressure held inside the ice found a way to release, but in the dark silence, they never failed to startle me.

…continued in the comments!!

@rab.equipment @inigo_insurance @himguides @tim_howell_adventure 

#lhotse #wingsuit #everest #khumbuicefall
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