Pancake Post

On the 16 February we had decided to sell pancakes for Kilimanjaro funds. The night before I spent several hours cooking 80 pancakes, well 86 actually, but some were sacrificed for tasting purposes and as always the first pancake is never any good.   

The pancakes were sold at 50p per pancake with a choice of fillings. I need to say a massive thank you to all involved in the providing of toppings and the selling of the pancakes especially the OD and Workforce Team and People Development Team.

Lisa and Hannah, part of the selling team  

I also need to say a big thank you to all who bought pancakes this morning; we raised £64.10 for the Kilimanjaro fund. The pancakes went really fast, with most of them being sold within 20 minutes.

 The Pancake Rush

 

Meeting Steve Cram: Team Coco Climbs the Mountain

On the 2^nd Feb 2010 we met with Steve Cram and his wife. They both climbed the same route that we are to take up Kilimanjaro in last November for Steve’s Charity COCO.

Steve Cram

There were 29 in Steve’s group and the majority of them made it to the top. A few suffered with Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) and had to go down before reaching the summit and one climber dislocated their knee, ouch, and had to go back down. From Steve's presentation it sounded like an amazing trip, from signing in at Machame Gate, right through to the final summit climb on day 6. 

 Machame Gate

 

 The Coco Team at the summit

Top tips were given are:

• You need to drink 4- 5 litres of water per day so a bladder pack is a good idea
• Make sure you have a wet weather gear otherwise you might end up paying $50 for a poncho at the gate before you start the climb.
• Moshi is a great place to get last minute things before the trip but remember they expect you to haggle
• Get to know your guide in case you forget something as they will pass you on the mountain 
• A lot of climbing the mountain is about keeping the team together so having a joke book, quizzes and riddles are good to keep you talking
• Group huddles at strategic points, such as 4000 metres, worked well
• Barafu camp also sells beer, so that must be the highest pub in the world 15239 ft/4633 m, and the toilet with the best view in the world.
• The final night we climb from 4600 metres to 5900 metres in one go, rising from high altitude to extreme altitude. Keep talking as it’s about encouraging each other at this point and your personal desire to get to the top.
• You have to be aware though that you might not be able to get to the top; 2 of the group were turned back at Stella Point (18,652 ft/5,685 m) 30 mins to the summit - Uhuru Peak.
• You can 'scree slide' down the slope on the way back down if you have any energy left. This entails skidding/running down the loose gravel at medium speed.

Music for the Mountain Update: The Playlist Gets Longer:

I thought I should update you all I have had a brilliant response from lots of people the play list is now even longer. So far I have 36 songs if there is something you think is missing let me know.

Thanks

Aaron

Ain’t no mountain high enough, by Diana Ross

River Deep Mountain High, by Ike and Tina Turner

Kilimanjaro by Johnny Clegg and Savuka

Down Down, by Status Quo

Stairway to Heaven, by Led Zeppelin's

Move any Mountain, by The Shamen

The only way is up, by YAZZ

Up on the Roof - Kenny Lynch

Reach for the Stars, by S Club Seven

The Climb, by Joe McElderry

Don't Stop me Now, by Queen

500 miles, by the Proclaimers

It's a Long Way to Tipperary

I've looked at clouds from both sides now, by Joni Mitchell

 

Moving on up, by M-People

Bluberry Hill, by Fats Domino

I'm Walkin, by Fats Domino

Living on the ceiling, by Blancmange

Walking back to happiness, by Helen Shapiro

Cold as Ice, by Foreigner
Don't let the sun go down on me, by Elton John or George Micheal
Knocking on Heaven's Door, by Guns n Roses, or Bob Dylan
Free Fallin, by Tom Petty
I Won’t Back Down, by Tom Petty
Higher Ground, by Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Sometimes you can't make it on your own, by U2
Half the World Away, by Oasis
What a Wonderful World, by Louis Armstrong
I Feel Good, by James Brown
I Can See Clearly Now, by Johnny Nash
Walking On Sunshine, by Katrina and the Waves
What A Feeling, by Irene Cara
Unbreakable, by Bon Jovi
Mountains, by Lonestar

Rocky Mountain High, by John Denver

Climb every mountain by Julie Andrews

Music for the Mountain - A Bit of Fun

The last day of the Kilimanjaro climb is up to 16 hours dependant on a number of factors one being suffering from Acute Mountain Sickness. As a group we have agreed we won’t use IPODs or MP3s until this day.

We will be climbing in the dark in with head torches and I am going to need some uplifting mountain music. I am there for trying to create a play list for the last day. I reckon I need about 300 songs to cover the time.  So far I have the following:  

Ain’t no mountain high enough, by Diana Ross

River Deep Mountain High, by Ike and Tina Turner

Kilimanjaro by Johnny Clegg and Savuka

Down Down, by Status Quo

Stairway to Heaven, by Led Zeppelin's

Move any Mountain, by The Shamen

The only way is up, by YAZZ

Up on the Roof - Kenny Lynch

Reach for the Stars, by S Club Seven

The Climb, by Joe McElderry

Don't Stop me Now, by Queen

500 miles, by the Proclaimers
It's a Long Way to Tipperary

I've looked at clouds from both sides now, by Joni Mitchell

Any suggestions are gratefully accepted. 

Training weekend 3: Camping at Great Langdale and Walk at Langdale.

The weekend of 16 - 17 January 2010 we had our next get together as a group; the plan was that we were going to camp at Wastwater and then try to summit Scafell Pike. As it turned out, due to the high winds and heavy snow we had experienced over the last few weeks, we were advised to keep to low level walks.

So on Saturday afternoon, with tent, food and sleeping bag in the car, I set off with a fellow climber to Langdale. After an interesting journey courtesy of the Sat Nav, we found the campsite. It was now dark, so we set about putting up my tent in the glow of my car headlights, aided with our head torches and windup torch.

Initially we thought we were hammering into rock when putting the tent pegs in, but we soon realised it was ice and that the ground was frozen solid. Break out the bigger tent pegs and the bigger hammer and we managed to get the tent up.

We then wandered down the road to the rest of the group who were in the local pub discussing the route for the next day over a pint.

The plan was to get up early and head off by 9.30 to walk the Langdale Pike route again, which is about 8.5 miles and would be reasonably challenging due to the frozen paths and wet conditions.

Langdale Pike walk description taken from the Fell & Rock Climbing Club Of The English Lake District Limited.  (www.frcc.co.uk/)

After a nice meal we headed back to our campsite.

The Camping:

To say I was cold in the tent is putting it mildly; it dropped to about -3C overnight, but this is still nowhere near as cold as it will be on Kilimanjaro. Even with a self inflating roll mat, thermals, hat, fleece and socks I was still not warm enough and did consider getting to my car to warm up. I discounted this as the shame would be too much, also I won’t have my car on the mountain.

Eventually I got to sleep and had about 3 hours rest before the light and the smell of bacon cooking woke me up again. Those of you who know me will be aware that my wife had a baby about 11 weeks ago, so I am now quite good at surviving on small amounts of sleep. The conclusion on the morning was that the sleeping bag was just not good enough and I am now on the hunt for a thicker sleeping bag.   

The View from the Tent in the Morning. 

After a bacon sandwich and cup of coffee I was starting to feel a bit more awake and after we put the tent away we headed off on the walk. As mentioned in the previous post we have been given sports nutrition packs to try as part  of our training, which include energy gels, protein bars and isotonic/energy drinks. I tried these out on the walk with some success; the energy gel with caffeine was very nice, a bit like an espresso. I decided I just need to be a bit more disciplined with them as on the mountain they will be very helpful in combating the tiredness.     

It was a reasonably challenging walk, mainly due to the amount of snow and ice on the route. We saw some beautiful scenery including this reflection of the mountain in the frozen lake.

Blea Tarn Frozen.    

After an eventful walk we got back to the campsite at about 3.30pm, packed up the car and headed home, ignoring the Sat Nav this time.

We are meeting with Steve Cram, on the 2^nd Feb 2010 as in November 2009 he and 25 others did the same route up Kilimanjaro that we are taking, and he is going to tell us how it was. So next time I should be able to update you on his top tips for the mountain.   

Training: The Plan for January

Our nutritional requirements, energy gels, isotonic energy drinks and protein bars, for the climb are being supplied free to us by Sports Performance. http://www.sportperformance.co.uk/.

The team at Sports Performance have put together a nutritional training pack and basic January training plan create a routine of exercise and build a level of base fitness that will underpin what we do in the coming months.

I thought I would share the plan with you as some people have been asking what training we have been doing.

Training in Gateshead in the Snow - Weekend 9-10 January 2010 

The Basic Plan – January Training: 

These four weeks of training mainly consist of cardiovascular activity and a long walk which will both become more intense from week to week. The cardiovascular sessions have at least 40 mins of cycling, running, swimming or rowing activity that gets the heart-rate increased with an added 25 - 30 mins of strength conditioning at the end of these sessions and a full stretch.

Week 1:                              

Three one hour sessions of cardiovascular activity in the gym or outside.

A two hour walk where you should aim for moderate levels of exertion, this means being able to hold a conversation during the walk.

Week 2:

Three one hour sessions of cardiovascular activity in the gym or outside.
A 2.5 hour walk which is slightly longer at the same intensity with slightly more energy consumption to cover the extra time.

Week 3:

Two 1-hour sessions and one 1.5 hour session of Cardiovascular activity in the gym or outside.
A three hour walk which is slightly longer at the same intensity as previous week.

Week 4:

Two one hour sessions and one 1.5 hour session of Cardiovascular activity in the gym or outside.
A three hour walk again at a slightly higher intensity (try going slightly farther than last week).

A Big Thankyou and a Fundraising Update

I want to say thank you to every one who has given me a donation for the Kilimanjaro climb. Quite a few people decided that rather than send cards they would donate money to the charity. It is all very gratefully received and by using the Just Giving site the money goes directly to the charity.

There is approximately £300 in the account so far which is a great start towards the £2,000 target.

As another fundraising event, the People Development and Teaching Team have come up with something called Raise and Reduce. The idea being that we can RAISE money for the climb while REDUCING weight, helping us all to stay fit and healthy for 2010.

It works by charging £1 a week to enter the “Raise & Reduce” scheme. If you stay the same on your next visit when you weigh in then you pay only £1. But if, and hopefully not, you increase your weight you will have to pay a forfeit of another £1. There is even a trophy for the weekly loser and gainer and before you ask I am saying nothing about who has the cow this week!

The weekly loser and gainer trophies

There is a spreadsheet to help track your progress, with the opportunity to put in a target weight.
If you are interested in using the idea in your team, all you need is a set of scales and some colleagues to get involved and spur you on. Please contact Vivienne Gray in the People Development & Teaching team in Loftus House for more information and a copy of the spreadsheet.

There will also be more information in the coming weeks about other fundraising events including An Evening of Magic at Seaham Hall and a Kilimanjaro Day and a potential Relay climb up Penshaw Hill.