Everest diaries: 'Rollercoaster of emotions' in Johnny Ward’s first week climbing Mount Everest
Johnny Ward is documenting his journey up Everest and he has some interesting insights from the past week
The team for the next couple of months.
Leaving the comfort, and safety, of Kathmandu for the beauty and suffering of Mount Everest. As ready as we’ll ever be. Let’s do it.
We’re in good hands with Furtenbach Adventures and Dave Watson.
Phak Ding to Namche Bazaar on my classic Everest climb.
Hot and sweaty uphill day but gorgeous views of the mountains.
Pangs of nerves and realisation punctuate my day with what lies ahead.
I know I should stay in the present but it’s against my nature. My eyes are on the prize, for better or worse.
Day 5. 10% of the expedition done. Albeit the easiest 10% 😂😂 Active rest day today on our Everest climb.
Lovely walk up to 3900m for our first views of Everest! Dave Watson is slowly working on me to learn to appreciate the journey rather than the summit (it’s a work in progress but I’m trying!).
Team is bonding well and things are feeling good. Time to move onwards and upwards tomorrow AM.
Namche Bazaar to Phortse. Currently at around 3900m.
Lovely day today. 4/5 hours walking and all still good. Had lunch at a banging spot but had a rude awakening when the sun hid behind the clouds and the temp dropped heavy! It’s gonna be coooold when we get up high.
One night here then further up tomorrow. We have a few nights until we try to tag a 6100m peak, Lobuche, before we settle into base camp for a month. Things slowly getting real.
The intro to climbing Everest is so much more chill than any mountains I’ve climbed leading up to this. Following the Everest Base Camp trek, chilling in tea houses and sleeping in beds is so nice!
Today we went from Phortse to Pangboche, just three or four hours and epic views. Now we’re around 4,000m and all still feeling good. One week until we reach our Base Camp, a few days until we tackle 6200m Lobuche as a warm up.
Another lovely day on the Everest Base camp trek, finally starting to appreciate where we are rather than solely obsessing with tagging the summit - progress.
We’re at 4400m now and still feeling fit and strong. Gonna what’s up to 5k tomorrow then back down. Sleeping in the same place two nights in a row is a TREAT.
Day 9. Today we slept in the same place two nights running, heaven! Lazy acclimatisation hike to 5100m, still felt pretty good apart from my pasty white Irish skin taking a beating from the Himalayan sun!
Dave Watson’s words of wisdom to enjoy the journey is slowing rubbing off on me.
Today we made our way to Lobuche, en route is a huge plateau which serves as a memorial to our fellow climbers and Sherpas who have lost their lives in the Himalayas. Many younger than me, and many as recently as this year. A somber thought.
With that in mind, I’d love you all to check out The Juniper Fund. This amazing NGO supports the families of local Nepalis and Sherpas who have lost their lives on this mountain. The work they do is amazing, and represents the true heroes of the Himalayas.
First proper rest day on our Everest climb.
Tomorrow we start a warm up climb to Lobuche east peak at 6110m or so (20000 feet) so today we got reacquainted with our harness and did some rope with with Dave Watson.
Rollercoaster of emotions. Had my first banging headache from altitude last night, instant panic attack. Feel a lot better today thankfully, and looking forward to getting back on a proper mountain tomorrow.
Still charging on. Everest base camp in four or five days, really looking forward to settling in.
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