And Here We Go..!

“Life is uncharted territory. It reveals its story one moment at a time.” (Leo F. Buscaglia 1924-1998).
I love this quote - it makes life seem more like a journey and an adventure. I have just two short hours until my taxi comes to transport me to Heathrow. My two bags (guess-timate weight is 45kg) are both parked at the front door waiting to whisked away on yet another this great adventure - although, given the weight, the more appropriate term would, in fact, be 'lugged'..! I have a number of different emotions and thoughts going around in my head - nerves, excitement, standing on the cusp of the known and the unknown... Soon this journey will 'formally' begin... and I can't wait..!!

Packing for Everest...

Over the course of past expeditions I’ve learned to pack ‘lite’…. Generally this equates to 1 x ‘stuffed to the max’ 65 litre pack complete with equipment duct-taped to the shoulder straps and bottles training from the frame… I look more like bulky yak trying to navigate Heathrow Airport check in lines than a fashion-conscious traveler trying to schmooze my way into business class. There are times when fashion comes second to function – and packing for Everest is a prime example of one of those cases.

Everest2: Future Hope School, Kolkata, India

About 2 years ago I attended a presentation at the Royal Geographical Society in London by former banker, Tim Grandage. Through a moving and inspirational presentation, Tim introduced the Fellows of the RGS to Future Hope, a school set up in 1988 to provide a home, education, medical aid and opportunity to some of the children of Kolkata who found themselves living on the streets of the city. These children suffer extreme poverty and have little or no ability to change their lives and more than anything they need the love and security of a home. Future Hope now runs eight homes where more than 200 former street children live and enjoy life.

CBC.ca | The Bridge | Students at Ridgetown high school will be experiencing a Mount Everest climb through a former alumnus. Heather Geluk will tackle Mount Everest in a couple of weeks....but before that, she flew in from England to talk with students at her old high school.

CBC.ca | The Bridge | Students at Ridgetown high school will be experiencing a Mount Everest climb through a former alumnus. Heather Geluk will tackle Mount Everest in a couple of weeks....but before that, she flew in from England to talk with students at her old high school.

Everest2: Ridgetown District High School, Canada - Attempt 2.0

Ridgetown District High School

My mother always says, “If you’re going to do something, do it well”. A rather broad statement but one that drove me to book my 2nd flight from London, England to Canada in the span of 13 days. I was about to embark on my 2nd attempt at presenting the Everest2 programme at Ridgetown District High School. The first valiant attempt was thwarted by a snow storm that cancelled school and therefore impacted my presentation..! Instead of presenting, I ended up sitting in Pinnells Pastries in Ridgetown comfort-eating Ben’s world famous honey-dipped donuts while the snow piled up outside. Not content with accepting defeat, I decided to make another attempt (this seems to be a recurring theme of stubbornness?). Before booking my 2nd attempt, I did have a look at the forecast and whilst it wasn’t tropical, there was no snow in the forecast and the temperature was a balmy -5 degrees. Spring has arrived in Canada…

Everest NE Ridge 2011 Itinerary

GPS 'Spot' Tracker

In Challenge 5 of the Everest2 Programme that I am conducting as part of my fieldwork on behalf of the students of Ridgetown District High School (Canada), Sevenoaks School (UK) and Future Hope School (India), the students will use GPS technology mapped onto Google Earth to virtually follow me over the course of the 2011 Everest Expedition on an adventurous climb up the world's highest mountain via the North East Ridge to the 8848m summit.