DUBLIN, IRELAND (Team Geared Up) - Just interesting video on what a day is like when summiting Everest. Crazy to see how many people your sharing the summit with!

-Eoinod-

SINGAPORE (Team Geared Up) - The Irish team have issued a press release May 8th 2008 from Everest Base Camp. The mountain is open! Now… let’s hope the rush of 285 climbers for the top doesn’t cause a loss of life. Fingers crossed.

Chinese Summit Puts Irish Everest Plans Back On Track

Climbers Graham Kinch (29) and Ian Taylor (29), the youngest Irish men to attempt Mt Everest and also the first Dubliner and Kildareman respectively were woken today on day 48 of their Everest expedition to the sound of an aeroplane flying over the summit. “We all knew what it ment” said Taylor, “and the good news that the Chinese had summited at 5:20am Nepalese time (12:35am Irish time) followed with resouning cheers throughout base camp”. The Chinese who are hosting the Olympics in June had imposed restrictions on the Nepaleese side of the mountain until after they had summitted with the Olympic tourch. The 285 climbers at base camp, including the two Irishmen have spent over a week waiting for the Chinese to summit so that they can continue with their summit attempts.

The two Irishmen have only one more aclimatisation trip up the mountain before their ascent proper. They will leave at 2:00am on Friday morning, going straight to Camp 2 at 22,000ft for two nights before pushing on up to Camp 3 at 24,000ft on the 11th. “Although we have effectively been idle at base camp for the last 8 days” said Kinch, “donations for the Kitandwe School Project in Uganda have continued to flow in via our website www.everest2008.ie, for which we are very appreciative”.

The two Irish climbers are in the final weeks of a year long journey that will see them climb four mountains on four continents in order to raise €85,000 for a school in the Ugandan village of Kitandwe in partnership with the Irish charity Fields of Life. If all goes according to plan they will complete their journey by summiting Mt Everest on the 23rd May.

-Robin.

SINGAPORE (Team Geared Up) - Tom Creaney and James Osborn work together in the Clothing Supply Chain for Tesco Stores Limited. Based at their largest distribution centre in the uk the pair struck up a friendship on a charity expedition in the Scottish Highlands back in 2006 where they bagged 5 Monroes in 36 hours for the charity ‘Whizzkids’. Between the pair of them they have over 25 years mountaineering and climbing experience and it was following this that they
found out it was both their life long ambition to climb ‘Everest’.

‘From loosing the map at 6000 ft, having no tea bags whilst stuck in the snow, being chased through valleys by raging bulls; forgetting the gas and having cold dinners all week, compass breaking… The list goes on! There really isn’t much misfortune that the pair haven’t endured, James even survived a 15 ft fall from an ice wall in 2004.’

Later this year in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care the pair are joining the Jagged Globe expedition in the Himalayas with the same team as Ranaulph Fiennes. Eoin O’D wrote about Ranaulphs 2008 Everest Expedition back in November. Setting off after the Fiennes party returns, the pair will be attempting some tough Ice Climbs on Everest over a period of 6 weeks.

One of the things that I find interesting is to see the personal equipment that a high altitude climber uses and I asked James to add some of the kit he’s bringing to our Gear Profiles. You can check their gear out right here and note that I share the same Patagonia shell layer, while Eoin has the same Crux AK47 Pack. Also interesting to spot the Spantik boots are on someones wishlist too.

Good luck the the lads - we’ll try and track them here and go see how much they’ve raised (£23k! 100% for Charity) on their expedition website www.coldfeat.co.uk. You can also see James profile on TGU.

-Robin.

(Image Credit: Tom & James on Helvellyn last weekend.)

SINGAPORE (Team Geared Up) - Fearghal from revolutioncycle.ie emailed to say Mark Beaumont became the fastest person to circumnavigate the globe by bicycle.

Taking only 195 days his whirlwind tour du monde began last August and covered the requisite 18,000 miles through 20 countries.

Fearghal’s post links to the BBC news story

Beating the previous record of 276 days the 25-year-old crossed the finish line at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris at 1430 GMT after an 18,000-mile journey which began on 5 August last year. He endured floods and road rage, and was knocked off his bike in the American state of Louisiana by an elderly motorist who drove through a red light.

If you think about it, it’s not that long really. 195 days is a very short time if you consider all the things you’d see on the way.

-Robin.

Found this testimonial on their website:

“Your equipment was, as usual, superb”. Sir Ranulph Fiennes

-Aisling-

SINGAPORE (Team Geared Up) - The Irish Revolution Cycle boys emailed to say they’ve got the first of their videos online. Do have a watch, it’s great to see the Irish doing this.

Hi Robin,

We’ve just finished the first of the many videos, we’ll be posting over the next few years, documenting our preparations before and experiences during our circumnavigation.

This one follows our 1,000km cycle from Aswan to Alexandria in Egypt in September.

In 2008 Simon Evans and Fearghal O’Nuallain will leave their homes in Wicklow (Ireland) and begin their attempt to circumnavigate the world by bike and by boat.

Video on YouTube

Ewan McGregor & Charlie Boorman would be proud! I’m really looking forward to following this trip.

Fearghal, thanks for the heads up. Appreciated.

-Robin-

SINGAPORE (Team Geared Up) - I just watched two Aussies on BBC World completing a 62-day and 3,300km journey by kayak to New Zealand.

Two Australians have become the first people to paddle to New Zealand across the Tasman Sea in a kayak.

James Castrission and Justin Jones both 25 are the first to “Cross the ditch”, the Tasman Sea, by kayak. Australian kayaker, Andrew McAuley, 39, who disappeared while attempting the same crossing solo last February was never found. They found his kayak but no body. His camera mounted on his kayak shows photos of New Zealand in sight - so he was within the last few miles before drowning.

-Robin-

DUBLIN, IRELAND (Team Geared Up) - I spotted a story about the ownership of Rockall on RTE news tonight. I’d never even heard of it, but the photos excited me. As I dug deeper, the story got better and better.

Rockall – The most isolated speck of Rock, surrounded by Water on the Surface of the Earth… the pebble thrown by Finn MacCool.

The British Navy landed in 1862 to survey the rock and the next person was was Royal Marine Sergeant Brian Peel in 1955, an experienced rock climber. They had landed to claim the rock for Queen Elizabeth so the Soviets could not set up a spy-base to watch over the British nuclear missal tests in the Atlantic.

Sergeant Peel climbed down to the waterline to collect seaweed and other specimens for naturalist James Fischer. The marine said the descent had been straightforward, but admitted he had misjudged the heavy Atlantic swell.

“I did not get up the rock in time and a wave went right over the top of me,” he said.

“I had to grab a handful of seaweed, ram it in my mouth and get up the rock as fast as possible.”

This photo shows them raising the Union Jack. It is reported they were dropped on the top by helicopter.

In 1985 Tom McClean ex-SAS reclaimed rights to Rockall for Britain by living there for 40 days in a survival pod on the summit. You can see a photo of it on the top below. Why haven’t I come across Tom before?! I must find his book, savage portfolio!

He lived on Rockall for 40 days in order to re-affirm Britain ’s mineral and oil rights to the rock. He spent the time on a ledge in a survival unit 5ft x 4ft x 3ft for 40 days against all that the wild Atlantic could throw at him.

The next landing appears to be from these boys who tried in 2003 and succeeded on a second attempt in 2005 to climb the rock from sea-level.

From what I can see they went out in an inflatable and then using whatever method possible got a guy up the route of least resistance who dropped static lines for the other climbers to ascend.

So my questions is - could the sheers face (route 1 marked) be lead on-sight? Deep water solo?

Despite all bird-shite and the minor issue of an un-predictably heavy swell, who’ll be first to climb the tip of this volcano?

I’ll tell you what - I’d love to be involved in that expedition!!!

BTW - I found out where RTE got its photo uncredited. Bit naughty for a national channel (not that we can talk!).

-Robin-

(Image Credits: Rockall Times, Wikipedia, BBC).

LONDON, UK (Team Geared Up) - Eh, how’d we miss this one!?

In 2008 Simon Evans and Fearghal O’Nuallain will leave their homes in Wicklow (Ireland) and begin their attempt to circumnavigate the world by bike and by boat.

So I spotted a trackback to TGU posted by Fearghal on the Revolution blog and stumbled across this fantastic cycling expedition. At least the guys have the most important piece in place, and that is a great webmaster, their site is fantastic. As Matt & Mustard will attribute to their Ski Greenland expedition earlier in the year, having someone to take responsibility of broadcasting your message to friends & family is very important.

Below is a map of their intended route:

My favourite section of the website itemises some of the equipment they will take:

# Frame
# Forks
# Brakes
# Tyres
# Communications
# Portable Solar Panels
# Laptop
# Satellite Phone
# Headcam

Lads, we’ll follow your expedition site with great interest but if you can get Paul to send us a ’status report’ after a significant milestone (reaching Asia?) we’ll do a feature post on your progress ;-)

TGU Readers, make sure to check out their fantastic revolutioncycle.ie

Best of luck!

-Robin

BANGKOK, THAILAND (Team Geared Up) - Ben Saunders clearly has a love of the cold. An unknown name to me until last week, I found out that Ben was the youngest person to ever ski solo to the North Pole.

Born in 1977, Ben grew up in Devon, was educated at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and lives in London. He is passionate about the great outdoors and is a record-breaking long-distance skier, with three North Pole expeditions under his belt. He is the youngest to ski solo to the North Pole and holds the record for the longest solo Arctic journey by a Briton. Since 2001, Ben has skied more than 2,500km (1,500 miles) in the high Arctic, which he recently worked out equates to two percent of his entire life living in a tent.

Starting late March, Ben is going on an expedition to the geographic North Pole, with the aim of setting a speed record, less than 36 days, solo, unsupported. Ben is also planning SOUTH (October) which will be the first return journey to the South Pole on foot, and back to the coast again. At 2,900km and four months, SOUTH will be the longest unsupported polar journey in history.

Ben has a book coming out in 2009. Keep your eyes peeled for it! See BenSaunders.com

-Robin-

(Image Credit: bensaunders.com)