Author: Grant ‘Axe’ Rawlinson

( via SMS to David Lim)   Arrived at ABC in 6 hours today – completely knackered (David;s note: ABC is at 6500m, and a 21km hike from basecamp; and about 10 km from IC).  Been resting in my tent popping ibuprofen for my nice headcahe. Pee bottle is frozen. It’s cold. Hope to feel…

After a very windy Puja ceremony, the weather decided to change these last two days at basecamp. The wind disappeared completely and we have been baking here at basecamp. It was 35 degrees C inside the dining tent during lunch today. 25 degrees C outside the tent in the sunshine and when the sun goes…

While you are waiting for Grunto’s next update; news just in that a veteran sherpa has collapsed and died at basecamp ( south side) is sobering that altitude sickness can strike anyone.  Grunto’s next acclimatisation cycle will probably involve them making a trudge up the moraine to the camp know as Intermediate Camp – usually…

I have spent the last last two days visiting the other team’s here at basecamp. I have made an audit of the number of each team’s climbing members. I also climbed the moraine wall to take a panorama photograph and marked the positions of each basecamp on the image below. The information I have gained…

Tomorrow we will reach Everest basecamp. I am sending this post to test my wordpress ‘upload by email’ option which I need to use from Tibet. I have attached 3 photo’s and I hope they will automatically insert into the post properly, with captions. Next post from Everest Base Camp! #img1 caption=’Dusty Tingri main street’#…

 Today we arrived in the small village of Tingri on the Tibetan plateau at 4340m elevation. Tingri has been described by some people as the arm-pit of Tibet. I am not sure I agree with this. I think backside would be more appropriate. There is certainly enough faeces of the human, dog and horse variety…

I spent a very enjoyable night in Pokhara after flying out from Jomson at the end of the Annapurna circuit.  Pokhara is set beside the Phewa lake in Western Nepal and is located within 50 miles of 3 of the world’s highest mountains: Manaslu, Annapurna and Dhaulagiri. Unfortunately my visit to Pokhara was cut short.…

130pm SIngapore time: Am sitting in jomson waiting for a flight to pokhara. No snow, very dry, just winddddyyyYyyyyy as hell and been waiting for this plane for 3 hrs already   Editors Note: Jomsom is the leaping off point/village for most treks around the Annapurna circuit. AT over 3000m, the consistency of flights here…

This is a test post from your occasional web writer David Lim. As you may recall, I filled in the various gaps in the story on Grant’s climb in 2011; based on my own experiences over 2 Everest expeditions in 1998 and 2001 – the latter to the north ridge. As information was coming in…