Author: Grant ‘Axe’ Rawlinson

I have been putting off for sometime writing this particular blog.  A little bit like that trip to the dentist you know have to make when your tooth starts aching. You don’t really want to go, part of you hopes that the tooth will fix itself, but as time goes by and the tooth gets…

Welcome to 2011!  I hope you are as excited about the prospect of the year ahead as I am, with some exciting adventures to look forward to in your lives. After a wonderful 2.5 weeks in New Zealand over Christmas I accomplished a number of first achievements including getting married to my beautiful wife Stephanie,…

In 2006 a well known Australian climber named Lincoln Hall got into serious difficulties while descending the North East Ridge of Everest – the route I will be attempting next year.  Eventually in a severely weakened condition, he had to be left very high on the mountain by his climbing companions who had to descend to the lower…

I have been continuously blown away by the support that I have received from certain quarters for my Everest climb.  From my wonderful sponsors, to individuals whom I hardly know. This week I met up with a guy whom I respect enormously for the style in which he climbs, and I try and emulate in…

An Everest expedition does not come cheap.  With a host of commercial operators arranging  expeditions from the North and the South side’s of Everest these days, choosing which operator to work with can be a difficult decision. You only need to spend 15 minutes on Google to find some of these operators and see the…

I returned from a beautiful 14km run from my apartment down around Bukit Timah nature reserve and back this evening in a very good mood. Only to turn on the computer to read some very sad news about an Everest legend who has disappeared in an avalanche whilst climbing in Nepal. Chhewang Nima Sherpa, (43 yrs) had summited Everest 19 times. …

I am about to set-up a FACEBOOK page which will be linked to my blogsite for my climbing expeditions (including Everest 2011).  I want you to help come up with a name for the Facebook page.   Now in order to name this Facebook page I am running a competition in conjunction with UFIT (expedition partner).  If you…

Singapore is not an ideal place to train to climb Mt Everest.  However stuck in a hotel in Hanoi is probably worse.  This week in between moving house, I spent 3 days in the far north of Vietnam on business, and had to squeeze my Everest training in around the usual hectic work days involving…

Early mornings are my favorite time of the day.  With few people up and about, the world feels so much more peaceful.   This Sunday morning saw me up early and by 7:30AM standing at the bottom of a rock face at Dairy Farm quarry in Singapore’s Bukit Timah nature reserve.  As I was preparing for…

Hills of Singapore… Do they even exist???  After yesterday’s North Face 100 run I definitely found some! I entered the race in the two man team’s event together with work colleague Ivan Tan.  We entered in the 50km team’s event which meant we ran 25km each.  In between FITNESS FIRST gym/stair training and UFIT sessions I…

Welcome to the my first Blog on Everest 2011 – The climb for hope.  Thanks for those people who signed up already online.  I hope over the next few months to keep you (at the very least) entertained by the goings on with my preparations for the upcoming climb. The last three weeks has been…